The Alan Parsons Project › The Definitive Collection (2-CD)

Personnel includes: Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson (various instruments, background vocals); Leonard Whiting (vocals); Mr. Laser Beam (spoken word); Andrew Powell, Bob Hughes (conductor); John Miles (vocals, guitar); Ian Bairnson (acoustic & electric guitars, synthesizer, bass, backgrond vocals); David Paton (acoustic guitar); B.J. Cole (steel guitar); Richard Cottle (saxophone, synthesizer); Mel Collins (saxophone); Billy Lyall (piano); Duncan Mackay, Christopher North (keyboards); David Paton, Laurie Collie, Jack Puerta (bass); Stuart Tosh, Stuart Elliot (drums, percussion); Burleigh Drummond (drums); Jack Harris, Bob Howes, The English Chorale, Hilary Western (background vocals); The Orchestra Of The Munich Chamber Opera.

Principally recorded at Abbey Road Studios, Mayfair Studios, The Grange, London, England; Mama Jo's Studio, North Hollywood, California; Super Bear Studios, France; Acousti Studio, Paris, France; Parsonics, Sussex, England from April 1975 to August 1993. Includes liner notes by Kathleen & Denny Somach.

Digitally remastered by Alan Parsons and Simon Heyworth (Chop Em Out, London, England).

Personnel: Alan Parsons (keyboards, synthesizer, background vocals); Eric Woolfson (vocals, piano, keyboards); Chris Thompson, Lenny Zakatek, Colin Blunstone, David Paton, Elmer Gantry, Geoff Barradale, Jack Harris , John Miles, Leonard Whiting, Lesley Duncan, Allan Clarke, David Townsend, Dean Ford, Chris Rainbow (vocals); Ian Bairnson (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); John Heley (cello); Richard Cottle (saxophone, synthesizer); Mel Collins (saxophone); David Cripp (horns); Stuart Elliott (drums, percussion); Jacqueline Copeland (background vocals).

Liner Note Author: Denny Somach.

Recording information: Acousti Studio, Paris, France (04/1975-08/1993); Air Studios, Hampstead, London, England (04/1975-08/1993); ARco Studio, Munich, Germany (04/1975-08/1993); EMI Abbey Road Studios, London, England (04/1975-08/1993); London, England (04/1975-08/1993); Mama Jo's Studio, North Hollywood, CA (04/1975-08/1993); Mayfair Studios, London, England (04/1975-08/1993); Parsonics, Sussex, England (04/1975-08/1993); Super Bear Studio, France (04/1975-08/1993); The Grange Studio (04/1975-08/1993).

Photographer: Arthur Tress.

Unknown Contributor Role: David Cripp.

As a man who worked behind the scenes on both the Beatles' ABBEY ROAD and Pink Floyd's DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, Alan Parsons certainly earned his reputation for being a producer and engineer with vision. Parsons applied that same sense of vision to his self-named solo project, which featured a revolving cast of musicians and vocalists. Though the music of the Alan Parsons Project can be classified as soft rock, and its accessible melodies and lush arrangements made it a perfect match for pop radio in the 1970s and '80s, it's also progressive, conceptual, and highly sophisticated.

THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION is a carefully selected and assembled two-disc set that represents the range and precision of Parsons's music from the '70s to the mid-'90s. His early work, inspired by science fiction and progressive rock, favored synth-heavy instrumentals. At the turn of the '80s, Parsons was leaning toward a more pop-friendly sound (as evidenced by the hits "Time" and "Eye in the Sky," both of which are included here), yet this material sacrifices none of his high-minded aesthetic, a trademark of his sound that continued into the '90s. As an overview of Parsons's career, and as a primer for anyone interested in the art rock of the period, THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION is indispensable.

Genre:

• Pop / Rock