And to end this summer playlist of albums released in July 2022 on a high note, this latest album from Alan Parsons' 'From the New World' is quite appropriate for listening in this hot period by the pool. After his latest album 'The Secret' which had been one of the very good surprises in 2019 and despite his concert cancellations for medical reasons which did not allow me to see him at the Colmar wine fair, I made up for it with the very beautiful DVD 'The Neverending Show: Live in the Netherlands' released at the end of 2021 and the magnificent blu-ray 'One Note Symphony: Live in Tel Aviv' from early 2022. This latest album 'From the New World' shows that the Englishman is still very active at 73 and allows us to recover between ears a new cake full of memorable melodies.
And hearing the first notes of 'Fare Thee Well', a few shivers of pleasure accompany me so much we find the atmospheres deployed at the end of the 70s and this title would have had its place in an 'I Robot' or in 'Eye In The Sky'. The suite also shows this 'Alan Parsons' touch with melodies that give the impression of having always been part of our life, bringing at every moment this nostalgic and somehow timeless side of these compositions which, gently, deliciously touch our soul. We therefore get caught up in the game, once again, to listen religiously to these first 9 titles which seem to me difficult to classify so much each one brings its share of listening pleasure. Indeed, although the album offers 11 titles, for me, they are 9 original titles since the last two compositions are in fact covers: first of all, 'Alan Parsons' who titled his album 'From the New World ' in reference to the post-global health crisis, gives us a wink by taking up one of the movements of the 9th symphony of the new world by Antonin Dvorak ' of which one of the students, ' William Arms Fisher ', had added lyrics and which is a moving elegy of the threshold of death. But, not to end on this melancholy note, the last title and a cover of 'Be My Baby' by the 'Ronnettes' which closes the album on a happy note.
In summary, even if some will regret an absent progressive side, 'Alan Parsons' takes us back a few decades with melodic lines that are still of high quality and, 'From the New World' will, without no doubt, happy among historical fans but will be able to reach a very large audience because all the compositions are very accessible from the first listen... | |
