The Alan Parsons Project's Tales of Mystery and Imagination

I recently read Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," so I decided to listen to the Alan Parsons Project's Tales of Mystery and Imagination, which contains song versions of some of Poe's works, including "The Cask of Amontillado."  The CD version I have is the updated 1987 version, but I also have the original 1976 version on record, which I listened to back in April.  So, while I didn't have to listen to this album again for this project, I did.

In any case, listening to it this time, I discovered many ways in which the music reflects what's going on in the story.

At the beginning of "The Raven," there's a simple three-note phrase in the bass part, which resembles the three syllables in nevermore.

"The Tell-Tale Heart" presents some interesting changes.  The first part includes rocking guitars and cymbal-heavy drum parts along with the raucous vocals of Arthur Brown.  It then transitions to a softer section with strings, woodwinds, and Jack Harris' vocal part, and then it returns to how it was in the beginning.  It's been awhile since I've read "The Tell-Tale Heart," but I think those changes in tempo, vocalist, and instrumentation serve to reflect the mental state of the narrator.  At first, he's paranoid, then he's placated after he's murdered the old man, and then he's frantic again because of his guilt and hearing the heart's beating.

In certain parts of "The Cask of Amontillado," there are some cymbal parts (or possibly hi-hat parts, like I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm not very familiar with drums or drum terminology) that don't follow the regular rhythm of the track.  They might just be there for extra ambiance, but Poe's story mentions that Fortunato is wearing a "conical cap and bells," so perhaps those cymbal parts are supposed to portray the bells on Fortunato's hat.

There's also a great change in the Prelude of "The Fall of the House of Usher."  After Orson Welles delivers the line "color becomes pallor," the supporting note changes from a D to a B.  I'm not sure if it's really a key change, but it is sort of a menacing modulation, which emphasizes the transformation mentioned in Welles' narration.  (I need to compare this to the 1976 version, which doesn't include Welles' narration.)

There are probably other musical reflections of the story in "The Fall of the House of Usher," but it's been awhile since I've read it, so I couldn't pick up on anything specific.  I should look into the Poe references in this album more deeply sometime.