For years I thought their biggest hits were eye in the sky and time. There are a few songs played on the yacht rock station. I know of the involvement with dark side of the moon. I recently became aware of the connection with Al Stewart. Would you consider them a soft rock version of Pink Floyd? Are they yacht rock? Or was the Alan Parsons project that laser on the Death Star moon on the second Austin Powers movie? In my teenage years I thought eye in the sky was about an over jealous possessive relationship. Parts of that interpretation didn’t make since to me even back then. What was I supposed to think? Some moron requested it on the Friday night love song segment of our local radio station. It’s about surveillance in a casino. That makes plenty of since now.
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The Alan Parsons project
- Thread starter Cory rich40
- Start date
They were going to use 'The House Always Wins', but felt it would hurt the gambling industry.
Actually just read an article. There are lines in the song that could allude to a breakup. It could be about big brother too. I was a toddler when they were at their peak, so I don’t really remember them from back then but here is what I can gather. They were definitely not as huge as Pink Floyd. Honestly I heard don’t answer me the other day and thought it would have been released in the 70’s. It was released in 84. It was probably their intention for the song to sound dated though since it was influenced by Phil Specter. Listening to yacht rock at work and on the way home from work I’m learning interesting things I never knew. One is that the 80’s group Godfrey and Crème is actually 10cc in a way. But back to Alan Parsons again. I guess you could say he was the Steven Wilson of the 70’s and early 80’s. The semi famous musician a lot of people never heard of. I’m guessing it it wasn’t for the eye in the sky album, most wouldn’t have heard of him. Even though he has connections to the Beatles Let It Be
I always thought of Parsons more as a control room guy than performer, even though he was a good musician on multiple instruments and wrote or cowrote almost all the Project's songs. He started his career in audio engineering, worked as a producer, ran the Abbey Road Studios for a while in the 90s.
I don't think it's constructive to think of APP as a watered-down Pink Floyd as much as being into its own kind of concept albums -- they were less introspective than Pink Floyd during the Roger Waters years and were more into making something more like audio cinema. The connections with Pink Floyd probably helped, but since Parsons spent a lot of his career as an engineer and producer at Abbey Road Studios, odds are pretty good that he would've crossed paths with them sooner or later regardless.
I don't think it's constructive to think of APP as a watered-down Pink Floyd as much as being into its own kind of concept albums -- they were less introspective than Pink Floyd during the Roger Waters years and were more into making something more like audio cinema. The connections with Pink Floyd probably helped, but since Parsons spent a lot of his career as an engineer and producer at Abbey Road Studios, odds are pretty good that he would've crossed paths with them sooner or later regardless.
You've barely dipped your toes into the Alan Parsons Project waters. Listen to, in their entirety, I Robot and The Turn of a Friendly Card (two of their best, IMO). That will give you a better sense of what that band is about.
Rick Beato’s interview with Alan Parsons last year was pretty good.
Haven't thought about APP in years. I only know of them by their hits.
My APP story that sticks with me though. Long ago, the band van was broke down so we had to rent a Uhaul for a long trip to a "middle of nowhere" bar. Two of us were in the truck on the way home just talking to kill time at 2am. The radio wasn't picking up anything so we started discussing songs we liked but hadn't heard in a long time. The passenger said to me "Games People Play" is a cool song I haven't heard forever. And a few minutes later, without either of us touching the radio, it faded into a station and that song came on. After that song ended, the radio faded to static again.
We then drove without speaking for about 10 minutes. Later we decided that was our "didn't happen-UFO" story.
My APP story that sticks with me though. Long ago, the band van was broke down so we had to rent a Uhaul for a long trip to a "middle of nowhere" bar. Two of us were in the truck on the way home just talking to kill time at 2am. The radio wasn't picking up anything so we started discussing songs we liked but hadn't heard in a long time. The passenger said to me "Games People Play" is a cool song I haven't heard forever. And a few minutes later, without either of us touching the radio, it faded into a station and that song came on. After that song ended, the radio faded to static again.
We then drove without speaking for about 10 minutes. Later we decided that was our "didn't happen-UFO" story.
I too love that song, but love the story even more. It would have been great if 20 minutes after the station faded out, Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell faded in with some UFO abductee survivor interview. 
I just remember growing up in the 90's watching Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls on TV get introduced with "Sirius" blaring over the PA.
My favourite album from them is Tales of Mystery and Imagination but I haven't ever done much of a deep dive into their other stuff aside from Eye in the Sky and I Robot.
Totally. Whenever I hear that song, i break out miday through in my Chicago Stadium Announcer Voice "From North Carolina, Number 23, Michaellllllllllllll Jorrrrrdan" !
Saw an interview with MJ on Sunday from Daytona... one of his cars won the 500. He's aged... like all of us...
Ok, back to bass now...
That would have completed the story for sure.I too love that song, but love the story even more. It would have been great if 20 minutes after the station faded out, Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell faded in with some UFO abductee survivor interview.
There are some great stories on Coast to Coast. Interesting listening driving home from gigs.
Alan Parson's Project recordings always put me in mind of Floyd inasmuch as it has obvious Prog roots, but presented in a far more rational format, with first-class arrangements, and of course they're recorded within an inch of their life. Always exceptionally well-done, though occasionally a little syrup-y for me as one 'Eye In The Sky' and 'Time'.
My favorite is TURN OF A FRIENDLY CARD, a recording I often use as practice, playing the whole thing start to finish.
My favorite is TURN OF A FRIENDLY CARD, a recording I often use as practice, playing the whole thing start to finish.
I Robot is a PEAK album for just listening to how music can be mixed and was one of those albums, like Gaucho and Aja, where the STUDIO ITSELF and the capabilities of mixing desks and mastering are at the forefront!!! Turn of a Friendly Card is another peak album from APP!!!
I bought the first Alan Parson's Project album purely on the strength of his engineering work on the Pink Floyd albums, and it had at least a couple good tunes on it, and all impeccably produced. The amazing thing is how much of Dark Side was still essentially hand-mixed by the band itself, with Alan Parsons along for the ride and refining things. I recently saw an interview with David Gilmour where he described how what used to take months of work in the studio can now be done in minutes on a laptop with ProTools. he doesn't miss the Good Old Days much, but to this day, Dark Side is one of the most impressive recordings of all time.
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