Published on Aug 26, 2004
Depending on who you talk to, 1990’s
Freudiana either was supposed to be the 11th Alan Parsons
Project CD or actually was the final breaking point between Alan
Parsons and longtime collaborator Eric Woolfson. I wasn’t even sure
whether or not to actually put it in our Alan Parsons Artist Of The
Month feature, as it ended up being credited to Woolfson and not
Parsons — but the fact is, it’s an interesting little CD, even
with a few blemishes, and it deserves to get noticed.
The band on
Freudiana is, effectively, the Alan Parsons Project. Ian
Bairnson on guitar, Stuart Elliott on drums, Laurence “Laurie”
Cottle on bass, Richard Cottle on saxophone, and Andrew Powell
arranging and recording the orchestra back up Parsons and Woolfson
on keyboards. The reason that it’s not listed as a Project album is
more complicated than this poor music critic understands, but to
make a long story short it ended up being the soundtrack for
Woolfson’s first musical (he has since done several more) and
Parsons took a few years off after this disc before going solo. If
you understand that, you must write soap opera scripts.
At any rate, the CD itself is in question here. The production
and engineering are, as always, great. Where
Freudiana falls short is in two places: 1) Maybe it’s just
me, but I can’t really get into the concept of Sigmund Freud as the
subject of a rock opera, which is what, in effect, this is; and 2)
There are about ten too many songs.
No, really.
Freudiana is eighteen long tracks, and really I could have
done without about six or seven of them. I really don’t quite
understand what, for example, Leo Sayer or Frankie Howerd is doing
here, and the a cappella vocal group The Flying Pickets is lovely
but really doesn’t fit with the rest of the album. In effect, the
first half of the CD is somewhat of a waste, with only Kiki Dee
(“You’re On Your Own”) really cutting loose and driving her track
home. (And you thought Kiki Dee was just an answer to a trivia
question.)
The second half, though…ah. Starting with “Beyond The
Pleasure Principle,” there are a set of seriously powerful tracks
that are worthy of the name Alan Parsons Project. “The Ring,” “No
One Can Love You Better Than Me,” “Don’t Let The Moment Pass,” the
spiritual and seeking “Upper Me” — these are some great tracks,
and when it’s capped off with the goose-bump-inducing “There But
For The Grace Of God” you get some idea of what this might have
been. Only “Sects Therapy” jars, and I’m sure all of you know how
to program your track selection on your CD player.
Do I recommend
Freudiana? Yes, but. Make sure you know that there’s some
junk, and be selective — but there’s also some tracks it would be
a shame to miss.