LP Review: Alan Parsons Project - The Eye In The Sky
Andrew Roy · April 17 2018
A diverse and dramatic album that demonstrates an accessible take on progressive rock.
Alan Parsons Project, formed in Glasgow in 1975, was a rock duo comprised of audio engineer Alan Parsons and musician Eric Woolfson. The band was known for their progressive concept albums that featured many session artists and had a high level of complexity. Before the band was formed, Alan Parsons had worked on the mastering of many notable albums including the Beatles’ Abbey Road and Let it Be, as well as Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of The Moon. Parsons carried the exceptional production values that these albums had to the band’s work while Woolfson contributed an excellent level of creativity and experimentation. The band’s sixth studio album, Eye In The Sky, broke the mould of their previous work by embracing a more accessible sound as well as not having such a strong overarching theme. This gamble paid off with the 1982 album going platinum and becoming the band’s greatest success.
Eye In The Sky begins with “Sirius”, a very haunting build up with several heavy guitar chords. The short introduction track ends with a few guitar licks before a bass segue to the distinctive title track. While being the most pop-like track, the song also introduces the loose theme intended for the album. Although Eric Woolfson’s lyrics directly refer to a break-up, there are also several references to the dystopian future painted by George Orwell’s novel 1984 in which the citizens of the world are constantly monitored by a totalitarian government. In a recent interview on Dutch TV about the story behind the album, Alan Parsons said, “We wanted to base the album on the sort of concept of Big Brother is watching you; there’s always a camera watching you, there’s always a helicopter in the sky overseeing you and you can read a line of small print on a newspaper from space”. With an ever increasing level of surveillance and online monitoring, the themes presented here are certainly relevant today.
The third track, “Children of the Moon”, brings a slower tempo while featuring some interesting brass pieces and a concise guitar solo with plenty of pitch bends and vibrato. The elegant, intertwining vocals of “Gemini” is almost heavenly, taking the album to a more peaceful atmosphere. “Silence and I”, my personal highlight of the album, has a very varied structure and beautifully combines a full orchestra with more conventional rock instruments. With the cellos after the last chorus leading the guitar solo in, the prog rock composition has a suitably epic conclusion. The next track, “You’re Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned” is in direct contrast with a much more classic rock sound. More progressive, “Psychobabble” boasts an array of interesting uses of instruments, including a couple of gripping muted guitar sections.
The synth heavy instrumental piece “Mammagamma” is in a similar vein to the ambient electronic artists of the time such as Tangerine Dream, while also representing a return to some of the band’s previous work such as the title track of I Robot. The musical nature of synths allow for a very smooth and gradual song progression. “Step by Step”, a less complex but catchy piece, features a notably unusual guitar sound towards the end. Parsons, always looking for ways to experiment with the mix, achieved this sound by plugging the guitar straight into the mixing deck without any amplification. The ballad “Old and Wise” brings the album to a breath-taking finale, where Colin Bluntstone’s soothing vocals are excellently complemented by the strings and piano backdrop. Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, the fade out from the dramatic sax solo and drums provides the perfect ending.
With everything considered, it is easy to see why Eye In The Sky was such a great commercial success for Alan Parsons Project. The album presents a good variety of different genres and walks the fine line between pop and prog rock, resulting in a very accessible package that still retains a lot of experimentation. With so much creativity and so many session artists, the ethos of the band was realised to a greater extent here than ever before. Which in Alan Parsons' words was, “Production. Just to make it sound like a big production, and that's what it was”.
You can watch the full interview with Alan Parsons here. The interview was done at his new studio in California where he is currently putting together another concept album.
A diverse and dramatic album that demonstrates an accessible take on progressive rock.
Alan Parsons Project, formed in Glasgow in 1975, was a rock duo comprised of audio engineer Alan Parsons and musician Eric Woolfson. The band was known for their progressive concept albums that featured many session artists and had a high level of complexity. Before the band was formed, Alan Parsons had worked on the mastering of many notable albums including the Beatles’ Abbey Road and Let it Be, as well as Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of The Moon. Parsons carried the exceptional production values that these albums had to the band’s work while Woolfson contributed an excellent level of creativity and experimentation. The band’s sixth studio album, Eye In The Sky, broke the mould of their previous work by embracing a more accessible sound as well as not having such a strong overarching theme. This gamble paid off with the 1982 album going platinum and becoming the band’s greatest success.
The third track, “Children of the Moon”, brings a slower tempo while featuring some interesting brass pieces and a concise guitar solo with plenty of pitch bends and vibrato. The elegant, intertwining vocals of “Gemini” is almost heavenly, taking the album to a more peaceful atmosphere. “Silence and I”, my personal highlight of the album, has a very varied structure and beautifully combines a full orchestra with more conventional rock instruments. With the cellos after the last chorus leading the guitar solo in, the prog rock composition has a suitably epic conclusion. The next track, “You’re Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned” is in direct contrast with a much more classic rock sound. More progressive, “Psychobabble” boasts an array of interesting uses of instruments, including a couple of gripping muted guitar sections.
The synth heavy instrumental piece “Mammagamma” is in a similar vein to the ambient electronic artists of the time such as Tangerine Dream, while also representing a return to some of the band’s previous work such as the title track of I Robot. The musical nature of synths allow for a very smooth and gradual song progression. “Step by Step”, a less complex but catchy piece, features a notably unusual guitar sound towards the end. Parsons, always looking for ways to experiment with the mix, achieved this sound by plugging the guitar straight into the mixing deck without any amplification. The ballad “Old and Wise” brings the album to a breath-taking finale, where Colin Bluntstone’s soothing vocals are excellently complemented by the strings and piano backdrop. Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, the fade out from the dramatic sax solo and drums provides the perfect ending.
With everything considered, it is easy to see why Eye In The Sky was such a great commercial success for Alan Parsons Project. The album presents a good variety of different genres and walks the fine line between pop and prog rock, resulting in a very accessible package that still retains a lot of experimentation. With so much creativity and so many session artists, the ethos of the band was realised to a greater extent here than ever before. Which in Alan Parsons' words was, “Production. Just to make it sound like a big production, and that's what it was”.
You can watch the full interview with Alan Parsons here. The interview was done at his new studio in California where he is currently putting together another concept album.
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