Showing posts with label Eric Woolfson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eric Woolfson. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Alan Parsons: Top 100 Songs

Alan Parsons (right) & Eric Woolfson (left)

Top 100 Songs

Alan Parsons was born December 20, 1948, in London, England. Early in his career, he worked as an engineer on classic albums such as the Beatles’ Abbey Road and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. He also worked with Ambrosia, the Hollies, Pilot, and Al Stewart. He has received 13 Grammy nominations.

In 1976, he launched the Alan Parsons Project with Eric Woolfson (born 3/18/1945 in Scotland). While the group had an ever-changing lineup, Parsons and Woolfson remained constants until 1987. The pair then worked together on Woolfson’s Freudiana project before going their separate ways. Woolfson then focused on musical theater, bringing some of the Alan Parsons Project’s work to the stage. Parsons recorded as a solo artist. Woolfson died on December 2, 2009.

This list also includes the short-lived group Keats which featured neither Parsons nor Woolfson, but was comprised of members who’d worked with the Alan Parsons Project.

Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists.

Awards (Alan Parsons/Alan Parsons Project):

Top 100 Songs

Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards.

DMDB Top 5%:

1. Eye in the Sky (1982)

DMDB Top 10%:

2. Old and Wise (1982)
3. Don’t Answer Me (1984)
4. Games People Play (1980)
5. Time (1980)
6. Damned if I Do (1979)
7. I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You (1977)

DMDB Top 20%:

8. Let’s Talk About Me (1985)
9. The System of Dr. Tarr & Professor Fether (1976)
10. Prime Time (1984)

11. Stereotomy (1986)
12. Standing on Higher Ground (1987)
13. Don’t Let It Show (1977)
14. You Don’t Believe (1983)
15. Days Are Numbers (The Traveller) (1985)
16. What Goes Up… (1978)
17. The Turn of a Friendly Card Part II (1980)
18. Breakdown (1977)
19. Psychobabble (1982)
20. Snake Eyes (1980)

Beyond the DMDB Top 20%:

21. The Raven (1976)
22. Pyramania (1978)
23. The Never Ending Show (2021)
24. I Robot (1977)
25. Some Other Time (1977)
26. Oh Life (There Must Be More) (1993)
27. Limelight (1986)
28. You’re Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned (1982)
29. Turn It Up (1993)
30. As Lights Fall (2019)

31. La Sagrada Familia (1987)
32. In the Real World (1986)
33. Ammonia Avenue (1984)
34. Can’t Take It with You (1978)
35. Silence and I (1982)
36. I’m Talkin’ to You (1993)
37. Nothing Left to Lose (1980)
38. Freudiana (Eric Wooflson, 1990)
39. Vulture Culture (1985)
40. Siren Song (1993)

41. Light of the World (1986)
42. Sirius (1982)
43. There But for the Grace of God (Eric Wooflson, 1990)
44. May Be a Price to Pay (1980)
45. So Far Away (Alan Parsons with Christoper Cross, 1996)
46. Little Hans (Eric Woofson, 1990)
47. The Same Old Sun (1985)
48. I Don’t Wanna Go Home (1980)
49. Lucifer (1979)
50. Out of the Blue (1999)

51. Heaven Knows (Keats, 1984)
52. You’re on Your Own (Eric Woolfson with Kiki Dee, 1990)
53. The Call of the Wild (1999)
54. Back Against the Wall (1993)
55. Miracle (Alan Parsons with Jason Mraz, 2019)
56. Sooner or Later (1985)
57. Since the Last Goodbye (1984)
58. Day After Day (The Show Must Go On) (1977)
59. Let Me Go Home (1984)
60. Call Up (1999)

61. Dancing on a High Wire (1984)
62. The Three of Me (1993)
63. Brother Up in Heaven (1996)
64. Blue Blue Sky (1996)
65. Money Talks (1987)
66. Uroboros (with Tommy Shaw, 2022)
67. To One in Paradise (1976)
68. Wine from the Water (1993)
69. Hyper Gamma Spaces (1978)
70. You Won’t Be There (1979)

71. You Lie Down with Dogs (1979)
72. I Am a Mirror (Eric Woofson with Leo Sayer, 1990)
73. More Lost Without You (2004)
74. Too Close to the Sun (1996)
75. Beaujolais (1986)
76. Funny You Should Say That (1990)
77. No One Can Love You Better Than Me (Eric Woolfson with Kiki Dee et al, 1990)
78. Separate Lives (1985)
79. Mammagamma (1982)
80. Tragedy (Keats, 1984)

81. Sometimes (Alan Parsons with Lou Gramm, 2019)
82. The Cask of Amontillado (1976)
83. You’re the Voice (1995)
84. Pipeline (1984)
85. The Time Machine (1999)
86. Press Rewind (1999)
87. Children of the Moon (1982)
88. All Our Yesterdays (2010)
89. Fragile (2013)
90. Do You Live at All? (2015)

91. One Good Reason (1984)
92. Somebody Out There (1985)
93. The Tell-Tale Heart (1976)
94. Inside Looking Out (1987)
95. I Can’t Get There from Here (Alan Parsons with Jared Mahone, 2019)
96. Where’s the Walrus? (1986)
97. I’d Rather Be a Man (1979)
98. Closer to Heaven (1987)
99. Fall Free (1996)
100. Too Late (1987)

Resources and Related Links:

First posted 12/20/2019; updated 7/19/2022.
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Friday, July 15, 2022

Alan Parsons/Eric Woolfson: A Retrospective (1976-2022)

Eric Woolfson & Alan Parsons

Alan Parsons/
Eric Woolfson

A Retrospective: 1976-2022

About Alan Parsons

Alan Parsons was born in Britain on December 20, 1948. “He studied piano and flute as a child and was always intrigued by gadgetry. He picked up the guitar in his early teens and played as a soloist as well as with various bands at school. One of his first jobs was at an EMI tape duplication facility in West London.” AP When he heard “the master tape of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper album, [it] boosted his determination to become a recording engineer. Says Alan, ‘I couldn't wait to find out the secrets behind the album. It left me totally in awe of the talent of The Beatles themselves of course, but also the work behind the scenes in the studio.’” AP

