Alan Parsons Project
A Valid Path

LA RECENSIONE

The surreal electronics of Alan Parsons.

With this album, he wins the partnership with modern forms of electronic sound. Through algorithmic manipulation in search of a new union between his 70s-made progressive rock and new techno-organic rhythms, opening up different horizons for psychedelia.

“Return to Tunguska” is a masterpiece in this sense. An introductory track with a typically Parsons structure and Pink Floyd style. Almost a tribute, considering the lead guitar is David Gilmour. Eight minutes of sonic suspension that truly immerse you in the Siberian forest.

For "A Valid Path", Parsons rents authors and bands from the electronic music world and composes each song with them, achieving different results but creating an almost perfectly intact amalgam... a truly valid path. Electronics serve as the platform where Parsons has managed to balance the ingredients of his music, obtaining the recipe of "A Valid Path".

The best pieces, in my opinion, are the already praised “Return to Tunguska”, “We Play the Game” (a typical Parsons piece reminiscent of old tracks from I Robot and company), “Tijuaniac” and “L’Arc en Ciel” (instrumentals, splendidly successful in their sound research). They are followed by “You Can Run” and the concluding “Chomolungma”. Less impactful but still pleasant is the self-referentialism of “A Recurring Dream Within a Dream”. Decidedly club-like yet engaging is the remake of “Mammagamma”. Note: Particularly in “Mammagamma 03” and “Chomolungma”, Parsons' son participated, who surely enjoys being a DJ in this genre of music.

The only discordant note: “More Lost Without You”, a track that fits this album like a cabbage at a wedding, skipped over for its tackiness reminiscent of a summer hit. But I simply pretend it isn't there, and the rest of the album shines with a life of its own that reveals itself even at the first listen and becomes a certainty by the second. One of the best recent albums by classic authors, made of rediscovered creativity and a new experimental spirit.