Full title - Poe - More Tales Of Mystery & Imagination. The creative head of Alan Parson's Project issues the unofficial achievement of 'More Tales Of Mystery & Imagination', recorded at the legendary Abbey Road St... more »udios. Sony. 2003.« less
Full title - Poe - More Tales Of Mystery & Imagination. The creative head of Alan Parson's Project issues the unofficial achievement of 'More Tales Of Mystery & Imagination', recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. Sony. 2003.
CD Reviews
Misleading
ikeda | Schweiz | 12/09/2003
(1 out of 5 stars)
"It is a unfortunate that Eric Woolfson chose to give the subtitle "More Tales of Mystery & Imagination". It is even more unfortunate that the marketing department decided to place a sticker on the CD cover mentioning his former partnership with The Alan Parsons Project (APP) thereby strengthening a potential musical link this CD with APP. And all the amazon editorial information indicating that connection with the legendary Abbey Road studio seems to seal the idea in one's mind that at last, the APP fan will finally get his holy grail, a sequel to the album that started it all.As for me, the original 1976 Tales of Mystery and Imagination is my favourite APP album and to see this CD on amazon.de triggered an instant one-click order. How sorely disappointed I was.At first on opening the CD and reading Eric's liner notes, one may get the impression that this will truly be a Tales Part II. One would expect some evolution in sound and some differences as Alan is no longer working with Eric. However, the basic idea of the original concept album would be hopefully preserved. But put the disk on the platter and what you get is a mixed bag of theater and rock opera. Steve Balsamo is a nice enough rock singer as evidenced by "Wings of Eagles", but he is not in the same category of the classic APP vocalists such as Lenny Zakatek, Chris Rainbow, or Eric Woolfson himself. In fact, as Eric is such a wonderful singer, why did Eric himself not contribute more vocally to the album? The pieces including the choirs are truly silly. "Train to Freedom" with a chorus that goes "Woo woo" and a baritone vocalist sounding like a cartoon southerner? And how can one sing the poem "The Bells" without making it sound like a caricature?Finally, an attempt is made to make the link with the original Tales by sampling the bit of Orson Welles narrative in the song "Immortal". Sorry, but this CD does not deserve the subtitle of "More Tales...". This CD may be for you ... if you like to hear the music from amateur theatre. However if you like to hear the evolution of APP into the third millenium, I strongly recommend Alan Parsons The Time Machine instead."
Good Musical Theater
Scott Holder | Bonnots Mill Missouri | 11/19/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Anybody who thinks this album falls short of Eric's Alan Parsons Project material needs to remember that it's not a prog rock album. Trying to compare it to old Project material is comparing apples and oranges and pointless in the end since it wasn't written with old Project-files in mind. And they need to listen carefully to the lyrics and music balance and there you'll hear one element of the Project's work that made it so special. When Eric uses Poe's material, he often presents a dichotomy of styles, bright music to dark lyrics. And many of these songs showcase what many believe, namely that Eric can be one of the most clever, layered lyricists of our day. Combine these two elements and you get a pretty powerful album, one that needs many listens in order to appreciate some of the subtle nuances.Clearly some of these songs have the stage in mind and anyone fortunate enough to have seen any of the 3 shows recently staged at Abbey Road studios comes back to this CD with an even greater appreciation of what Eric managed to meld, namely using Poe material and purpose-written biographical songs to tell the story of his life, death, and literary immortality.There's also a nice balance of a strong lead vocal (Steve Balsamo who has an amazing voice) with two fantastic choir arrangements. In fact, one of those songs, Goodbye To All That, is possibly one of Eric's best works ever, Project or post-Project.Probably the best comparison would be to Eric's first "techincally" post-Project work, Freudiana (which if you haven't purchased, rush out and get now--it's one of the best prog rock albums ever made). That one is definitely more "Project feeling" because of the musicians involved, but, it's also one of Eric's most complete concept pieces. In that regard, POE comes close lyrically although again, it has a much different feel in places because the music and stage aspects.This CD is definitely worth getting and if you're patient with it, that will pay off. Expect a surround version in SACD next year and hopefully a DVD of the Abbey Road shows. THOSE will change your minds if you're a skeptic."
