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Eye in the Sky

 
Album Review: Eye in the Sky

  • Artist: The Alan Parsons Project
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1982 06
  • Total Time: 42:28
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Eye in the Sky provided the Alan Parsons Project with their first Top Ten hit since 1977's I Robot, and it's hard not to feel that crossover success was one of the driving forces behind this album. The Project never shied away from hooks, whether it was on the tense white funk of "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You" or the gleaming pop hooks of "Games People Play," but Eye in the Sky was soft and smooth, so smooth that it was easy to ignore that the narrator of the title track was an ominous omniscient who spied either on his lover or his populace, depending on how deeply you wanted to delve into the concepts of this album. And, unlike I Robot or The Turn of a Friendly Card, it is possible to listen to Eye in the Sky and not dwell on the larger themes, since they're used as a foundation, not pushed to center stage. What does dominate is the lushness of sound, the sweetness of melody: this is a soft rock album through and through, one that's about melodic hooks and texture. In the case of the spacy opening salvo "Sirius," later heard on sports talk shows across America, or "Mammagamma," it was all texture, as these instrumentals set the trippy yet warm mood that the pop songs sustained. And the real difference with Eye in the Sky is that, with the exception of those instrumentals and the galloping suite "Silence and I," all the artiness was part of the idea of this album was pushed into the lyrics, so the album plays as soft pop album -- and a very, very good one at that. Perhaps nothing is quite as exquisite as the title song, yet "Children of the Moon" has a sprightly gait (not all that dissimilar from Kenny Loggins' "Heart to Heart"), "Psychobabble" has a bright propulsive edge (not all that dissimilar from 10cc), and "Gemini" is the project at its dreamiest. It all adds up to arguably the most consistent Alan Parsons Project album -- perhaps not in terms of concept, but in terms of music they never were as satisfying as they were here. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Sirius [Instrumental] Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons The Alan Parsons Project (1:53)
Eye in the Sky (Lyrics) Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons The Alan Parsons Project (4:36)
Children of the Moon (Lyrics) Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons The Alan Parsons Project (4:51)
Gemini (Lyrics) Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons The Alan Parsons Project (2:11)
Silence and I (Lyrics) Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons The Alan Parsons Project (7:22)
You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned (Lyrics) Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons The Alan Parsons Project (4:23)
Psychobabble (Lyrics) Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons The Alan Parsons Project (4:51)
Mammagamma [Instrumental] Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons The Alan Parsons Project (3:34)
Step by Step (Lyrics) Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons The Alan Parsons Project (3:53)
Old and Wise (Lyrics) Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons The Alan Parsons Project (4:54)

Credits

The Alan Parsons Project (Performer), Colin Blunstone (Vocals), Elmer Gantry (Vocals), Chris Rainbow (Vocals), Lenny Zakatek (Vocals), David Paton (Bass), David Paton (Guitar), David Paton (Vocals), Ian Bairnson (Guitar (Acoustic)), Ian Bairnson (Guitar), Ian Bairnson (Guitar (Electric)), Chris Blair (Production Coordination), Chris Blair (Mastering), Chris Blair (Mastering Consultant), Mel Collins (Saxophone), Stuart Elliot (Percussion), Stuart Elliot (Drums), Stuart Elliott (Percussion), Stuart Elliott (Drums), English Chorale (Vocals), George Hammer (Orchestra Contractor), Bob Howes (Choir Master), Tony Richards (Assistant Engineer), The English Chorale and Played Ti (Vocals), Eric Woolfson (Composer), Eric Woolfson (Keyboards), Eric Woolfson (Vocals), Eric Woolfson (Executive Producer), Alan Parsons (Composer), Alan Parsons (Keyboards), Alan Parsons (Programming), Alan Parsons (Vocals), Alan Parsons (Producer), Alan Parsons (Engineer), Alan Parsons (Main Performer), Alan Parsons (Fairlight)
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Wikipedia: Eye in the Sky (album)
Top
Eye in the Sky
Studio album by The Alan Parsons Project
Released June 1982
Recorded Late 1980-Early 1982
Abbey Road Studios
Genre Progressive rock, Pop rock
Length 42:30
Label Arista
Producer Alan Parsons
Professional reviews
The Alan Parsons Project chronology
The Turn of a Friendly Card
(1980)
Eye in the Sky
(1982)
Ammonia Avenue
(1984)

Eye in the Sky is a 1982 album by The Alan Parsons Project.

Songs on this album are in a number of different styles, from cool and funky to lyrical and heavily orchestrated. The sleeve was green with an image of the Eye of Horus, which was gold-foil stamped for early pressings of the LP. Variously reported as the band's best-selling album, although others claim that Ammonia Avenue gets this honor.

Vocal performers were Eric Woolfson, David Paton, Chris Rainbow, Lenny Zakatek, Elmer Gantry and Colin Blunstone.

Eye in the Sky contained the Project's greatest hit, the title track, which had lead vocals by Eric Woolfson and hit #3 on the Billboard charts in the US and #6 in Canada. Says Parsons of the song, "...I hated the song when we first started recording it — I was quite ready to drop it altogether. Then we hit upon the hypnotic guitar chugs and it all came together."

"Mammagamma" is an instrumental piece performed almost entirely on a Fairlight CMI computer. Astute listeners have noticed this track's melodic similarity to Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall". A disco remix featuring portions of both songs was released in 1982 by an Italian disco production team under the name "Pink Project".

Track listing

All tracks written by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson

  1. "Sirius" (instrumental) – 1:54
  2. "Eye in the Sky" (lead vocal Eric Woolfson) – 4:36
  3. "Children of the Moon" (lead vocal David Paton) – 4:51
  4. "Gemini" (lead vocal Chris Rainbow) – 2:11
  5. "Silence and I" (lead vocal Eric Woolfson) – 7:19
  6. "You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned" (lead vocal Lenny Zakatek) – 4:22
  7. "Psychobabble" (lead vocal Elmer Gantry) – 4:51
  8. "Mammagamma" (instrumental) – 3:34
  9. "Step By Step" (lead vocal Lenny Zakatek) – 3:54
  10. "Old And Wise" (lead vocal Colin Blunstone) – 4:55

Eye in the Sky was remastered and reissued in 2007 with the following bonus tracks:

  1. "Sirius" (demo) – 1:56
  2. "Old And Wise" (Eric Woolfson vocal) – 4:43
  3. "Any Other Day" (studio demo) – 1:42
  4. "Silence And I" (Eric Woolfson vocal) – 7:33
  5. "The Naked Eye" – 10:49
  6. "Eye Pieces" (Classical Naked Eye) – 7:51

Sirius

This album contains the well known instrumental piece "Sirius", which has become a staple of many big-time college and professional sporting arenas throughout North America. It is perhaps most well known for its use by the Chicago Bulls to introduce its starting lineup (including Michael Jordan) during its championship years of the 1990s

Notable uses of "Sirius" include the following:

Charts

Year Chart Position
1982 The Billboard 200 7
1982 UK Albums Chart 28
1982 Canada 3

 
 

 

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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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