Customer Reviews

Try Anything Once

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Alan Parsons Project's last official album was 1987's "Gaudi." After this, Alan Parsons worked with his Project partner Eric Woolfson one last time on Woolfson's 1990 album, "Freudiana," before the duo finally went their separate ways. Three years later, Parsons returned to recording with his first "solo" album, "Try Anything Once." No longer using the "Project" name, Parsons' 1993 disc still sounds very much like a Project album, with Parsons' magical touch in producing outstanding progressive pop-rock firmly intact, along with the aid of ace studio musicians, including longtime Project members Ian Bairnson on guitar & Stuart Elliot on drums, and a strong cast of revolving lead singers, this time augmented by David Pack of Ambrosia, Chris Thompson of Manfred Mann, and Eric Stewart of 10CC. Parsons also accepts songwriting contributions from some of his collaborators on the album. A solid full hour of classic Alan Parsons music, "Try Anything Once" will not disappoint Parsons' longtime fans.Things get rolling to a great start with "The Three Of Me," sung and co-written by David Pack. "Turn It Up," sung by Chris Thompson, is an instant Parsons classic, a great anthem that's guaranteed to get your heart pumping. Eric Stewart sings lead on the brilliantly super-smooth "Wine From The Water." The instrumental "Breakaway" follows, written by Parsons, and it's a terrific cross between "I Robot" and "Where's The Walrus?". "Mr. Time" gets the powerful female voice of Jacque Copland, and it's a blazing 8-minute piece of exciting prog pop-rock. "Jigue" is a giddy little instrumental, followed by the catchy number "I'm Talkin' To You," sung by Pack. Eric Stewart returns for the gorgeous "Siren Song," which easily recalls the classic Parsons nugget "To One In Paradise." The brief, peaceful instrumental "Dreamscape" then gives way to the tough, swaggering number, "Back Against The Wall," another great album highlight and sung by Thompson. "Re-Jigue" is obviously a reprise of "Jigue," only this time with a thunderous full orchestra, courtesy of longtime Parsons conductor & orchestrator Andrew Powell. Finally, David Pack returns to sing the triumphant concluding song, "Oh Life (There Must Be More)." The music is sensational, as is the album's production & sound. And although Eric Woolfson's presence is missed, "Try Anything Once" shows that Alan Parsons is getting on with his musical career just fine. In fact, "Try Anything Once" was the very first album that Parsons actually *toured* behind, finally stepping out of the recording studio at long last to bring his fans fantastic live performances of his music with a cracking live band. And, very happily, he's been touring ever since. The music goes on for Alan Parsons with "Try Anything Once," a dazzling addition to your Alan Parsons CD collection, with or without the Project name.

This is not an Alan Parsons Project work, but it retains the lush and varied sound of APP, while at the same time branching out in new directions. There are new vocalists here, as well. Compelling from the first notes of "The Three of Me," an account of madness and schizophrenia, this album fulfills its name as it takes the listener on a journey through many different musical moods. "Turn It Up" is an exhiliarating call to action and believing in one's self. "Wine From the Water" is a groovy, smooth-talking con man's pitch.

There's a lot of instrumentals on this album, and Parsons is very good at them. "Breakaway" has a very 1980s feel to it, reminiscent of APP circa "Stereotomy" or "Ammonia Avenue." "Jigue" and "Re-Jigue" are two versions of the same tune. The latter is a nod to APP's gorgeously orchestrated past. "Dreamscape" has a very hallucinatory quality, wondering and full of mystery.

"Mr. Time" came as a surprise, because until I heard this song, I had never heard an Alan Parsons song sung by a female vocalist. Jacqui Copland is mellow and enigmatic, and the menacing bass line combine with her vocals to make this a very interesting song.

My favorite is "I'm Talkin' to You," because of its themes of personal responsibility, choice, and regret at having to part from a friend who is trying to drag you down. It's followed by "Siren Song," a lazy and beautiful track. If you've ever read "The Odyssey" by Homer, you will have a special appreciation for the themes in this song of losing one's sense of time, seduced by the siren song. "Back Against the Wall" reminds me of film noir and dark alleyways.

"Oh Life (There Must Be More)" is one of the most emotional songs I've ever heard from this talented artist. The liner notes feature a series of photographs of people suspended by their heels. Tellingly, the picture that accompanies this song is of a woman, and the song is about a woman on the verge of suicide.

This is an album that takes you up, down and all around, through a number of emotions. It's one that I can listen to over and over again, and it never fails to affect me.

If I had to pick only one album I could listen to for the rest of my life, this one would probably be it. It is amazing to me that Parsons does not receive more fan (or general) interest in this one.

The album is a full 60 minutes of music with 4 instrumentals - which are always my favorite parts of Parsons' music. A lot of the songs are very long (5 over 5:30 in length) allowing them to fully explore their musical concepts.

