No.5: “Eye In The Sky” by The Alan Parsons Project (1982)
Well you know how much I like this studio outfit. I have spoken at length about Alan Parsons and his project in ten previous posts, so this time I’ll speak about the album in question.
Eye In The Sky was their biggest success. It was a huge hit in just about every country in the world: the USA, all over Europe, South America, Japan…everywhere except in their homeland of the UK, which has always been a strange one to be honest. My own personal view is that it’s because in this country we change our musical styles almost weekly and a band such as The Alan Parsons Project were probably a little “too 70’s”, a lot like bands such as 10CC, Barclay James Harvest or Manfred Mann’s Earth Band; they were judged as outdated in the charts of Duran Duran, Soft Cell and the amazing Gary Numan of the early 80’s. The popsters of the day didn’t want educational music, they wanted to dance and sing and this band wasn’t about that.
Including the U.S. No.3 title song, the wonderful instrumental ‘Mammagamma’ and opener ‘Sirius’, the superlative track which was ‘Silence And I’ with its 110-piece orchestra and closer ‘Old And Wise’, which Colin Blunstone sings with such breathy beauty on one of my all-time favourite songs, this album is deservedly positioned in my Top 5 of all-time. The band do carry on though with only Parsons himself now in the frame as a solo artist, though they do go on the road fairly often with their ‘Live Project’ and remain hugely popular all over the world (except of course…the UK). The first video here shows the band performing their biggest single last year.
Sleeve image, other images:
Videos:
Track listing:
“Sirius”
“Eye in the Sky”
“Children of the Moon”
“Gemini”
“Silence and I”
“You’re Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned”
“Psychobabble”
“Mammagamma”
“Step by Step”
“Old and Wise”
Personnel:
• Chris Rainbow: main vocal (Track 4)
• Lenny Zakatek: main vocal (Tracks 6 & 9)
• Elmer Gantry: main vocal (Track 7)
• Eric Woolfson: keyboards, main vocal (Tracks 2 & 5)
• Colin Blunstone: main vocal (Track 10)
• The English Chorale: choir vocals
• Alan Parsons: keyboards, Fairlight programming, vocals
• David Paton: acoustic, electric & bass guitars, main vocal (Track 3)
• Ian Bairnson: acoustic & electric guitars
• Mel Collins: saxophone
• Stuart Elliott: drums, percussion
The Alan Parsons project in Floydy’s list:
5-Eye In The Sky-1982
15-I Robot-1977
111-Eve-1979
143-The Turn Of A Friendly Card-1980
168-Vulture Culture-1985
239-Ammonia Avenue-1984
302-Pyramid-1978
418-On Air (solo)-1996
532-Try Anything Once (solo)-1993
554-Stereotomy-1986
631-Tales Of Mystery And Imagination-1976
799-Gaudi-1987
The penultimate segment of my list should appear on Friday evening, all being well:)
I tell you what mate, if ever I need cheering up, it’s Boston, full blast in the car. Glad you enjoyed it.
I have never seen Blondie live either but I did see them ‘live’ on tv in their hey day and tbh, I was disappointed. Nothing to do with the band, they were great but her voice was terrible and out of tune.
Obviously I have never held it against her (although I would have loved to).
Yes I’ve heard that before mate. Dream Theater once did a whole album based on Floyd’s DSOTM too. Great at what they do, but strangely they haven’t featured in my list
I mentioned all this before mate, it all down to personal taste. If we were all the same Sgt. Pepper’s would be number one and Bohemian Rhapsody the No.1 single and that would never change forever.
Luckily we do differ in our opinions, and therefore provide a different perspective with our favourites. Each to their won.
I knew most of these songs without realising who they were by. Another great band and some interesting connections with other bands, not least Buggles who I thought was great too. I enjoyed the videos, thanks Floydy.
Comfortably Numb.
One of my absolute favourite Floyd tracks. Both guitar solos are stunning, and to me almost tell the lyrics of the song in music form. One of the best solos ever in history imo.
Gilmour was never a fast guitarist (I hate fast guitaring anyway - always sounds just messy to me) - but the way he plays always has “feeling”. Almost emotional guitaring.
He makes that guitar weep sometimes, Fender, doesn’t he? Not in a wailing country music-style, but with such feeling as you say. The guitar work on ‘Coming Back To Life’ is astounding I think, but then he can really rock out sometimes too. The instrumental section of ‘Money’ is awesome.
As a 13 year old adolescent, I was positively rampant after just a glimpse bud… I don’t reckon many guys can say that about Janis Joplin…
Horses for courses, Gilmour is master of what he does, and boy does he do it well, but, in literal terms, probably by his own admission, is not a virtuoso.
There are a few virtuosos out there, but, it is questionable whether you listen to them for musical quality, bit like being a sorcerer’s apprentice, Shock and Awe.
I don’t reckon many guys can say that about Janis Joplin…
