Freedom to Music
Alan Parsons Project – Freudiana (1990) (@256)
16 Feb 2007
(Review from allmusic.com, amazon.com)
Back in the ’70s, engineer/producer Alan Parsons wanted to dedicate an entire album to fantasy writer Edgar Allan Poe. He hired numerous musicians and singers to help him in what would become the first album of the Alan Parsons Project. Initially meant to be a one-time experience, the “project” turned into a full-time band, and quite a successful one, with that. Some two decades later, Eric Woolfson, Parsons’ long-time companion, puts up his own project. This time, it is not about Poe but about Freud. The subsequent band and album are both named Freudiana, as is one of the tracks. And of course, the whole is produced by — who else — Alan Parsons himself. The result is a concept album which offers — to quote the liner notes: “an image of the composer seen through a Freudian mirror.”
1990′s “Freudiana” was the last album that singer/composer Eric Woolfson collaborated on with Alan Parsons. It is an Alan Parsons Project album in all but name. It features virtually the exact same revolving door of musicians & singers that have featured on previous Project albums, such as co-leaders Parsons & Woolfson, guitarist Ian Bairnson, drummer Stuart Elliot, and “Gaudi” bassist Laurie Cottle, as well as singers Graham Dye, Chris Rainbow, John Miles & Eric Woolfson himself, along with “newcomers” Leo Sayer, Kiki Dee, and 10cc’s Eric Stewart. “Freudiana” is structured like a Project album, and it’s incredible music & production sounds like a Project album.
After “Freudiana,” Woolfson parted ways with Alan Parsons to concentrate on musical theater (and “Freudiana,” in fact, was later staged as a musical in Vienna in December of 1990). While Parsons continues to make albums under his own name (minus the “Project” moniker), it can’t be denied that Woolfson’s unique singing & songwriting contributions are missed. But he couldn’t have chosen a better album to exit with — many Alan Parsons Project fans actually name “Freudiana” as their favorite “Project” album.
The lyrics go through various interpretations of Freud’s works, studying all his most famous cases (Wolfman, Ratman, Dora, Little Hans, Schreber and the Judge). Some songs (like “Little Hans”) are reminiscent of the Beatles — which shouldn’t be too surprising, considering Woolfson used to be a member of Herman’s Hermits. Others are obvious reminders of the Alan Parsons Project (most noticeably “Dora”). The rest can be progressive at times (“Funny You Should Say That,” “No One Can Love You Better Than Me”) and the whole is very creative and intelligent. Lead vocals, as on all of the Alan Parsons Project releases, are shared by a number of singers — from Woolfson himself to Kiki Dee, Eric Stewart and John Miles. The strongest performances are by Leo Sayer (“I Am a Mirror”) and the Flying Pickets (on the strange, yet incredibly powerful, “Funny You Should Say That”).
Line-up:
- Laurie Cottle / bass
- Stuart Elliott / drums and percussion
- Ian Bairnson / guitars
- Eric Woolfson / keyboards, vocals
- Richard Cottle / synthetizers and saxophones
- Alan Parsons / additional keyboards
- Andrew Powell / orchestra arrangement and conduction
- Leo Sayer, Graham Dye, The Flying Pickets, Kiki Dee, Eric Stewart, Frankie Howerd, Marti Webb, Gary Howard, Chris Rainbow, John Miles / vocals
Track List:
01. The Nirvana Principle
02. Freudiana
03. I Am A Mirror
04. Little Hans
05. Dora
06. Funny You Should Say That
07. You’re On Your Own
08. Far Away From Home
09. Let Yourself Go
10. Beyond The Pleasure Principle
11. The Ring
12. Sects Therapy
13. No One Can Love You Better Than Me
14. Don’t Let The Moment Pass
15. Upper Me
16. Freudiana
17. Destiny
18. There But For The Grace Of God
Links in comments.
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about 5 years ago
OGG!
Filesonic 1 -> http://tinyurl.com/3cnmrp2
Filesonic 2 -> http://tinyurl.com/3m3r2qv
Hotfile 1 -> http://tinyurl.com/3zph3zu
Hotfile 2 -> http://tinyurl.com/3veh2vg
Rapidshare 1 -> http://tinyurl.com/ypksy4
Rapidshare 2 -> http://tinyurl.com/yq2efl
Password -> sakalli
about 4 years ago
wow, I didn’t know about this album.Thank you!
about 4 years ago
Various tracks (3,4,6,12,13,15,17) won’t unzip, but the other tracks in the archive unzip and play ok. Similar problem encountered with the earlier Annie Haslam postings here. Anyone else noticing this, or is it just me?
about 4 years ago
I re-tested both zip files just to be sure, they unzipped without any problems.If you could post the error message you get, we may be able to make suggestions.
about 4 years ago
Thanks for checking (and for this blog, really great selections!) Since file corruption seemed to be ruled out, I dug a bit deeper on my end. It turns out to be a bug in a new version of the unzip program I’m using. Rolled back to an older version, and all is ok. Sorry for the false alarm, and thanks again.
about 4 years ago
thanks!!
about 4 years ago
Thank you for the post. I was able to unzip the file, but it has opened with a file my computer does not recognize. Any suggestions? It looks like a windows file (the icon does) but it won’t unzip to my burner.
about 4 years ago
STILL ACTIVE ! THX!!
about 4 years ago
> I was able to unzip the file, but it has opened with a file my computer does not
> recognize. Any suggestions?
See FAQ, look under “How can I play OGG files?”.
about 4 years ago
Thanks, also didn’t know of this album.
about 3 years ago
aslinda teoride “Eric Woolfson” albümü ya, neyse :) (bkz. Poe: More Tales of Mystery and Imagination’a yazdigim yorum ;) ) ama pratikte aslanlar gibi Project albümü… Daha da ilginci, üzerinde APP ibaresi bile olmayan “son” project albümü!
her zamanki gibi, upgrade iyi oldu ;)
sonraki APP’ler (Project’siz olanlar…) yok mudur? Try anything once, on air falan…
about 3 years ago
> sonraki APP’ler (Project’siz olanlar…) yok mudur?
Project’siz (Woolfson’siz) Alan Parsons Project olmaz diye dusunup koymamistim zamaninda.