Pink World

by

Planet P Project

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I remember hearing part of this album back in the 80's, from a friend who had the pink LP. I guess I wasn't in the mood to hear it then. Things have changed, and I'm sure glad that I picked this CD up.

Pink World was created by the Planet P Project, but the driving force behind this group is actually Tony Carey, whose prior claim to fame was being the keyboardist for Rainbow. Thank God Carey struck out on his own. Most of the instruments on Pink World are played by Carey. Carey also wrote the lyrics and arrangements for the album. Impressive. And you'll be impressed when you give this CD a listen.

Pink World is a concept album about a boy named Artemis who has psychic powers and eventually becomes a messiah. All of this occurs against the backdrop of the Cold War and nuclear annihilation. While this might sound trite, I assure you it isn't.

The album is laid out with longer tracks separated by very short bursts of music, a tactic that Pink Floyd has used to great effect. This isn't the only similarity of this album to Pink Floyd. Some of the songs have a very definite Floyd sound, such as "A Boy Who Can't Talk," in which Carey certainly affects the pained vocal strains of Roger Waters. This similarity isn't a bad thing, and it isn't overpowering.

Other tracks that stand out are, "To Live Forever," as well as "Pink World" and "Power". The whole album is great, and I can't believe I ignored this as long as I did. I would say run, don't walk, to get this CD. It needs to have a U.S. reissue.

If Mr. Carey reads this review, I live near Boystown, Nebraska. Since you have an album entitled, "The Boystown Tapes", wouldn't this be a great place to hold a concert?

A friend suggested this album after we discussed our mutual appreciation of the sci-fi rock genre (i.e. Bowie's "Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust", Grandaddy's "The Sophtware Slump", Radiohead's "OK Computer", Neil Young's "Transformer Man"). I had never heard of it before, so I gave it a listen. Boy, is this album pretentious. The music hasn't aged well at all, although at the time I would've found it as unappealing as I do today. The lyrics are not really inventive in any way, relative to other music in this genre, and they lack any real emotional appeal. Worst of all, Pink World takes itself way too seriously (it's only rock and roll, people). Based on the other reviews of this album, the appeal seems to be fueled by nostalgia for high school days, when most listeners appear to have bought and listened to the album. Pink World has no appeal to the unbiased, modern listener. The only reason I give it any stars at all is the occasional Pink Floyd sound, and the attempt at a great genre. If you like this genre, skip this album and try Grandaddy's "The Sophtware Slump" - intelligent lyrics, post-modern concept, incredible music (this is what a synthesizer is SUPPOSED to sound like), and a highly developed sense of irony. If you haven't heard Pink World yet, you probably don't want to.