Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Padua / Gran Teatro Geox / Italy
Concert date: 26.03.2015
Attendance: 4000
The Gran Teatro Geox hall in Padua (Italy) hosted a show by the legendary musician, producer and sound engineer Alan Parsons and his superb backing band this time around, an event that fans of perfectly arranged art rock simply couldn’t afford to miss. A chance to hear Alan’s immortal hits like “Eye In The Sky”, “Don’t Answer Me”, “Prime Time”, “I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You”, “Limelight”, “Time” and other masterpieces live again doesn’t come along every day, so it was no surprise that the Gran Teatro Geox hall was almost sold out. Italians, along with the Poles, are one of the few European nations that still adore all kinds of progressive rock even in modern times, and they usually never disappoint when it comes to turnout at this kind of concert.
Alan, who was joined on stage by seven more musicians, once again presented some of the biggest classics from the era of the cult band The Alan Parsons Project, which he led in his younger days together with the late Scottish singer and songwriter Eric Woolfson. Since our last meeting, Alan’s backing lineup has changed slightly: Parsons’ usual keyboardist Tom Brooks was replaced this time by his “understudy” Manny Foccarazzo, while the band picked up an additional guitarist/backing vocalist, Dan Tracey. The most fascinating thing about Alan’s band is that absolutely every member, led by main vocalist B. J. Olsson, is a proper singer, so over the course of the evening five different vocalists swapped places across the various songs: Olsson, Tracey, lead guitarist Alastair Greene, saxophonist/vocalist Todd Cooper and, of course, maestro Parsons, who once again proved himself on both of his biggest hits. Even drummer Danny Thimpson, who worked his tail off all night, helped out on the mic, while bassist Guy Erez also diligently took care of the incredibly rich backing vocal harmonies.
Alan’s crew opened their ambitious set, which besides The Alan Parsons Project standards also featured one brand-new solo song called “Do You Live At All”, with “Eve” (1979) instrumental “Luciferama”. That was followed by “Damned If I Do”, another fan favorite from the same album, which, mostly thanks to Olsson’s passionate vocal performance, filled the hall with energy. And that was just the start of the show! Judging by his outfit, complete with the obligatory scarf, maestro Parsons looked a bit like a shepherd from the Šar Mountains this time, while year after year he looks more and more like the legendary Yugoslav film actor Pavle Vujisić. In his usual fashion he stood roughly in the middle of the stage, in front of a synthesizer and with a guitar slung over his shoulder, so we got to see no fewer than three guitarists on stage that evening. Among them, the “show” was definitely “stolen” by Alastair Greene, an outstanding guitar virtuoso who is also great as a lead singer, which he demonstrated on the classics “I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You” and “Prime Time”.
Mr. Parsons took the lead vocals on the famous hit ballad “Don’t Answer Me”, which with its nostalgic chorus once again had the whole audience in its net. Alan dedicated “Days Are Numbers (The Traveller)” to the late Eric Woolfson, which was an extremely lovely gesture on his part, and that performance was also among the most pleasant surprises of the evening. Saxophonist Cooper got his chance to shine on “Breakdown” and “The Raven”, which “flowed” into one another, and he was no less impressive on the always entertaining “Psychobabble”. One of the most moving moments of the night, as expected, was the performance of the ballad “Time” from the unforgettable “The Turn of a Friendly Card” (1980).
That album is still one of Alan’s favorite TAPP achievements to this day, so his band also played a twenty-minute medley of songs that evening, made up of some of the most famous moments from “The Turn of a Friendly Card”. Both “Stereotonomy” (1986) classics, the ballad “Limelight” and the melodic rocker “In The Real World”, were confidently sung by the new, additional guitarist Dan Tracey, who proved to be an excellent addition. After the melancholic “Old and Wise” and the meaningful “What Goes Up”, it was time for the high point of the night. After the cult instrumental “Sirius”, which was further popularized in the nineties by NBA champions Chicago Bulls, came Alan’s biggest hit, “Eye In The Sky”, for which he also invited the audience to the stage, and they enthusiastically helped out with the singing. After indescribable excitement, Alan’s band took a short break and returned to the stage with two energy catalysts in the form of the classics “(The System of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Feather” and “Games People Play”. Unfortunately they didn’t come back out once more that evening, even though at some shows they usually play the deeply moving power ballad “Don’t Let It Show” as a second encore.
Mr. Parsons once again demonstrated flawless sonic perfection and delivered a practically impeccable performance, during which, alongside some of the best-known The Alan Parsons Project standards, we also heard a few lesser-known songs that stirred up nostalgia for the good old days when quality music firmly ruled the airwaves. His band, with phenomenally good sound, as always, was incredibly tight and flawless in the vocal harmonies, and if you really must find at least one shortcoming, it’s Alan’s voice, which has weakened a bit over the years, though that’s pretty normal for his age. For a musician who, back when he was still working with Woolfson, gave his only live performance only in 1990, when The Alan Parsons Project had practically fallen apart, after which he was left with a solo career and concert tours, it’s almost ironic that in his later years he started enjoying playing live. Luckily that’s the case, because this way his evergreens still keep their power “live” too, and maybe Alan’s TAPP and solo legacy will win over a grandchild or two as well, who comes to Alan’s concert accompanied by the generation of listeners that dominated the crowd that evening.
Setlist
1. Luciferama
2. Damned If I Do
3. Don’t Answer Me
4. Breakdown
5. The Raven
6. Time
7. I Wouldn’t Wanna Be Like You
8. Days Are Numbers (The Traveller)
9. Psychobabble
10. The Turn of a Friendly Card (Part One)
11. Snake Eyes
12. The Ace of Swords
13. Nothing Left to Lose
14. The Turn of a Friendly Card (Part Two)
15. Do You Live At All
16. Limelight
17. In the Real World
18. Old and Wise
19. What Goes Up
20. Prime Time
21. Sirius
22. Eye in the Sky
—encore—
23. (The System of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether
24. Games People Play
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