“He landed a post at the then not-so-celebrated Abbey Road Studios” AP where he served as an assistant engineer on The Beatles’ Abbey Road and Let It Be albums; he even “actively participated in the famous Apple rooftop session.” AP He went on to serve “as a full-blown engineer [on] Paul McCartney[‘s eponymous debut as well as Wings’ albums] Wild Life and Red Rose Speedway, including the singles ‘Hi Hi Hi’ and ‘C Moon.’ Alan adds ‘I couldn't have asked for a better grounding in recording - after all not many engineers got to work the greatest Rock act of all time.’ He also helped out on George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass album both as an assistant and as a mix engineer.” AP

Parsons also ”worked on a number of hits with The Hollies including ‘He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother’ and ‘The Air That I Breathe.’ However, his reputation was totally solidified with…Pink Floyd's legendary Dark Side of the Moon, which earned him the first of many Grammy nominations.” AP “As the engineering mastermind…Alan became highly sought after as one of the new breed of creative engineers.” AO-P

”Alan soon ventured into production with the British band Pilot and scored immediate success with the hit single ‘Magic’…Other hits followed with Cockney Rebel and John Miles. Alan made three albums with Al Stewart, spawning the hit singles ‘Year of the Cat’ and ‘Time Passages.’” AP “Influenced by his work on Stewart's concept album Time Passages, Parsons decided to [create] his own thematic records.” JA

”Alan has written extensively for the Pro-Audio press and is an acknowledged expert in 5.1 Surround Sound recording. He has often lectured at Recording conferences and Schools of Recording and was the keynote speaker at The Audio Engineering Society convention in 1998.” AP

”Alan now lives in Santa Barbara, California with his wife Lisa and her two teenage daughters, Tabitha and Brittni, four cats, four Guinea pigs, a lop-eared rabbit and a giant Labrador called Harrow.” AP

About Eric Woolfson

Songwriter/manager “Eric Woolfson, with whom [Parsons] had worked at Abbey Road, became actively involved in steering Alan towards becoming an artist in his own right.” AO-P Woolfson was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1945 and died on December 2, 2009. “He started composing music in his early teens and at the age of eighteen, moved to London where he found work as a session pianist.” PC He was ”signed as a writer…by Andrew Loog Oldham, the legendary producer of the Rolling Stones,” AO-W for Oldham’s ”newly formed record label ‘Immediate.’” PC

”During the following years, Woolfson’s songs were recorded by over one hundred artists both in Europe and America.” PC “including such names as: Marianne Faithful, Frank Ifield, Joe Dassin, The Tremeloes, Marmalade, Dave Berry, Peter Noone, and the US group Music Explosion.” AO-W “Eric's song ‘Baby Make It Soon,’ sung by Chris Farlowe, was Mick Jagger's first production and the French artist Marie's recording of his composition ‘Soleil’ won the Antibes Song Festival in 1971 and reached number one in the French charts.” AO-W

”As a record producer, Eric’s credits included artists such as The Equals, Freddy Garrity (of The Dreamers), The Tremeloes, Dave Berry, and Graham Gouldman of 10cc.” AO-W “In the early seventies, Eric turned his hand to management and was instantly successful. His first two signings were Carl Douglas, (whose record ‘Kung Fu Fighting’ was one of the biggest selling hits of all time) and engineer/record producer Alan Parsons.” AO-W

He had a behind-the-scenes-of-the-music-world background similar to that of Parsons. “Although they started with a business venture, Eric was to use his songwriting talents to form a creative partnership with Alan” AO-P and The Alan Parsons Project was born. Woolfson “conceived and [wrote] all ten Alan Parsons Project albums, which have achieved world-wide sales in excess of forty million.” AO-W In addition, he served as pianist and sometime vocalist, most notably on hit singles Eye in the Sky and Time, “both of which have achieved awards for million plus performances in America alone.” AO-W

Meanwhile, Parsons “occasionally played keyboards and infrequently sang;” AP “the Project was designed primarily as a forum for a revolving collection of vocalists and session players…to interpret and perform Parsons and Woolfson's conceptually-linked, lushly arranged and orchestrated music.” AP

The Alan Parsons Project

The Alan Parsons Project formed in 1975 in London, England. It wasn’t initially intended as a group, but a one-off project. Alan Parsons, known for his engineering work on classics like Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and the Beatles’ Abbey Road, wanted to do a musical interpretation of the works of writer Edgar Allan Poe. That became Tales of Mystery and Imagination, the first of ten Alan Parsons Project studio albums.

The group’s sound “was a bold concession to early 70s art-rock and progressive rock, fusing the expansive (and often lengthy) compositions of such acts as Yes with the conceptual cohesion of Pink Floyd and Emerson Lake & Palmer.” LB The Project crafted a more commercial, lite-rock sound that got them played on album rock and adult contemporary alike. “Most of their titles…share common traits…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.” FI

This video from the Sea of Tranquility (Pete Pardo, Brendon Snyder, Scot Lade, Grant Arthur) explores the different genre tags which have been attached to the Alana Parsons Project. It was uploaded on October 27, 2024.

In a continued commitment to Parsons’ original vision to “to dispense with the focus on the performers and place the emphasis entirely on the concept,” LB the Project enlisted more than 40 players over the years, particularly “a stream of guest vocalists seemingly chosen by their vocal style, to complement the style of each song.” FI

Parsons still relied on a core of regulars, most notably Eric Woolfson, “a musician, songwriter and vocalist in his own right who was serving as Parsons’ manager in 1975.” LB Woolfson’s biggest claim to fame had been working with Herman’s Hermits; as Parsons’ collaborator, the pair ”worked together to craft noteworthy songs with impeccable fidelity.” FI

Andrew Powell, who arranged and conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra, was also a Project regular. While groups such as “the Moody Blues…and Electric Light Orchestra had fused classical instrumentation with rock numbers,” LB none did so as elaborately as the Project.

