When I was 16 in High School in Vermont in 1976, I had a very progressive English teacher. We were studying Poe in our class one day, and she played a record called "Tales of Mystery and Imagination", by a new "group" called The Alan Parsons Project. The first time I heard "dream within a dream" I got chills, and to this day I still get them whenever I play it. I haven't missed an APP Album or CD since.
That afternoon after class I drove to the record store and bought the album, and proceeded to wear it out, but not before I recorded it for the car stereo. To this day, of the 6 CDs in my changer in my car, 4 of them are APP CDs.
To me, what really sets APP apart from other artists is the use of full orchestra and choir in certain songs. The use of French horns in "Silence and I" is simply amazing, and the full choir at the end of "I Breakdown" always gets my blood racing. Also the abundant use of Synths is wonderful, and really before a lot of other artists started using them.
Simply put, the way some of APP's songs start out with a single voice, like the simple Bass line in "Raven", and then build layer upon layer of intertwined melodies that can all be heard, individually, but at the same time stand as one, and is something I've heard very few other artists be able to do.
I'm glad I found this site ... Thanks for letting me add my voice to many. :)
Submitted by Kevin Colburn.
Editor: I once played an APP tape until it folded up on itself like an accordian. Then I continued to play it until it actually stretched and flattened out again! It's great that our love of the music can outlive the media it was made on!!
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