From the New World (2022)
The most recent Alan Parsons album, ‘From the New World’, follows the his latest trend of compiling some very good songs next to some rather forgettable ones. ‘From the New World’ has some very solid entries and is once again a masterclass in terms of production quality.
The record begins with “Fare Thee Well”, a dramatic rocker that is almost saying goodbye to all the classic Alan Parsons Project songs. The track name drops many classic hits from Parsons’ catalog, like The Raven, Children of the Moon, In the Lap of the Gods, etc. Some may say it’s corny, but I think it works well.
“The Secret” is your typical Alan Parsons pop rock hit with a driving drum beat and dreamy guitar. Following that, Styx legend Tommy Shaw, is featured on “Uroborus”. A song about the ancient symbol that depicts a serpent or dragon eating its own tail in an endless loop. The track sounds like the best of Styx and the best of Alan Parsons coming together and creating a classic and fun rock song.
The rest of the record is a bit of a roller coaster with it’s high ups and downs. We get teases of brilliance in some tracks, but some ultimately just fall flat. It’s not until we get to “You Are The Light” where we have our next iconic track. It is a light and poppy, catchy song that is reminiscent to the ‘Vulture Culture’ or ‘Ammonia Avenue’ era, but with less 80s production.
The most odd song on the record is by far “Be My Baby.” Alan Parsons covers The Ronettes 60s classic, but doesn’t do anything radically different to it. It is a very honest cover, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It is a fantastic song, and Parsons’ cover is wonderful. The song would make sense on a covers record of 50s and 60s classics, but thrown in on this 2022 release where there is nothing else like it feels odd.
Overall, ‘From the New World’ has many great things to love on it, but it also has a few songs that are underwhelming and just don’t hit the mark. Songs like “Goin’ Home”, “ Don’t Fade Now”, and “Obstacles” can be skipped. Aside from this, there is plenty to love and I encourage any Alan Parsons fan to absolutely give this a listen. You’ll find something you enjoy on it.
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Highlight Songs:
Uroborus
You Are The Light
I Won’t Be Led Astray
Be My Baby
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Own it, Stream it, Forget about it?
Like the last album, ‘The Secret,’ if you are a Alan Parsons completist then you should of course own this record. If not, you can get away with streaming it once over, saving the songs you like, and then adding them to whatever playlist you have in rotation. The songs that work really work, but sadly it’s not all of them.
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Overall Rating:
3.5 Stars
