It’s hard to believe it’s been 50 years since The Alan Parsons Project debuted in 1976 with their album Tales of Mystery and Imagination. The group was somewhat of an anomaly when they started. They were the brainchild of British songwriter Eric Woolfson and British superstar producer Alan Parsons. Parsons began as an engineer at Abbey Road Studios on recordings by The Beatles and Paul McCartney, among others, and quickly made the leap to uber-producer, working on defining ’70s albums such as Year of the Cat by Al Stewart, and struck gold with the iconic Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd.
Parsons initially enlisted Woolfson to start a production company and serve as his manager, and then the duo was suggested to form a studio group. Few record producers have made the transition from producer to performer or group leader. Still, in the case of The Alan Parsons Project, it worked: 11 successful albums over 15 years saw the group explore ’70s rock, prog, and a unique combination of electronic soft rock/MOR and pop, resulting in hits.
The albums, however, were surprisingly complex, sometimes dense, lyrically thematic and conceptual, reflecting peerless state-of-the-art studio innovation and with a shifting musical cast. They were far ahead of their time in exploring the vast possibilities of electronic music and in tackling the philosophical themes of thinkers/writers such as Issac Asimov.
Tales of Mystery and Imagination is an album that, while primarily based on the stories of Gothic horror writer Edgar Allen Poe, draws on a variety of musical styles. It starts a bit heavy in spots and has moments of ’70s bombast, but it is quite varied. Arthur Brown, from the group The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, takes a star turn on “Tell Tale Hearts.” Terry Sylvester, who replaced Graham Nash in the Hollies, guests on vocals on “The Cask of Amontillado” and “To One in Paradise.” The musical foundation of the album is unique, as it features all members of the bands Pilot and Ambrosia, along with Francis Monkman of Curved Air.
“To One in Paradise” is the last song on the album, but most of side two is taken up by “The Fall of the House of Usher” instrumental suite. “A Dream Within a Dream,” which opens the album, is the only other instrumental. The suite is very lush and might have made for perfect soundtrack music for a classic gothic Victorian Hammer film from the late ’60s or ’70s.
The approach and much of the music were quite unique for the time. They created a blueprint for the group that they could replicate in many different imaginative ways on subsequent albums, beginning with a theme that had depth and, to some degree, casting various musicians, especially vocalists, to execute their musical and thematic vision.
First released on the iconic British imprint Charisma, home to other prog giants such as Genesis, the album is now being released through Cooking Vinyl. The reissue of this album comes in many formats. Still, the single black vinyl in a poly-lined sleeve reviewed here replicates the original gatefold package. It includes an insert detailing some group history, background on the album’s release, and liner notes for this reissue. The album was mastered at half-speed at Abbey Road Studios by Miles Showell and pressed on 180-gram vinyl.
The group went on to bring their music to live audiences, with Parsons at the helm from the 1990s onward. Wolfson died in 2009. More reissues of the group have been released, with many more to come, and a serious reevaluation of the band continues.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
B+
