The Alan Parsons Project Album: “Ammonia Avenue”

I enjoy this album. If the music moves you, it moves you, whether it's pop, opera, or whatever. This album helped me get out of a bad relationship, along with Vulture Culture. I enjoy the entire APP catalog. I also say OF COURSE Alan was influenced by the 80s culture. This album was released SMACK DAB in the middle of the 80s. I commend Alan, Eric, et al for producing this nice collection of thoughtful songs. These are enjoyable songs, each with a great message. ONE GOOD REASON is the ultimate break-up song, which every young naive guy needs at some point. Buy it, play it, enjoy it.

Update to my previous review: This is one of The Alan Parsons Project's greatest albums. It's difficult to choose among them; they are all fantastic. I bought this album in 1995 (in CD format) and it has never left my regular playing rotation. "Ammonia Avenue" was released in 1984, the same year as the following album "Vulture Culture." By this time, APP had sort of moved away from strictly them-based albums into a more pop friendly format. I know some fans prefer the earlier albums, and that is fine, but I enjoy all of them. These songs are fantastic individually, but they also work great together in this album.

Alan Parsons' music has been a very important part of my life ever since I discovered it, and this album is right up there. The music is both simple and complex at the same time. The melodies are catchy, and even the first time you hear them, they feel somehow familiar. At the same time, they are deep and complex enough to remain one of your favorites for years to come. Highly recommended.

Groups like Yes or Genesis or Pink Floyd or Moody Blues or ELO have two different musical "eras", an early progressive period, and a later more "radio friendly" period. You can find fans of either period and these fans can be quite "die-hard" in their preferences. The Alan Parson Project is no exception.

So...If you ONLY like the progressive edge of APP, this CD may not be for you.

However, if you simply want the pure guilty pleasure of

beautiful, well-crafted studio recordings, this album is a must have! It is a significant departure from the previous "Eye In The Sky" (also a 4 star release, in my opinion), but this album doesn't have a bad song on it.

Yes, it is more pop oriented. Yes, it does have more verse-chorus 4 minute song writing. Yes, "Don't Answer Me" was played on the radio way too much at the time, but from the

tick-tick-tick-tick of the high-hat cymbal at the beginning of

Prime Time to the last tracks final fade out, I am taken away to some other place.

If you aren't stuck in the 70's and think all rock after that sucks...find a comfortable chair and kick back for a tall, cool

glass of pure listening enjoyment.

This is probably APP's most underappreciated album, even though back in 1984 "Don't Answer Me" was a top-40 hit, and the album enjoyed some commercial success with that song and with "You Don't Believe."

The usual APP themes of alienation, disbelief and loss play varying roles in most of the songs. Production values are, as usual, impeccable, and the instrumentation imparts a silken, surreal feel. This is a great album to play at night, when you're by yourself studying, or when you're with a person you care about and with whom you want to share some intimacy.

Prime time: A nice soft rock song, sung melodically by Eric Woolfson. Similar to 'eye in the sky; but in my opinion, even better. Excellent array of acoustic guitars with some electric in places. The melody is really catchy. One of my faves on the album, this is an extremely melodic song.

Let me go home: A rocker. Lenny Zakatek sings lead on most of the APP rockers. He has the kind of voice that either grates or excites. This is a fairly strong effort into rock, but not a standout.

One good reason: I love all of Eric's vocal contributions, except this one. I find this a totally unmelodic tune, without much direction and a very bland feel to the whole song. Probably the weakest here.

Since the last goodbye: A beautiful ballad with Chris Rainbow on lead vocals. His voice is exceptional and pure. If you like beautiful, precise and pure ballads that have a soaring melody, this is for you. He also sings beautiful harmonies. Another stand out, I can't praise this song emough.

Don't tell me: Another beautiful song, crossing the path between melodic ballad and pop song. Again, Eric handles lead vocals, and excels. I find the backing music to be beautiful and the percussive effects make me feel this is almost Christmassy in feel. Don't let that put you off, it is subtle. This just oozes melody. Exceptional, with good backing vocals.

Dancing on a nightwire: Colin Blunstone also has an exceptional and extremely pure voice. Prominent bass features here, with nice acoustic guitars. If you like colin's solo work, this sounds like a lot of his work. Again, this toys the line between ballad and pop song, with a bit more of a funky feel than the former track.

Also a really strong song.

You don't believe: Again Lenny Zakatek on lead. This sounds just like something off 'Eve'. Listen to 'Lie down with dogs'. I don't like the verse at all. Repetitive and tuneless. The chorus is slightly better. I was amazed a reviewer thought this was the strongest track. I just don't see it. 'Let me go home' rocked well. This falls flat on its face...but it is still listenable...just.

Pipeline: A beautiful instrumental. Listen to the excellent bass at the beginning. Very atmospheric and good change of chords. This is one of those instrumentals that begins with a good chord sequence, which builds and builds with loads of instruments and the orchestra. It also has enough parts to keep one interested. The saxophone parts are very soothing, played in tandem with the orchestra. Outstandingly mellow.

Ammonia avenue: The big progressive ballad. Eric sings beautifully and with much feeling. The lyrics are also first rate, but the melody just cannot be beaten. There is also a superb extended middle eight, as in 'silence and i', but this time, with acoustic (It may be spanish) guitar, then the build up of orchestra. Excellent piano playing also.

Primarily an album for those who like melodic ballads and well constructed pop songs. There is no 'I robot' here. But this album should not be criticised for not being prog. It is still a damn fine piece of writing.

"Ammonia Avenue" was released in Feb of 1984, and was The Alan Parsons Project's (APP) 7th album. It came out on the heels of "Eye in the Sky", an extremely popular disc. While most of the earlier discs had strong central themes, the theme of this album escapes me, and seems more like an assortment of APP tracks that were done when it was time to release an album.

As at least a few other reviewers have commented, this album has the traditional mix of APP progressive rock, pop, and mellow music, along with one instrumental track. It differs from some earlier efforts, such as "I Robot" in that this disc has a much stronger emphasis on pop rather than progressive rock. That worked well for APP at the time, however, since this album contained one of APP's bigger singles - "Don't Answer Me."

As for the rest of the tracks:

- If you enjoy APP mellow/melancholy tracks, then check out "Prime Time" (good), "Since the Last Goodbye" (best), and the title track "Ammonia Avenue" (good).

- If you like APP progressive rock, then try "Let Me Go Home" (pretty good, but not great) and "You Don't Believe" (also so-so).

- I guess you could call these progressive pop(?), but for more of a pop sound give "One Good Reason" (OK), "Don't Answer Me" (most commercially successful track on the CD), or "Dancing on a Highwire"(only so-so).

- For me, the highlight of this track is the only instrumental on the disc, "Pipeline" (truly excellent).

All in all I'd rate this CD about a 3 for a concept album, and the mixture of strong and so-so tracks, but I give it a 4 overall for the strong tracks that are there.

This album is a MUST for APP fans, but if you are just starting your adventures with the music of APP I recommend "Tales of Mystery and Imagination", "Turn of a Friendly Card", "Eye in the Sky", or "Vulture Culture" as better starting places.

All in all, I give this disc 4 stars.

From a 30+ year APP fan...happy listening!