Other longtime members included guitarist Ian Bairnson, bassist/vocalist David Paton (both from Pilot, a mid-‘70s band produced by Parsons), and drummer Stuart Elliott. The Project relied on a vast number of vocalists over the years, but turned most frequently to Lenny Zakatek, Chris Rainbow, Colin Blunstone, and John Miles.

The group disbanded in 1987. They have sold at least 45 million albums worldwide, PC landing “gold and platinum awards from nearly every country in the world.” AO-P Parsons, who had ”ten Grammy nominations for engineering and production,” AO-P also ”started a company…devoted to improving the sound quality of film and video. He has also turned his hand to directing music based TV programmes…and he was instrumental in the creation of Music Box, the European music cable service.” AO-P

Parsons continued to release work under his name and Eric Woolfson released more stage-oriented works, including some reworkings of Alan Parsons Project albums, until his death in 2009. The pair also collaborated on 1990’s Freudiana.

Alan Parsons Project: The Players:

  • Alan Parsons (engineering work; k/v/g: 1975-87; Keats: 84)
  • Eric Woolfson (v/k – Herman’s Hermits; v/k and executive producer for Alan Parsons Project: 75-87)
  • Andrew Powell (conductor for the Philharmonia Orchestra: 1975-87)
  • Ian Bairnson (g – Pilot; Alan Parsons Project: 1975-87; Keats: 84)
  • David Paton (b/v – Pilot: 75; with Elton John; Alan Parsons Project: 75-86; Keats: 84)
  • Stuart Elliott (d: 1977-99; Keats: 84)
  • John Miles (v: 1975,78,86-87)
  • Lenny Zakatek (v: 1976-85,87)
  • Colin Blunstone (v – The Zombies: 63-67; Alan Parsons Project: 1978,82-85; Keats: 84)
  • Chris Rainbow (v: 1979-87)

v = vocals, g = guitar, b = bass, k = keyboards, d = drums

Links (Alan Parsons Project):

Links (Alan Parsons):

Awards:

Alan Parsons Project Studio Albums (1976-1987)

Alan Parsons & Eric Woolfson Solo Projects (1990-2022)

Compilations

Under each album snapshot, songs featured on the anthologies are noted.

Live Albums

Under each album snapshot, songs featured on the anthologies are noted.

 

Tales of Mystery and Imagination

Alan Parsons Project

  1. Dream within a Dream
  2. The Raven VB, ES, DC, 87, NE
  3. The Tell-Tale Heart
  4. The Cask of Amontillado
  5. (The System of) Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether ES, DC, 87, NE
  6. Fall of the House of Usher
    I: Prelude [5:51]
    II: Arrival [2:36]
    III: Intermezzo [1:06]
    IV: Pavane [4:44]
    V: Fall [1:07]
  7. To One in Paradise ES

About the Album:

“In 1974 [Parsons and Woolfson] started adapting selected works of Edgar Allan Poe to music. Two years, and thousands of feet of tape later, the Alan Parsons Project was born: The highly acclaimed Tales of Mystery and Imagination album was the first in a series of award-winning albums.” AO-P Go to the DMDB page for more on this album.

I Robot (1977)

  1. I Robot B2, IW, ES, DC, 87, NE
  2. I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You B1, ES, DC, 87, NE
  3. Some Other Time ES, 87
  4. Breakdown DC, 87, NE
  5. Don’t Let It Show B1, DC, 87, NE
  6. The Voice
  7. Nucleus
  8. Day after Day (The Show Must Go On) ES
  9. Total Eclipse
  10. Genesis Ch. 1 V. 32 IW

About the Album:

After Tales of Mystery and Imagination, “Parsons and Woolfson began work almost immediately on their next Project, which was intended to be a similar literary-musical survey of the works of Isaac Asimov…For various reasons, both conceptual and legal…I Robot had nothing to do with either Asimov or his writings [by the time it was recorded], merely offering…as the publicity material at the time put it, ‘a look at tomorrow through the eyes of today.’ I Robot introduced Lenny Zakatek and Eric Woolfson as recurring vocalists and continued the tradition of handing at least one number – usually orchestra-heavy - over to Andrew Powell.” LB Go to the DMDB page for more about this album such as sales data, chart peaks, awards, and information about individual songs.

Pyramid (1978)

About the Album:

Next up was 1978’s “superb Pyramid [which examined] the themes of mortality and achieving immortality by what one leaves behind.” LB Go to the DMDB page for more about this album such as sales data, chart peaks, awards, and information about individual songs.

Eve (1979)

  1. Lucifer B1, VB, ES, DC, 87, NE
  2. You Lie Down with Dogs
  3. I’d Rather Be a Man
  4. You Won’t Be There
  5. Winding Me Up
  6. Damned if I Do B1, ES, DC, 87, NE
  7. Don’t Hold Back
  8. Secret Garden
  9. If I Could Change Your Mind DC

About the Album:

1979’s Eve offered “a musical view of the battle between the sexes, complete with female guest vocalists alternating with the Project’s now-regular stable of male singers.” LB Go to the DMDB page for more about this album such as sales data, chart peaks, awards, and information about individual songs.

The Sicilian Defence (1979)

Alan Parsons Project

  1. P-K4
  2. P-QB4 (aka “Elsie’s Theme”)
  3. Kt-KB3
  4. Kt-QB
  5. P-Q4
  6. PxP
  7. KtxP
  8. Kt-B3
  9. Kt-QB3
  10. P-Q3

About the Album:

To satisfy Arista Records demands for quick releases, Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson responded with this hastily assembled collection of instrumentals in 1979. The record company opted not to release it and renogotiated the Project’s contract. The album finally saw the light of day in 2014 when released as part of the 11-CD The Complete Albums Collection. Go to the DMDB page for more on this album.

