SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT – PYRAMID (BOXSET)

THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT
PYRAMID (BOXSET)
COOKING VINYL

Pyramid was originally released in May of 1978, and was The Alan Parsons Project third album. It was their follow-up to their massively successful I, Robot. In many ways, Pyramid picked up where I, Robot left off. But for this album Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson (the core of The Alan Parsons Project) wrote nine songs that reflected society’s fascination with Pyramids and King Tutankhamun. Pyramid has proven to be one of their most popular albums and is one of their best. By this time, Parsons and Woolfson had a strong idea for the band and their music and this album is the beginning of a run of incredible albums by the band. Pyramid was an essential step in their career in order for their next three classics, Eve, The Turn Of A Friendly Card and Eye In The Sky to exist. That is not to say Pyramid is just a transition album, because it is so much more. It is a classic.

The album opens with the majestic “Voyager”, a perfect song to set the stage for the rest of the album. The song is beautiful and soars into the next song “What Goes Up…”, featuring the vocals of David Paton (Piolet). The thing about The Alan Parsons Project is that they always had the cream of the crop of players and singers. Paton is no exception. His strong, yet somewhat reserved vocals is the perfect combination for the song. Paton also provides the fantastic and distinct bass for the song, which is one of its defining features.

The rest of the album is pure electronic prog rock. “Shadow Of A Lonely Man” is as near perfect an ending of an album as any. John Miles’s vocals are stellar and full of emotion. The two instrumentals also bring a lot to the album and are essential for the cohesion and consistency of the album. “In The Lap Of The Gods” is very dramatic, highlighting drummer Stuart Elliott and “Hyper- Gamma-Spaces” is a fantastic keyboard-based song, layered with great textures.

Other Alan Parsons Project albums have had the deluxe treatment, and one for Pyramid is love overdue. And this box set is jammed full of some incredible music, outtakes and so much more. One interesting addition to the collection is the instrumentals, that really breathe new life in the songs. The instrumental version of a “Voyager”, “What Goes Up…” and “The Eagle Will Rise Again” medley suggests they were influenced by The Beatles. Listen to the vocals in this instrumental version, and it does sound a bit like “Because” from Abbey Road, for which Alan Parsons was the assistant engineer.

The box set also features many demos that are great to hear and interesting. “Can’t Take It With You (Early Demo)” features Alan Parsons on all instruments and it is considerably different than what one hears on the album. Woolfson’s diary versions are also of interest. He talks the listener through some of the songs, and others are very early working demos, which shed a light on a small part of his creative process. It is also nice to hear him sing a song for his two daughters, Lorna and Sally (“My Name Is Lorna”) which features the children singing along and giving him direction. It is extremely heartwarming.

Cooking Vinyl has put together a stellar box set for Pyramid. It is a deserving album, and it is somewhat surprising it has taken this long for the album to get the deluxe treatment, and, as with other box sets by The Alan Parsons Project, the set is done right. The extra CDs (it is a four CD set) are all interesting and add a great deal to this classic album. One cannot help but feel that the curtain has been drawn back and we are fortunate to get a glimpse into the making of it.

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