I guess we all have our own inner geeks. There is some or other passion we all hold about which we can "geek" out. I've a few, but none as strong as my love of the music of The Alan Parsons Project. I grew up a Beatles freak (I'm sure you either know or ARE the type), but that is something I share with a couple hundred million other folks seemingly. I've met dozens of people who could either match my Beatles fandom or could surpass it easily. It's a large brotherhood.
Project fans are a far rarer species. ("We few...we happy few.") So it was a great joy for me to discover that the entire Alan Parsons Project was to be re-released in completely remastered versions with bonus tracks. The drooling started almost immediately, and probably won't cease until my greedy hands are wrapped around the last of the releases.
The first one to make its way into my CD player is the 1985 release Vulture Culture. There are two reasons why I put the money down for this disc first. For starters, it will not be issued here in the states at all so, if I wanted it I had to get it as an import. In such cases I've learned to strike while the iron is hot. The second reason is Vulture Culture has always been a favorite of mine. This may be me in a distinct minority of Project fans...or maybe it doesn't...I've met too few to be certain. But I know that fans of Progressive Rock do not like this album, and I can certainly see why. Whatever it is, it is not a prog album in any way shape or form. However, that was never a deal breaker for me. I cut my teeth as a Beatles fan, so I don't think "pop" albums are necessarily bad things.
I've always considered Vulture Culture to be The Alan Parsons Project's Pet Sounds, in the way that sound is layered on in the studio to wonderful effect. In fact, more than any other Project album Vulture Culture improves when listened to with a good pair of headphones. Much of the Project's music here is predicated upon small variations in instrumentation and percussion, and there is no better way to pick up upon the little moments than taking it in "up close." Vulture Culture also forgoes the Project's usual use of full orchestration to provide that lush sound they are famous for. On this album Parsons opts for a layering of synths to provide depth, and the sound he provides is still lush but in a different way. The remastering does a superior job of giving back some of the warmth to the drum sound from the original vinyl that was missing on the standard CD version. The album also echoes the Beach Boys in its layering of vocals, and its use of things like sleigh bells.
In he liner notes in the re-release Eric Woolfson (Project songwriter, and vocalist/keyboards) writes, "The essence of the Vulture Culture album for me was a comment on the economic harshness of Western society...," and while that is certainly the theme of the title track, it seems to me that the theme of alienation is the one flowing through most of the songs. Alienation in the personal relationships between two people figure prominently in three tracks, "Let's Talk About Me," "Separate Lives," and "Sooner or Later." Alienation between the individual and the larger society figures in two tracks, the bleak dog-eat-dog economic world of "Vulture Culture" and the turning away from a connection to place in the song "Days are Numbers (The Traveller)." "Somebody Out There" turns the sense on alienation inwards as it explores the disconnect between our inner and outer worldly lives. The last track on the album, "The Same Old Sun" seems to tell us that these feelings of alienation are simply the way the world functions but that there is hope.
The protagonist in the song "Let's Talk About Me" sounds incredibly self centered at first sounding.
Let's talk about me for a minute,
how do you think I feel about what's been going on?
Let's talk about me for a minute,
how do you think I feel about what's gone wrong?
Let's talk about you and your problems.
All that I seem to do is spend the night,
just talking 'bout you and your problems.
No matter what I say I can't get it right.
But it becomes clear that this person has been attempting to help the other person. Unfortunately the other person has done nothing but be a complete and utter drag. The song isn't about narcissism, but the futility of trying to help those consumed with their own difficulties. The ties of friendship are not enough to bring the other person around to seeing that their complaining is having a negative affect on someone they are supposed to care about.
Let's talk about what it all means,
if you are a friend of mine.
Let's talk about me, I'm the one who's losing out.
The song itself is quite bouncy, with a staccato piano riff underlying most of the track. David Paton handles the vocals well as his voice is well suited to a complaining tone. It has a narrow, clipped feeling that always sounds vaguely angry, and it is perfect here. Ian Bairnson's guitar has its moments, and a great but too short solo, the emphasis of the song, however, is on vocals and keyboards.
"Separate Lives" is a "pop" song to the nth degree. Synths lay down several layers, while various percussion and other keyboards sounds offer a kind of background commentary throughout the song. (Now would be a good time to crank up those headphones.) The lyric is pretty much what you would expect from a song entitled "Separate Lives."
We live our Separate Lives
and go our different ways
'cause we don't see eye to eye
and we can't see face to face.
We live our Separate Lives
while counting all the days,
'til the two of us arrive
in another time and place
One of the bonus tracks is an alternate mix of this song. it is a bit of an eye opener. In the alternate take the verses sound like they have been culled directly from a Howard Jones song, but the chorus sounds amazing. Unlike the album version, the alternate mix doesn't add backing vocals on the chorus and Eric Woolfson's vocals are brought forward in the mix. The effect is to add a bit more vulnerability to the vocal performance and alter the melody line a bit. It proves to be quite effective.
The ballad "Days Are Number (The Traveller)" while I'm sure it is the bane of all existence for the Prog rock loving folks in the world (who probably hate "Wondrous Stories" as well), is a wonderful piece of ear candy. As is the rule on Vulture Culture, synths play the central role here. Chris Rainbow, who has a wonderful slightly feminine but strong voice, delivers his best vocal performance for The Project here. The lyric is a cautionary tale of someone driven by something (the world, a quest for success, it really isn't specified) that keep them forever unrooted.
The Traveller is always leaving home,
the only kind of life he's ever known.
When every moment seems to be a race against the time,
there's always one more mountain left to climb.
The use of a saxophone solo is the first real break on the album from the pop synthesizer feel. It is a welcome break, and it's lonely sound adds perfectly to the feel of the track.
The next song, "Sooner or Later" continues the theme of alienation in personal relationships. In fact it is an almost kiss off song. I say almost because the protagonist isn't exactly ready to tell his paramour/friend to get lost now, but he is sure it will happen, sooner or later.
Sooner or later, I'll be free to leave the past behind.
Sooner or later, you're gonna be the last thing on my mind.
Little by little, I'm finding out the truth behind your eyes.
Maybe if I don't show, I thought you might like to know,
You're gonna be the last thing on my mind.
Notice, there is a really big "if" floating over all of this. What is being said is "If the day ever comes that I finally leave you, oh, then its over baby." Which, of course, would be so much more convincing if it wasn't all so wishy-washy.
You didn't want to know. I could've told you so.
But the moment I think it's over, the further there is to go
Just a little word. Such an easy way.
But the longer I think about it, the harder it is to say.
So it seems the disconnects are not simply between two people, but within the protagonist as well. He claims he can tell which way the wind is blowing, but it is an open question as to whether he can make the break.
Musically, the song is very straight forward, so straight forward in fact that one could call it a little boring. The only variety is a nice little guitar solo, but as the song is a mid-tempo rocker there is only so much a solo could do to punch it up. Woolfson provides the vocal, and he has a nice touch with these mid-tempo songs (think of his performance on "Eye in the Sky")...but even I can see why this wouldn't be a stand out and grab you sort of track for a lot of folks. I "get" the song and like it very much, but I can see how it misses for others.
This cover "side one" of Vulture Culture, and, yes, I still think of the album in those terms. I'll try to get around to "side two" tomorrow. (Music criticism, even of this ilk, is a lot more involved then it looks.)
On a semi-related note, I'm still working on the first of my Allan Bloom pieces and hope to get that up soon. If posting is a little light, you know why.
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