Join host Pete Pardo as he ranks the studio albums from top selling art-rock/prog/pop act Alan Parsons Project. #alanparsonsproject If you'd like to donate to the channel, we now have a ko-fi page at: ko-fi.com/peterpardosseaoftra...
My uncle who is a big audiophile told me to ride my bike over to his house so I could listen to this new technology known as a compact disc player. He put in I Robot, 250 watts per channel through Altec Lansing Model 19 speakers turned way up. Needless to say 10 year old me was completely blown away.
My first Alan Parsons Project album was 'Pyramid'. Followed up with 'I Robot' 'Eve' & 'Turn Of A Friendly Card' ... lost track henceforth. Loads of fresh musicians on each album.
Here's my top 5 Alan Parsons Project Albums: # - 1 I Robot # - 2 Eve # - 3 Tales of Mystery and Imagination # - 4 Vulture Culture # - 5 Eye in the Sky Vulture Culture is probably the most underrated album. 1984. A lot of synth and programming but the Melodies and the songwriting and the execution of the song we're just simply incredible!
I can never say enough about that magnificent debut album. Was immediately attracted to them in ‘76 with the release of “ The Raven. “ And that “ Poe “ album is extremely ambitious for that time in rock. And I can definitely appreciate “ I Robut. “
I think Tales Of Mystery and I Robot are hard to separate, but Tales was the first LP by APP that I bought so I just favour that one: Tales of Mystery and Imagination I Robot The Turn of a Friendly Card Pyramid Eye In The Sky Ammonia Avenue Eve Stereotomy Gaudi Vulture Culture Freudiana The Sicilian Defence
Just listened to it for first time in 40 years (honest) exc/ Raven which I heard 3x tops. Sounded very familiar surprisingly - a nice record overall but lags a little here and there. The thing with APP if I am in the mood for that type of music, any APP album will do pretty much as opposed to other groups where I hear more distinction album to album. Not so much with these guys but it's all good.
Between Woolfson's writing and Parson's engineering the APP put together some of the greatest (true) concept albums ever made. At least that's my opinion. You mentioned some of his other work, but I wanted to mention that Alan also produced and engineered two of Al Stewart's best albums "Year of the Cat" and "Time Passages". For me, the sound quality on "I Robot" is arguably unmatched for excellence. But, as much as I love that album, my favorite by a very slim margin is "Tales of Mystery and Imagination." As you mentioned it's a little more Prog Rock than the rest of the APP catalog, and for me it contains some of the best examples of Parsons matching guest vocalists to a song. Here are my rankings: 1) Tales of Mystery and Imagination 2) I Robot 3) Pyramid 4) Eve 5) Turn of a Friendly Card 6) Eye In the Sky 7) Ammonia Avenue 8) Vulture Culture 9) Stereotomy 10) Gaudi 11) Freudania 12) The Sicilian Defense Thanks again, and I would love to see you do an APP Top Ten some day. By the way Parson's recent album "The Secret" has some nice stuff on it. If you haven't heard it yet, I recommend starting with a cut entitled "One Note Symphony".
Hey, really good points..Stormheart911. I love APP and he rescheduled his concert to August so, I hope it still goes forward by then. Yes, I LOVE the Secret. I think best album of last year of all the ones I bought.
Such a great band. I really dig them a lot. I have most of the best albums you listed. Amazing melodies, awesome prog-rock songs, and tremendous prog-symphonic pieces.
Stoked for this one! I really only got into Alan Parsons Project a few years ago. *edit* I think tales of mystery and imagination is a very underrated prog album. By far my favorite Parsons album.
Pete, boy have I been waiting for this!! I'm 9 years your junior and have been into APP since the mid 90s. I've acquired their 1st 8 vinyl records all vintage in the past couple years. saving Hawkwind for last this morning. Another band I love and is obscure by most people's standards.
Alan Parson is one of my favorite artists and I have been listening to each album since the first album. My favorite is Tales of Mystery..then Turn of a friendly card, eye in the sky, pyramid, vulture culture, I robot and then the rest. Freudiana is not mentioned here since it is suppossedly an Eric Woolfson album but in reality it could have easily been a project album. All of the APP songs have a great production, in sound, mastering, arrangements, they are great.
One of my favorite memory albums growing up was I Robot; a lot of great memories from that album and a fun album to listen too. My Top 3 1. I Robot 2. Turn of a friendly card 3.Pryamid
You prolly dont give a shit but does anybody know a tool to log back into an Instagram account..? I was dumb forgot the account password. I would love any tricks you can offer me.
Cool coincidence. I just had you're top 2 on this past weekend. Playing mighty loud I might add as well. Great list! Unfortunately never been into the Eve album. Perhaps I need to revisit it....
