Chemical Balance
4 Out Of 5 Stars
As the Alan Parsons Project continued their glide from prog-rock to prog-pop, "Ammonia Avenue" maintained the quality of the previous Eye in the Sky. Stellar musicianship, exquisite production values, and top-notch songwriting. This also may be the album where the first cracks in the Parsons/Woolfson alliance can be seen forming.
The late Eric Woolfson was still the conceptual leader in the APP, but he was also aspiring to the stage. "Ammonia Avenue's" pop conventions were now more prominent than the rock ones, with the Phil Spector wall-of-sound homage of "Don't Answer Me" being the most obvious. (I was also surprised to learn the these songs were originally being considered as a double album, with the remainders eventually arriving on Vulture Culture. Parsons still delivered his sonic expertise, with his signature sound permeating "You Don't Believe" and the instrumental "Pipeline."
Ultimately, "Ammonia Avenue" reaches a balance between the two men, yet it was the first time an APP album felt like it was being divided between its two creative forces. Parsons and Woolfson would soldier on for two more albums, but this was the junction that the two men began taking their separate highways.
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