pop rock

Record #675: Jars of Clay – Much Afraid (1997)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

Let’s get one thing straight right out of the gate: I love this album. Wholly, completely, and without irony.

It’s not just a nostalgia thing either: despite Jars of Clay’s mainstream success in the mid 90s, I didn’t get into them until a decade later (when I stole all of my mom’s JoC CDs after graduating high school). Even after getting into more respectable music, I’ve always loved Jars of Clay. They’re not just good for a CCM band—they’re good period.

And even in the midst of a long and consistent career and in the shadow of a widely celebrated debut, I think their sophomore release, Much Afraid, has always been my favorite.

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Record #670: Fleetwood Mac – Tango in the Night (1987)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

After the manic scattershot of Tusk, Fleetwood Mac pulled hard to the center with 1982’s Mirage, a pleasant enough record that I remember being a bit dull (though I’m overdue a relisten).

After a five year break, they returned with Tango In the Night, an album that combines their winning popcraft with Lindsey Buckingham’s more esoteric tendencies in a way that feels like they’re actually in concert with eachother.

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Record #664: Electric Light Orchestra – TIME (1981)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

The 1980s saw a lot of rock and roll stalwarts trading in their electric guitars and drum sets for synthesizers and drum machines. Not even hair metal heroes like Van Halen were safe from the new wave revolution.

Even so, it stung a little harder when Electric Light Orchestra traded in their strings and horns for analog synthesizers.

However, it’d sting a whole lot more if the songs weren’t so damn catchy.

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Record #661 – The Alan Parsons Project – Gaudi (1987)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

Until recently, I had held the narrative that the Alan Parsons Project began as a wonderfully ambitious progressive rock outfit that shifted their sites on middle of the road pop rock as their career went on.

If nothing else, acquiring their entirely discography recently completely demolished that narrative. Chiefly, their tenth and final record Gaudi, which might be one of the most ambitious records of their career.

Read more at ayearofvinyl.com #alanparsonsproject #progressiverock #progrock #poprock #symphonicrock #vinyl

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Record #660: The Alan Parsons Project – Stereotomy (1985)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald / 1 Comment

The deeper I get into The Alan Parson’s Project’s later discography, the more I expect each record to disappoint me. For years, the narrative in my head had been that APP peaked hard with The Eye In the Sky and went downhill fast.

When I put Stereotomy onto my turntable, I expected the bouncing metallic synths to finally signal the Project’s downfall into uninspired new wave pastiche. But to my surprise (and delight), what followed was a record that retained the sophistication of the collective’s finest work while adding more electronic elements to their palette.

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Record #659: The Alan Parsons Project – Vulture Culture (1984)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

After The Eye in the Sky, Alan Parsons Project originally intended to release a double album as a follow up. Instead, they split the project into two records: Ammonia Avenue and Vulture Culture, released ten months apart in 1984.

Like its twin, Vulture Culture is another underrated gem, showcasing the Project’s effortless blend of progressive composition and infectious pop hooks.

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Record #658: The Alan Parsons Project – Ammonia Avenue (1984)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

For the last decade or so, my understanding of the Alan Parsons Project’s discography was that the collective started strong with two prog rock masterpieces, had a couple uninspired albums in the middle, then had a return to form before dropping the magnificent The Eye In the Sky and hanging up the project.

But after a friend acquired several boxes of (mostly sealed) LPs and dropped them on me to take my pick of, I have since learned that they released four records after what I thought was their swan song. Ammonia Avenue, the first record after Eye, hits more than it misses, even if it’s still overshadowed by the record before it.

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Record #657: The Alan Parsons Project – Eve (1979)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

I’ve been a die hard Alan Parsons Project for years. I Robot was one of the first records I purchased, and remains one of my favorites of that era. But as long as I’ve been collecting, I’ve passed up more copies of this record than I have total records in my collection.

The consistent low ratings I’ve seen in comparison to other records in the APP discography—as well as the album art, which was a rare miss by Hipgnosis—assured me there was nothing to miss.

But listening to it now, I realize that even at their worst, the Alan Parsons Project is still more inventive and infectious than most of their peers.

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