Audio CD review:
The Alan Parsons Project - Ultimate

The Alan Parsons Project - Ultimate

Band: The Alan Parsons Project Title: Ultimate Rating: Release Date: 23 March, 2004 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: A Dream Within A Dream 2: The Raven 3: What Goes Up 4: I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You 5: I Robot 6: (The System Of) Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether 7: Lucifer 8: Damned If I Do 9: Games People Play 10: Time 11: Sirius 12: Eye In The Sky 13: Prime Time 14: Don't Answer Me 15: Psychobabble 16: You Don't Believe 17: Days Are Numbers (The Traveller) 18: Old And Wise

Customer Reviews Don't own it, but know all the songs - great overview of APP One comment on the versions of Dream Within A Dream and The Raven - they were available on CD in their original versions, on the Mobile Fidelity series of excellent discs. This looks like a great collection of some of the best Parsons tunes from his best albums, and thankfully leaves off anything from later albums that, while they have their moments, just aren't nearly as good as the albums featured on this compilation. Regrettably this version has been out of print for some time, so in that respect it is correct that this collection is now the only way to hear these as originally recorded - which is good because the remasters with the Orson Welles bits and the heavy-handed guitar solos and drum remixes were awful. Good to know the original versions were used here. For the uninitiated, this looks like a great low-cost way to start. SOMETHING FOUND ONLY ON THIS CD The first 2 songs, "A Dream Within a Dream" and the "Raven" are found as they originally sounded on the 1976 vinyl LP, "Tales of Mystery and Imagination". This CD has something found ONLY on this CD. When Parsons released the 1987 CD of this album, he added a 1 minute Orson Welles reading of Poe to the beginning of "Dream Within a Dream. " The last 30 seconds of this reading is mixed in with the first 30 seconds of the song! In "The Raven" a guitar solo was added at 2:27-2:48. It re-appears in little 5 second blasts three other times from 2:58 to 3:23. When I first bought the vinyl LP of "Tales of Mystery. . " in 1976, I was blown away by the simple clean beginning of "Dream Within a Dream" and loved how the slow build up and simple bass line began. Then this instrumental merged flawlessly, again via that simple bass line, into "The Raven". I was mesmerized by these two 3 minute songs and this remains today one of my favorite moments of Alan Parsons Project music. Yes, it was very simple (some would say simplistic), but it created such a mysterious mood and was the perfect lead for the next rocker, "The Tell-Tale Heart". It was unique in that few songs of that day had isolated the bass line so cleanly. Well, the 1987 CD screwed this up. I love Orson Welles, but I wanted that clean uncluttered instrumental buildup of "Dream Within a Dream. " I also did not want the guitar solo in "The Raven" (although this was more tolerable than the Welles insert). So one of my favorite LP albums was ruined on the CD and I was greatly disappointed to find that the 1987 2-CD "Definitive" collection, as great as IT is, did not include "Dream Within a Dream". It did include "The Raven" but with the added guitar solo still there. So, until this single CD came out, a remastered version of these two songs AS THEY ORIGINALLY SOUNDED on the 1976 vinyl LP was not available. And I'm afraid the newer multiple CD sets don't contain "Dream Within a Dream". So, if you really liked the beginning of APP's first album, then I believe this is the ONLY CD where you will find it as it originally sounded. The clean fade-in beginning of "Dream Within a Dream" sans Mr. Welles is spectacular!! THANK YOU THANK YOU!! It's been a long time coming. The rest of the songs on this CD are great and this offers I think the BEST 77 minutes of APP that's possible on a single CD. I'd have included "Breakdown" - it's such a great vocal. But I can't see any other songs to be cut except possibly "Days Are Numbers" or "Old and Wise. " If you want more remastered songs, get the fantastic 1997 2-CD Definitive Set. If you want more than that, there are a couple of sets recently available with more than 2 CD's - but they are pricey (and don't have "Dream Within a Dream"). . Beautiful and catchy songs My first favorites were "Games People Play" and "I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You". I've always liked The Alan Parsons Project, from the first time I heard them. Then, I also liked what came after these songs. If I have one complaint about this compilation, it's that "Stereotomy" wasn't included. Otherwise, this is a decent overview of TAPP. I would recommend it to anyone that likes pop/rock and prog rock. . You can see a complete list of all The Alan Parsons Project discography, or go back to the The Alan Parsons Project tabs