Alan Parsons Project

   

Alan Parsons Project is a British pop-rock group of the late 1970s-early 1980s, founded by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson.

Most of their titles, especially the early work, share common traits (probably influenced by Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, on which Alan was the audio engineer in 1973): they were concept albums, started with an instrumental introduction fading in to the first song, had an instrumental piece in the middle of the second LP side, and concluded with a quiet/sad/powerful song.

The group was also unusual in that there was little continuity in personnel. In particular, the lead vocal seems to alternate between Woolfson (mostly for slow/sad songs) and a stream of guest vocalists seemingly chosen by their vocal style, to complement the style of each song.

Nonetheless, many feel that the true core of the Project consisted of Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson. Eric Woolfson was a lawyer by profession, but a classically trained composer and pianist as well. Alan Parsons was a highly successful producer. Both worked together to craft noteworthy songs with impeccable fidelity.

Andrew Powell (composer and organizer of orchestral music throughout the life of the Project), Ian Bairnson (guitar) and Richard Cottle (synthesizer and saxophone player) also became integral parts of the project's sound. Powell is also notable for having composed a film score project style for Richard Donner's film Ladyhawke.

Works

  • 1975 Tales of Mystery and Imagination, Edgar Allan Poe - based on stories by the writer Edgar Allan Poe. The later reissue on CD (in 1987) had an added spoken introduction by Orson Welles.
  • 1977 I Robot - the title quotes Isaac Asimov's work, many of the songs on this album are based on Issac Asimov's novels the album is called "a view of tomorrow through the eyes of today"
  • 1978 Pyramid - Ancient Egypt surfaces repeatedly, the album is called "a view of yesterday through the eyes of today",
  • 1979 Eve - about women,
  • 1980 The Turn of a Friendly Card - about Gambling,
  • 1982 Eye in the Sky - about Life and the Universe, it contains their most famous single, "Eye in the Sky." "Sirius," an instrumental which immediately precedes "Eye in the Sky" on the album, is often used as entrance music by American college and professional sports teams; it is probably best known for its use by the Chicago Bulls during the Michael Jordan era, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers (who still use the song today in their Tunnel Walk before each game).
  • 1983 Ammonia Avenue, this is their most commercially successful album to date
  • 1984 Vulture Culture, a critique of consumerism and, in particular, American popular culture.
  • 1985 Stereotomy- The points of view of characters with different mental illnesses.
  • 1987 Gaudi - about architect Antoni Gaudi and his most famous work, La Sagrada Familia.

After those albums, Parsons released other titles under his name, while Woolfson made a last concept album named Freudiana (about Sigmund Freud's work on psychology).

Although the studio version of Freudiana was produced by Alan Parsons, it was primarily Eric Woolfson's idea to turn it into a musical. This eventually led to a rift between the two performers. While Alan Parsons pursued his own solo career (taking many members of the Project out on the road for the first time in a successful worldwide tour), Eric Woolfson went on to produce musical plays influenced by the Project's music. Freudiana and Gambler were two musicals that had some Project hits like "Eye in the Sky", "Time", "Inside Looking Out" and "Limelight" worked in.

The live music from Gambler was only distributed at the performance site (in Cologne, Germany).

Personnel

  • Alan Parsons, keyboards, production, engineering;
  • Eric Woolfson, keyboards, executive production
  • Andrew Powell, keyboards, orchestral arrangements;
  • Ian Bairnson, guitars
  • Bass: David Paton (1975-1985); Laurie Cottle (1985-1987)
  • Drums, Percussion: Stuart Tosh (1975-1977); Stuart Elliott (1977-1987)
  • Saxophones, Keyboards: Mel Collins (1980-1984); Richard Cottle (1984-1987)
  • Vocals: Eric Woolfson, Lenny Zakatek, John Miles, Chris Rainbow, Colin Blunstone, David Paton, and many others


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