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Rating:
Well, since the other review on DeBaser speaks positively (through metaphors) about this album, I will tell the story of "Ammonia Avenue" from my perspective as a disappointed lover. Yes, because the English group led by the eclectic sound engineer of Pink Floyd was my first musical love, so much so that for a long time, I focused my attention exclusively on them, much like the good mien_mo_man on Rundgren and various amenities.
What shocked me most was the overwhelming influence the Eighties had not only on Parsons but on many other artists from the Seventies scene. So much that I concluded, after a long chain of mental musings, that today's musical decline is nothing more than a continuation (and sometimes a reimagining) of that decade. If you think about it, "studio" production was born in the Eighties, during which technology reached its peak; as well as the purely "commercial" approach (see Mtv) and a progressive massification of culture. Whether we like it or not, this isn't a personal judgment, but a sociological thought, because in fact, in my opinion, today we're more or less (for the worse) like twenty years ago.
And the thing that saddened me the most was precisely the APP's shift towards Eighties sounds. After loving the esotericism of "Tales," the science fiction of "I Robot," the rock-orchestral orgy of "Turn of a Friendly Card," the best-selling LPs instead draw on the schematics of the English pop of the time. Thus, what emerges is compositional fatigue, if not coldness, as well as a "plasticized" approach that obviously made me wince. Except for "Pipeline," an excellent instrumental piece that nevertheless reveals itself a bit cold, as well as the very poignant title track, the rest of the album seems an attempt to speculate after the success of "Eye in the Sky," hastily. The melody of "Don't Answer Me" makes one yawn; the American FM rock of "Let Me Go Home" seems like a fish out of water to me; the other tracks result bland, uninspired, leaving no mark. And above all, instrumental imagination is sacrificed in place of anonymous electronic drums and well-calibrated, but icy, synths.
Then it must have been like this: the incredible success of the previous record leaves them stunned, and they decide to set aside the original solutions of previous years to strike while the iron is hot. What results isn't a properly "bad" album, but it seems the group has to compose and play something that doesn't belong to them unwillingly: they therefore come to terms with the market, giving up their very particular style.
I'm a disappointed lover. Because I would have preferred to listen to more suites filled with mystery, funk-prog pieces, classic arrangements, and futuristic instrumentals. What a shame. Even though this review will probably not grab your attention (who cares about a harmless album from '84), I take this opportunity to discourage this album to anyone wanting to approach the Alan Parsons Project. And especially to counter the enchanted atmosphere (rightly so) of Pibroch's review.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
05 Don't Answer Me (04:12)
(Eric Woolfson - Lead Vocal)
(Alan Parsons/Eric Woolfson)
If you believe in
The power of magic
I can change your mind
And if you need to
Believe in someone
Turn and look behind
When we were living
In a dream world
Clouds got in the way
We gave it up in
A moment of madness
And threw it all away
Don't answer me
Don't break the silence
Don't let me win
Don't answer me
Stay on your island
Don't let me in
Run away and
Hide from everyone
Can you change the things
We've said and done?
If you believe in
The power of magic
It's all a fantasy
So if you need to
Believe in someone
Just pretend it's me
It ain't enough that
We meet as strangers
I can't set you free
So will you turn your back forever
On what you mean to me?
Don't answer me
Don't break the silence
Don't let me win
Don't answer me
Stay on your island
Don't let me in
Run away and
Hide from everyone
Can you change the things
We've said and done?
Don't answer me
Don't break the silence
Don't let me win
Don't answer me
Stay on your island
Don't let me in
Run away and
Hide from everyone
Don't answer me
Don't break the silence
Don't let me win
Don't answer me
Stay on your island
Don't let me in
Can you change the things
We've said and done?
Don't answer me
Don't break the silence
Don't let me win
Don't answer me
Stay on your island
Don't let me in
07 You Don't Believe (04:27)
(Lenny Zakatek - Lead Vocal)
My eyes with your vision
My choice but always your decision
My play with your direction
Well it's my lead but always your connection
When I look into your eyes you don't believe me
I can see it in your eyes you don't believe
My words, your expression
My land, always your possession
My song, your production
My expense is always your deduction
When I look into your eyes you don't believe me
I can see it in your eyes you don't believe
And the face I see before me
Is both sides of a mirror
You really know you've got a hold on me
And the face you're looking into
Is both sides of a window
And any way you look you see through me
My fame, your reflection
My weakness always your protection
Well it's my terms on your conditions
And they're my tunes but they're your compositions
When I look into your eyes you don't believe me
I can see it in your eyes you don't believe
09 Ammonia Avenue (06:33)
(Eric Woolfson - Lead Vocal)
Is there no sign of light as we stand in the darkness?
Watching the sun arise
Is there no sign of life as we gaze at the waters?
Into the strangers eyes
And who are we to criticize or scorn the things that they do?
For we shall seek and we shall find Ammonia Avenue
If we call for the proof and we question the answers
Only the doubt will grow
Are we blind to the truth or a sign to believe in?
Only the wise will know
And word by word they handed down the light that shines today
And those who came at first to scoff, remained behind to pray
Yes those who came at first to scoff, remained behind to pray
When you can't hear the rhyme and you can't see the reason
Why should the hope remain?
For a man will be tired and his soul will grow weary
Living his life in vain
And who are we to justify the right in all we do?
Until we seek until we find Ammonia Avenue
Through all the doubt somehow they knew
And stone by stone they built it high
Until the sun broke through
A ray of hope, a shining light Ammonia Avenue
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Other reviews
By Pibroch
"Maybe it’s not really my night, after all. Because people are always the same, they never change."
"Despite all the doubts, someone of them knew and, stone by stone, they built it, high. A ray of hope."
