Alan Parsons Project - Stereotomy (85)

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1 Stereotomy
2 Beaujolais
3 Urbania [instrumental]
4 Limelight
5 In the Real World
6 Where's the Walrus? [instrumental]
7 Light of the World
8 Chinese Whispers [instrumental]
9 Stereotomy Two

Genesis – Genesis (83)

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1 Mama
2 That's All
3 Home by the Sea
4 Second Home by the Sea
5 Illegal Alien
6 Taking It All Too Hard
7 Just a Job to Do
8 Silver Rainbow
9 It's Gonna Get Better


Moments of Genesis are as spooky and arty as those on Abacab — in particular, there's the tortured howl of "Mama," uncannily reminiscent of Phil Collins' Face Value, and the two-part "Second Home by the Sea" — but this eponymous 1983 album is indeed a rebirth, as so many self-titled albums delivered in the thick of a band's career often are.

Here the art rock functions as coloring to the pop songs, unlike on Abacab and Duke, where the reverse is true.

Some of this may be covering their bets — to ensure that the longtime fans didn't jump ship, they gave them a bit of art — some of it may be that the band just couldn't leave prog behind, but the end result is the same: as of this record, Genesis was now primarily a pop band.

Anybody who paid attention to "Misunderstanding" and "No Reply at All" could tell that this was a good pop band, primarily thanks to the rapidly escalating confidence of Phil Collins, but Genesis illustrates just how good they could be, by balancing such sleek, pulsating pop tunes as "That's All" with a newfound touch for aching ballads, as on "Taking It All Too Hard."

They still rocked — "Just a Job to Do" has an almost nasty edge to its propulsion — and they could still get too silly as on "Illegal Alien," where Phil's Speedy Gonzalez accident is an outright embarrassment (although in some ways it's not all that far removed from his Artful Dodger accent on the previous album's "Who Dunnit?"), and that's why the album doesn't quite gel.

It has a little bit too much of everything — too much pop, too much art, too much silliness — so it doesn't pull together, but if taken individually, most of these moments are very strong, testaments to the increasing confidence and pop power of the trio, even if it's not quite what longtime fans might care to hear.

Doobie Brothers - Takin' It To The Streets (76)

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1 Wheels of Fortune
2 Takin' It to the Streets
3 8th Avenue Shuffle
4 Losin' End
5 Rio
6 For Someone Special
7 It Keeps You Runnin'
8 Turn It Loose
9 Carry Me Away

The group's first album with Michael McDonald marked a shift to a more mellow and self-consciously soulful sound for the Doobies, not all that different from what happened to Steely Dan — whence McDonald (and Jeff Baxter) had come — between, say, Can't Buy a Thrill and Pretzel Logic.

They showed an ability to expand on the lyricism of Patrick Simmons and Baxter's writing on "Wheels of Fortune," while the title track introduced McDonald's white funk sound cold to their output, successfully.

Simmons' "8th Avenue Shuffle" vaguely recalled "Black Water," only with an urban theme and a more self-consciously soul sound (with extraordinarily beautiful choruses and a thick, rippling guitar break).

"Rio" and "It Keeps You Runnin'" both manage to sound like Steely Dan tracks — and that's a compliment — while Tiran Porter's hauntingly beautiful "For Someone Special" was a pure soul classic right in the midst of all of these higher-energy pieces.

Tom Johnston's "Turn It Loose" is a last look back to their earlier sound, while Simmons' "Carry Me Away" shows off the new interplay and sounds that were to carry the group into the 1980s, with gorgeous playing and singing all around.