The Alan Parsons Project "I Robot" (1977)

 

British rock duo The Alan Parsons Project have admittedly been on my radar since before I started this music blog. Of the three records I own, any song cropping up on shuffle would grab my attention. How its taken me this long is criminal but for the past month or so Ive gotten deep into I Robot, their sophomore effort. Hailed as Progressive Rock, what is remarkable about the music is how much it reaches into the adjacent sounds of the 70s. With a luscious string section, these compositions often get a graceful lift into the cinematic realm. Its rumbustious baselines hit Funk and Disco grooves with class. The short experimental interlude Nucleus enters the Ambient Soundscape realms akin to Dreamtime Return released eleven years later.

What they touch, turns to gold, but not without echos of others who walked before them. The breezy lullaby of Day After Day reminiscent of Genesis in a vulnerable song and I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You is practically a Stevie Wonder track hands down. As said, its golden. The duo forge timely songs ripe with vivid instrumentation and holding song structures to make it work wonderfully. The variety is plentiful, dipping into emotional ballads, flushes of early Electronica synths, plenty of Progressive Rock cliches and the audacity to experiment boldly. The song Total Eclipse uses a choir of haunted soul voices to cascade with unease through nail biting tensions as it plunges into fiery depths.

Perhaps suggested by its variety, the structure is loose, moving through drastic shifts in tone that seem effortless with the aid of seamless transitions, pivoting the instruments between songs with organic handover passageways. It ends with Boules, a bonus track of sorts rocking a "phat" baseline with a tight reflexive drum loop and accompaniment of strange noise oddities. It always struck me as a Hip Hop beat in ways, further suggesting the duo had a finger on the pulse with the splash of current sounds the record embodies, although Hip Hop might be a bit of a stretch with the New York scene at its absolute infancy in this point in time.

One thing that stains the stunning music is its theme. I Robot attempts to engage with the concept of artificial intelligence from a heavily dated perspective. Compared to the current discussions around AI and its partial implementation through algorithms and machine learning, everything pertaining to the concept just seems out of step, however the vocal efforts of the band it comes through are wonderful. Barely a crease to be found beyond its timely blemish. Lastly, I'll end on a musing note. These two never found commercial success in their home town, shipping most their records in Germany, USA and Canada. Its something I find rather curious given how British acts tend to be well known here but the Alan Parsons Project has sadly faded from focus since their retirement over two decades ago.

Rating: 9/10

Queen "News Of The World" (1977)

It may be home to two of Queen's defining Arena Rock anthems known the world over but News Of The World is a haphazard record of eclectic directions lacking any cohesion. On their own these songs ain't so bad but they tend to fumble over one another. After opening anthems We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions, the rest of the run time seems stitched on with nothing resembling the amped up, cheer along style of these two numbers. Named after Sheer Heart Attack, track three blares into Punk influenced guitar tones thrashing at a monotone Industrial pacing. It deploys some rather bizarre feedback noise towards the end and the whole production sounds rather uninspired. Not a bad song but its coloring is drab. The record as a whole feels a step backwards.

From here the energy dissipates as ballads lull the flow and switch gears. Fight From The Inside makes it mark with Roger Taylor putting his stamp on the vocals. In general the tracks keep shifting in tone and the mediocrity of these songs has the bands diversity feel at odds with itself. It hits a low with Who Needs You. Exotic Spanish guitar makes for a sunny sandy song that lays its intentions bare. Its wildly out of place and lacks any subtly as even the percussion shakes it up with Maracas. You'd expect it to become something more that a simple mirroring of worldly musics.

Without fluidity and subtlety these lesser inspired songs just drift all over the place. They may be well written songs but the strands of these musicians influences tend to imitate rather than birth something new. Even the more typically Queen and theatrical songs lack the spark heard before. Freddie's voice may be a charm throughout but with Brian May being quiet on his guitar its lacking. I suspect with two smash songs under their belt the label may of pressured the group into releasing what feels like a set of B-Sides to bolster a record to sell alongside these cultural anthems.

Favorite Tracks: We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions

Rating: 5/10

Kraftwerk "Trans-Europe Express" (1977)

Having enjoyed the works of prolific electronic group Kraftwerk through their album "The Man-Machine", I sought out another record to digest. Recommendations by readers and critically acclaimed across the web, it seemed "Trans-Europe Express" would be one id have to listen to sooner or later. Recorded in 1976, and released a year later, this record marked a significant shift in sound towards a purer electronic output that would mark this and the proceeding records as classics in the modernization of electronic music. Having developed an understanding of what this group are about, I found this album to immediately reveal its brilliance, a vast difference in approach and likability. I was instantly sucked into a carefully orchestrated design of minimalism and color through the opening track "Europe Endless" with its vibrant melodies, formal groove and charming vocoded vocals. Complimented by light choirs and cultural praising of European collaberation, Kraftwerk quickly set a gorgeous tone of which the repetitious content simply does not tire, and becomes indulging and fruitful. As 10 minutes pass the album moves into tis second gear, and reveals a different focus for the theme of the record.

With "Hall Of Mirrors", the warm vibe established is diminished as the record transitions into a dark and egotistical reflection of self image. A distant, tampering beat, moogy bass and swirling melodies create an intense atmosphere for the vocals to tell a shattering tale of fame and self image, the harrowing space of a failed ego. The theme is continued through an equally moody yet sharper and punchier track "Showroom Dummies" that includes some interesting sampling of destructive noises. The song is another impressive showcase of minimalism, yet fills rather "full" from its energetic rhythm. From here the record moves into what was simply a "jaw dropping" moment for me. A shuffling, mechanical rhythm slowly phased to sound reminiscent of a train leads up to a glorious moment in Hip Hop. Sampling has always excited me, and I was so humbled to hear the origins of "Planet Rock", a classic and important song in the Origins of Hip Hop. The eerie melody is followed up by a stunning arrangement of chords that I find myself in awe of, the song is further progressed into "Metal On Metal" which drops the melodies and brings in some big and booming drum hits to descend the song into a meaner tangent of itself guided by some theatrical chord climaxes that lead back into the main theme. Its followed up by two more tracks that shift the feel back to the initial positives this one started out with, yet holds a strong reminiscent or revisited feel about it, mostly likely through a lack of percussion and dreamy synths.

The listening experience as a whole is vastly superior to much modern music out there, and begs me to ponder on the "retro" or "outdated" ideas that can often be associated with music and art. Aesthetically, or musically, this seems far removed from irrelevance of time, and stands on its own two feet. Kraftwerks mastering of minimalism, mechanical rhythms, peachy melodies and eccentric presentations mold the form of a record pure of substance. Even after much time listening to this one, I find myself unable to put it down. Despite haven given my thoughts on this record, I can't help but feel it will only love it more as time goes by.

Rating: 10/10