I just thought we should start a thread for each of Alan's major solo albums, where we can all post our thoughts about the album. Anyone want to start?

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TRACKLIST:
Left Over People
Away, Away
Between Today And Yesterday
In Times Like These
Under The Sun
Jarrow Song
City Lights
Look At My Face
Angel Eyes
You're Telling Me
Dream Of Delight

I have just been watching my documentary DVD 'Between Today and Yesterday' and I love these songs.
Just observing Alan writing the songs and music plus seeing all the hard work that goes into each and
every one is really impressive and the story of his young life telling how he started out in music is inspirational.

This bit from the CD insert says it all - that Between Today and Yesterday is one of the more remarkable
rock albums of the era. It should have been up in the Top Ten!




(Although he has on more than one occasion acknowledged that he is 'difficult' I have not noticed that
he is beligerent, bumptious or exasperating - he certainly isn't when on stage or talking to fans after
the show. )

I agree, I've never seen him be anything but pleasant to his fans! It does seem an odd detail to throw into a review.

I go back and forth, trying to decide whether this or O Lucky Man! is my favorite AP album. I really love the autobiographical parts of Between Today and Yesterday, and for a year or so of my life I listened to this album two or three times a day. (You see, Daria, you're not the only one! )

It coincides with my favorite era in literature, which was the mid-1950s through 1960s British novels/plays/movies, about the upheaval of the class system after World War II. The gritty images of the workers rising at dawn to go off to the mines (or shipyards, or factories), the camaraderie of the pub, the loner striking out to find fame in the big modern city, really resonate with me.

Perhaps my favorite songs are "Away, Away" (so haunting), the rowdy singalong of "In Times Like These," the poignance of "City Lights" (I think of this as the continuation of "Arrival" from O Lucky Man!), and that powerful blues ballad, "You're Telling Me." I often give just these 4 tracks to people I am trying to turn on to Alan Price. They really show off the breadth of his musical range, his great ear for melody, his fantastic singing, and of course his keyboard genius.

And that's not even mentioning "Jarrow Song," which is definitely one of Alan's greatest tracks ever!

PS "Dream of Delight" strikes me as a slightly silly song, but I can't help loving it. There's a husky rasp to Alan's voice there that is soooooo thrilling!!

(12-07-2009 01:05 AM)hollyh Wrote:  (You see, Daria, you're not the only one! )

Oh yes I see Though I stop listening to AP only at night XD If I'm home it's my computer player, if I'm out it's my mp3 player.

"Away, Away" is one of my favorites of that album (Apart from it "Jarrow Song" is monumental)

Good day to everyone

My five favorite Alan Price releases (in no particular order, as I love every one of them) are: "O Lucky Man", "Based On A True Story", "Alan Price", "Metropolitan Man" and (of course) "Between Today And Yesterday".

The breath and depth of emotion evoked and expressed in the compositions on "Between Today And Yesterday" are truely remarkable. Alan delivers haunting melodies (whether soft and delicate or loud and boisterous), poignant lyrics and a strong personal view of social injustice that cannot be mistaken or ignored.

My favorite tracks (and it's very hard to decide which are "favorites" when I love the entire album) are: "Away, Away", the masterful "Between Today And Yesterday" (all 3 versions on the expanded CD), "Under The Sun", "Jarrow Song", "City Lights" and the incredible "You're Telling Me". (I wish Alan would do an entire album of slow, bluesy numbers like "You're Telling Me".)

Let me see, did I miss any favorites? How about... every single song that hasn't yet appeared on my favorites list. There isn't a note on this album that I do not love!

Final note: I own this album on record (U.S. and U.K. versions - different back covers), cassette, 8-track and CD (with extra tracks). And of course, I enjoy watching the DVD documentary about the creation of this masterpiece. (I've given away over 30 copies of the LP and CD to friends and associates who hear me playing Alan Price and want to hear more!)
.

When a song gets to the point where it actually has a little soul and a little glow in itself, where it can evolve in neutral surroundings and sublime its own essence by striking the listener's heart straight to the core- the voices of music speak to mute sentiments best- then it becomes a true work of art, because it achieved something good and beautiful.

Alan Price's songs- the reason I listen to him is because---> they are all like that. Well, of course his recordings are not always perfect, some renditions could have been slightly otherwise, but! Taking the example of Between Today & Yesterday each song is an individual. There isn't a progression in the moods (which feels very unprofessional) and different keys and different topics are explored. Think about it: if you had to dissect this album completely, there's so much packed into it, artistically and intellectually. As a result, it's a very rich and cultured album in every sense these two adjectives can offer. At the end of the day, such caliber is a rarety.

One of Alan Price's most curious songs (which turned it into one of his most well-known tunes and a big favorite) has to be Jarrow Song Even if he did write the lyrics pretty quickly as he once stated, he did something very smart with it. For such lyrics, if you'd read them first and then listened to the full song, the instrumental would seem unexpected and why not highly original for some. It's a song, that, at first, seems to find no balance between lyrics and tune- but that disbalance creates balance. And then you come up with a catchy song with interesting words. There's also a sort of subtle agressiveness in the way it catches one's ear; with Jarrow Song one is grabbed and shaken by the collar (gently, of course) and the next time they come across the record, they'll have to stand up and say 'Sir'.

The last song in the list is a little weird, but the slight imperfection does make perfection in the immanent world.