The Alan Parsons Project: PYR_A_MID CD Track Listing

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The Alan Parsons Project PYR_A_MID (1978)
Pyramid (German Pressing)\n\nOriginally Released June 1978\nCD Edition Released 1987 ??\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Even with six different vocalists lending their talents to the album, Pyramid still remains an average bit of material from the Alan Parsons Project. Not only does the album's theme evolve around the mystique of the pyramid, but it also touches on man's fascination with superstition and its powers. The instrumental "Voyager" opens things up, and its provocative style sets the tone for the album's supernatural mood. The bright-sounding "What Goes Up" is one of the highlights here, as is "The Eagle Will Rise Again," sung by Colin Blunstone. The anxiety-ridden "Pyramania" enhances the album's concept the best, accompanied by some excitable keyboard playing and a friendly middle. The lesson-learning "Can't Take It With You" teaches that our souls are our most important asset, in typical Parsons-type charm. While not a stellar album, Pyramid completes the task of musically explaining its concept. Its short but slightly compelling nature grows after a few listens, but the album itself isn't a necessity. -- Mike DeGagne\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nGood British symphonic pop that is heading in a poppier direction , May 6, 2006\nReviewer: Jeffrey J.Park (Massachusetts, USA)\nReleased in 1978, the Pyramid album more or less follows the formula of the very good I Robot album (1977), although it does not seem quite as inspired - to me at any rate. There are however, some very nice and heavily orchestrated pop songs and atmospheric synthesizer pieces that make this a very listenable and enjoyable album. Conceptually, the album (and I quote from the liner notes) "seeks to amplify the haunting echoes of the past and explore the unsolved mysteries of the present" - hence, the Pyramid theme. The musicians on Pyramid include Alan Parsons (acoustic guitar); David Paton (bass guitar and acoustic guitar); Stuart Elliott (drums); Ian Bairnson (electric and acoustic guitars); and Eric Woolfson (synthesizers and additional vocals). The vocalists (and there are several, including Colin Blunstone) are pretty good and their voices work well with the track they were selected for. With respect to the orchestration, string and brass parts are scattered across the album, in addition to passages that feature a choir. Both the orchestra and the choir were directed by Andrew Powell. Finally, although there are saxophone parts on the album, they are not credited. The nine tracks on the album are in the 2-6 minute range and alternate atmospheric and interesting instrumentals (Voyager, Hyper Gamma Spaces, and In the Lap of the Gods), with some very well-written and heavily orchestrated pop songs. Of the nine tracks, Pyramania is the weakest (it is "quirky" in a contrived new-wave manner) and contributes absolutely nothing to the recording, although it does not reduce the overall quality. Alan Parsons not only produced this album, but engineered extremely well-recorded albums including two by Pink Floyd (Atom Heart Mother (1970) and Dark Side of the Moon (1973)) and as such, the recording quality of this album is very high. All in all, this is a good album of British symphonic pop and is recommended along with Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1976) and I Robot (1977). This trilogy of albums comprises the most interesting music the entire late 1970's British symphonic pop genre had to offer. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nPyramid Still Stands !!!!!, June 22, 2004\nReviewer: Nigel "Tom Miller" (Indiana)\nOver the years this has become my favorite album of Alan Parsons!!! The only problem is its under 40 minutes long !!! Heres something somebody pointed out to me on the song Can't Take It With You hear the backing vocals singing One More River!!! From the opening track to the finish just sit back and enjoy a truly great album it doesn't get better than this !!!!\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nDisappointing..., August 13, 2003\nReviewer: A music fan\nI really don't understand the 5-star reviews on this album! It has none of the almost "mystic" yet dynamic feel of the "Tales..." album, and lacks any superb tracks such as the ones found on "I Robot". Furthermore, it seems that the APP here tries to get kinda Beatle-esque but failing to a great extent. I hope that this is not what the Beatles would have degenerated to had they continued recording into the 70s! The music sounds too pseudo-romantic and more appropriate for teenage girls of the late 70s to early 80s. The only tracks worth anything here are "In the lap of the Gods" and the album opener "Voyager". The rest are musically (but not lyrically) boring filler material and can be easily thrown away in a trash basket. For anyone wishing to find out about the genious of Alan Parsons, please do yourself a favor and get "Tales of Mystery..." and the "I Robot" albums which are far superior to "Pyramid".\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nA Little Pyramid Power, July 22, 2003\nReviewer: Alan Caylow (USA)\nThe Alan Parsons Project's third album, 1978's "Pyramid," is a heavenly delight. With a theme of mysticism, and once again spearheaded by Alan Parsons & his partner Eric Woolfson, this album is progressive pop/rock at it's very best. Dreamy, melodic songs are littered all over this one: the classic prog-pop instrumentals "Voyager," "In The Lap Of The Gods," & "Hyper-Gamma Spaces," the powerful "What Goes Up," the beautiful "The Eagle Will Rise Again," the great rockers "One More River" and the stunning "Can't Take It With You," the deliciously quirky "Pyramania," and the gorgeous finale, "Shadow Of A Lonely Man." Outstanding songwriting, production & performances, great orchestrations by Andrew Powell (can't have a Project album without him!), and great vocals throughout by the likes of Colin Blunstone, David Paton, Lenny Zakatek, John Miles, and others. With "Pyramid," the Alan Parsons Project deliver another terrific disc.