Current day groups such as Muse have arguably been taking cues from Alan Parsons as well, in addition to the fact that I Robot single “I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You” has recently shown up in the video game Grand Theft Auto V. It may be an era for an Alan Parsons Project revival, however, with the re-release of I Robot here (and there’s also a new Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab limited edition that’s out there, which is just another repackaging of the LP since a 2007 remastered disc), and news that early 2014 will bring a box set titled The Alan Parsons Project Complete Album Collection, which will group all of the band’s albums together along with an unreleased disc called The Sicilian Defence, which was supposed to be the outfit’s fourth album for Arista somewhere around 1979 or 1980. That isn’t so amazing when you think about it, for the Alan Parsons Project wasn’t, at times, too far removed from the easy going sounds of Manilow or Houston. (To wit, my vinyl copies of 1983’s The Best of the Alan Parsons Project and 1984’s Ammonia Avenue set me back 50 cents each.) In the liner notes to this “Legacy Edition” reissue of the 1977 sophomore LP, I Robot, Parsons is incredulous that his group was the only rock band on Arista Records at the time (a claim that isn’t exactly true as the Dwight Twilley Band was signed to the label around the same period, and there are probably other examples), and he was rubbing shoulders with the likes of fellow label mates Barry Manilow and Whitney Houston at industry functions. As such, the band (if you can call them that as they didn’t tour during their heyday and used session musicians) is sort of looked at with some derision today: the Alan Parsons Project was used as a punchline in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, and much of their 10 album discography can be obtained by scouring vinyl buck bins in used record stores. Part of the reason the Alan Parsons Project was so radio friendly was because it really was a wolf in a soft-rock band’s clothing along the lines of an Air Supply. What’s more, the Alan Parsons Project actually had hits, ranging from “Damned If I Do” to “Games People Play” to “Eye in the Sky” to the divine Phil Spector-influenced “Don’t Answer Me”.
The outfit is an anomaly because it was a sort of progressive rock band or art rock band that made concept albums chiefly during the late ’70s and early ’80s, a time when most dinosaur rock bands of similar ilk were either adapting to new sounds (Rush, Genesis) or were going the way of the dodo (Emerson, Lake & Palmer).
The alan parsons project best album movie#
It was because of that movie reference and because the APP song "Voyager" was included in the soundtrack to the movie Ice Castles which i recently got i decided to get my 1st APP album, The Definitive Collection.and with the recommendations of folks here i just got I Robot, Tales and Pyramid and after careful consideration.i can't decide which is my favorite.all three are great.They all possess that special APP magic told in different stories.The Alan Parsons Project is an interesting anomaly in pop culture history. Evil names his secret moon base "Death Star" and his son sneezes-RIP-OFF. Evil named his super laser on the moon "Alan Parsons Project" to which his far more hip and non-evil son sarcastically points out that that happens to be the name of a progressive rock band from 1982.Then Dr. I can count myself in as one of the few who only knew of Alan Parsons Project from the 2nd Austin Powers movie.the dorky Dr. In fact one fella only knew of him from the wisecrack in the Austin Powers movie. As good as the music is, there is virtually nobody that I know of that has even heard of him let alone listened to his music. The funny thing about the Alan Parsons Project is that the music is exceptionally well produced (like it could be anything else?) and very melodic and well structured yet obscure.
I personally love the album EVE, but then again I ROBOT is a most excellent album.