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Alan Parsons Project
Artist Biographyby All Music Guide [allmusic.com]Engineer/producer Alan Parsons and his colleague, songwriter and lyricist Eric Woolfson, formed the Alan Parsons Project in 1975. Throughout their career, the Alan Parsons Project recorded concept albums (including adaptations of Poe and Asimov books), with a revolving cast of session musicians. 1982's Eye in the Sky was their greatest success; the title track charted in the Top Ten on the pop charts and the album went platinum. Although they weren't able to repeat that success, the group maintained a devoted cult audience. |
Artist: Alan Parsons ProjectTitle:Tales Of Mystery And ImaginationReleased: 1976Label: 20th Century Records Catalog: T-739 Genre: Pop / Rock 01 A Dream Within A Dream 02 The Raven 03 The Tell-Tale Heart 04 The Cask Of Amontillado 05 (The System Of) Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether 06 The Fall Of The House Of Usher(i) Prelude(ii) Arrival (iii) Intermezzo (iv) Pavane (v) Fall 07 To One In Paradise LP to CD transfer bundle $44.99
ITEM# SR-20THCRT739 |
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Album Reviewby Mike DeGagne [allmusic.com]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. |
Artist: Alan Parsons ProjectTitle:The Turn Of A Friendly CardReleased: 1980Label: Arista Catalog: AL 9518 Genre: Pop / Rock 01 May Be A Price To Pay 02 Games People Play 03 Time 04 I Don't Wanna Go Home 05 The Gold Bug The Turn Of A Friendly Card (Suite)06 I. The Turn Of A Friendly Card (Part One)07 II. Snake Eyes 08 III. The Ace Of Swords 09 IV. Nothing Left To Lose 10 V. The Turn Of A Friendly Card (Part Two) LP to CD transfer bundle $37.99
ITEM# SR-AL9518 |
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Album Reviewby Mike DeGagne [allmusic.com]With two of the Alan Parsons Project's best songs, the lovely ballad "Time" and the wavy-sounding "Games People Play," The Turn of a Friendly Card remains one of this group's most enjoyable albums. Parsons' idea, the subject of the album's six tracks, centers around the age-old temptation of gambling and its stranglehold on the human psyche. On "Games People Play," vocalist Lenny Zakatek sounds compelling and focused, giving the song a seriousness that aids in realization of the album's concept. With "Time," it is Eric Woolfson who carries this luxurious-sounding ode to life's passing to a place above and beyond any of this band's other slower material. The breakdown of human willpower and our greedy tendencies are highlighted in the last track, entitled "The Turn of a Friendly Card," which is broken into five separate parts. "Snake Eyes," sung by Chris Rainbow, is the most compelling of the five pieces, and ties together the whole of the recording. As in every Parsons album, an instrumental is included, in this case an interesting number aptly titled "The Gold Bug." Like most of the band's instrumentals, its flow and rhythm simulate the overall tempo and concept of the album, acting as a welcome interlude. Although short, The Turn of a Friendly Card is to the point and doesn't let down when it comes to carrying out its idea. |
Artist: Alan Parsons ProjectTitle:Ammonia AvenueReleased: 1983Label: Arista Catalog: AL8 8204 Genre: Pop / Rock 01 Prime Time 02 Let Me Go Home 03 One Good Reason 04 Since The Last Goodbye 05 Don't Answer Me 06 Dancing On A Highwire 07 You Don't Believe 08 Pipeline 09 Ammonia Avenue LP to CD transfer bundle $39.99
ITEM# SR-AL88204 |
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Album Reviewby Mike DeGagne [allmusic.com]One of the most interesting aspects about the Alan Parsons Project is the band's ability to forge a main theme with each of its songs, while at the same time sounding extremely sharp and polished. Much of this formula is used in Ammonia Avenue, only this time the songs rise above Parsons' overall message due to the sheer beauty of the lyrics partnered with the luster of the instruments. The album touches upon how the lines of communication between people are diminishing, and how we as a society grow more spiritually isolated and antisocial. But aside from the philosophical concepts prevalent in the lyrics, it is the music on this album that comes to the forefront. The enchanting saxophone of Mel Collins on "Don't Answer Me" adds to its lonely atmosphere, while the briskness of Eric Woolfson's wording throughout "Prime Time" makes it one of the Project's best singles. On "You Don't Believe," the seriousness of the lyrics works well with the song's energetic pace. The subtlety of the ballad comes to life on the elegant "Since the Last Goodbye," which focuses on a failed attempt at a relationship. With Ammonia Avenue, the sum of the parts is greater than the whole product, which can't be said for all of the Alan Parsons Project's albums. Vocalists Eric Woolfson, Chris Rainbow, Lenny Zakatek, and Colin Blunstone equally shine, placing their talents above and beyond the album's main idea. |
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