About the Album:
“By then well-known for their concept albums, in 1980 the Project turned its sights” JW to “the age-old temptation of gambling and its stranglehold on the human psyche.” MD “It was a reasonably original theme for a concept album, having rarely been addressed by anyone with more intellectual wattage than Kenny Rogers (insert cutting remark here)” JW “The actual theme is well above the notion of gambling. Instead, it appears to be how we look at life, especially the hand we've been dealt, and what chances lie ahead of us if we're willing to take some risks.” CT
“Parsons and lyricist/occasional lead vocalist Eric Woolfson co-composed the album with imagination and flair.” JW “What sets this album apart and makes it remarkably listenable…is the strength of the arrangements by keyboardist/co-composer/producer Parsons.” JW
“Elmer Gantry's soaring vocals” JW kick things off on “the spacious, driving, synth-and-drums thumper May Be a Price to Pay.” JW
On lead-single “Games People Play, “our hero makes the conscious decision to walk away from the life he's been leading to try and find something different.” CT “Vocalist Lenny Zakatek sounds compelling and focused, giving the song a seriousness that aids in realization of the album's concept.” MD “There is a dynamism to the very progressive way Parsons mixes strings with exotic synth tones and…acoustic drums that creates one terrific pop hook after another.” JW This “is a great example of the AP approach at this stage of his career in that it has a basic pop structure, but features unusual shifts in tone and tempo, an ambient middle section, great use of orchestral elements and a generous guitar solo – all decidedly progressive touches.” JW
Next up is Time, which features Eric Woolfson on lead vocals for the first time. WK This ballad “immediately tugs on the heart strings and stays with you for a long time.” CT Woolfson’s “vocals are pitch-perfect,” JW “floating along amongst sighing strings and synthesizer washes and layered background vocals.” JW He “carries this luxurious-sounding ode to life's passing to a place above and beyond any of this band's other slower material.” MD It “may…be the best on the entire album” JW and “one of the Alan Parsons Project's best numbers.” CT
“No sooner has our hero left his old life behind when the voice of reason kicks in on I Don't Wanna Go Home,” CT voiced, by the way, by the “gritty ‘tattered and torn’ despair” JW of Lenny Zakatek. “This also could be the voice of doubt -- you take your pick: ‘You can't win you damn fool / You drank all the wine from the cup / And your painted lady's gone now / And you're way back on the downside, Lookin' up.’ As our hero realizes his plight, he decides not to return to his past - possibly because he can't face ridicule on his return.” CT
The album features a pair of instrumentals. First up is “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.” MD The song references the Edgar Allan Poe short story of the same name WK and includes a whistling part from Parsons where he imitates the spaghetti western film themes of Ennio Morricone. WK The saxophone was originally credited to Mel Collins, but in the remastered edition is noted as “a session player in Paris whose name escapes us.” WK
The Ace of Swords "features expert incorporation of the orchestra into a largely futuristic, synthesizer-driven cut. The APP core of Ian Bairnson (guitars), David Paton (bass), Stuart Elliott (drums) and Andrew Powell (orchestral arrangements), along with Parsons and Woolfson on keys, is at the height of its powers here.” JW
The five-part title suite, which includes “The Ace of Swords,” highlights “the breakdown of human willpower and our greedy tendencies.” MD It “is the only part of the album that squarely addresses gambling.” JW On The Turn of a Friendly Card (Part One), “our hero continues to press his luck, if only to return to what he used to be on Snake Eyes.” CT “Sung by Chris Rainbow, [this] is the most compelling of the five pieces, and ties together the whole of the recording.” MD
Although our protaganist “thinks luck is about to come his way, he eventually hits rock bottom with a deafening thud... which leads us to Nothing Left to Lose. On this number, the realization finally comes to him, and he is left with a clean slate to start his life again: "You read the book you turn the page / You change your life in a thousand ways / The dawn of reason lights in your eyes / With the key you realise / To the kingdom of the wise.’” CT
The album wraps with the unfairly overlooked The Turn of a Friendly Card (Part Two). This song rightly showed up on the Project’s second anthology, released in 1988, but was never a hit, despite nicely showcasing the album’s concept and still standing firmly on its own. This could well be the Project’s best forgotten song.
“The Turn of a Friendly Card is to the point and doesn't let down when it comes to carrying out its idea.” MD It “is a strong piece of work that hangs together well and still entertains through repeated listens.” JW “The Turn of a Friendly Card remains one of this group’s most enjoyable albums.” MD
Notes: In 2015, a deluxe anniversary edition added a second disc with songwriting demos from Eric Woolfson, additional early versions of the songs, and single edits of “Games People Play,” “The Turn of a Friendly Card,” and “Snake Eyes.”
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