The Alan Parsons Project Tales Of Mystery and Imagination 40th Anniversary Edition [Blu-ray] [2016]

After many, many, months, we have been able to find the stereo download which was the main reason for buying the Blu-Ray disc... The single; very large file as mentioned in the booklet by Alan Parsons is in genuine 96/24 .wav format and plays...The Blu-Ray we have does not mention 40th-anniversary on the cover but it appears that the disk is the same...Having bought this music on original LP and the remastered 'deluxe' CD and then having bought again on Blu-Ray since its first and earliest release in 1976, the music speaks for itself...

First of all, I could start by saying that I am a great admirer of the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. If I ever had to keep only a few books from my library, then the "Tales of mystery and imagination" would be among them. If you haven't read them, I'd definitely recommend you do so - but be warned: they are better read without the presence of fear or prejudice. And probably at night in your dark living room with just your table lamp on.With that said, we come to this album, which is an attempt to set Poe's "Tales of mystery and imagination" to music.In my mind, that is a very VERY tall order, even more so if as it is meant for commercial release. Despite the motivation of the Alan Parsons Project (apparently, the idea started as a marketing exercise by E. Woolfson), the final work is of extremely high standard, both in terms of its musical inspiration and also its aural quality. It is certainly not an easy listening album and it doesn't contain any top hits, such as the ones found in the later APP albums. It cannot be an easy listening album anyway, as the themes on which it is based on are not at all light-hearted or cheerful. What it is is simply a masterpiece of progressive rock, a monumental one-off, a true feat for the ears, mind and soul.There is no single track to pick out here. They are all different and each is superb in its own right. If I were to (reluctantly) distinguish a few, then "The Raven" and the "The fall of the house of Usher" would probably be the ones. The storyline of "The Raven" is hauntingly beautiful and "The Fall of the house of Usher" contains just wonderful music (aud. the "Arrival" and the sublime "Pavane").And the others?"A dream with a dream": the tittle says it all. A dreamy instrumental track to open up the album."The tell-tale heart": savage rhythm with insane singing, only suspended for a short moment in the middle by a wonderful melodic passage. The story is pretty dark."The cask of Amontillado": ultra melodic and beautiful. It's almost like Pink Floyd met The Beatles (with a dash of Andrew Lloyd-Weber)."(The system) of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether": down right rock tune."The fall of the house of Usher": just listen. On headphones at night."To one in paradise": ultra melodic once more (and again reminds me of early Pink Floyd a bit).Talking editions now, the 2007 Mercury Deluxe one is a great treat. You are given the album in 2 different version, the 1976 original one and the 1987 remix (both remastered of course). I tend to prefer the 1976 one, as the sound is more akin to the '70s and hence more original but the 1987 is also very good, as it has some added instrumentation and sounds a bit more dynamic. Also, it brings along the spoken word of Orson Welles, which alone is enough justification for the added expense of this edition. The only thing I do not like about the 1987 version is the remixed snare drumming, which sounds like the drummer of Bon Jovi sneaked in the recording session.All in all, a great re-issue of a true gem from the 1970s. You can't go wrong here. And if you heard it once and didn't like it, give it another chance. It is not an obvious musical album.

A great reissue this. Tales first saw the light of the day in 1976 on the Famous Charisma Label and was ignored. Two singles 'The System of Dr Tarr and Professor Fether' (really - could you ever believe that would be on Top of the Pops' - "Well now Guys and Gals, look what we have here, it's the Alan Parsons Project and their latest release 'The system of Dr Tarr and Professor Fether' and dancing to that tonight we have Pans People" - no, thought not) and the sublime 'To one in paradise' were released to zero exposure. However, a lot of people caught on to the Alan Parsons Project and although their later releases on Clive Davis's Arista label became increasingly radio friendly, 'Tales' for most fans remains the highlight.It's difficult to say why; perhaps it's the diverse styles or perhaps it's the fact that side two contains a long orchestral piece which ends a la the Beatle mid-section of 'A day in the life' preceded by some wonderful melody. John Miles features on two of the songs and Arthur Brown screams his way through 'The tell tale heart' in the same way as his big hit 'Fire'.This excellent reissue give both the original 1976 mix (not available on cd before) and the superior 1987 which has more ambient sounding drums as well as some extra guitar passages added by Ian Bairnson. Orson Welles also narrates in between the tracks.The extensive sleeve notes explain amongst other things how the thunder crack on 'Fall of the House of Usher' was captured (it is real). There are many bonus tracks and outtakes plus a period interview with Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson. Clearly lots of care and attention have been put into this release making it an extensive purchase. You won't be disappointed.

This is a review of the Blu-ray audio version of this album The Alan Parsons Project Tales Of Mystery and Imagination 40th Anniversary Edition. The album always had exceptionally good sound, as can be expected from Mr. Parsons (who was the sound engineer on Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon). The high resolution audio versions on this disc offer the closest available approach to listening to the actual analogue master tapes. The 1987 version of the album (with added narration by Orson Welles) has been remixed in 5.1 by Alan Parsons. The result is spectacular. The sound field is as immersive as it can be, with some neat but never gimmicky surround effects and a wide dynamic range. The original 1976 version of the album is included in high resolution stereo only. This exact version can also be downloaded with a code from the enclosed voucher. A 16 page booklet with lyrics, artwork, credits and a technical note by Mr. Parsons is included.