If I had my own radio station - Alan Parsons

If I had to pick a band that defies classification, this might be it. Except that it even defies the meaning of band, because it's more of a project. The Alan Parsons Project. If you think that name sounds familiar, it might be because you've heard it mentioned in the company of legendary Pink Floyd. You see, Alan Parsons was the sound engineer who presided over their infamous Dark Side of The Moon album. Parsons also worked with the Beatles and Wings. Although I'd like to say, "But enough about his work with other artists", Alan Parsons did just that - the Project had a continually changing collection of vocalists and session musicians appearing on each album. Each album had a theme.

1975's Tales of Mystery and Imagination was loosely based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. I never quite got into that album (having never truly gotten into Poe), but the next, I Robot in 1977, was right up my alley. This time the theme was the Isaac Asimov sci-fi Robot series and I can certainly identify with that. No, this isn't music so much as it is drama. You won't find anything worthy of pop radio here. But you will find some great art-rock in all its splendour. I Robot is the lead track. It has an infectious groove to it. There are some dramatic ballads including Some Other Time and Don't Let It Show. But the best tune on this particular album is I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You. It almost has an R&B feel to it. I very hard to get it out of your head.

The next album, Pyramid, was unforgettable in my books. But Eve in 1979, was much better. This time, the theme is women's overpowering effect on men. Although it didn't even ping the pop radar, this is a haunting concept album worthy of a listen. The standout track is Damned If I Do.

1980's The Turn of a Friendly Card is the first time most people heard of Alan Parsons. It produced a huge radio ballad, Time. 1982 brought Eye in the Sky - another great album in my opinion, offering some excellent tracks like the self titled Eye in the Sky, which is led into by the powerful opening track Sirius. Psychobabble and Mammagamma are other standouts. The theme The them here was (can you guess?) of an Orwellian nature.

There were a few more albums since, but they just didn't measure up. In 2004, Alan Parsons introduced A Valid Path, a true return to form for this artist. The opening track, Return to Tunguska, a dark, ethereal piece, could almost be a new Pink Floyd release, which is coincidental, because David Gilmour supplies some of his guitar work on this album as a guest. This is what Floyd and Delerium would sound like if they ever came together. I know - what a weird thought. L'arc en Ciel is another favourite of mine from this latest work from Alan Parsons.