Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse of Reason

Pink Floyd
A Momentary Lapse of Reason
Compact Disc
Columbia 68518

1. Signs of Life
2. Learning to Fly
3. The Dogs of War
4. One Slip
5. On the Turning Away
6. Yet Another Movie / Round and Around
7. A New Machine (part one)
8. Terminal Frost
9. A New Machine (part two)
10. Sorrow

This seems to me to generally not be all that appreciated. I think that it is perhaps another victim of people's tendencies to compare albums to other albums that bear the same artist name. I happen to think this album is a fine piece of spaced-out rock. I suppose the mid-to-late-Eighties production on this thing can be a bit of a turn-off at times; nevertheless, I think this album does carry a certain, spooky, far-out vibe about it that is especially amplified on days when the weather leaves something to be desired. Try it....some dark afternoon....

Alan Parsons Project - Eye in the Sky

The Alan Parsons Project
Eye in the Sky
Compact Disc
Arista/Legacy 82878 81527 2

1. Sirius
2. Eye in the Sky
3. Children of the Moon
4. Gemini
5. Silence and I
6. You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned
7. Psychobabble
8. Mammagamma
9. Step By Step
10. Old and Wise
11. Sirius (demo)
12. Old and Wise (Eric Woolfson vocal)
13. Any Other Day (studio demo)
14. Silence and I (Eric Woolfson vocal)
15. The Naked Eye
16. Eye Pieces (classical Naked Eye)

It seems to me that the Alan Parsons Project gets kind of a bad rap. I don't know why; they have some mighty fine music in their catalog. Perhaps my own musical sensibilities are just more pop-oriented than those of most of you that I see on the forums and blogs, and so the sort of borderline pop/prog that the APP plays just appeals to me more than others. This music is different; it's accessible without being too poppy; it features orchestration without being, well, boring; it's original and progressive without being too self-indulgent; and, while I say it isn't too poppy, it nonetheless features nice hooks that I, for one, can easily dig. And the sounds they make are just........cool.
On this album, of course, you got the Chicago Bulls opening music in "Sirius," followed by the pleasant radio hit and title track. "Children of the Moon" has that wee bit of synthesizer that gives it ...um...a different feel, a bit of a trip in time, nothing bad at all, in my opinion. Interesting choral bits and chord changes in that one. "Gemini" is nice and dreamy, just like me.... *ahem* The relatively extended (7:20) "Silence and I" is a couple of hushed ends bookending a classical/orchestral bridge, which is cool and makes itself known. "You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned" is a good, strong bit of pop/rock; some might think that the APP couldn't pull off a "straight" pop/rock sound, but I think it works here.
I think "Psychobabble" might be somewhat well-known among some; I remember it was once incorporated into my old high school's marching band's repertoire. Good, kind of weird vibe to that song. Nice. The instrumental bit that follows, "Mammagamma," I can probably do without; it's rather ground in the pseudo-disco sounds of that era (1982), not to mention unexciting. "Step by Step" is another more poppy song; I played this one a couple times before saying "Yeah, it's okay." And the capper, "Old and Wise"...well, the title sums it up, I think, as the album ends on a quiet note.

Mighty Baby - Mighty Baby

Mighty Baby (self-titled)
Compact Disc
Big Beat CDWIKD 120

1. Egyptian Tomb
2. A Friend You Know But Never See
3. I've Been Down So Long
4. Same Way From the Sun
5. House Without Windows
6. Trials of a City
7. I'm From the Country
8. At a Point Between Fate and Destiny
*~*~*bonus tracks*~*~*
9. Only Dreaming
10. Dustbin Full of Rubbish
11. Understanding Love
12. Favourite Days
13. A Saying For Today

In the opening of this compact disc's liner notes, Mighty Baby is described as "Britain's answer to the Grateful Dead". This (to me, anyway; see comments) is basically accurate. They may have had slightly better production than the early Dead records, and of course a slightly more British sense of melody, but, yeah, the Grateful Dead comparison is, to me, fairly apt.

The Family Tree - Miss Butters

The Family Tree
Miss Butters
Compact Disc
Rev-Ola 185

1. Birthday/Dirgeday
2. Melancholy Vaudeville Man
3. Any Other Baby
4. Sideshow
5. Mrs. McPheeny (Has Flu in Her Chest and Has Needed a Rest For So Long)
6. Butters Lament
7. Simple Life
8. Slippin' Thru My Fingers
9. Nine to Three
10. Lesson Book Life
11. Nickelodeon Music
12. Miss Butters
13. The Underture
14. Keepin' a Secret (bonus)
15. Do You Have the Time (bonus)
16. She Had to Fly (bonus)
17. He Spins Around (bonus)

The first rock opera? Possibly. "Months before the release of the Pretty Things' S.F. Sorrow," it says on here. I wouldn't call it "rock," though....more Nilsson-esque pop with a touch of psych. Little surprise, though, considering they were very close to Harry at the time. Many personnel in common, in fact, according to this. Whatever the case, nice melodies and fine songwriting here. I just love the particularly psychedelic songs at the end, "Miss Butters" and "The Underture," particularly the latter, which seldom fails to make me shiver.

The Mandrake Memorial - The Mandrake Memorial

The Mandrake Memorial (self-titled)
LP
Poppy Records 40,002
Released in 1968

1. Bird Journey
2. Here I Am
3. Rainy May
4. This Can't Be Real
5. Dark Lady
6. House of Mirrors
7. To a Lonely
8. Strange
9. Next Number
10. Sunday Noon

A wonderfully odd mixture of pop and baroque sounds with just a slight dash of rock. Many of the songs feature a pseudo-harpsichord sound. Although my favorite song on here is the well-paced "Dark Lady," I think that, overall, the softer sounds on this album are the ones that work the best. The vocalist's voice seems especially well-suited to soft sounds. Some of the musical themes seem to reappear throughout the album, as though the whole album were a Beethoven-esque symphony. All said and done, though, this is a nice album. Some soft moments, some odd moments, some songs that run right into each other, and a proper psychedelic ending with voices and a sound effect. Good stuff.