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\n"If all things must fall ...why build a Pryamid at all ? ", December 6, 2002\nReviewer: ADK (Royal Oak, Mi. United States)\nPyramid is nothing short of a masterpiece. \nBut the Egyptian overtones and pyramid motif is just a surface, a tangible stage set, if you will. What this album really seems to be about, lyricaly and intellectualy, is man and his quest for eternal life and coming to grips (or not) with one's own inevitable mortality. Just look at the song titles... "In the lap of the Gods", "Can't take it with you", "The Eagle will rise again" "One more river" you get the idea. \nHammer dulcimers, timpanis, Egyptian flutes, a heavy choir, and other exotic instruments blend with rock instrumentation and the result is one of the greatest recording projects ever captured on tape. Recorded at Alan's home away from home, EMI Abbey Road studios London, it sounds like is was recorded in and around the pyramids with echo, atmosphere and grandiosity. \nColin Blunstone's sole vocal contribution on "Eagle will rise" is beautiful, un forced and sorrowful beyond description. One of the greatest vocal performances ever, to my ears. \nThe instrumental "In the lap of the Gods" is bold, dynamic, exotic, powerful and damn near overwhelming...Wow! turn up and test your audio system's abilities with that one my friend. \nPyramid is a complete (theme) album and I prefer to listen to it it's entirety from start to finish when possible. \n\nPyramid is like buried, forgotten (Egyptian) treasure. I bought the original vinyl album on a gamble as a curious teenager on it's first release back in 1978. Good move. I've never come across Pyramid in anyone else's record/cd collection since then(?) \nMost people are duly impressed and curious when I slyly slip it into the car/home stereo. Personaly I never tire of hearing Pryamid and never will. \nEven the un-remastered CD sounds incredible. \nOne of the greatest recordings of all time. A desert island disc without question. \n\n"If all things must pass even a Pyramid won't last"\n\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nWorthy followup to I Robot, August 19, 2002\nReviewer: BENJAMIN MILER (Eugene, OR United States)\nI was five years old in 1978 when Pyramid came out. I can still remember songs like "Can't Take It With You" and "Pyramania" being played on the radio of my dad's Volkswagen Microbus he had at that time. Flash forward to 1984 and he buys The Best of the Alan Parsons Project, and on there were the two songs. But I wanted to get the original album those songs originally came off, and eventually I got this album, Pyramid. Well, I have to say, unsurprisingly, this album is just one notch below I Robot, but this still remains a rather consistent offereing of great tunes. Excellent orchestrated progressive pop with goodies like the instrumental "Voyage", "What Goes Up", "The Eagle Will Rise Again", another instrumental, "In the Lap of the Gods" (with a strong Egyptian bent to the music), and the electronic "Hyper Gamma Spaces". I have always liked "Can't Take It With You", even when I was 5 and knew nothing about music, but I thought the lyrics to "Pyramania" was rather silly, about pyramid obsession. That song is basically a short pop song. This album is quite good, but if you're new to the Alan Parsons Project, try I Robot first.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nUnderrated great album, sounds better now than in '78, August 11, 2002\nReviewer: Jerry Fry (Freeman, MO USA)\nThe only complaint I have about Pyramid is that it's only 38 minutes long. Alan Parsons became my favorite group (if you could call them a group) after Pyramid. I bought the record album about a month after it was released in 1978. I thought it sounded good then. I listened to it on CD 20 years later on a lot better stereo and now think it is great. I bought Parsons records as soon as they came out. Starting with "Tales" through "Gaudi". They all sound good, and I know that many Parsons listeners won't agree but I think Pyramid sounds the best. His first three albums I think stand out from the ones that followed in their uniqueness. Pyramid has a remarkable beginning and takes you through an experience. "In the Lap of the Gods" is a song that sounds incredible at high volume. "One More River" and "Can't Take it With You" have related choruses and "Hyper-Gamma-Spaces" gives you a space rock feeling. The lyrics are thought provoking. This record has aged well, it doesn't have a "70's" sound. It can't be associated with any decade. Alot of thought and effort went into Pyramid, its one of the best albums I've ever heard.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\n"Immaculate", January 21, 2001\nReviewer: Jon "tesura" (BC, Canada)\nDefinitely at the top of the APP concept album pyramid (pun intended), nothing but praise can be said for the album. It is indeed immaculate. The actual compositions themselves are some of the most intricate ones that Alan has ever devised, case in point "Voyager/What Goes Up..." "In The Lap of the Gods" remains one of the most diverse ochestral productions Andrew Powell has put togther, beginning with a religious ceremony until culminating with a massive horn driven march of sorts. "Hyper-Gamma Spaces" is also up there for being both simple and effective. Colin Blunstone's deep voice and some excellent guitarwork by Ian Bairnson make "The Eagle Will Rise Again" an APP classic. There are some albums where one could say that a few tracks seemed out of place or could have been omitted entirely; definetely not the case with Pyramid.