The Alan Parsons Project
were a rarity -- a
prog rock
band that had genuine crossover
pop
hits, and sometimes even sounded better when distilled to singles. Part of the reason for that is that
Parsons
assembled his band after the heyday of
;
the Project
released its first album in 1975, a few years after the wild, woolly peak of
prog
. Another part of the reason is that, as a studio craftsman, he favored lush, immaculate soundscapes that are very pleasing to the ear -- and when wedded to a good melody, made for excellent FM radio cuts and, eventually,
soft rock
crossovers. Nowhere is that argument proved better than 2003's
Platinum & Gold Collection
. There have been plenty of other
collections of varying quality -- including the 1997 double-disc set
The Definitive Collection
for those who want a thorough overview -- but this does the best job of showcasing
'
personality by presenting the bigger
hits (
"I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You,"
"Games People Play,"
"Time,"
"Eye in the Sky,"
"Don't Answer Me"
) along with a few catchy album-oriented radio hits, such as the sleekly atmospheric
"Sirius."
A couple of key songs --
"I Robot,"
"Psychobabble"
-- are absent, but they're not particularly missed, since this plays so very well as a polished
album. Out of all the collections, it's the most listenable, and the only
Alan Parsons Project
album needed for those who appreciate the band for its crossover
hits. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine