Tales Of Mystery And Imagination - Edgar Allan Poe

名プロデューサーのアラン・パーソンズとエリック・ウルフソンによるアラン・パーソンズ・プロジェクト。1976年の記念すべきデビューアルバム『Tales Of Mystery And Imagination Edgar Allan Poe (怪奇と幻想の物語 ～エドガー・アラン・ポーの世界)』が最新リマスター＆4曲のボーナス・トラック追加した拡売版で発売。

■収録曲
1. A Dream Within a Dream
2. The Raven
3. The Tell-Tale Heart
4. The Cask of Amontillado
5. (the System of) Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether
6. The Fall of the House of Usher (I Prelude, Ii Arrival, Iii Intermezzo, Iv Pavane, V Fall)
7. To One In Paradise
8. Dream Within a Dream the Raven (Early Mix With Eric On Vocoder)
9. The Tell-Tale Heart (Eric Guide Vocal)
10. The Cask of Amontillado (Eric & Alan Guide Vocals)
11. Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether (Eric Guide Vocal)

Tales of Mystery and Imagination is an extremely mesmerizing aural journey through some of Edgar Allan Poe's most renowned works. With the use of synthesizers, drums, guitar, and even a glockenspiel, Parsons' shivering effects make way for an eerie excursion into Poe's well-known classics. On the album's 1987 remix, the instrumental "Dream Within a Dream" has Orson Welles narrating in front of this wispy collaboration of guitars and keyboards (Welles also narrates "Fall of the House of Usher: Prelude"). The EMI vocoder is used throughout "The Raven" with the Westminster City School Boys Choir mixed in to add a distinct flair to its chamber-like sound. Parsons' expertise surrounds this album, from the slyness that prevails in "(The System Of) Doctor Tarr and Professor Feather" to the bodeful thumping of the drums that imitate a heartbeat on "The Tell-Tale Heart." "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a lengthy but dazzling array of musicianship that keeps the album's persona intact, while enabling the listener to submerge into its frightening atmosphere. With vocalists Terry Sylvester, John Miles, and Eric Woolfson stretched across each track, this variety of different singing styles adds color and design to the album's air. Without any underlying theme to be pondered upon, Alan Parsons instead paints a vivid picture of one of the most alluring literary figures in history by musically reciting his most famous works in expert fashion. ~ Mike DeGagne