Back at Disc 70, I reviewed ELO's Time, and said that it was a:
"unique blend of pop music, sci fi imaginings, a cohesive album concept and not a small amount of disco. You'll likely never see that again. Er...on second thought, The Alan Parsons Project's "I Robot", also gets a tick in all those boxes, but that is for another review."
Well, here is that other review.
Disc 97 is...I Robot
Artist: The Alan Parsons Project
Year of Release: 1977
How I Came To Know It: Hey - who doesn't know "Eye In The Sky"? No - that song is not on this album. This album is me drilling after getting another APP album. That album also did not have "Eye In the Sky" I think Sheila rekindled my interest in this band after decades of dormancy, sometime about 4 years ago. I've only had "I Robot" for a couple years, though.
How It Stacks Up: I have three Alan Parsons Project (APP) albums - each more ridiculous than the last. I'd put this one probably last, but it has its moments. Also it is better than the fourth APP album I bought, "The Turn of a Friendly Card". That album was so bad I sold it.
Rating: 2 stars, but definitely a guilty pleasure.
APP really stuck their necks out on this record, and went in a whole new direction - a heavily synthed concept album about some weird otherworldly themes.
Just kidding - APP always sings about that kind of stuff. You should hear their homage to Edgar Allan Poe's work - my first foray courtesy of Sheila. I'd love to talk about that album, but that's for another review.
For this one, APP decides to take on sci fi, and the story of "I Robot." I don't know how truthful they remain to the original Asimov story of the same name, since I haven't read it. My only frame of reference is the recent movie adaptation starring Wil Smith (which I liked).
APP sums up "I Robot" in their liner notes with the following:
"The story of the rise of the machine and the decline of man, which paradoxically coincided with his discovery of the wheel...and a warning that his brief dominance of this planet will probably end, because man tried to creat robot in his own image."
As liner notes go, that is a pretty cool one in my books.
As I noted earlier, the album musically is heavy with synthesizers and futuristic sounds - mixed up with that pervasive disco groove that was in a lot of late seventies pop.
I personally think the combination is pretty avant garde for the music scene in 1977, and for the most part it works. The instrument-only tracks (there are a few) are a bit too similar to soundtracks, and can easily fade into the background without keeping your active attention. However, they do provide a continuity of mood to the album, which is important to maintain in any concept album.
Of the "singles" (or what passes for a single on a seventies concept album), I like a few, but they don't blow me away. If the album had a few more high points, I think it would earn 3 stars, but as it is, I couldn't do it.
My favourite track is "Don't Let It Show" which was remade two years later on Pat Benatar's "In The Heat of the Night" album. APP does a good job, but I do prefer the Pat Benatar version. Also, Pat is way better looking. APP is another example of video killing the radio star.
So if you like sci fi concept albums based on short stories written 60 years ago, then this album is for you. And me. It is a guilty pleasure, and I'm guilty.
Best tracks: I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You, Don't Let It Show, Breakdown.
"unique blend of pop music, sci fi imaginings, a cohesive album concept and not a small amount of disco. You'll likely never see that again. Er...on second thought, The Alan Parsons Project's "I Robot", also gets a tick in all those boxes, but that is for another review."
Well, here is that other review.
Disc 97 is...I Robot
Artist: The Alan Parsons ProjectYear of Release: 1977
How I Came To Know It: Hey - who doesn't know "Eye In The Sky"? No - that song is not on this album. This album is me drilling after getting another APP album. That album also did not have "Eye In the Sky" I think Sheila rekindled my interest in this band after decades of dormancy, sometime about 4 years ago. I've only had "I Robot" for a couple years, though.
How It Stacks Up: I have three Alan Parsons Project (APP) albums - each more ridiculous than the last. I'd put this one probably last, but it has its moments. Also it is better than the fourth APP album I bought, "The Turn of a Friendly Card". That album was so bad I sold it.
Rating: 2 stars, but definitely a guilty pleasure.
APP really stuck their necks out on this record, and went in a whole new direction - a heavily synthed concept album about some weird otherworldly themes.
Just kidding - APP always sings about that kind of stuff. You should hear their homage to Edgar Allan Poe's work - my first foray courtesy of Sheila. I'd love to talk about that album, but that's for another review.
For this one, APP decides to take on sci fi, and the story of "I Robot." I don't know how truthful they remain to the original Asimov story of the same name, since I haven't read it. My only frame of reference is the recent movie adaptation starring Wil Smith (which I liked).
APP sums up "I Robot" in their liner notes with the following:
"The story of the rise of the machine and the decline of man, which paradoxically coincided with his discovery of the wheel...and a warning that his brief dominance of this planet will probably end, because man tried to creat robot in his own image."
As liner notes go, that is a pretty cool one in my books.
As I noted earlier, the album musically is heavy with synthesizers and futuristic sounds - mixed up with that pervasive disco groove that was in a lot of late seventies pop.
I personally think the combination is pretty avant garde for the music scene in 1977, and for the most part it works. The instrument-only tracks (there are a few) are a bit too similar to soundtracks, and can easily fade into the background without keeping your active attention. However, they do provide a continuity of mood to the album, which is important to maintain in any concept album.
Of the "singles" (or what passes for a single on a seventies concept album), I like a few, but they don't blow me away. If the album had a few more high points, I think it would earn 3 stars, but as it is, I couldn't do it.
My favourite track is "Don't Let It Show" which was remade two years later on Pat Benatar's "In The Heat of the Night" album. APP does a good job, but I do prefer the Pat Benatar version. Also, Pat is way better looking. APP is another example of video killing the radio star.
So if you like sci fi concept albums based on short stories written 60 years ago, then this album is for you. And me. It is a guilty pleasure, and I'm guilty.
Best tracks: I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You, Don't Let It Show, Breakdown.
1 comment:
Thanks for the mention, but I think Tony brought the Edgar Allan Poe album over one night - I can't take the credit.
I don't listen to this album, and I'm not inclined to.
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