New Alan Parsons album "From The New World" out in July! (CD/DVD release)

QuadraphonicQuad

Help Support QuadraphonicQuad:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
AP's website calls it a CD + DVD Audio (twice). But we know how often DVD Audio gets misrepresented.

1653522324764.png
 
Last edited:
Well, I just realized that the song "The Neverending Show" actually isn't on the album. I had skipped that live album because I assumed I'd be able to buy the song on the new studio album...
“The secret”, that is the most disappointing AP album to me so far
Not in my opinion. I think it's got an edge over all the 90s Parsons solo albums.
But funny that there is now a song called "The Secret" on the new record!
AP's website calls it a CD + DVD Audio (twice). But we know how often DVD Audio gets misrepresented.
I assume the specs will be the same as The Secret. (DTS 5.1, DTS and Dolby Digital stereo).
I wonder why it's not on a Blu-ray audio disc in a lossless audio format!
Frontiers just ain't got the budget, and since it's them offering him the contract, I can't see AP complaining too loudly about it. Maybe SDE could do a limited Blu-Ray but since the DVD exists, it wouldn't have the same 'exclusive' pull.
So the box set follows the model of The Secret. You get a t-shirt, a vinyl record (apparently exclusive in this variant), some other tat and a CD live album that has been out of print for a while. It was LiveSpan in 2019, now it's Eye 2 Eye - Live in Madrid.

That is all nice and good but I'm still wishing for a release that collects all the stray tracks from in between albums (e.g. the three bonus studio tracks from the first Live album in 1995, "Beginnings" from the Japanese Time Machine, "All Our Yesterdays", "Alpha Centauri", "Fragile", "Do You Live at All?" and now "The Neverending Show"). Sequenced well, they could make a nice "album" of their own.
 
Last edited:
It already sounds better than anything on “The secret”, that is the most disappointing AP album to me so far
I agree. This song isn’t that great either but still sounds better than anything off The Secret (to a bad album).

The Tommy Shaw song sounds like it’s missing many musical elements and sounds bland.
 
"Guest appearances include guitar virtuoso Joe Bonamassa, and vocalists Tommy Shaw of STYX, David Pack formerly of Ambrosia, and American Idol alumni James Durbin, who blend seamlessly with Alan and his incredible band."

I'm wondering about P J Olsson? I've become comfortable with the sound of him being the lead vocalist for APP and so far no mention?
He has PJ highly involved, even helps with mixing. PJ is a wonderful dude.
 
I have to admit that "Uroboros" is growing on me. Yes, it's mostly built around Pink Floyd's two chords (think "Breathe"), but the little melody that first appears on the intro and later in the middle again is so typical for Parsons' writing style.

Last year, he said this:

"It's very early stages," Parsons notes. "I don't think it's going to be particularly conceptual, but I think we're going to revamp a famous classical piece. I won't say what that is yet because it gives it away, but it's something very ambitious and exciting."

Read More: Alan Parsons Teases Possible 'Get Back' Cameo, New Project Music | Alan Parsons Teases Possible 'Get Back' Cameo, New Project Music

You may or may not know that "From the New World" is the title of Antonín Dvořák's ninth symphony. Symphony No. 9 (Dvořák)
 
There are interviews with Parsons in the German magazines ROCKS & Classic Rock. I didn't buy either but skimmed through them and can summarize a few points:

The album title refers to Dvorak, but also to the fact that all the musicians on the album except Parsons himself are American.

The concept is apparently an homage to American pop music. Which explains the presence of "Be My Baby". Parsons was asked why and he said because the original is in mono and he wanted to make a stereo version :D

(On the other hand, "Uroboros" sounds Very British, and according to the 7/10 review in Classic Rock, two tracks are reminiscent of The Beatles, so...)

While not related to the new album, I got a kick out of him talking about Tears for Fears. Specifically, it grew from a question about his collab with Steven Wilson. It seems Alan is slightly envious because Steven gets to remix so many great albums. Parsons specifically singled out that he would've liked to do The Seeds of Love in surround! "I heard he's doing Who's Next next, that's also been on my bucket list"

Which begs the question... did Parsons ever do a surround mix of an album he wasn't originally involved with? Gotta build a reputation, man! ;)
 
Getting back to Alan and his ambitions to mix in surround, (and I know I may be in the minority here) as much as I adore his original mix for Tales, to me the surround mix doesn't have nearly the same fire and sounds a bit mailed in.

But I'm also not surprised. He's not nearly the same guy as he was back then. And it would be basically impossible to get back to the mindset he was probably in when he did the original.

I bet he put in many hours mixing that original stereo version. The surround version I bet not.
 
Wait, what, Steven's doing Who's Next?

That would be big news.

Alan may have let the cat out of the bag there.
I already knew about it due to the thread here and on SH.tv - and it had been strongly speculated anyway thanks to this earlier post:
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...-atmos-mix-confirmed.31444/page-4#post-612544
However, if Astley had not posted that pic, then Parsons would've been the first to "sort of officially" state it. And given that this interview must've been done a few weeks ago already before going into print, he clearly had insider knowledge. :)
 
Back
Top