Alan Parsons Project Stereotomy released

Stereotomy Alan Parsons Project

Charted: February 1, 1986 Peak: 43 US, -- UK, 32 CN, 50 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: progressive rock lite

Tracks: Song Title [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Stereotomy [7:15] Beaujolais [4:27] Urbania [4:34] Limelight [4:39] In the Real World [4:17] Where’s the Walrus? [7:34] Light of the World [ 6:22] Chinese Whispers [1:02] Stereotomy Two [1:18] Total Running Time: 41:58 Also from This Era: Rumour Goin’ Round [4:39] The Players: Alan Parsons (production, engineering, assorted instruments) Eric Woolfson (vocals, keyboards, piano) Ian Bairson (guitar) Stuart Elliott (drums, percussion) David Paton (bass) Richard Cottle (keyboards, synthesizer, saxophone) Gary Brooker, Graham Dye, Steven Dye, John Miles, Chris Rainbow (vocals) The Philharmonia Orchestra, arranged and conducted by Andrew Powell

Rating: 3.190 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “’Stereotomy’ is the scientific term for enclosing scientific samples in wax and then cutting them into fine shavings. The word was used by Edgar Allan Poe in his work The Murders in the Rue Morgue which was the first detective novel.” APP The album, the ninth by the Alan Parsons Project, uses “stereotomy” as “a metaphor for the way that famous people…are often ‘shaped’ by the demands of fame.” WK This allows for the exploration of themes about how ‘the modern world molds the personality, the character, and the livelihood of the human being. People are but a slave to their lifestyle and their environment and they are destined to be thrown into this situation at birth.” AM "The Alan Parsons Project’s conceptual grandeur began to lose its potency right around the mid-‘80's.” AM On Stereotomy, "one must really pay attention to the profound lyrics and loose structuring of the music to attain the concept that Parsons metaphorically dances around.” AM “The lack of unity and cohesion means that [this] is merely a collection of good songs and not a work in its own right.” DV Commercially, the Project were on the downside as well. They had top 20 hits like “Games People Play” and “Don’t Answer Me” as well as the top-10 “Eye in the Sky,” but now they were lucky to grace the Billboard Hot 100 at all. The title cut peaked at a lowly #82. “The elegant, Appolonian keyboard-based sound of albums like Eye in the Sky and Vulture Culture was gone, replaced with a drum and bass-heavy throb on the opening track. The production was still crisp and clean, the engineering exquisite,” DV but “in many ways this was the end of any pretensions that Alan Parsons’ was progressive rock…this was a stripped down and…almost…funky?…Project.” DV While the Project’s instrumentals may be a selling point to many fans, the presence of three of them, not to mention a very unnecessary reprise of the title cut, make the album feel lazy. Coupling that with Parsons’ growing weakness in presenting readily apparent concepts well supported by the songs makes for a mediocre effort. “Parsons’ genius can be better investigated on numerous past releases, as this album proves to come up short.” AM Notes: A 2008 reissue included alternate versions of “Stereotomy” and “Light of the World” along with a demo of the unreleased “Rumour Goin’ Round.” The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Stereotomy Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson (see lyrics here) Vocals: John Miles Released: 1/18/1986 (single), Stereotomy (1986), The Best of, Volume 2 (compilation, 1988), The Definitive Collection (compilation, 1997), The Essential (compilation, 2007) Peak: 82 BB, 5 AR, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.83 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: The Project used a myriad of singers over the years and in this case, they turned to John Miles for most of the vocal, although Eric Woolfson, the only mainstay in the group other than Parsons, does come in toward the end. Miles wasn’t well known in the United States, but his song “Music” hit #3 on the UK charts in 1976. The “angriness” of his “forceful voice” makes “Stereotomy “a passable rock tune.” AMG “Stereotomy” notched a fitting place on the album rock tracks (#5), but once again was shunned by pop radio, peaking at a mere #82 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Beaujolais Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: Chris Rainbow Released: Stereotomy (1986) Peak: 31 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.65 streaming About the Song: The “new wave-tinged dance of Beajolais” DV is a decent, but not overly memorable song.

Urbania Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: NA (instrumental) Released: Stereotomy (1986), Instrumental Works (1988) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.66 streaming About the Song: “Two of the album’s instrumentals, Where’s the Walrus? and Urbania, conjure up mood and keep the listener slightly poised, causing some musical buoyancy among the blandness of the other tracks.” AM

Limelight Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: Gary Brooker Released: April 1986 (single),Stereotomy (1986), The Best of, Volume 2 (compilation, 1988), The Very Best Live (live, 1995), The Essential (compilation, 2007), The Never Ending Show (live, 2021) Peak: 14 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 3.65 streaming About the Song: “Limelight is almost Broadway in its sheer power.” DV It is a beautiful song and one of the rare highlights on the album.

In the Real World Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: John Miles Released: Stereotomy (1986), The Definitive Collection (compilation, 1997) Peak: 6 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.64 streaming About the Song: “With the help of [vocalist John] Miles’ assertiveness,” AM In the Real World is a “vocal standout” AM and "one of the greatest rock songs you've never heard.” DV This song should have followed “Stereotomy” on to the album rock charts.

Where’s the Walrus? Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: NA (instrumental) Released: Stereotomy (1986), Instrumental Works (1988) Peak: 28 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.89 streaming About the Song: “Two of the album’s instrumentals, Where’s the Walrus? and Urbania, conjure up mood and keep the listener slightly poised, causing some musical buoyancy among the blandness of the other tracks.” AM

Light of the World Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: Graham Dye Released: Stereotomy (1986) Peak: 11 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.58 streaming About the Song: “Light of the World is a passionate, powerful ballad about spiritual seeking and longing.” DV

Chinese Whispers Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: NA (instrumental) Released: Stereotomy (1986) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.36 streaming About the Song: “The synth-laden wistfulness of Chinese Whispers” DV makes for the third (!) instrumental on the Stereotomy album.

Stereotomy Two Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: John Miles Released: Stereotomy (1986) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.61 streaming About the Song: This is a very unnecessary reprise of the title cut which, especially in light of the album’s three instrumentals, feels like filler.

Resources/References: APP The-Alan-Parsons-Project.com AM AllMusic.com review by Mike DeGagne DV DailyVault.com review by Duke Egbert WK Wikipedia Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/24/2008; last updated 4/26/2026.