A little over three years since his last studio release, The Secret, Alan Parsons returns with a sixth solo set. From The New World adheres largely to the blueprint of its warmly received predecessor, which after 15 years away from the format of ‘new music’ under his own name featured a galaxy of illustrious co-stars, with vocals from former Foreigner singer Lou Gramm, the popular US singer/songwriter Jason Mraz and Parsons himself, plus musical backing provided by the likes of Steve Hackett, Nathan East, Vinnie Colaiuta, Danny Thompson and Jeff Kollman – talents that always reassure quality.
Although The Secret was conceptually based, its contents exploring the art of magic, From The New World is simply a set of standalone soft rock-meets-pop compositions. Reflecting Parsons’ iconic stature as a collaborator of The Beatles and also his contribution to Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon, they are beautifully written and masterfully executed, though if it’s anything that might resemble challenging time signatures or demanding arrangements that you seek, well… look elsewhere. That Tommy Shaw, saccharine-voiced frontman of US pomp/AOR veterans Styx, delivers one of its selections reveals much of what you need to know.
In contrast to the above statement, the laid-back Fare Thee Well begins proceedings with a mild doff of the Floyd cap, echoing Dark Side… at its most melodic and swoon-inducing. By comparison, The Secret is a pleasant if toothless pop tune. Like or loathe Tommy Shaw, his voice is fairly unmistakable, and Parsons deploys it on a track called Uroboros, an ancient symbol that depicts a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. Regrettably, the title is much more interesting than the music.
Three songs in, FTNW is already threatening to slip into a coma and by the sloth-like Don’t Fade Now, the medical staff are calling friends and relatives to make their way to the hospital. Thankfully, the album’s pulse revives with Give ’Em My Love, a wistful number sung passionately by American Idol competitor James Durbin and coloured by a delightful Joe Bonamassa guitar solo.
As Bonamassa returns two songs later for I Won’t Be Led Astray, featuring David Pack of the band Ambrosia, one of many acts that Parsons collaborated with in the studio and whose members graced the Alan Parsons Project, relieved nurses are declaring that the patient is out of danger.
From The New World is an album that successfully reinforces Parsons’ talent as a writer of simple melodies, though in this instance it sails much too closely to middle-of-the-road blandola.