The Turn of a Friendly Card (1980)

  1. May Be a Price to Pay
  2. Games People Play B1, ES, DC, 87, NE
  3. Time B1, VB, ES, DC, 87, NE
  4. I Don’t Wanna Go Home
  5. The Gold Bug IW
  6. The Turn of a Friendly Card (Part One) ES, DC
  7. Snake Eyes ES, DC, 87
  8. The Ace of Swords ES
  9. Nothing Left to Lose ES
  10. The Turn of a Friendly Card (Part Two) B2, ES, 87

About the Album:

Around this time, Parsons had “moved to Monaco - an event that clearly influenced [1980’s] The Turn of a Friendly Card, a meditation on gambling” AO-P “and games of chance which also bore the Project’s first two major hit singles, ‘Time’ and Games People Play.” LB Go to the DMDB page for more about this album such as sales data, chart peaks, awards, and information about individual songs.

Eye in the Sky (1982)

  1. Sirius VB, ES, DC, 87, NE
  2. Eye in the Sky B1, VB, ES, DC, 87, NE
  3. Children of the Moon
  4. Gemini
  5. Silence and I ES
  6. You’re Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned VB
  7. Psychobabble B1, VB, DC, 87, NE
  8. Mammagamma IW, VB, ES, DC, NE
  9. Step by Step
  10. Old and Wise B1, VB, ES, DC, 87, NE

About the Album:

The next album, “1982's Eye in the Sky, was their most successful effort to date, and notched a top three hit with its title track.” AP The album “reflected George Orwell's 1984 strongly.” LB Sirius, the instrumental that opens the album would become one of the Project’s most recognizable song when used to “introduce the Chicago Bulls basketball team” LB during the Michael Jordan glory years. Go to the DMDB page for more about this album such as sales data, chart peaks, awards, and information about individual songs.

The Best of

Alan Parsons Project

Recorded: 1976-1983

Released: October 1983

Peak: 53 US, 99 UK, 49 CN, 25 AU

Sales (in millions): 0.5 US

Genre: progressive rock lite

Rating:

4.173 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings)

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

Tracks:

(1) I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You (2) Eye in the Sky (3) Games People Play (4) Time (5) Pyramania (6) You Don’t Believe (7) Lucifer (8) Psychobabble (9) Damned if I Do (10) Don’t Let It Show (11) Can’t Take It with You (12) Old and Wise

Total Running Time: 51:30

About the Album:

“With the last two Project albums having spun off substantial hits, Arista wanted Parsons to get to work on his seventh project immediately. Exhausted from turning out an album a year for several years, Parsons and Woolfson responded…by turning in an album of instrumentals under the title of The Sicilian Defense. Arista rejected the album, repeating its insistence for more radio-friendly rock numbers with Woolfson vocals, and upon the rejection of that album, Parsons and Woolfson considered themselves released from the contract with Arista and began shopping around for a new label. Arista promptly filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit for breach of contract…The label’s demand for a new album…was, however, met by a Best Of collection featuring one new song, You Don’t Believe,” LB which was also featured on the Project’s next studio album, 1984’s Ammonia Avenue.

Ammonia Avenue (1984)

  1. Prime Time B2, VB, ES, DC, 87, NE
  2. Let Me Go Home
  3. One Good Reason
  4. Since the Last Goodbye
  5. Don’t Answer Me B2, VB, ES, DC, 87, NE
  6. Dancing on a Highwire
  7. You Don't Believe B1, DC, 87
  8. Pipeline IW
  9. Ammonia Avenue B2, ES, 87

About the Album:

1982’s Eye in the Sky gave the Alan Parsons Project the biggest hit of their career with the #3 title cut and the top-10, platinum-selling album. The follow-up, Ammonia Avenue, was a drop-off commercially, but was still a top-20, gold-selling album in the U.S. and featured the top-20 hit “Don’t Answer Me.” The song “You Don't Believe,” which was initially featured on their 1983 Best of compilation, was also included. Go to the DMDB page for more about this album such as sales data, chart peaks, awards, and information about individual songs.

Keats (1984)

Keats

  1. Heaven Knows
  2. Tragedy
  3. Fight to Win
  4. Walking on Ice
  5. How Can You Walk Away
  6. Turn Your Heart Around
  7. Avalanche
  8. Give It Up
  9. Ask No Questions
  10. Night Full of Questions
  11. Hollywood Heart

About the Album:

This wasn’t an Alan Parsons Project album per se, but it featured members Colin Blunstone, Ian Bairnson, David Paton, and Stuart Elliott – and it was produced by Alan Parsons. It was conceived by Eric Woolfson as a way to give the members a chance to create music outside the Project. “Sonically, the sound of Keats and the Alan Parsons Project were virtually indistinguishable.” LB It didn’t take off, but it makes for an interesting addition to the APP catalog. Go to the DMDB page for more on this album.

Vulture Culture (1985)

  1. Let’s Talk About Me B2, ES, DC, 87
  2. Separate Lives
  3. Days Are Numbers (The Traveller) B2, ES, DC, 87
  4. Sooner Or Later
  5. Vulture Culture
  6. Hawkeye IW
  7. Somebody Out There [4:56]
  8. The Same Old Sun [5:24]

Also from This Era:

About the Album:

Vulture Culture marked a significant drop for the Project in terms of commercial success. Unlike its predecessor, it missed gold status and peaked at a measly #46 on the U.S. charts. It was the Project’s first album since Pyramid to fail to produce a top-40 hit. Go to the DMDB page for more about this album such as sales data, chart peaks, awards, and information about individual songs.

“During this period, Parsons also produced Andrew Powell’s all-instrumental score to the movie Ladyhawke (which generated controversy for featuring contemporary, synth-heavy rock ‘n’ roll in a medieval setting), which was performed largely by the Project’s long-standing core musicians.” LB

Stereotomy (1986)

Alan Parsons Project

  1. Stereotomy B2, ES, DC, 87
  2. Beaujolais
  3. Urbania IW
  4. Limelight B2, VB, ES, 87, NE
  5. In the Real World DC, 87
  6. Where’s the Walrus? IW
  7. Light of the World [ 6:22]
  8. Chinese Whispers [1:02]
  9. Stereotomy Two [1:18]

Also from This Era:

About the Album:

Although the Alan Parsons Project were still embraced by album rock, the trend of Vulture Culture failing to go gold or produce a top-40 pop hit continued with their ninth album, Stereotomy. Go to the DMDB page for more on this album.

