With the passing of Eric Woolfson, singer and songwriter of the Alan Parsons
Project, it’s hard for me to listen to any APP tunes without a slight skip in
my heart. Since the 90s, however, the group’s namesake and ex-EMI studio engineer
Alan Parsons has been touring the Alan Parsons Project songbook around the world.
The CD and DVD Eye To Eye: Live In Madrid marks the first live
release of this imaginative music.
Opening with a full minute of swirling keys, the instrumental “I Robot”
is a lot funkier than its studio counterpart, “Can’t Take It With You,”
from Pyramid, hits with some solid rock and roll featuring
Godfrey Townsend’s overdriven guitar and vocals from PJ Olsson. “Don’t
Answer Me,” with Parsons on vocals, is one of those songs where you really
miss Woolfson. The same thing goes for “Time.”
But “Psychobabble” is fun, while “I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like
You” works at a slightly slower pace with a great vocal from John Montagna.
Parsons sings “The Eye In The Sky” and manages a good showing, with
a little help from the background singers. “Don’t Let It Show” is
executed splendidly with Olsson’s vocal rivaling the original.
For me, the real treat though is the first encore of “The System Of Dr.
Tarr & Professor Fether,” from the 1976 debut AAP album, Tales
Of Mystery And Imagination. This is more than a rock song; it’s
akin to a Kurtz Weil piece.
Filmed and recorded at the May 14, 2004 show at Playa Mayor in Madrid, Spain,
Eye To Eye: Live In Madrid features some outstanding performances and
the first opportunity to see and hear some of the biggest hits from the Alan
Parsons Project in a live setting. Not a bad thing at all.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
