The Time Machine
Alan Parsons
Horipro Records (Japan), 1999
REVIEW BY: Duke Egbert
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 08/20/1999
It's always fun to see an artist experiment. Sometimes it fallsflat, sometimes it works, but knowing that someone is going outsidethe envelope of their past work is worth a few bonus points in mybook. Alan Parsons' post-Project career has been a lot ofexperimentation. Some of it worked, some of it didn't, but it's allbeen different, varied, daring, while still keeping the layeredsound that his production is known for. His new CD, The Time Machine, is no different.
Once again, the central core of Parsons' post-Project workremains the same. Guitarist Ian Bairnson and drummer Stuart Elliothave been with Parsons since the mid '70s. Bassist John Giblin andvocalist Neil Lockwood return for their second go-round. In apleasant surprise, former Project vocalists Colin Blunstone andChris Rainbow return after many years' absence. The vocalist corpsis rounded out by Parsons semi-regular Graham Dye, and three newguest vocalists, all of whom are an interesting variance fromParsons' normal sound: Tony Hadley, formerly of Spandau Ballet,English singer-songwriter Beverly Craven, and in a very strangetwist, Maire Brennan, formerly of Clannad.
Needless to say, this is a departure for Parsons. But it works; it may work, infact, better than anything he's done since the 1987 breakup of theProject. Brennan's vocal work on "Call Of The Wild" is delicate,breathy, and the full undertones of her ethereal voice are broughtout by Parsons' production. Tony Hadley slides into the Parsonssound as easy as if he'd been bred for it on "Out Of The Blue," andCraven's "The Very Last Time" is minimally produced and arranged,with brilliant piano by new keyboardist Robyn Smith. Craven's voiceis not at all what you expect on a Parsons CD; it's bluesy,expressive, and the song itself is acoustic. It's a long way from"Sirius/Eye In The Sky", but it works.
The regulars respond as well. In the instrumental department,"H.G. Force Part I & II" is a brilliant piece of work, theJarre-like synthesizer and drums sandwiching the album neatly."Rubber Universe" may be the catchiest vocal-free piece on aParsons CD since "Hawkeye" on 1985's Vulture Culture. Both of these show the excellent writingability of Bairnson and Elliot, performers who are heavilyunderappreciated both as composers and as guitarist and drummer.(Ian Bairnson, for example, got bored a few years ago, so helearned how to play saxophone -- well enough he provides all thesax lines on this CD. This is what the guy does when he's bored.)
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