PYRAMID

I still remember the afternoon of 1979 when I went directly from school to the record store and discovered this amazing album from a new band ("Tales ..." and "I Robot" never reached Peruvian stores, so I had no information about APP), that first time in a cabin of a record store I thought it was one of the best prog' albums in history, and even though discovered very soon this wasn't accurate, still find it worth to listen very often.

How can you describe a composer that is capable of a masterpiece like "Tales of Mystery and Imagination" but who after three years releases the mediocre "Eve"?

I would say "uneven" term that IMO can also be used to describe "Pyramid", which has excellent "Light" Prog' songs combined with strong Rock and decent but inferior ballads.

The album is opened with two songs that sound almost as one long track, "Voyager" works as an introduction for the pompous "What Goes Up ...". which has the always solid classical orchestra and choirs arrangements by Andrew Powell, a great start for this album that introduces to the Egyptian atmosphere that Alan Parsons pretends to create.

"The Eagle will Rise Again" is one of those ballads I spoke about before, soft and poppy, but the choirs save this song, the weakest of this album but very entertaining. Good vocals by Colin Blunstone..

"One More River" is a very strong Rock track which Orchestral arrangements and a jazzy sax, a song that proves not everything has to be progressive to be very good, one of my favorites.

"Can't Take it with You" is a also a highlight, starts with a sweat flute or ocarina (not sure because it doesn't appear in the credits) solo which makes this tune unforgettable.

The best track in the whole album is the symphonic and bombastic "In the Lap of the Gods", with exiting arrangements again by Andrew Powell, starts soft and calm with an atmospheric cimbalom by John Leach that helps to achieve the Egyptian feeling, near the end there's an orchestra and choir explosion of great beauty and strength.

"Pyramania" is an absurd song that makes mockery about the 70's obsession about pyramids, weak track, but funny enough to be taken as a better joke than "Benny the Bouncer" or "The Sheriff".

"Hyper-Gamma Spaces" is a strange song for this album, more electronic than prog' or rock oriented, would have been perfect in I Robot, good track, but out of place in this album that pretends to based in ancient Egypt.

The album ends with "Shadow of a Lonely Man", another soft ballad which starts with a short piano solo followed by Orchestra and vocals, stronger than "The Eagle will Rise Again" but doesn't have enough strength to close this album, a bad choice.

A very good album that mixes Art Rock with soft ballads, not as good as "Tales of Mystery and Imagination" but stronger than "I Robot"....4 Solid Stars.