From the unique, harder edge 'The Three of Me', to the long epic 'Mr. Time', to the lush, mood setting 'Siren Song', to the beautiful, emotional closer 'Oh Life', one of my favorite songs of all time, this album has it all. A wide variety of music, singers, and emotions are presented, enhancing the overall listening experience. On most other albums where you get 10-12 cuts, all with vocals by the same person, things tend to blend together. With Alan Parsons and especially on 'Try Anything Once', listening to the album is an experience, a journey. This is especially heard when listening through a good stereo system at decent volume levels, and not just as background music. This is an album to be listened to, and not just casually played.

Of all the albums that have been recorded by Alan Parsons, in the form of the Alan Parsons Project, or in a conglomeration of his own, this album ("Try Anything Once") is far and away his best.

The album takes itself away from the connection of the original APP, with the exception of the song "Wine From The Water", sung amazingly by former 10cc frontman Eric Stewart.

The strengths of this album are "Mr. Time", an ode written about losing your own sense of time (featuring Jacqui Copland, a relative unknown with a very powerful voice); "Breakaway", a crafted piece featuring Richard Cottle on the sax; and "Oh Life (There Must Be More)", featuring the haunting vocals of former Ambrosia singer David Pack.

The rest of the album is as good as the strong songs, and is worth every penny you sink into the album. An addition to any collection, that probably should be put in front.

This album is the real deal. Siren Song is stunning. I love the theme in so many Parsons songs about TIME and how we need to be reminded that time is ticking away on your life: will you miss the opportunities? In this album's case, the song is Mr. Time. The guitar/keyboards on the instrumental Dreamscape takes you to another place. Something about the APP writing that always speaks to me, to stay on your toes, to watch out for trickery in your daily business transactions, to grab life before time comes for you (cause it is coming for you) and the cry out for more than you're stuck with on "Oh Life". Bloody great. I love all kinds of music from the coolest alternative out today to the grundgiest old school, but Try Anything Once just stands out as a quality keeper. The recording of the music is of course, superb.

This was the first Alan Parsons CD I bought on a whim from a used CD store. I'd heard Parsons before and figured I couldn't go wrong for the price. I've since bought the two compilations and realized what I had in Try Anything Once was the best CD of all of the AP catalog. It's true this doesn't sound a lot like many of the previous works so if you're looking for more of the same, this isn't it. However, if you're looking for very strong instrumentals, haunting vocals (my favorite being the female lead on Mr. Time) and all around great progressive rock, buy this CD now!

This album is by far the one to buy of the entire APP collection. A brilliant mix of instumentals, vocals and lyrics. The female vocals on Mr. Time will have you in auditory bliss while checking the insert for her name. Good work guys. I will finish by saying that to call this CD just good would be to degrade with faint praise....A must buy!

This disc was worth the wait. Alan proved with this '93 release that Woolfson would not be missed - nearly as much, that is. It's true that Eric sang many of the pop hits of the project and sang them well, but I really like the new direction that Alan took with Try Anything Once. It is still unmistakably Parsons, one of the most ingenuitive and capable sound engineers of the last 1/3 century, yet with the many contributions of other artists Stewart, Pack, Thompson and Bairnson, he once again molded the talents of many into a cohesive and expressive work. A top notch disc.

So why, in 2010, am I writing a review for a disc that is nearly 20 years old and is out-of-print? As a "born-again" Alan Parsons fan having recently purchased this album for the first time, I just feel like more should be said on this apparently criminally over-looked disc.

As you are probably aware, this was the first album by Alan Parsons after the "Project" ceased to be with the departure of Eric Wolfson (R.I.P. Eric!). As it is one of the few Alan Parsons discs currently out of print, one must also assume that it did not perform well commercially, at least relative to most of the rest of his catalog. Based on hearing this for the first time recently, that can not be because of the music. (One must assume that this album was the commercial victim of the on-set of grunge...) After several passes through this album now, this has to be one of his better sets of music overall and certainly one the most satisfying to listen to, as a whole, since at least Ammonia Avenue. (one of my top 3 APP albums)

Rather than go through a song-by-song description of this album, I will hit on a few highlights. The disc, as a whole, is an essay on our search for self-worth, both inside and outside. The album has a slightly dark feel in that, for most of the songs, he highlights our failures in this search, all while you feel that the answer is right outside our grasp, floating along with us. This theme is at once both apparent and yet subtle throughout.

This disc contains four instrumentals, all very good in their own right. Two of them stand out, Jigue and Re-Jigue. These two pieces are a recasting of a basic Scottish or Irish melody (It sounds familiar but, as yet, I have not been able to identify the original.) These two pieces provide for a very interesting study in "Composition 101 - How to develop varients on a theme with in a single composition". It takes this simple melody, casts it at different tempos, changes textures with different instruments and harmonies, and at one point, even throws in a saxophone (in an celtic piece - and this actually seems to work!) to make for a very involving listen. Re-jigue takes that same theme and creates a symphonic version which could have come straight from a good movie score.

