Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Parsons, Alan
Label: Import
Released: 1996
Length: 49:36
Rating: 4/5
»On Air« was the second album that the legendary musician and producer Alan Parsons made under his own steam. After the end of the incredibly successful saga that was The Alan Parsons Project, he moved into a solo career but picked up right where he’d left off in the late eighties, which means he kept cooking up more or less interesting concept works with great enthusiasm. »On Air«, the follow-up to »Try Anything Once« (1993), which also boasted a slick cover from the legendary graphic designer Storm Thorgerson, carried on Alan’s tradition of concept albums, since all the lyrics touch on the history of aviation: from the ancient Greek myth of Daedalus and Icarus and Leonardo da Vinci’s visionary flying machines, through the American Apollo mission’s Moon landing, all the way to modern space flights.
The mastermind behind the »On Air« concept and nearly all the songwriting ideas, though, wasn’t Mr. Parsons but his longtime collaborator, guitarist Ian Bairnson. Besides drummer Stuart Elliott, he was the only former TAPP member Alan invited to keep working with him after the start of his solo career. Some of the lyrics on individual »On Air« tracks also indirectly refer to Ian’s late cousin, Eric Mounsey, a helicopter pilot who was shot down over Iraq in 1994 because of an ‘error’ in ‘friendly fire’ (oh, that political correctness). The tragedy sounds even worse when you learn that Ian’s cousin was an unarmed peacekeeper.
The orchestral arrangements were handled by Andrew Powell, while the legendary producer himself got to play around with most of the synthesizers again, with suitable occasional help. The singers weren’t quite as prestigious this time as they usually were, but it was still a lineup of some cult vocalists, with Eric Stewart (ex-10cc, Paul McCartney’s band), Steve Overland (ex-Wildlife, FM) and American Chistopher Cross standing out (most Europeans know his famous hit »Ride Like the Wind« better from the version by English metal champions Saxon). The sound of »On Air« doesn’t stray far from what Alan and company were already doing on »Try Anything Once«, meaning it’s melodic art rock with modern production and a good helping of symphonic arrangements, while a handful of tracks also pick up a bit of that ambient TAPP magic.
Eric Stewart shows up on the short (opening and closing) acoustic ballad »Blue Blue Sky«, which serves as a kind of connective tissue for the whole concept at the start and end of the album. »Too Close To The Sun«, which tells the story of Daedalus and the ill-fated Icarus escaping from Crete, is sophisticated melodic rock with art rock quirks, mostly courtesy of the saxophone parts and some distinctly subtle synth curtains. Neil Lockwood is superb as lead singer here, conveying Daedalus’ emotions beautifully as he (in vain) warns his son never to fly too close to the sun. »Blown By the Wind« gives you a rough answer to what you’d get if you crossed The Alan Parsons Project with 10cc, since Eric Stewart’s melancholic vocal approach slots perfectly into the epic arrangements, which you can hear especially well in the multi-part harmonies of the chorus.
»Cloudbreak«, the first of the two instrumentals on »On Air«, will delight not only fans of TAPP and Alan’s solo career but also worshippers of Pink Floyd and their legendary guitarist David Gilmour, from whom Bairnson picked up quite a few guitar tricks. Subtle improvisations on slide guitar are generously backed by mighty symphonic arrangements flowing in the background, so the end result is a truly ethereal atmosphere. »I Can’t Look Down« strongly recalls certain TAPP classics stylistically, which makes it one of the better pieces on »On Air«. It’s a track with a refined, melodic transition into an art/pop section that, thanks to its rhythmic nuances and Locwood’s vocal approach, could win over fans of the cult band The Police too. »Brother Up in Heaven« is a melancholic ballad dedicated to Bairnson’s aforementioned unfortunate cousin. Lockwood, backed by moving piano arrangements, sings the whole thing from the heart and with outstanding pathos, so it’s about as fitting a tribute to the late relative as you could ask for.
On »Fall Free«, another track built to the taste of all fans of the TAPP legacy, singer Steve Overland especially shines, with a voice that seems made for AOR hits. You can hear it most in the superb, soaring chorus, which in another era might even have brought this excellent composition hit status. Thanks to its decisive guitar passages and dynamic drumming, it’s also the hardest-hitting track on the whole album. The instrumental »Apollo«, dedicated to the Apollo space missions and featuring the voice of former American president Kennedy, is the one bizarre moment on the album, stylistically a poor fit. It’s Alan experimenting with electronic textures and programmed trance rhythms, something that, sadly, would increasingly lure him in the years to come.
The melancholic ballad »So Far Away«, which tells of the first human in space, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, is ruled by distinctly gentle arrangements. This time American Chistopher Cross takes the lead vocal. The lyrics of »One Day To Fly«, which drummer Elliott helped write, refer to the aviation inventions of the legendary visionary Leonardo da Vinci, specifically his ornithopter flying machine, born from the artist’s years of studying birds in flight. Graham Dye (ex-Scarlet Party), with a voice that faintly recalls John Lennon, adds a noticeably ‘Beatles-esque’ stamp to the grand atmosphere of lavish orchestral curtains.
»On Air« was a thoroughly enjoyable and interesting record, made almost exactly to the taste and standards of most longtime fans of Parsons’ magnificent career in music and production. Apart from the electronic experiment »Apollo«, which sounds completely out of context, there isn’t a single serious flaw on it, which makes it an extremely listenable album that still delights all fans of intelligent art rock with a melodic streak today, while certain moments recall the days of TAPP’s biggest successes.
Lineup
Alan Parsons – keyboards, sound engineering
Andrew Powell – orchestral arranger and conductor
Ian Bairnson – guitar, bass guitar, synthesizer
Stuart Elliott – drums, percussion
Eric Stewart – vocals (tracks 1, 3, 11)
Neil Lockwood – vocals (tracks 2, 5, 6)
Steve Overland – vocals (track 7)
Christopher Cross – vocals (track 9)
Graham Dye – vocals (track 10)
Peter Beckett – backing vocals (track 6)
John Giblin – bass guitar
Richard Cottle – saxophone
Gary Sanctuary – keyboards
Christopher Warren-Green – orchestra leader
Storm Thorgerson – cover design
Production
Alan Parsons
Track list
1. Blue Blue Sky (1:39)
2. Too Close To The Sun (5:04)
3. Blown By The Wind (5:26)
4. Cloudbreak (4:40)
5. I Can’t Look Down (4:37)
6. Brother Up In Heaven (4:02)
7. Fall Free (4:22)
8. Apollo [speech by John F. Kennedy](6:05)
9. So Far Away (4:08)
10. One Day To Fly (6:19)
11. Blue Blue Sky 2 (4:26)
