I Robot released in 1977 42 minutes long Rating: 7.0

I Robot

I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You

Some Other Time

Breakdown

Don't Let It Show

The Voice

Nucleus

Day After Day (The Show Must Go On)

Total Eclipse

Genesis Ch.1. V.32

Conclusion

Based on Isaac Asimov's novel, the Alan Parsons Project produced its second album in a much more conceptualized and structured taste than the band's debut "Tales of Mystery and Imagination". As with many other works of the Project, many guests of the English scene got featured on this album - varying from mainstream pop music to art rock.Alan claims it to be a concept album, and to be fair, instrumentally all tracks grasp a futuristic mall vibe - depicted by the instrumentation and proved by the cover art (which is actually an airport) - but the lyrics are often unnoticeably related to the concept, making them at first glance disposable. This has a lot to do with the fact that, although Isaac got enthusiastic about the idea, referencing the novel would later generate legal conflicts. Thus, many of the lyrics seem remotely related to "I, Robot" (with comma), but have some background of the robotic theme.The homonymic track starts with a synth you'd normally listen to on any progressive rock album. The vocals reminds me a bit of Floyd's "Atom Heart Mother Suite", a track on which Alan Parsons worked as sound engineer (and, according to an interview with Pink Floyd members, was one of the hardest tracks to sync instruments). Fun fact: on the same album, "Alan Psychedelic Breakfast" features Alan himself eating his daily meal.Also, an unexpected rhythm cadence is used soon after the synthesizer introduction on the first track "I Robot" - with a lead bass line on one of the ears, while the drums slowly fade in, establishing the unusual rhythm. Then, the track turns into a funky tune that loudly reminds me of Steely Dan's 1976 "Kid Charlemagne", soloed by a high-pitched instrument (maybe a musical box).It is the longest track on the album and properly resumes the record main timbres: synthesizers, vocals, funky bass and electric guitar.The pop hit of the album sounds like it could be included in any major disco album of the time. The lyrics tell the urge of a robot to deny human nature. The song contains an energetic guitar solo played by Ian Bairnson, and a load ton of groove.Featuring the great voice of Peter Straker, this sure stands out from the two previous tracks. It begins with shy vocals and keyboards that reminds me of The Zombies' "Odessey and Oracle", but later on the epic climax present panned guitars solos and a small synth solo. The lyrics tell us about space-time angst, human finitude, universe infinitude and extraterrestrial intelligence. And just like the single "I wouldn't want to be like you", it's another radio-aimed song for a radio-influenced generation in North America.Having engineered for The Hollies before, Parsons invited singer Allan Clarke. Good think since it's one of the few features of this song - the soprano range of Allan. The song talks about mental breakdown and the apathetic society. The drums on this track are quite expressive: the cymbals on the quiet bridges, the floor tom on the build ups and the whiplash-like snare drum.Like the many tracks on "I Robot", this one at first glance may represent a simple "human" song. If it were, it'd be about the lyrical asking for one to forget him/her and their past romance, in order not to compromise the character's current reputation. But in the context of the album, this song might tell us more about the robot figure. To assume that one of the characters is a robot might be too much of a stretch, but metaphorically, the coldness of the departure could be the one of a machine.The track introduces the vocoder as the obvious sound representation of the robot. In this track, the singer advises you to be aware of some kind of "Big Brother", which is the surveilling "voice". This character could be the nowadays cyber-police, NSA, or even social networks. This might be the song that most directly display the robotic theme.Ambiental. Fades to the next track smoothly.A calm song with a "Pillow of Winds" vibe to it. Lyrically, the time angst is a strong theme on this track: a younger generation that is too frightened to try to push the boundaries of human kind, delaying the breakthrough until there is no spare time left.A potential soundtrack for a moment of danger in a horror movie, the track disrupts with the sugary taste of the previous tracks and adds bittersweet dissonances to build up for a dramatic ending on the following track.There is no verse 32 on the first chapter of the book of Genesis, which may suggest another craft of God - not specified in any explicit way on the album. The instrumentation suggests grandiosity.The album name isn't solidly justified for a concept album, but still offers some drama to the robotic theme with somewhat doubtful robotic themed lyrics (except "The Voice" and "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You"). Again, a more poppy tune was developed in the last sigh of progressive music, just as Genesis would dive in eternal art/pop rock comma in the 80s. Nevertheless, "I Robot" flirted with experimental rock on "Total Eclipse" and ambient music on "Nucleus" - potential fills for an album full of short songs (< 4 minutes long) and almost no climax buildups. A great dance record.Source of lyrics and extra info: