Alan Parsons Project Vulture Culture released

Vulture Culture Alan Parsons Project

Released: February 23, 1985 Peak: 46 US, 40 UK, 25 CN, 32 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.3 world Genre: progressive rock lite

Tracks: Click on a song title for more details. Let’s Talk About Me [4:22] Separate Lives [4:42] Days Are Numbers (The Traveller) [4:02] Sooner Or Later [ 4:26] Vulture Culture [5:21] Hawkeye [3:48] Somebody Out There [4:56] The Same Old Sun [5:24] Also from This Era: No Answers Only Questions [2:12] Total Running Time: 37:01 The Players: Alan Parsons (production, engineering, assorted instruments) Eric Woolfson (vocals, keyboards, piano) Ian Bairson (guitar) Colin Blunstone, Chris Rainbow, Lenny Zakatek (vocals) Stuart Elliott (drums, percussion) David Paton (bass) Richard Cottle (keyboards, synthesizer, saxophone)

Rating: 3.241 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Vulture Culture confronts the notion that we live “in a parasitic society, where it's every man for himself. Those who can't fend for themselves simply won't survive in a world where the kindness of the human spirit is rapidly deteriorating.” AM This isn’t the most original theme ever attempted, and is rendered even more unoriginal by the fact that every Alan Parsons Project album seems to address the nature of man in the face of conflict, be it technology (I Robot), gambling (Turn of a Friendly Card, or the watchful eye of the government (Eye in the Sky). With the exception of the Edgar Allan Poe-themed debut album Tales of Mystery and Imagination, every Project album fudged a little on the overall concept, sometimes barely suggesting the theme. “On this album, though, the songs are weaker and are less effective in bringing out the album's complex idea…Vulture Culture lacks in cohesiveness and strength both lyrically and, to a lesser extent, musically.” AM “Vulture Culture is, fundamentally, a flawed work with only a few good bits.” DV “Production and engineering is, as always, crisp, clear, and flawless. Sad fact is, though, that that flawless production reveals the flaws in the compositions themselves.” DV The “chart successes of Eye in the Sky and Ammonia Avenue resulted in a more pop-oriented sound -- a sound that just doesn't work. Andrew Powell’s orchestral sound is completely absent on Vulture Culture, and the traditional Project sound goes right out the window with it.” DV When all is said and done, “without the usual balance of absorbing lyrics and well-maintained music, Vulture Culture remains one of this band’s less prolific albums.” AM “Vulture Culture can only be recommended to the completist.” DV Reissue A 2007 reissue added an alternate mix of “Separate Lives,” a demo of “Hawkeye,” two versions of “No Answers Only Questions,” and “The Naked Vulture.” The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Let’s Talk About Me Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson (see lyrics here) Vocals: David Paton Released: single (1/11/1985), Vulture Culture (1985) B-Side: “Hawkeye” Peak: 56 BB, 10 AR, 89 CN, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.84 video, 3.78 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: The Alan Parsons Project’s 1984 Ammonia Avenue album was a slight drop-off from the platinum, top-10 success of 1982’s Eye in the Sky (which produced the title cut, the group’s only top-10 hit). It wasn’t surprising that Vulture Culture would slip a bit more, but it was still a surprise to see it be the group’s first album since their 1976 debut to fall short of attaining at least gold status. It also was surprising that the lead single, “Let’s Talk About Me,” didn’t even each the top 40. Then again, the Project has a long history of song’s that feel tailor-made for pop radio that fall short. Among the song’s highlights are the layered snippets of dialogue and “the pounding percussion of Stuart Elliot.” DV As with every album by the project, there is a loose theme tying the songs together. For Vulture Cuture, the “fallacy of humankind is front and center.” AM The message is that “everyone lives in a parasitic society, where it’s every man for himself.” AM Just the title of “Let’s Talk About Me” suggests egocentrism. David Paton takes the lead on vocals here. He was a mainstay with the Project since their beginning, serving as bassist and a backing vocalist. He also assumed lead vocal duties on previous Project songs, most notably the Billboard Hot 100 hit “What Goes Up…” from 1978’s Pyramid album. He gained his greatest success with the group Pilot in the 1970s, especially the top-5 hit “Magic.”

Separate Lives Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: Eric Woolfson Released: Vulture Culture (1985) Peak: 32 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.29 streaming About the Song: “’Separate Lives’ and ‘Sooner Or Later’ end up sounding like the unholy mating of Parsons’ immaculate synths with bubblegum pop.” DV

Days Are Numbers (The Traveller) Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: Chris Rainbow Released: single (4/27/1985), Vulture Culture (1985) B-Side: “Somebody Out There” Peak: 71 BB, 11 AC, 30 AR, 9 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 6.54 streaming About the Song: Still, there are a few good moments. “The most appealing song, Days Are Numbers (The Traveller) with vocalist Chris Rainbow at the helm, combines simplicity with a timeless chorus.” AM It is “a brilliant, textured, and complex ballad in the middle of a field of mostly banal lyrics and uninspired arrangements.” DV Rainbow had appeared on Project albums since 1979’s Eve, offering lead vocals on such memorable songs as “Snake Eyes,” “The Turn of a Friendly Card,” and “Since the Last Goodbye.”

Sooner or Later Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: Eric Woolfson Released: Vulture Culture (1985) Peak: 25 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 3.44 streaming About the Song: “’Separate Lives’ and ‘Sooner Or Later’ end up sounding like the unholy mating of Parsons’ immaculate synths with bubblegum pop.” DV

Vulture Culture Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: Lenny Zakatek Released: Vulture Culture (1985) Peak: 8 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.79 streaming About the Song: The title cut is right in the middle of the pack. It is neither a complete throwaway, nor is it a standout like the two aforementioned songs. What hurts the song most is the fact that it is the title cut, thus weighing down the song with expectations that it will bring a clarity to the overall album theme. Instead, it would be more appropriate as one of those songs that after an album is over, you say, “I kinda liked that one song.” The song is the most rock-oriented on the album, thanks to Lenny Zakatek on vocals. He sang lead on three of the Project’s best-known songs: “I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You,” “Damned if I Do,” and “Games People Play.”

Hawkeye Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: NA (instrumental) Released: B-side of “Let’s Talk About Me” (1/11/1985), Vulture Culture (1985) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.66 streaming About the Song: “The instrumental Hawkeye adds life and contrast to the album at just the right time.” AM It is still “somewhat average [but] has a great saxophone part.” DV

Somebody Out There Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: Colin Blunstone Released: B-side of “Days Are Numbers (The Traveller)” (4/27/1985), Vulture Culture (1985) Peak: 36 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.68 streaming About the Song: This song features Colin Blunstone (lead singer of the Zombies in the 1960s) on vocals. He was a regular on Project albums, including lead vocals on “Can’t Take It with You” and “Old and Wise.”

The Same Old Sun Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: Eric Woolfson Released: Vulture Culture (1985) Peak: 18 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.99 streaming About the Song: The Same Old Sun is a beautiful “Broadway-style ballad, similar in feel and in quality to ‘Shadow of a Lonely Man’ from Pyramid.” DV It makes for an excellent album closer and is one of the Project’s more overlooked songs.

No Answers Only Questions Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Eric Woolfson Vocals: Eric Woolfson Released: Vulture Culture (2007 reissue) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.19 streaming About the Song: This track was added to the 2007 reissue of Vulture Culture. It is credited solely to Eric Woolfson. He included the song in his 2007 musical Dancing Shadows.

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Mike DeGagne DV DailyVault.com review by Duke Egbert WK Wikipedia page for Vulture Culture WK Wikipedia page for “Let’s Talk About Me” Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/24/2008; last updated 9/29/2025.

Keats: An Alan Parsons Project Offshoot

Keats Keats

Released: August 1984 ? Recorded: December 1983 to March 1984 Charted: -- Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: progressive rock lite

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Heaven Knows (Bardens) [3:56] Tragedy (Blunstone, Elliott) [5:01] Fight to Win (Bardens) [4:10] Walking on Ice (Paton) [3:31] How Can You Walk Away (Paton) [3:41] Turn Your Heart Around (Bardens) [3:44] (1984, --) Avalanche (Bardens) [4:06] Give It Up (Bairnson) [4:45] Ask No Questions (Bairnson) [3:25] Night Full of Questions (Blunstone, Elliott) [3:57] Hollywood Heart (Bairnson) [3:43] Total Running Time: 44:00 The Players: Colin Blunstone (vocals) Ian Bairnson (guitar) Pete Bardens (keyboards) David Paton (bass, backing vocals) Stuart Elliott (drums, percussion) Stuart Cottle (saxophone, synthesizers, additional keyboard parts)

