Artist: Alan Parsons Project, The
Label: Arista Records
Release: 1985
Length: 41.58
Rating: 4/5
“Stereotomy” was the second-to-last studio album from the British art rock phenomenon The Alan Parsons Project, who had turned into a worldwide pop rock attraction in the early eighties. You could say this record marked the beginning of the end for the legendary band. Even though it came out the same year as its predecessor “Vulture Cuture” (1985), which was pretty popular on the radio back then, it signaled the fading of their big commercial success and the band’s inevitable breakup. That was almost certainly down to the fact that the two TAPP chiefs and founders, producer and occasional keyboardist Alan Parsons and singer and keyboardist Eric Woolfson, decided after their most commercial record to partly return to their progressive rock roots, with the help of eighties tech, of course.
Two of the songs on the album even ran longer than seven minutes, which was undoubtedly an unusual move for a band that had made its name in the eighties as a maker of big radio hits. This time the production got a touch harder, the synth textures were less glossy than usual, and the classic rock side, built on expressive guitar phrases, came through a bit more. The philharmonic orchestra led by Andrew Powell is barely noticeable this time, but where it gets its chance, it really delivers. Woolfson’s love ballads were nowhere to be found, and his vocal contribution was just a taste, which surely didn’t sit well with the wider public and most hit-hungry radio stations. It’s a bit ironic that “Stereotomy” was a better album than its predecessor musically, yet noticeably less successful commercially.
The album’s title and concept this time came from a classic work by Edgar Allan Poe, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, where the word stereotomy described images put together from different patterns. It’s a metaphor for how various famous people (musicians, actors, etc.) use ‘masks’ to shape their public image, depending on the latest trends.
The title track is a hugely successful art rock trampoline, where the band plays equally with electronic percussion, ambient synth backdrops and potent guitar phrases, watched over by the energetic vocals of longtime collaborator John Miles. Woolfson’s backing vocals create a fine contrast. “Bejaoulis,” with Chris Rainbow (ex-Camel, Runrig) as lead singer, is the least successful piece on the album. It’s actually a bit boring, since it’s slightly too heavy on eighties anachronisms, like the repetitive, synthetic rhythm line, and the backing vocal lines aren’t all that thrilling this time either.
All the more successful for TAPP is the instrumental “Urbania,” which surely ranks among the best instrumentals in their history. The balance between the subtle guitar passages from Ian Bairnson and the ambient synth textures is nicely struck and leans on rhythms lively enough that the composition still sounds interesting today. A saxophone adds a bit of jazzy charm too. It’s no surprise that “Limelight” is one of the most beautiful TAPP ballads, and the main credit goes to guest vocalist, the legendary Gary Brooker (Procol Harum). He was more than an excellent stand-in for the absent Colin Blunstone (ex-Zombies, Argent) this time around.
The AOR anthem “In The Real World” is one of the few songs on the album with real commercial potential. When TAPP sail into more rocking waters, John Miles’ voice fits remarkably well alongside Bairnson’s guitar mastery. “Where’s The Walrus” is an instrumental of more than seven minutes, where the keyboardists, helped by energetic guitar passages and saxophone, get the chance to build an ambient grandeur that at moments sounds almost like the backing for a film or documentary. The rhythmic pulse of the track slightly recalls “Welcome To Pleasure Dome” by the then hyper-popular Frankie Goes To Hollywood. This vivid composition even earned the band a Grammy nomination in 1987 for best rock instrumental performance with an orchestra.
The power ballad “Light Of The World” is without a doubt the best, central piece of the album, and this time the main credit goes to the phenomenal Graham Dye (Scarlet Party), whose voice color is strongly reminiscent of the legendary John Lennon. The gentle, piano-built melody weaves together beautifully with the dramatic chorus, while mighty symphonic arrangements and layered harmonies underline the all-around grandeur of this timeless classic. At the end of the album come two more instrumentals, each about a minute long: “Chinese Whispers” and “Stereotomy Two,” where the central motif of the title track returns once more. This slightly boosts the album’s conceptual side, which is otherwise most emphasized through the unusual cover.
On “Stereotomy,” The Alan Parsons Project suddenly gave up the hunt for radio hits and partly returned to their roots. The end result was one of their most overlooked records, and its true value only became clear many years later. “Stereotomy” has no big hits, but it’s one of the most spirited and varied records in the story of these art rock giants, who didn’t originally set out as collectors of radio hits. After the release of “Stereotomy,” Parsons and Woolfson had to come to terms with the fact that their band’s name was slowly vanishing from the best-selling and most-played charts, but somehow they found enough strength and solidarity to make two more very solid joint studio projects before the end of the eighties.
Lineup
Eric Woolfson – piano, keyboards and backing vocals
Alan Parsons – keyboards
David Paton – bass guitar
Stuart Elliott – drums and percussion
Ian Bairnson – guitar
Richard “Trix” Cottle – synthesizer and saxophone
Gary Brooker – vocals
John Miles – vocals
Chris Rainbow – vocals
Steve Dye – vocals
Andrew Powell and the London Philharmonic Orchestra
Production
Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson
Track list
1. Stereotomy (7:15)
2. Beaujolais (4:27)
3. Urbania (4:34)
4. Limelight (4:39)
5. In The Real World (4:17)
6. Where’s The Walrus? (7:34)
7. Light Of The World (6:22)
8. Chinese Whispers (1:02)
9. Stereotomy Two (1:18)