The next interesting point of note is the involvement of David Pack on several of these songs. I believe this is the first (and last time?) David performed on a Alan Parsons release. This would seem to be a paring that should have worked together far more often. There are three songs, The Three of Me, I'm Talkin to You, and Oh Life, which he sings on. All three are good songs and David sings as well as I have ever heard him sing on any album. In fact, if you are a David Pack or Ambrosia fan, you absolutely must hear Oh Life (There must be more) all the way through. This is the absolute best song on the disc and may be the best single Alan Parsons piece ever. (No, that is not hyperbole.) It is certainly David Pack at his very best!

Two other songs of note are Mr. Time and Back Against the Wall. Mr. Time includes a female lead singer (I do not have her name with me at this point) who sings a classic female lead vocal similar to those on Eve and Pyramid. Back Against the Wall is a very good song in the same vein as up-tempo pieces from several of the albums in the 80s. This brings me to my final point.

Listening to Try Anything Once, you get a sense that Alan Parsons is both closing out his APP era and starting to look forward. The music is at once both reminiscent of the groups previous out-put while presenting some strong hints at potential future direction. It is clear that Alan does not see his musical identity wrapped up with Alan Parsons Project, while it is also clear that he has a great love for that history as well. As such, this album presents a very compelling colleague of all things APP, from the over-reaching theme, to the music, right down to the (of course) pristeen production. Yet, there is a "new feel", relative to Alan Parsons, that is moving along within this disc as well. This is even further highlighted if you listen to Gaudi and Try Anything Once in order.

For this reason, I recommend getting your hands on a copy and try it again, and again, and again. To paraphrase, "you can't just listen to it once!"

Parsons eleventh studio album, though no longer tagged as A.P. Project, was his first release in six years. It was the best thing he had done since Ammonia Avenue released in 1984. The biggest difference is that Eric Woolfson's presence is gone but, surprisingly, not missed (he did co-write one song). Another difference is there doesn't appear to be a central theme to the album, at least, it's not clear or obvious. It still doesn't detract from the effort made in Parsons' collection of artists, it's very good.

The album opens with "Three of Me" which starts off like a Parsons instrumental but then changes into a short piano piece, then back into instrumental territory vaguely reminding one of the Beatles & film music curiously mixed; finally the song breaks into the vocal section. David Pack (Ambrosia) provides the lead vocal. "Turn It Up" follows which was written by Ian Bairnson, Parsons long time lead guitarist. It's one of the better songs on the album. Chris Thompson does lead vocal & is a perfect match for the song. "Wine From the Water" was co-written by Parsons & Bairnson. It has a pop feel with a moderate tempo. Lead vocal is courtesy of Eric Stewart (10cc). The lyrics are interesting but I'm not sure what they mean. "Breakaway" is an instrumental written by Parsons. It's a typical effort by Parsons, he can do this in his sleep & it's still ear candy. Richard Cottle provides an incredible sax solo. "Mr. Time" is one of the album's standout tracks that features Jacqui Copland doing the lead vocal, she also co-wrote it with the drummer, Stuart Elliott & Driscoll. Copland's vocals perfectly match the flow of the song which somewhat disguises the chilling finality of the lyrics. The next song is "Jigue", an instrumental penned by Andrew Powell & Parsons. It's main section is very Celtic with Graham Preskett providing the fiddle. "Jigue"s change up section features Bairnson on lead guitar, first on an electric, then an acoustic. The Celtic section is fantastic & will have you wanting to dance. It closes with a sax solo from Cottle. "I'm Talkin' to You" is a collaboration between Pack & Powell & is one of the songs on the album that has a more pop inclination. "Siren Song" is a slow song that suffers somewhat in comparison to the album's other songs. It's my least favorite on the album. Stewart does the lead vocal & it's more like a 10cc song. "Dreamscape" is another instrumental written by Parsons. It also sounds Celtic & features but two musicians: Bairnson on guitars & Cottle on synthesizers. This one isn't so much like ear candy, more like a lovely ballad without lyrics. "Back Against the Wall" is my personal favorite on the album. It's written by Bairnson, once again Chris Thompson does the lead vocal & is perfectly matched for the song. The lyrics are dark & foreboding with a very faint glimmer of hope. The instrumental section picks up the pace until it returns to the main theme of the song. Most of us know the feeling that's spoken about here: "When you feel your back against the wall." "Re-Jigue" revisits the same themes from "Jigue" only this time with a full orchestra,the famous Philharmonic Orchestra. This version feels like it came straight out of movie; Bairnson provides his best lead solo on the album. The album closes with "Oh Life (There Must Be More)". It's written by Pack & Parsons with Pack doing the lead vocal. With this song one might suspect that the theme of this album might have to do with death & the after life.

Alan Parsons has again put together a well crafted album that deserved more airplay & recognition. It did peak at #122 on Billboard's album charts but there weren't any charting singles. This cd has now been discontinued & will only get more expensive with time. I can recommend this album as worth getting, not necessarily at any cost, but at any within reason. Remember, if you don't get this, then you didn't Try Anything Once.