The Alan Parsons Project

The Alan Parson Project was a British progressive rock duo active from 1975 to 1990, consisting of producer, musician and composer Alan Parsons and lyricist, pianist and singer Eric Woolfson. They met in the canteen at Abbey Road Studios in the summer of 1974, when Woolfson suggested that Parsons take charge of his career. Alan Parsons (born December 20, 1948) already had considerable experience as sound engineer on the Beatles' Abbey Road (1969) and Let It Be (1970) albums, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Paul McCartney & Wings, The Hollies and Ambrosia, but had not yet recorded an album himself. After several months of collaboration, Woolfson suggested the idea of making a concept album on the American writer Edgar Allan Poe, which materialized in the recording between London and Hollywood of the album Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1976), with a large staff including director Orson Welles as narrator, Arthur Brown, John Miles and arranger/orchestrator Andrew Powell. The result, released under the name The Alan Parsons Project by 20th Century Fox, proves a success on both sides of the Atlantic, with the extraction of three singles including "(The System of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether". Signed by Arista Records, the duo continued in this progressive vein of fantastical or mystical lyrics with the albums I Robot (1977) and its first monkey "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You", Pyramid (1978), Turn of a Friendly Card and the hit "Games People Play", followed by the commercial peak Eye in the Sky (1982), ranked No. 7 in the U.S. and driven by its title track (No. 3), which became an FM radio favorite. Buoyed by this performance, The Alan Parsons Project returned in 1984 with Ammonia Avenue and its title track "Don't Answer Me", Vulture Culture (1985), Stereotomy (1986) and Gaudi (1987). While working on a new concept album, Freudiana, differences of opinion led to the duo splitting up, and it was under their respective names that the album was released in 1990, later brought to the stage as a rock opera by Eric Woolfson. Recorded in 1979, The Sicilian Defence was not released until 2014. In the meantime, both musicians have developed their own careers, often with reminiscences of their association, such as Poe: More Tales of Mystery and Imagination in 2003 or The Alan Parsons Project That Never Was in 2009 for Eric Woolfson and Eye 2 Eye: Live in Madrid in 2004 then Alan Parsons Symphonic Project in 2013 for Alan Parsons.