A Musical Vision Of A Technological Dystopia

It's no secret I'm a big fan of progressive rock. Today I would like to bring you one mans view of our present and future. Alan Parson's, who also engineered Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon, gives us his take on a dystopian society, with advanced technology at its base. From the first track, Parson's masterfully sets the mood for a mind expanding look into a civilization with no privacy, rife with thought police, and a fear of the state, as well as ones peers. This concept album is very reminiscient of Orwell's 1984, and other such dystopian novels. Parson's does in 40 minutes, what often takes a writer hundreds of pages to do. He cuts to the chase, and uses music to instill a range of emotion in the listener. Giving them just a taste of the despair, and hopelessness, that comes with such a society. Yet he again, masterfully brings you back to reality at the end, with plenty to ponder and meditate on.

Obviously, his style, and the late 70's sound isn't for everyone, but it doesn't diminish the musical genius behind this album, IMO. Enjoy, and give me your own take on this progressive rock classic.

Track listing:

Side ONE -
1. I ROBOT 00:08
2. I WOULDN'T WANT TO BE LIKE YOU 06:07
3. SOME OTHER TIME 09:30
4. BREAKDOWN 13:36
5. DON'T LET IT SHOW 17:28

Side TWO -
1. THE VOICE 22:00
2. NUCLEUS 27:30
3. DAY AFTER DAY 30:55
4. TOTAL ECLIPSE 34:43
5. GENESIS CH.1. V.32 37:40

reply to post by Klassified


Great sound..had never heard this before...thx for sharing

reply to post by cosmicexplorer

That's understandable. It's old and forgotten by many. It's meant to be listened to like one long song, when one has no distractions. Let me know your feelings about it, after you've heard it all.

reply to post by Klassified


Ill have to hear the whole thing some other time but I will say this. My favorite band growing up was pink floyd. I loved the ideas of concept albums...the wall, the final cut, and more. You could listen to the whole thing. Often a band puts something out and I just download the 2 songs I like by them and move on. It is very rare I can find a whole album I can just listen to. Ill definitely give this a shot when I get some time.

reply to post by Klassified


Hey Classified,

I really appreciate your comments about the album!

Listening, one can put this music to many of the recent stories
in the headlines as of late.

I especially enjoyed "I Wouldnt want to be like you"
great song - and it was a big hit for days...
That could be said of many people today who have great power;
I wont name names that would spoil it.

I also enjoyed Genesis, a nice way to end the album
and very creative with bringing the emotional experience to a good end.

Movies with good endings....ah the good old days.

Thanks for a great OP!

reply to post by burntheships

Thanks BTS. That track is one of my faves off the album, too.

Listening, one can put this music to many of the recent stories in the headlines as of late.

Definitely.

I think this album is unique in its genre. And that it was so well done, sets it apart even more. Thanks for chiming in. This kind of thread doesn't usually get much attention, but if even one person enjoys it. It's worth posting.

Klassified
And that it was so well done, sets it apart even more.

Very much so...
How odd it is these days often that great works go unnoticed even
in the movies, its as if peeps hear the best, yet they have no clue.