Even today I feel this band is seriously undervalued so thank you for making this video. I got into Alan Parsons Project at an early age because of my Dad. Tales of Mystery and Imagination completely blew me away the first time I heard it. I'm a big Edgar Allan Poe fan and hearing his stories put to music was like nothing else. Last year I got the privilege of playing the full length album on the radio as part of my music show Beneath The Grooves, for Halloween. ♥️
Awesome just awesome. Finally someone is talking about The APP musics. One of my all time fave recordings. My playlist always has TOMAI and I Robot. I am a fan of Poe’s works so that album is very special to me. Thanks for doing this one.
great list! my first record was ToaFC...still have that same LP, and GPP was my first Hook into their music as well. Great list! His latest work is absolutely fantastic as well..."The Secret" with "As Lights Fall" is just an incredibly, melancholy yet hopeful song that is up there with some of his best works.
Thanks, Pete. I've always been curious about The Alan Parsons Project. You've given me some intetesting leads to pursue. I found Eye in the Sky in a thrift store cd bin recently, and was impressed by the record. The wedjet eye of Horus has always been intriguing to me. The young woman at D & D from whom I get coffee and croissants during my lunch break has this particular tattoo on her arm, as well. I think I'll try Pyramid, the Poe record, and I, Robot next. Thanks for the great recap.
I've only heard 3 of your top 5 but all the accolades you give to I Robot are fully deserved. Great songs and, as you say, the production is top notch.
Thank you sir for this ranking of one of my all-time favorite artists !! I would say that Eve is one of my favorites because of the track " If I Could Change Your Mind " beautiful sung by the late great Lesley Duncan. And you forgot one Pete, my personal favorite, " The Time Machine " an absolutely fantastic disc.
@@seaoftranquilityprog Great job, Pete, thanks. APP has long been a favorite of mine. Maybe the Alan Parsons non-project albums as well if that's of interest to you?
Pete even when I don't share your opinion I love the fact that you put people to talk about great music!! Thanks again man, I love the show . Love Parsons Project : the turn of a friendly card 1, Eve 2, Eye of the sky 3 , I Robot 4 , Tales of mystery... 5
I just want to mention that alan parsons produced the masterpiece album year of the cat from 1976 by al stewart, it is one off the best and greatest albums of the seventies and also one off the greatest pop/rock albums in history, my favorite album of alan parsons is the turn of a friendly card
The one thing I can agree with Pete on is that he likes The Alan Parsons Project and apparently Chicago with the shirt he is wearing. My two favorite groups of all times. Since their simply can't be a correct line-up as we have such a variety of listeners from novice to musicians/audio engineers like myself, one size does not fit all. We each have our distinct favorites based on our own life experiences, so my favorites in no particular order are: 1) Pyramid, 2) Turn Of A Friendly Card, 3) Eye In The Sky, 4) Eve, & 5) Vulture Culture. Pyramid is my favorite and amongst my favorites across nearly 7,500 Cd's. Since we've gotten that out of the way, I need to inject a little more recognition to Eric Wolfson, who was Alan's silent partner and wrote many of the songs that were critical to the Projects success. The third member is Andrew Powell who was always an integral part of the production and orchestral arrangements and conductor since the inception of the group. Andrew also produced Pilots "Magic". Alan, Eric, and Andrew are the Nucleus of the APP. Others named like David Paton & Ian were part of Pilot are just a few of the studio musicians that the Project used over the years. Thanks for making the this video Pete...
Happy to see a video on APP. One of my absolute favourites. First 3 albums are awesome from start to end. I enjoy all of their albums until Vulture Culture. Not a big fan of Stereotomy and Gaudi although i need to listen to them more.
Great pick. I have several but this is one of my favorite songs. I tend to like "The Cask of Amontillado" a bit better. Still, I cannot argue with this one.
I Robot was the very first vinyl album that I bought and it's always been my favourite. As you mentioned Pete, they were under appreciated and deserved more recognition. But they sure put out a lot of great music.
Pete, as mentioned in your earlier video i didnt realise that if i let the ads run through, that would benefit you. So, i will now. Anyway i have been an avid watcher of your content since i discovered the channel a few months back. Your enthusiasm for music is rare nowadays i find.....particularly here in the UK and especially when you reach a certain age. Keep up the good work.
A little trivia too: I Robot came out the same week that Star Wars was released. I had read somewhere, how I Robot was the only mainstream music album on record shelves that had a robot theme concept. It came out at a very convenient time, but apart from that, being a terrific album that it is I'm sure helped with its success too.😁
I'm just getting into this band ('Im obviously late to the party) so this video is very valuable. I looked for this on google, I knew you'd have one. I did the same thing with Nazareth as few minutes ago. Good work!