Gaudi (1987)

Alan Parsons Project

  1. La Sagrada Familia ES, 87
  2. Too Late DC
  3. Closer to Heaven
  4. Standing on Higher Ground B2, VB, ES, DC, 87, NE
  5. Money Talks
  6. Inside Looking Out
  7. Paseo De Gracia (instrumental) IW

About the Album:

“1987 saw the release of Gaudi, an understated album concerning the life and goals of Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi, but what no one knew at the time was that it was officially the last Alan Parsons Project album.” LB Go to the DMDB page for more on this album.

The Best of, Volume 2

Alan Parsons Project

Recorded: 1977-1987

Released: February 20, 1988

Peak: --

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: progressive rock lite

Rating:

3.725 out of 5.00 (average of 13 ratings)

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

Tracks:

(1) Prime Time (2) Let’s Talk About Me (3) Standing on Higher Ground (4) Stereotomy (5) Don’t Answer Me (6) Limelight (7) I Robot (8) What Goes Up… (9) Days Are Numbers (The Traveller) (10) Ammonia Avenue (11) The Turn of a Friendly Card (Part Two)

Total Running Time: 48:25

About the Album:

Unlike its companion, 1983’s The Best of, this second volume failed to chart. It focused largely on the latter four Project albums, although it included a few cuts from earlier albums. It certainly didn’t have the same clout as the earlier compilation when it came to the chart success of its featured songs, but this one highlights plenty of shoulda-been hits, including “Let’s Talk About Me,” “Stereotomy,” “Standing on Higher Ground.”

The Instrumental Works

Alan Parsons Project

Recorded: 1977-1987

Released: August 15, 1988

Peak: --

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: progressive rock lite

Rating:

3.260 out of 5.00 (average of 8 ratings)

Tracks:

(1) Pipeline (2) Where’s the Walrus? (3) I Robot (4) Mammagamma (5) Hawkeye (6) Voyager (7) Paseo de Gracia (8) Urbania (9) The Gold Bug (10) Genesis Ch. 1 V. 32

About the Album:

The Project generally did one or two instrumentals on each album and it made sense to gather these together, even if there wasn’t a big audience for this collection. Interestingly, this set doesn’t include the group’s best-known instrumental, “Sirius,” the lead-in to “Eye in the Sky” which became the theme for the Chicago Bulls in the Michael Jordan era.

The Essential

Alan Parsons Project

Recorded: 1976-1987

Released: February 6, 2007

Peak: --

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: progressive rock lite

Rating:

4.074 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings)

Tracks, Disc 1:

(1) The Raven (2) The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether (3) To One in Paradise (4) I Robot (edit) (5) I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You (6) Some Other Time (7) Day after Day (The Show Must Go On) (8) What Goes Up… (9) The Eagle Will Rise Again (10) In the Lap of the Gods (11) Lucifer (edit) (12) Damned if I Do (13) Games People Play (14) Time (15) The Turn of a Friendly Card (Part One) (16) Snake Eyes (17) The Ace of Swords (18) Nothing Left to Lose (10) The Turn of a Friendly Card (Part Two)

Tracks, Disc 2:

(1) Sirius (2) Eye in the Sky (3) Silence and I (4) Old and Wise (5) Mammagamma (6) Prime Time (7) Ammonia Avenue (8) Don’t Answer Me (9) Let’s Talk About Me (10) Days Are Numbers (The Traveller) (11) No Answers Only Questions (12) Stereotomy (13) Limelight (14) La Sagrada Familia (15) Standing on Higher Ground

Total Running Time: 153:17

About the Album:

This two-disc retrospective is completely unnecessary given that 1997’s Definitive Collection does a much better job capturing “the essential” Alan Parsons Project songs. Five songs (“Don’t Let It Show,” “Can’t Take It with You,” “Pyramania,” “Psychobabble,” “You Don't Believe”) that appear on the original The Best of from 1983 – and then appear again on The Definitive Collection – don’t make the cut here. While none were big hits, they absolutely deserve recognition on such a comprehensive overview of APP.

This set does include “No Answers Only Questions,” which had never appeared on an APP album but was added to later editions of Vulture Culture as a bonus track. There’s also an even more unnecessary three-disc edition.

The Best of the Alan Parsons Project
1976-1987 (Spotify playlist)

Alan Parsons Project

Recorded: 1976-1987

Released: --

Peak: --

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: progressive rock lite

Tracks:

(1) The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether (2) The Raven (3) I Robot (4) I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You (5) Some Other Time (6) Breakdown (7) Don’t Let It Show (8) What Goes Up… (9) Pyramania (10) Can’t Take It with You (11) Lucifer (12) Damned if I Do (13) Games People Play (14) Time (15) Snake Eyes (16) The Turn of a Friendly Card (Part Two) (17) Sirius (18) Eye in the Sky (19) Psychobabble (20) Old and Wise(21) You Don't Believe (22) Prime Time (23) Don’t Answer Me (24) Ammonia Avenue (25) Let’s Talk About Me (26) Days Are Numbers (The Traveller) (27) Stereotomy (28) In the Real World (29) Limelight (30) Standing on Higher Ground (31) La Sagrada Familia

About the Album:

This is a Spotify playlist I created to celebrate the music of Alan Parsons in the post-Project era. It consolidates all the tracks featured on The Best of (1983) and The Best of, Volume 2 (1988). Check it out here.

Freudiana

Eric Woolfson

  1. The Nirvana Principle
  2. Freudiana
  3. I Am a Mirror
  4. Little Hans
  5. Dora
  6. Funny You Should Say That
  7. You're on Your Own
  8. Far Away from Home
  9. Let Yourself Go
  10. Beyond the Pleasure Principle
  11. The Ring
  12. Sects Therapy
  13. No One Can Love You Better Than Me
  14. Don't Let the Moment Pas
  15. Upper Me
  16. Freudiana (instrumental)
  17. Destiny
  18. There But for the Grace of God

About the Album:

“Following Gaudi, Woolfson began working on ideas for the next Project album, Freudiana…Having developed a fascination for stage musicals (…many a critic over the years had compared the…Project’s more grandiose songs to musical theater), Woolfson became interested in turning Freudiana into a theatrical piece.” LB “The studio version of Freudiana was produced by Alan Parsons” FI and featured “the group's stable of musicians [and] Woolfson and Parsons' signature production style,” LB but “Woolfson’s idea to turn it into a musical…eventually led to a rift” FI that ended the Alan Parsons Project. The album “was released in the UK and Europe…as a studio cast album.” LB “The show ran for over a year in the historic Theater An Der Wien in Vienna, Austria,” AP “though none of the Project musicians ever appeared in a staged production of Freudiana.” LB

Go to the DMDB page for more on this album.

Try Anything Once

Alan Parsons

  1. The Three of Me
  2. Turn It Up DC, 22
  3. Wine from the Water
  4. Breakaway
  5. Mr. Time
  6. Jigue
  7. I’m Talkin’ to You 22
  8. Siren Song
  9. Dreamscape
  10. Back Against the Wall
  11. Re-Jigue DC
  12. Oh Life (There Must Be More) 22

About the Album:

After Freudiana created a rift between Parsons and Woolfson, Parsons soldiered on “but without the ‘Project’ name, as he felt that the band wouldn’t be the same without Woolfson’s compositions or vocals.” LB “With his long-standing previous collaborators, guitarist Ian Bairnson and drummer Stuart Elliott,” AP as well as Andrew Powell and Chris Thompson, Parsons released his first official solo album, Try Anything Once, in 1993. ”As with all of his previous albums, Parsons still didn’t sing lead vocals…preferring to stay in the mixing booth.” LB

“Most of the songs were written by the band members themselves, who had displayed their abilities on the Parsons-produced Keats album…Though Parsons has said that he was too busy worrying about the music to dictate a cohesive theme to the songwriters, it nevertheless seemed to convey a message of taking a chance and doing or saying things that one might not do or say otherwise. Arista released the album, but the underwhelming sales…left Parsons without a label for his next album.” LB

Go to the DMDB page for more on this album.

The Definitive Collection

Alan Parsons Project

Recorded: 1976-1993

Released: July 15, 1997

Peak: --

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: progressive rock lite

Rating:

3.329 out of 5.00 (average of 9 ratings)

Tracks, Disc 1:

(1) The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether (2) The Raven (3) I Robot (4) I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You (5) Breakdown (6) Don’t Let It Show (7) Voyager (8) What Goes Up… (9) The Eagle Will Rise Again (10) Can’t Take It with You (11) Pyramania (12) Damned if I Do (13) Lucifer (14) If I Could Change Your Mind (15) The Turn of a Friendly Card (Part One) (16) Snake Eyes (17) Games People Play (18) Time

Tracks, Disc 2:

(1) Sirius (2) Eye in the Sky (3) Psychobabble (4) Mammagamma (5) Old and Wise (6) Prime Time (7) Don’t Answer Me (8) You Don't Believe (9) Let’s Talk About Me (10) Days Are Numbers (The Traveller) (11) Stereotomy (12) In the Real World (13) Standing on Higher Ground (14) Too Late (15) Turn It Up (16) Re-Jigue

Total Running Time: 2:28:37

About the Album:

This two-disc retrospective consolidates most of the songs featured on Best of and Best of, Volume 2 into one chronological collection. There are some welcome additions here, including “The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether,” “The Raven,” “Breakdown,” “Snake Eyes,” and “Sirius.” The set does feel a bit padded, though, with some unnecessary album cuts, including a few too many instrumentals.

This set does add a couple of cuts from Parsons’ first solo album, Try Anything Once, but given that this was released in 1997, it would be nice to have included something from On Air as well. Something from Freudiana would have been nice to include as well.

Gaudi (cast album)

Eric Woolfson

  1. What Are You Going to Do Now?
  2. Money Talks *
  3. Closer to Heaven * SA
  4. Standing on Higher Ground *
  5. Tango Güell (instrumental)
  6. Parca Güell SA
  7. Puppet Master
  8. Inside Looking Out *
  9. Work Song
  10. Too Late * SA
  11. Forbidden Fruit SA
  12. Lonely Song (Love Can Be Lonely Too)
  13. La Sagrada Familia *

* first featured on Alan Parsons Project’s Gaudi

About the Album:

Eric Woolfson’s musical theater ambitions led to a parting of the ways between him and Alan Parsons. Freudiana marked the last time the two worked together. Woolfson’s next project was a stage musical of the last Alan Parsons Project album, Gaudi. The musical uses the architecture of Antonio Gaudio as a backdrop to a story about a writer trying to sustain artistic integrity. More than half a million people saw the musical in Germany between June 1993 and March 1997. EW

The Very Best Live

Alan Parsons

Recorded: 1994

Released: June 27, 1995

Peak: --

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: progressive rock lite

Rating:

3.401 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings)

Tracks:

(1) Sirius (2) Eye in the Sky (3) Psychobabble (4) The Raven (5) Time (6) Luciferama (instrumental medley of “Lucifer” and “Mammagamma”) (7) Old and Wise (8) You’re Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned (9) Prime Time (10) Limelight (11) Don’t Answer Me (12) Standing on Higher Ground (13) When (14) Take the Money and Run (15) You’re the Voice

About the Album:

The Alan Parsons Project eschewed normal rock band tradition of releasing a studio album, hitting the road in support of that album and repeating. Instead, they focused on being a studio band. In the post Project days, however, Parsons decided to hit the road. This collection gathers three new studio cuts (“When,” “Take the Money and Run,” and “You’re the Voice”) alongside a dozen live cuts. There are notable omissions like“I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You,” “Damned if I Do,” “Games People Play,” “Let’s Talk About Me,” and “Stereotomy.” Fans are much better off with the two-disc Never Ending Show from 2021.

Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums:

  • When VB, 22
  • Take the Money and Run VB, 22
  • You’re the Voice VB, 22

On Air

Alan Parsons

  1. Blue Blue Sky
  2. Too Close to the Sun 22
  3. Blown by the Wind
  4. Cloudbreak
  5. I Can't Look Down
  6. Brother Up in Heaven
  7. Fall Free
  8. Apollo
  9. So Far Away 22
  10. One Day to Fly
  11. Blue Blue Sky

About the Album:

After Try Anything Once, “Parsons and his band did something they hadn’t done since the promotional push for Tales in 1976: they mounted a world tour with a fan-pleasing cross-section of new material from Try Anything Once and all of their previous albums…Neil Lockwood joined the band on vocals…having just left ELO Part II, and BMG briefly picked up Parsons and company for a live album chronicling the 1994 tour.” LB

Alan Parsons’ second solo album saw him working yet again with APP alums Ian Bairnson, Stuart Elliott, and Andrew Powell. Eric Stewart, who worked on Freudiana and Try Anything Once, also returned as a vocalist. Bairnson served as the primary songwriter.

“In 1996, On Air, an album about the history, mythology and symbolism of flight, was released…Bairnson led the effort to return to a concept album, the centerpiece of which was his ballad Brother Up in Heaven, about a cousin of Bairnson’s who was killed by friendly fire during multi-national patrols over Iraq's no-fly zones in the years following the Gulf War.” LB

“The album spread its wings to cover everything from the myth of Daedalus and Icarus to the space age, with one song sung by Christopher Cross and another, a lengthy instrumental called Apollo, weaving John F. Kennedy’s moonshot directive into a jamming techno piece…On Air was released by Parsons’ own River North label. The perils of releasing an album on an indie label caught up with On Air, leaving it in cutout bins – and out in the cold when it came to radio airplay.” LB

Go to the DMDB page for more on this album.

Gambler

Eric Woolfson

  1. Fanfare
  2. Green Light Means Danger
  3. Love in the Third Degree
  4. When the World Was Young
  5. Games People Play *
  6. The Golden KeyNW, SA
  7. Limelight *
  8. 9 x 9 x 9
  9. Halfway SA
  10. Eye in the Sky *
  11. You’ll Be Far Away SA
  12. Time *
  13. Medley
  14. Afterture

* first recorded by Alan Parsons Project

About the Show:

Eric Woolfson’s next theatrical work was based on Alan Parsons Project’s Turn of a Friendly Card and Dostoyevsky’s 1866 novel The Gambler. The story focused on “a casino boss, a young man, a showgirl, and a countess…whose fates are intimately linked by an obsession with the mysterious secrets of the cards.” EW The show premiered in Germany in October 1996 and ran for more than 500 performances PC over eighteen months. EW It also had “five productions in Korea, one of which also toured Japan in 2002 (the first time a Korean language production had been staged in this way).” PC

The Time Machine

Alan Parsons

  1. The Time Machine – Part 1
  2. Temporalia
  3. Out of the Blue 22
  4. Call Up
  5. Ignorance Is Bliss
  6. Rubber Universe
  7. Call of the Wild
  8. No Future in the Past
  9. Press Rewind
  10. The Very Last Time
  11. Far Ago and Long Away
  12. The Time Machine – Part 2

About the Album:

“The Parsons story picked up again in 1999, with the release of The Time Machine.” LB Ian Bairnson, Stuart Elliott, and Andrew Powell are on board once again for Parsons’ third solo effort. “Originally devised as yet another literary homage, [it] became an album about the idea of time travel, and featured some stellar guest vocalists like Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley and Maìre Brennan of Clannad.” LB

Go to the DMDB page for more on this album.

Poe: More Tales of Mystery and Imagination

Eric Woolfson

Released: November 19, 2003

Peak: --

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: show tunes

Rating:

1.676 out of 5.00 (average of 5 ratings)

Tracks (2003):

  1. Angel of the Odd [2:36] (instrumental)
  2. Wings of Eagles [4:45] v: Steve Balsamo
  3. Train to Freedom [4:40] v: Fred Johanson
  4. Somewhere in the Audience v: Steve Balsamo [4:47] NW, SA
  5. The Bells [5:32] v: the choir SA
  6. The Pit and the Pendulum [6:35] v: Steve Balsamo
  7. The Murders in the Rue Morgue [4:35] v: Eric Woolfson & Steve Balsamo
  8. Tiny Star [2:44] v: Steve Balsamo
  9. Goodbye to All That [5:15] v: the choir
  10. Immortal [5:30] v: Steve Balsamo NW

Tracks (2009):

  1. Angel of the Odd
  2. Tiny Star SA
  3. Wings of Eagles
  4. The Murders in the Rue Morgue
  5. Blinded by the Light
  6. The Pit and the Pendulum
  7. The Raven *
  8. It Doesn’t Take a Genius
  9. The Bells
  10. Goodbye to All That
  11. The Devil I Know
  12. Somewhere in the Audience NW, SA
  13. Trust Me
  14. Annabel Lee/Let the Sun Shine on Me
  15. Train to Freedom (aka “Train to Wuxi”) NW
  16. What Fools People Are
  17. Immortal NW

* first recorded by Alan Parsons Project

About the Show:

In 2003, “Woolfson…completed his magnum opus Poe,” PC which was originally crafted as a stage performance and later recorded as an album, and then finally as a musical in 2009. The project brought Woolfson full circle to the start of his recording career with Alan Parsons when they crafted the Edgar Allan Poe inspired Tales of Mystery and Imagnation album in 1976.

A Valid Path

Alan Parsons

  1. Return to Tunguska
  2. More Lost without You 22
  3. Mammagamma 04
  4. We Play the Game
  5. Tijuania
  6. L’arc En Ciel
  7. A Recurring Dream within a Dream
  8. Chomolungma

About the Album:

In 2004, Parsons took his music in ”a new contemporary direction into the world of Electronica… Alan says, ‘The industry is changing and I feel the need to capture a different kind of audience while still keeping my identity. Electronic music is the fastest growing music category right now and I’m enjoying working with new people and new technology.’” AP

For this misguided effort, Parsons jettisoned usual suspects Ian Bairnson, Stuart Elliott, and Andrew Powell. He does bring David Gilmour into the fold for guitar on “Return to Tunguska” but that track nor anything else on the album (including reworkings of APP’s “Mammagamma” and “A Recurring Dream Within a Dream”) are particularly memorable.

