La Sagrada Familia (The Alan Parsons Project, 1987)

"La Sagrada Familia" is the opening epic of "Gaudi", the last official album by APP, as the following release "Freudiana" was never credited to the Project. It's a track full of dark grandeur and of special effects. Describing Gaudi's greatest architectural achievement, this song also features excellent melodies and a powerful orchestra directed as usual by Andrew Powell. John Miles' voice perfectly fits into this mood, adding its clear and strong accent to the big picture. 

 

"Gaudi" was the tenth studio album by The APP.

 

Somehow this song (and most of the album) mark a return to what some call prog pop, after a pair of song-driven albums... and as you can imagine, I welcomed back home both Parsons and Woolfson. Some of the instrumental bridges in "La Sagrada Familia" are simply thrilling and the manifold arrangements provide all the rest... so sad the band was going to stop!

The Turn of A Friendly Card (The Alan Parsons Project, 1980)

This is the only actual suite in APP's discography, a 16 minute title track, divided into five movements, most of which could easily be considered as stand alone songs: "The Turn of A Friendly Card (Part One)", "Snake Eyes" (also released as a single in the USA), "The Ace of Swords", "Nothing Left to Lose" and finally "The Turn of A Friendly Card (Part Two)". It's a bombastic, diversified epic, whose sections easily follow one another, pleasantly changing the tempos and the moods. As you surely know, the lyrics are about compulsive gambling, also tracing a parallel between life and card games.

I  like each and every note from this album!

The main theme - featuring in the first and last parts - is one of the best melodies by Parsons/Woolfson, a majestic and airy one. "Snake Eyes" is a rock song with an evil twist, while the electronic instrumental third section is in the traditional APP's style. The fourth movement, "Nothing Left to Lose", sung by Eric Woolfson himself, is a stunning acoustic ballad, an intimate interlude I particularly appreciate, just before the final crescendo. This suite proves that pop and prog can get along very well as far as great composers are involved.

Ammonia Avenue (The Alan Parsons Project, 1984)

One of the most progressive songs from Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson and one of the best melodies in their career, IMHO. The inspiration for this 1984 title track  was provided by a Woolfson's visit to an impressive ammonia plant in Billingham (North East of England), then owned by Imperial Chemical Industries. The huge succession of metal pipes, somewhat replacing the trees along the main avenue crossing the site, suggested to Woolfson a concept about scientific development and its impact both on the Earth and on human culture. Interestingly, this same plant allegedly inspired the SF novel "Brave New World"  by Aldous Huxley, who visited its construction site in the late 1920s.

Billingham ammonia plant... definitely a forest of pipes.

Now, for the track itself. The first half is an intimate Eric's vocal performance, lead by piano, enriched by a discreet orchestration and followed by a beautiful instrumental section, beginning with acoustic guitar and growing up like a fully prog keys / guitar / orchestra interplay. The sung theme comes back around minute 4:50 flowing to a bombastic chorus and a final fading arpeggio. I think this is a cleverly arranged track, based on a solid composition work and really, really British too, for what it's worth.