I have really had a great time these past 5 years rediscovering APP. I finally got to see him live in Houston a little under 2 years ago, they did the I Robot album in it’s entirety, fantastic concert. In January I saw they added a March date for Houston this year and this time they are doing the album Turn Of A Friendly Card in its entirety. One week before the concert the world shut down and everything was cancelled, they rescheduled for August but I’m not holding my breath that it will be okay by then. I have recommended so much of APP to friends as well as many other artists and it’s so frustrating now because most will play them on their phones and are missing so much of the greatness in the recording. I was big into hi fi back in the seventies. Then through the years being married and raising kids I had to put things on hold but the speaker’s I kept and still have are a pair of JBL L300 Summits built in 1980, so I have a very spoiled ear for hearing music. You are spot on with I Robot and the other album that is great turned up loud is Tales Of Mystery And Imagination, I maybe one of those rare ones on liking the 1987 remix as well as the original. I have bought most of their albums over the past 2 years most are all remastered by Alan Parsons now.
I still remember as a young teen being gifted the Eve album, and being mesmerized by their instrumental Lucifer - after that, whenever I would get one of their new albums, one of the first things I would do is search out the instrumentals. Finally got to see them a couple years ago, and for the middle section of their set they played I, Robot in its entirety - best thing ever (and they played Lucifer as well, which was a big nostalgia moment for me).
My favorite albums from them would have to be: I robot Turn over a friendly card Eye in the sky. But I would like to take this time to thank you Pete for all your hard work. You for me into so much music. Your videos keep me going through the day wether I'm at work home or just need something to brighten my day. Thank you for all the hard work.
I still remember when I bought "I Robot" in 1978 on vinyl I thought even on my average quality stereo system this is one of the best sounding records I had ever heard up until that time. Over the years I've bought it twice on CD and it still sounds like one of the best recorded albums ever. Its such a testament to the producing/engineering talents of Alan Parsons. Others have mentioned some of the great engineering works that Parsons was involved in before he became famous on his own. "Dark Side of Moon" and "Abbey Road are two of the most well known. But, I'd like to mention a couple albums he engineered for the Hollies in the mid-70's that don't get much attention but are outstanding records; "Hollies (1974)" and "Another Night (1975) are the two albums. I believe these are two of the best albums the Hollies ever recorded. Their post Graham Nash songwriting was at its peak and Parsons engineering contributes to another great sounding record. Its interesting that albums like this never sound dated to me. They still sound as fresh today as they did in the 1970's.
Pete's top 5 albums encompass my entire Alan Parsons library. Loved all 5 of them. for some reason didn't buy or listen to any others except what I heard on the radio.
I was a very young when I heard "I wouldn't want to be like you" on the radio -- bought I, Robot fairly early in my record buying career. Loved it. Heard "The Raven" on the radio and wasn't really captured. Stayed curious. Next record I got was I think "Eve" and I didn't get absorbed by it.... and that's all I knew. So "I, Robot" and "Eve" were I think the only two I heard all the way through.... I should revisit this discography. Thanks for the ranking, Pete.
The key radio track on Tales was (The System of) Dr. Tarr and it was the first tune I ever heard from them. Awesome, back then (1976). That lead me to following their releases through the years.
You nailed it with I Robot. I have also commented on my own time that this album was one of the first I ever heard that taught me what STEREO means. On headphones, it is mind-blowing. I have it Robot, Pyramid, Tales, and Turn of a Friendly Card
1. Turn of a Friendly Card 2. Tales of Mystery and Imagination 3. Pyramid 4. Eye in the Sky 5. I Robot 6. Eve I stole a "Best of" album from the APP from my parents' CD cabinet while I was in middle school and fell deep in love.
My most favorite and adored Alan Parsons album is there first tales of mystery and imagination particularly the Blu-ray edition standalone it is freaking awesome.. in the more speakers you have in your surround sound system the better it sounds..
Great listing Pete. I agree I Robot is their best. It's the first AP album I bought and is my favorite. Also love Turn of a Friendly card almost as much. They have alot of great albums. I'd love to hear your top 10 AP songs!
I Robot number 1 I remember the first time I heard it. I was in college and yes the production blew me away.As well as just great songs and musicianship. Landmark for sure!!
We mostly agree. With the exception of Freudiana and The Sicilian Defense, they're all great. I dismissed Stereotomy, Vulture Culture and Gaudi when they were first released. During lockdown, I've been revisiting albums I haven't listened to since college. Those three are all much better than I remember. I was introduced to Parsons in an acting class in 8th or 9th grade. Our instructor, Cecil, brought in "Tales of Mystery and Imagination" during one class because we were doing Poe recitations. I was hooked within seconds of hearing the first song. My ranking: 1.Ammonia Avenue 2.Tales of Mystery and Imagination 3.I Robot 4.Pyramid 5.Turn of a Friendly Card 6.Eye in the Sky 7.Eve 8.Stereotomy 9.Vulture Culture 10.Guaudi 11.Freudiana 12.Sicilian Defense
Ditto I Robot. Ditto the infectiousness of 'Games People Play' on the radio. It's one of a handful of songs that I'd wake up to during that 4-year high school run that began in '80.