Rating: 3.107 out of 5.00 (average of 8 ratings)

About the Album: “If Toto was considered a super-star band consisting of the finest session musicians available in the US studio scene, this description applied for Keats in England as well. Consequently, the self-titled album is a milestone of contemporary rock.” RYM Members Colin Blunstone, Ian Bairnson, David Paton, and Stuart Elliott all worked together in the Alan Parsons Project, but had respectable resumes even before that. Blunstone had worked with the Zombies and as a solo artist. Bairnson and Paton had both worked with the group Pilot, best known for the song “Magic.” Elliott had been with Cockney Rebel. Pete Bardens, who’d worked with Them and Camel, rounded out the group. Although neither Alan Parsons nor Eric Woolfson had a hand in any of the writing as they did with all the Alan Parsons Project albums, they were still both involved. Parsons lent his hand as producer and, according to RateYourMusic.com, it was Woolfson who conceived the Keats project. It was his intent “to create a career for the core of the band and give them the opportunity to control their own musical output.” RYM He reportedly named the group after his favorite restaurant. GR Unfortunately, it didn’t pan out that way. Keats didn’t go anywhere despite how closely the sound matched that of Alan Parsons Project albums. Of course, from a timing standpoint, the Alan Parsons Project’s fortunes were waning. While previous album Ammonia Avenue had gone gold and produced a top-20 hit (“Don’t Answer Me”), it would mark the last time the group would achieve gold status or a top-40 hit. Still, this is “top-notch AOR throughout” GR even if “listeners often considered the Keats music as being too technical – lacking emotion.” RYM “The songs are slicker than the more musically and lyrically adventurous Alan Parsons Project albums. That’s saying something considering the highly polished sonic glaze Parsons gave his own work.” AMG All Music Guide called the opening song Heaven Knows one of the album’s highlights. AMG That song and Avalance are reminiscent of Toto with the former marked by saxophone playing from Richard Cottle. “Elsewhere there are even hints of late-1980s Magnum (Fight to Win),” GR another song noted by All Music Guide as a highlight. AMG It’s Blunstone who handles most of the vocals here. His most notable vocal with the Alan Parsons Project was on the song “Old and Wise” from their 1982 album Eye in the Sky. However, Paton takes the lead on Walking on Ice, a song he composed, and Ask No Questions, a song written by Bairnson. GR The latter “has a definite Doobies-feel in the chorus.” GR The album’s sole single, Turn Your Heart Around, is “amongst the standouts.” GR It was written by Bardens and also turned up on Blunstone’s solo album On the Air Tonight.

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Keats AMG All Music Guide review by Bret Adams GR Get Ready to Rock! (5/1/2020). “Feature: Albums That Time Forgot – Keats by David Randall RYM Rate Your Music WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 9/24/2021.

 

Alan Parsons Project charted with “Old and Wise”

Old and Wise Alan Parsons Project

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Alan Parsons Project Pyramid released

Pyramid Alan Parsons Project

Released: June 1978 Peak: 26 US, 40 UK, 25 CN, 16 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.5 US Genre: progressive rock lite

Tracks: Click on a song title for more details. Voyager [2:24] What Goes Up… [3:31] The Eagle Will Rise Again [4:20] One More River [4:15] Can’t Take It with You [5:06] In the Lap of the Gods [5:27] Pyramania [2:45] Hyper-Gamma-Spaces [4:19] Shadow of a Lonely Man [5:34] Total Running Time: 37:46 The Players: Alan Parsons (producing, engineering) Eric Woolfson (keyboards, executive producing) Ian Bairnson (guitar, backing vocals) David Paton (bass, acoustic guitar, backing vocals) Stuart Elliott (drums, percussion, backing vocals) Colin Blunstone, Dea Ford, Jack Harris, John Miles, Lenny Zakatek (vocals) Andrew Powell (orchestral arrangements) Duncan Mackay (keyboards)

Rating: 3.709 out of 5.00 (average of 18 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “The theme of this album deals, as the title suggests, with the remaining wonder of the ancient world” DV and “man's fascination with superstition and its powers,” AM specifically “the ‘pyramid power’ fad that was around in the mid-'70s (the pet rock having proven to be a bust by then). DV “Lacking the wit and melodic appeal of…I Robot, the Alan Parsons Project's third studio-rock oratorio” RS is “an average bit of material.” AM “Where I Robot was constructed on a nifty riddle – it's cinematic space rock flaunted the technology its scenario cautioned against – Pyramid uses the mystery of the pyramids as a jumping-off point for some bombastic musings on the vanity of human wishes and the passing of all things.” RS “While not a stellar album, Pyramid completes the task of musically explaining its concept. Its short but slightly compelling nature grows after a few listens, but the album…isn’t a necessity.” AM Notes: A 2008 reissue added demos and alternate versions.