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nAnother winner from Alan Parsons!, September 23, 2000\nReviewer: Jeffery K. Matheus (Indianapolis, IN United States)\nThe Alan Parsons Project's "Pyramid" is one of those magical albums that just keeps finding its way back into my CD player! I have had this CD since 1987, and still get the "craving" to hear it on a regular basis. This is just one of those albums with a perfect "flow", where every track just blends together to create a complete musical picture of the artist. But the songs on "Pyramid" will also stand up well on their own. Tracks like "What Goes Up", "Shadow of a Lonely Man", "Can't Take it With You", and "One More River" will stick with you long after the album has finished playing. "The Eagle Will Rise Again" - with its lush production and light airy vocals from The Zombies' Colin Blunstone - is certainly one of Parsons finest moments ever. I would rate "Pyramid" right alongside Parsons finest works, such as "Gaudi", "Eye In the Sky", "Try Anything Once" and "On Air". There are not as many straight-out "rock-n-roll" songs here as you would find on most other Parsons albums, the music on "Pyramid" is definitely a bit more on the "orchestral rock" side, with its occassional string inturledes, and subtle-symphonic accompanyment. I think that this album would have a great appeal to fans of British "art rock" bands like The Moody Blues and Barclay James Harvest, it certainly has many of the same musical strong points. As you would expect from one of rocks most important record producers, this album is sonically (as well as musically) excellent, and the CD format only enhances its clarity. It sounds like Parsons had a grip a that clean "90's" production sound all the way back in 1979! Also, in the same way that Parsons incorperated some influences of Spanish-music into 1987's "Gaudi", here he plays on the influence of Eastern music on a handful of tracks. This is an album not to be missed! Take the "voyage", discover the genius of Alan Parsons!\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nPyrimads and pyramidism anyone?, July 7, 1999\nReviewer: A music fan\nThis is the third album by APP. The theme seems to be derived from the new age popularization of pyramids and their possible connections to the unusual and unexplained visions and works of the ancients. Following on the heels of "Tales of Mystery and Imagination" and "I Robot" this album turns to a more steady use of electronics woven throughout the album. There are upbeat and smooth tones. My favorite track is probably "Shadow of a Lonely Man" though the instrumentals are also quite good. This CD is well worth a listen.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nSymphonic Rock By The Early Master, July 11, 1998\nReviewer: Juergen Voss (vjoss@esoterica.pt) (Portugal)\nThe third record after "Tales of Mystery And Imagination" and "I Robot", this collection of songs in my eyes and ears represents the very essence of the music from the Alan Parsons Project.\nWhat the two preceding albums had already hinted at, rises to unparalleled heights on this compilation. From meditative music to rocking smashers, from lyric ballads to weird concepts -- all the magic and mystery of the ageless wonder of the pyramids is spanned in the variety and the perfection of the songs found here. In my regard, the previous albums were tentative steps in some directions: what can be done, what should be done and how. Now this record takes it all in its stride, featuring some of the finest arrangements alongside with a variety of singers and musicians. All those tracks, mastered to perfection by Alan Parsons himself, blend together into a unique sound canvas that can only be described as making love to your ears, any which way you like it. Although they tried, I think the Project never managed to do better than this. Highly recommended.\n\n\nHalf.com Details \nProducer: Alan Parsons \n\nAlbum Notes\nThe Alan Parsons Project: Alan Parsons (guitar); David Paton (vocals, acoustic guitar, bass); Colin Blunstone, Dean Ford, Lenny Zakatek, Jack Harris, John Miles (vocals); Ian Bairnson (guitar); Eric Woolfson, Duncan McKay (keyboards); Stuart Elliott (drums, percussion).\n\nRecorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, England.\n\n\nROLLING STONE REVIEW\nLacking the wit and melodic appeal of last year's surprisingly successful I Robot, the Alan Parsons Project's third studio-rock oratorio is a hollow disappointment. Where I Robot was constructed on a nifty riddle--it's cinematic space rock flaunted the technology its scenario cautioned against--Pyramid uses the mystery of the pyramids as a jumping-off point for some bombastic musings on the vanity of human wishes and the passing of all things. Producer Parsons' aural style remains impressively three-dimensional, but given musical themes this trite and lyrics this sententious ("And the days of my life are but grains of sand/As they fall from your open hand"), the results frequently echo the kitsch soundtracks of Fifties Hollywood Biblical epics.\n\nThe album's one lively moment, "Pyramania," spoofs the recent pyramid fad in a mechanized post-Beatles style. Which suggests that the creators of Pyramid--Alan Parsons, writer Eric Woolfson and arranger Andrew Powell--simply chose the pyramid theme because it sounded like a commercial "head" subject, not because it particularly fascinated them. (RS 271 -- Aug 10, 1978) -- STEPHEN HOLDEN YEAR: 1978
This rock cd contains 9 tracks and runs 37min 50sec.
Freedb: 7808dc09
Buy: from Amazon.com

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