I do like AP, but I’ve only ever owned 3 Albums. I’m always delighted when someone plays them at a get together, but maybe this list will help me hone in on what else to buy. My 3 current albums, I’d rank 1. I Robot 2. Turn of a Friendly Card 3. Tales of Mystery and Imagination
Was just listening with my headphones to Tales today. I have the album (promo from a radio station). I don't know which one I would choose. Have the entire discography up until Stereotomy. I'm working on ranking the albums even before you did this video. So, I don't know my fav. I listened to Gaudi yesterday and ranked the songs. That is how I do it to get the rankings of the albums.
101.5 WPDH - you have no idea how long it has been since I've heard those call letter. Decades! It was good to hear them again. And the Alan Parsons Project too. They really take me back.
Love TAPP .....great albums and songs. Eric RIP great writer. Tales, friendly card, pyramid, I robot favs. Revisited I Robot and agree an absolute gem 👍🏻
Eve is my fave album by the app.been a fan since tales of mystery & imagination.The band was based on the old early seventies roundabout concept where musicians would come in & out as required.The idea was so the sound would never sound the same-progressive music.
I had no Idea Alan Parsons worked as an engineer on "Dark Side of the Moon"! Or 'that Ambrosia played with Alan! Wow, you are full of musical knowledge, Pete. I have a tidbit that you may or may not know, considering a movie was released some time ago, but "i Robot" was the title of an Issac Asimov book of the same title where he invented or created "the three laws of robotics" - never harm a human, etc.
Alan Parsons also worked with The Beatles on Abbey Road and Let It Be. You can spot him standing in the crowd on top of the building where the Fab Four played their final public concert during "Get Back".
"Turn of" and "Ammonia" for me and Eye in the sky as third..... but time to reveal something shameful.... "Don't answer me" is a song I truly enjoy still ;p Don't ask me why, I even learned to play it on the guitar lol
All in all, a great review. Thanks for giving APP some much deserved props. That aside, how do you wear a Chicago shirt for an APP review? Just picking on you. Try writing a few quick thoughts on sticky notes and stick them on the back of the CD when you hold it up. It will look better than just reciting the titles as you look at them.
Even though not a "Project" album I kinda love Alan Parsons 1993 album "Try anything Once". To this day I don't know why he made this a "not project" album. It's the same sound and kinda reminds you of a hybrid between "Eve" and "Turn of a friendly Card" ... great album! If you haven't heard it yet, please do so. You will love it.
Yes, that was Alan’s way of distinguishing between the two and acknowledging the importance of Eric Woolfson’s contributions to APP. Woolfson was the main songwriter and sang their biggest hits, after all.
APP Top Ten: 1. Turn Of A Friendly Card 2. I Robot 3. Tales Of Mystery 4. Pyramid 5. Eye In The Sky 6. Stereotomy 7. Eve 8. Ammonia Avenue 9. Vulture Culture 10. Gaudi Eye In The Sky was my first CD, APP In Concert is one of my top 5 of all time. Love all the albums, very hard to rank, Honestly??? Turn and Robot are tied for my top. They are in the player quite often. Thanks for doing this one Pete, Cheers :-)
Hi Pete. Great show. love the APP. You mention the great track "Psychobabble" sung by one of the finest Rock singers ever to come out of England "Elmer Gantry". I don't Know if you are familiar with him, he sang with the amazing rock band "Stretch" who had one huge single here in blighty with the very funky "why did you do it" and three fantastic heavy blues rock albums which seemed to go under the radar, this is despite touring with Rainbow on their Rising tour and strong critical acclaim. If you've not heard them I urge you too. Try "Tomorrows another day" or "Can't judge a book" with its explosive guitar solo's on youtube (all the darn time!). Interestingly they were going to be an incarnation of Fleetwood Mac and I believe toured under that name with an agreement to join up with Mick Fleetwood later in the tour. Mick then met up with Buckingham and Nicks leaving Stretch out in the cold and the rest as they say is history. The lyrics to the huge hit single "Why did you do it" are specifically aimed at Mick Fleetwood. A great underrated band.
I Robot was my first ever Parsons album ! then i was hooked, so i went and bought Tales shortly after. when Pyramid and Eve came out, bought those as well ! that was such a cool period for music in general and i have what i believe are the 4 best Parsons albums !
