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The Turn of a Friendly Card

 
Album Review: The Turn of a Friendly Card
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Turn of a Friendly Card

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  • Artist: The Alan Parsons Project
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1980 11
  • Total Time: 39:45
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

With two of the Alan Parsons Project's best songs, the lovely ballad "Time" and the wavy-sounding "Games People Play," The Turn of a Friendly Card remains one of this group's most enjoyable albums. Parsons' idea, the subject of the album's six tracks, centers around the age-old temptation of gambling and its stranglehold on the human psyche. On "Games People Play," vocalist Lenny Zakatek sounds compelling and focused, giving the song a seriousness that aids in realization of the album's concept. With "Time," it is Eric Woolfson who carries this luxurious-sounding ode to life's passing to a place above and beyond any of this band's other slower material. The breakdown of human willpower and our greedy tendencies are highlighted in the last track, entitled "The Turn of a Friendly Card," which is broken into five separate parts. "Snake Eyes," sung by Chris Rainbow, is the most compelling of the five pieces, and ties together the whole of the recording. As in every Parsons album, an instrumental is included, in this case an interesting number aptly titled "The Gold Bug." Like most of the band's instrumentals, its flow and rhythm simulate the overall tempo and concept of the album, acting as a welcome interlude. Although short, The Turn of a Friendly Card is to the point and doesn't let down when it comes to carrying out its idea. ~ Mike DeGagne, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
May Be a Price to Pay (Lyrics) The Alan Parsons Project (4:52)
Games People Play (Lyrics) Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons The Alan Parsons Project (4:17)
Time (Lyrics) Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons The Alan Parsons Project (5:05)
I Don't Wanna Go Home (Lyrics) The Alan Parsons Project (4:54)
The Gold Bug Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons The Alan Parsons Project (4:28)
The Turn of a Friendly Card: The Turn of a Friendly Card, Pt. 1 Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons The Alan Parsons Project (2:39)
The Turn of a Friendly Card: Snake Eyes Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons The Alan Parsons Project (3:17)
The Turn of a Friendly Card: The Ace of Swords Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons The Alan Parsons Project (2:58)
The Turn of a Friendly Card: Nothing Left to Lose Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons The Alan Parsons Project (4:03)
The Turn of a Friendly Card: The Turn of a Friendly Card, Pt. 2 Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons The Alan Parsons Project (3:12)

Credits

Lenny Zakatek (Vocals (Background)), Alan Parsons (Producer), Chris Blair (Mastering), Alan Parsons (Vocals), The Alan Parsons Project (Performer), Andrew Powell (Arranger), Eric Woolfson (Executive Producer), Lol Creme (Design), Eric Woolfson (Composer), Chris Rainbow (Vocals), Stuart Elliott (Drums), Andrew Powell (Conductor), Alan Parsons (Keyboards), Ian Bairnson (Guitar (Electric)), Sandor Farcas (Leader), Chris Rainbow (Vocals (Background)), Ian Bairnson (Guitar), Orchestra of the Munich Chamber Orchestra (Orchestra), Elmer Gantry (Vocals), Eric Woolfson (Vocals), David Paton (Vocals), David Paton (Guitar), David Paton (Bass), Alan Parsons (Engineer), Kevin Godley (Design), Lenny Zakatek (Vocals), Stuart Elliott (Percussion), Ian Bairnson (Guitar (Acoustic)), Orchestra of the Munich Chamber Orchestra (Group), Parsons (Composer), Eric Woolfson (Keyboards), Alan Parsons (Vocals (Background))
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Wikipedia: The Turn of a Friendly Card
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
The Turn of a Friendly Card
Studio album by The Alan Parsons Project
Released November 1980
Recorded Late 1979 - mid 1980
Acousti Studio, Paris
Genre Progressive rock, Pop rock
Length 40:32
Label Arista
Producer Alan Parsons
Professional reviews
The Alan Parsons Project chronology
Eve
(1979)		 The Turn of a Friendly Card
(1980)		 Eye in the Sky
(1982)

The Turn of a Friendly Card is a progressive rock album by The Alan Parsons Project, released in 1980. The album focuses on gambling, and loosely tells the tale of a middle-aged man who grows restless and takes a chance by going to a casino and betting all he has, only to lose it all. The original LP had a side-long title piece, which on CD pressings is broken up into five tracks (except the West German pressing). The Turn of a Friendly Card is also notable for spawning the moderate hits "Games People Play" and "Time," the latter of which was Eric Woolfson's first lead vocal appearance.

Track listing

All tracks written by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson

  1. "May Be a Price to Pay" (lead vocal Elmer Gantry) – 4:58
  2. "Games People Play" (lead vocal Lenny Zakatek) – 4:22
  3. "Time" (lead vocal Eric Woolfson backing vocal Alan Parsons) – 5:04
  4. "I Don't Wanna Go Home" (lead vocal Lenny Zakatek) – 5:03
  5. "The Gold Bug" (instrumental) – 4:34
  6. "The Turn of a Friendly Card (Part One)" (lead vocal Chris Rainbow) – 2:44
  7. "Snake Eyes" (lead vocal Chris Rainbow) – 3:14
  8. "The Ace of Swords" (instrumental) – 2:57
  9. "Nothing Left to Lose" (lead vocal Eric Woolfson) – 4:07
  10. "The Turn of a Friendly Card (Part Two)" (lead vocal Chris Rainbow) – 3:22

Note - when it was first released on CD, tracks 6-10 were 1 track.

The Turn of a Friendly Card was remastered and reissued in 2008 with the following bonus tracks:

  1. "May Be a Price to Pay" (intro/demo)
  2. "Nothing Left to Lose" (basic backing track)
  3. "Nothing Left to Lose" (Chris Rainbow overdub compilation)
  4. "Nothing Left to Lose" (early studio version with Eric's guide vocal)
  5. "Time" (early studio attempt)
  6. "Games People Play" (rough mix)
  7. "The Gold Bug" (demo)

Charts

Year Chart Position
1980 The Billboard 200 13
1980 UK Albums Chart 38
1981 Canada 16
v • d • e
The Alan Parsons Project

Alan Parsons · Eric Woolfson · Andrew Powell · Ian Bairnson · Richard Cottle
Studio Albums

Tales of Mystery and Imagination · I Robot · Pyramid · Eve · The Sicilian Defence (unreleased) · The Turn of a Friendly Card · Eye in the Sky · Ammonia Avenue · Vulture Culture · Stereotomy · Gaudi
Alan Parsons solo
Compilations
Singles

"(The System of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether" · "The Raven" · "I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You" · "Don't Let It Show" · "Pyramania" · "What Goes Up" · "Lucifer" · "Damned If I Do" · "Games People Play" · "Time" · "Snake Eyes" · "The Turn of a Friendly Card" (single-version) · "Eye in the Sky" · "Psychobabble" · "Old and Wise" · "You Don't Believe" · "Don't Answer Me" · "Prime Time" · "Let's Talk About Me" · "Days Are Numbers (The Traveller)" · "Stereotomy" · "Limelight" · "Standing on Higher Ground"

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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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
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "The Turn of a Friendly Card".  Read more

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