Mixed legacy
Todd Pettijohn | Pacific Northwest, USA | 04/23/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I bought this work because of Eric's involvement in APP. Having previously purchased Freudiana, I was aware of Eric's stage leanings. If you have the Freud tribute, listen to "Sects Therapy" to get an idea of how "The Murders on the Rue Morgue" will come across in its quirkiness. Freudiana's "No One Can Love You Better than Me" is bit like "Train to Freedom". POE's "The Bells" is... well, go read the poem. If you are annoyed by how many times the word "bells" is repeated, you may be annoyed with this song. These songs are the ones I picked on first because they were clearly written with a stage production in mind, and the ones least likely to please people expecting a Project album. "Goodbye to All That" is another stage song, but for the life of me, I can't get the catchy tune out of my head. Analogous to humming "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" after watching the Wizard of Oz. For that matter, my kids love the Rue Morgue: "Play the Murder song!" they'll beg.
With that said, the rest of the album can be described as near-Projectonian. There a couple great instrumentals, "Angel of the Odd", and P&P P2. Steve Balsamo has a great voice, worthy of a Project singer. "Wings of Eagles", "Somewhere in the Audience", "Pit and the Pendulum", "Tiny Star" and "Immortal" could have been on an APP album and any faithful Project fan would have been very happy.
The pedestrian listener may not like this album for what it is, but I feel that a true music fan and the true Project fan will find plenty here to wrap themselves around and enjoy alongside classic Project albums for many years to come."
It could have been a single
Steven C. Neill | Spokane, WA | 12/09/2004
(3 out of 5 stars)
"As an avid APP fan, I go to great lengths to buy everything connected with them. Poe by Eric Woolfson was no exception. The album started out with an excellent instrumental called Angel of the Odd, which had haunting overtones of "Voyager", "A Dream Within A Dream" and "I Robot." The next piece is called "Wings As Eagles." Call me biased but this song was worth the price of the CD to me. It ranks right up there with the best of APP. The vocals are incredible and you'll want to press the "repeat" button over and over with this one. Unfortunately, this is the high point to me, the piece called "The Bells" is good and the other works are fine, but none speak out like the original "Tales Of Mystery" did. If you're a die hard like me, it's worth the money just for "Wings As Eagles." If not, this album won't make you an avid fan, buy the original or Gaudi, or any of the older works and leave the driving to Alan."
Eric Woolfson's Finest Musical
Parrish A. Highley | Somewhere I've Never Travelled | 06/30/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Prior to meeting Alan Parsons back in the early 1970s, Eric Woolfson had written a number of songs inspired by the poetry, prose, and life of Edgar Allan Poe. When the two eventually decided to collaborate with one another on many of the songs as well as the overall concept that Eric conceived, the result was the uniquely innovative Tales of Mystery and Imagination by The Alan Parsons Project. Any fan of that album, provided he or she is not hopelessly prejudiced against musicals, would really enjoy listening to Eric Woolfson's "POE: More Tales of Mystery and Imagination." The musical focuses on Poe, himself, and the direct relationship many of his creative inspirations had with actual events in his, more often than not, tragic life. While this new Woolfson release is intended to support future stagings of his musical, in many ways it behaves very much like a studio "Project" release. The musical itself premiered in Studio Two of Abbey Road in November of 2003, and, moreso than any recent musical, truly deserves a full production in the finest theaters London, New York, and Los Angeles have to offer. Having seen a recording of that premiere in its entirety, I can honestly say that few musicals tell their story as well as POE! Not only is the music itself fantastic, but the storytelling is as close to flawless as any musical storytelling is going to get!
The part of Edgar Allan Poe is performed by the full three-and-a-half octave vocal wonder Steve Balsamo. There are few performers who can sing the tenderest ballads with the gentleness they require as well as the most demanding crescendo with the dynamics it demands, but Steve Balsamo not only does it all, he does it well! I whole-heartedly recommend those who enjoy musicals to not only pick up this studio recording, but also the dvd of the London performance in Studio Two of Abbey Road. While that was a live performance, this polished studio production should appeal to both fans of musical theater as well as those of The Alan Parsons Project.
Eric Woolfson's favorite songs: Somewhere In The Audience & Immortal
Alan Parson's favorite song: Somewhere In The Audience
My favorite songs: Somewhere In The Audience, The Bells, Goodbye To All That & Immortal"
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1