Voyager Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: NA (instrumental) Released: Pyramid (1978) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 10.89 streaming About the Song: “The instrumental Voyager opens things up, and its provocative style sets the tone for the album's supernatural mood.” AM The song “builds up the intensity by adding instruments as the piece progresses, then brings the mood back down in order to meld with the first vocal track,” DV “What Goes Up…”

What Goes Up… Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: David Paton Released: single (9/23/1978), Pyramid (1978) B-side: “Hyper-Gamma-Spaces” Peak: 87 BB, 20 CL, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 4.23 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: The “bright-sounding,” AM “What Goes Up...” feels like it “is sung by a pharaoh and a skeptic in the time of the building of the pyramids, and questions about whether these would truly be structures to last for the remainder of time (‘If all things must fall / Why build a miracle at all / If all things must pass / Even a pyramid won't last’).” DV

The Eagle Will Rise Again Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: Colin Blunstone, Dean Ford Released: Pyramid (1978) Peak: 40 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 3.99 streaming About the Song: “What Goes Up…” and “The Eagle Will Rise Again, sung by Colin Blunstone,” AM are two “of the highlights here.” AM “As the life of the pharoah begins to ebb away, as heard on [the latter] the first image of Egyptian mythology comes forth in the image of the phoenix. The gentleness [and] vocal delivery” DV “of this track impresses.” DV

One More River Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: Lenny Zakatek Released: Pyramid (1978) Peak: 36 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.36 streaming About the Song: “The religious connotations continue on the more uptempo One More River, as the pharoah makes his way towards his soul's final journey towards the river Styx.” DV

Can’t Take It with You Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: Dean Ford, Colin Blunstone Released: Pyramid (1978) Peak: 47 CL, 18 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.70 streaming About the Song: Can't Take It With You “shows our hero having second thoughts after discovering he must leave his earthly possessions behind. Too late for him, he eventually will have to board the boat for his jouney on the river Styx.” DV This “lesson-learning [song] teaches that our souls are our most important asset, in typical Parsons-type charm.” AM

In the Lap of the Gods Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: NA (instrumental) Released: B-side of “Pyramania” (UK, June 1978), Pyramid (1978) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.24 streaming About the Song: The instrumental In the Lap of the Gods “prepares us for a shift in theme…where the attention shifts from our now-deceased pharoah to a gentleman in 1978 England who is caught up - maybe a little bit too much - in ‘pyramid power.’ The belief was that anything under a pyramid would be positively affected by the pyramid's mystical power.” DV

Pyramania Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: Jack Harris Released: single (UK, June 1978), Pyramid (1978) B-Side: “In the Lap of the Gods” Peak: 45 CL, 11 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.80 streaming About the Song: “This manic belief in the unknown is the basis of” DV “the anxiety-ridden” AM Pyramania, “a cute, peppy number which is enjoyable to listen to – though, as the song lets us know, our new hero's fascination with pyramids is causing unhappiness at home with the wife.” DV This song “enhances the album's concept the best, accompanied by some excitable keyboard playing and a friendly middle.” AM

Hyper-Gamma-Spaces Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: NA (instrumental) Released: B-side of “What Goes Up…” (9/23/1978), single (EU, January 1979), Pyramid (1978) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.70 streaming About the Song: A

Shadow of a Lonely Man Alan Parsons Project

Writer(s): Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson Vocals: John Miles, Colin Blunstone Released: Pyramid (1978) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.48 streaming About the Song: “Following another instrumental (Hyper-Gamma-Spaces), our hero finds himself losing everything that mattered to him – in this case, his wife – on Shadow of a Lonely Man. Like the pharaoh looking to achieve immortality and lost everything he had accumulated, the modern-day man loses love and everything that mattered in this life and left him a shell of what he used to be.” DV

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com revew by Mike DeGagne DV DailyVault.com by Christopher Thelen RS Rolling Stone review by Stephen Holden (originally in print issue 271) WK Wikipedia Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/24/2008; last updated 9/27/2025.