Go to the DMDB page for more on this album.

Dancing Shadows

Eric Woolfson

Show Premiered: July 2007

Peak: --

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: show tunes

Rating:

0.366 out of 5.00 (average of 3 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. Chorus of Hope SA
  2. Dancing with My Shadow
  3. Any Other Day NW
  4. If I Could Write the Book of Life SA
  5. I Can See Round Corners NW
  6. What Kind of World SA
  7. No Answers Only Questions ES
  8. Along the Road Together NW
  9. Dancing (medley)
  10. Lonely Song

About the Show:

Woolfson wrote the music and lyrics for the musical Dancing Shadows, which won the Korean Tony Award for Musical of the Year.

The Alan Parsons Project That Never Was (2009)

Eric Woolfson
  1. The Golden Key NW, SA
  2. Nothing Can Change My Mind NW
  3. Rumour Goin’ Round NW
  4. Any Other Day NW
  5. I Can See Round Corners NW
  6. Steal Your Heart Away NW
  7. Along the Road Together NW
  8. Somewhere in the Audience NW, SA
  9. Train to Wuxi NW
  10. Immortal NW

About the Album:

When the Alan Parsons Project albums were being remastered and released with bonus tracks, Eric Woolfson was asked to dig through the vaults for unreleased material. While he did find some to tack on to previously released APP work, he also assembled a collection of APP-era music (and material from his own post-APP musicals) for a new release. Giving it the wieldy title of The Alan Parsons Project That Never Was, Woolfson essentially gave APP fans a great lost Project album. It would be the last work released by Woolfson in his lifetime; sadly, he died of cancer on December 2, 2009.

Go to the DMDB page for more about this album such as sales data, chart peaks, awards, and information about individual songs.

Somewhere in the Audience

Eric Woolfson

Recorded: 1993-2009

Released: March 18, 2013

Peak: 13 DF

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: progressive rock lite

Rating:

3.225 out of 5.00 (average of 11 ratings)

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

Tracks:

(1) Chorus of Hope (2) Tiny Star (3) The Golden Key (4) Parca Güell (5) Somewhere in the Audience (6) Forbidden Fruit (7) What Kind of World (8) Too Late (9) The Bells (10) Far Away (11) If I Could Write the Book of Life (12) Halfway (13) Closer to Heaven

About the Album:

This was a compilation of work by Eric Woolfson outside of the Alan Parsons Project. The songs were pulled from his stage shows Gaudi, Gambler, Poe, and Dancing Shadows.

The Secret

Alan Parsons

  1. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
  2. Miracle 22
  3. As Lights Fall NE, 22
  4. One Note Symphony NE
  5. Sometimes 22
  6. Soireé Fantastique
  7. Fly to Me
  8. Requiem
  9. Years of Glory
  10. The Limelight Fades Away
  11. I Can’t Get There from Here NE

About the Album:

After a fifteen-year absence, Alan Parsons comes back with a studio effort that features heavy hitters Lou Gramm (“Sometimes”) and Jason Mraz (“Miracle”) on vocals. The highlight, though, is “As Lights Fall,” a song and video that offer a great reflection on Parsons’ career and the legacy he will leave behind when he is gone. Go to the DMDB page for more on this album.

The Never Ending Show

Alan Parsons

Recorded: 2019

Released: November 5, 2021

Peak: --

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: progressive rock lite

Rating:

3.865 out of 5.00 (average of 10 ratings)

Tracks, Disc 1:

(1) One Note Symphony (2) Damned if I Do (3) Don’t Answer Me (4) Time (5) Breakdown / The Raven (6) I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You (7) Psychobabble (8) Luciferama (instrumental medly of “Lucifer” and “Mammagamma”) (9) Don’t Let It Show

Tracks, Disc 2:

(1) I Robot (2) Limelight (3) Standing on Higher Ground (4) As Lights Fall (5) I Can’t Get There from Here (6) Prime Time (7) Sirius / Eye in the Sky (8) Old and Wise (9) The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether (10) Games People Play (11) The Never Ending Show (studio cut)

About the Album:

This two-disc live collection is far superior to the one-disc live album released in 1995. Most of the best-loved hits are here, although “Let’s Talk About Me,” and “Stereotomy” are still no-shows. There’s also one studio cut, “The Never Ending Show,” is a worthy edition to the Parsons’ catalog. The one complaint is the Project was comprised of multiple vocalists who put their individual stamps on the original recordings. The live version of the songs miss that.

Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums:

  • The Never Ending Show NE, 22

From the New World

Alan Parsons

  1. Fare Thee Well
  2. The Secret
  3. Uroboros 22
  4. Don’t Fade Now
  5. Give ‘Em My Love
  6. Obstacles
  7. I Won’t Be Led Astray
  8. You Are the Light
  9. Halo
  10. Goin’ Home
  11. Be My Baby

About the Album:

Much like Parsons’ previous effort, this album taps a rock legend (this time Styx’s Tommy Shaw on “Uroboros”) for a high-profile single. David Pack – from the group Ambrosia and an early performer from the Project’s days – is also back, having also appeared on Parsons’ other solo projects. Go to the DMDB page for more on this album.

The Best of Alan Parsons
1993-2022 (Spotify playlist)

Alan Parsons

Recorded: 1993-2022

Released: --

Peak: --

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: progressive rock lite

Tracks:

(1) Turn It Up (2) I’m Talkin’ to You (3) Oh Life (There Must Be More) (4) When (5) Take the Money and Run (6) You’re the Voice (7) Too Close to the Sun (8) So Far Away (9) Out of the Blue (10) More Lost Without You (11) Fragile (12) Do You Live at All? (13) Miracle (14) Sometimes (15) As Lights Fall (16) The Never Ending Show (17) Uroborus

About the Album:

This is a Spotify playlist I created to celebrate the music of Alan Parsons in the post-Project era. Check it out here.

Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums:

  • Fragile (recorded 2013) 22
  • Do You Live at All? (released 2015) 22

Resources/References:

Related DMDB Links:

First posted 12/2/2009; last updated 4/26/2026.

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