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THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT
TALES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION - EDGAR ALLAN POE | |
01. A Dream Within A Dream (4:13) | 02. The Raven (3:57) 03. The Tell-Tale Heart (4:38) 04. The Cask Of Amontillado (4:33) 05. (The System Of) Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether (4:20) 06-10: The Fall Of The House Of Usher: i. Prelude (7:02) ii. Arrival (2:39) iii. Intermezzo (1:00) iv. Pavane (4:36) v. Fall (0:51) 11. To One In Paradise (4:46) Total playing time: 42:43 All tracks written by Woolfson/Parsons except 'The Fall Of The House Of Usher' by Woolfson/Parsons/Powell 1. A Dream Within A Dream
Joe Puerta: Bass Stuart Tosh: Drums Eric Woolfson: Keyboards Billy Lyall: Keyboards, Recorders Ian Bairnson: Electric & Acoustic Guitars David Paton: Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals Recorded at Abbey Road - Aug'75
Joe Puerta: Bass Burleigh Drummond: Drums Stuart Tosh: additional Drums David Pack: Guitars Christopher North: Keyboards Eric Woolfson: Keyboards, Backing Vocals Ian Bairnson: new Guitar solo Bob Howes & The English Chorale: Choir Orchestra arr. & conducted by Andrew Powell Recorded at Mama Jo's Studio, North Hollywood & at Abbey Road, April '75 Assistant engineer at Mama Jo's: Trefethen
Additional Vocals: Jack Harris David Paton: Bass Stuart Tosh: Drums, Timps & Backwards Piano Ian Bairnson: Guitars Eric Woolfson: Keyboards Billy Lyall: Keyboards Alan Parsons: Projectron, new Synths Bob Howes & The English Chorale: Choir Orchestra arr. & conducted by Andrew Powell Recorded at Abbey Road, Aug'75 5. (The System Of) Doctor Tarr & Professor Fether
Additional Vocals: Terry Sylvester David Paton: Bass Stuart Tosh: Drums Ian Bairnson: Guitars Billy Lyall: Piano Eric Woolfson: Harpsichord, Backing Vocals Alan Parsons: new Synths Bob Howes & The English Chorale: Choir Orchestra arr. & conducted by Andrew Powell Recorded at Abbey Road, Sep'75 i. Prelude
Orchestra arr. & conducted by Andrew Powell Les Hurdle: Bass ii. Arrival
Stuart Tosh: Drums, Percussion Ian Bairnson: Guitars Eric Woolfson: Keyboard loop, Organ Andrew Powell: Keyboard loop Francis Monkman: Organ Alan Parsons: Projectron, Synths Thunder & storm effects recorded outside Abbey Road Studios 2 during a freak storm, using a 'Dummy' recording head
Stuart Tosh: Drums Laurence Juber: Acoustic Guitar Kevin Peek: Acoustic Guitar David Shell: Harp Francis Monkman: Harpsichord John Leach: Cimbalom & Kantele Andrew Powell: Organ Hugo D'Alton: Mandolin Eric Woolfson: new Synth
Alan Parsons: Synths & Projectron i, iii & v recorded at Kingsway Hall, London, 10/10/75 Engineering consultant: Gordon Parry Orchestra leaders: David Katz & John Rothstein ii & v recorded at Abbey Road in Aug & Nov '75
Additional vocals: Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons David Paton: Bass, Acoustic Guitar Stuart Tosh: Drums Ian Bairnson: Electric & Acoustic Guitars Billy Lyall: Fender Rhodes & Glockenspiel Westminster City School Boys Choir Jane Powell: Backing Vocals Recorded at Abbey Road, Aug'75 Executive producer: Eric Woolfson Assistant engineers on original recording: Chris Blair, Patrick Stapley Assistant engineer on remix: Tony Richards The original multitrack masters were transferred from a Soundcraft 'Saturn' analog machine to a Sony 3324 DASH 24 track recorder. The Album was partially re-recorded & r-emixed at 'The Grange' via an Amek Angela console to a Sony 1630 system digital stereo master - May & June 1987 Thanks to Smokey & Hazel, all at Abbey Road, Wim Schipper, Soundcraft, Sony Pro-Audio, & Audio-FX Alan Parsons is a member of the British Record Producers Guild Artwork: Colin Elgie Photography: Peter Christopherson, Aubrey Powell, Storm Thorgerson Liner notes have been unfashionable in recent times, but I felt the release of this digitally remixed & remastered version of 'Tales', warranted some additional information. The Original sleeve, lavish as it was, was not as informative as it could've been. Of all the 'Projects' that Eric & I have made since 1976, the 'Tales' always has been the one we look upon most fondly. It was the first of a new breed - the Producer's album. We never expected the APP to became the name of an act. The phrase was designed to describe the identity of the album you are now holding in its original form. We'd never in our wildest dreams have thought that at last 10 albums would follow, performed by this anonymous outfit that never plays gigs! When it was suggested we revamped the album for CD, we had to think very carefully about whether to leave it alone or give it a whole new look. We could've taken the purist 'Don't mess with it!' attitude. The Beatles' 'Sgt. Pepper' released on CD without a single note added or taken away. Flat notes or technical imperfections on that album were simply regarded as part of classic nostalgia. What's more surprising is that the 1967 stereo mix from the 4 track Beatle masters was very much an afterthought. All the main effort went into their Mono version. Having been granted the same options for 'Tales' as George Martin with 'Sgt. Pepper', we made the decision to make whatever changes necessary to make the new version something we could be as proud in 1987 as we were of the original in 1976. We could introduce a few surprises to those already familiar with the original version & use new technology to our best advantage. We went to great lengths however not to destroy the original performances & sentiments. This meant that we could not 'modernise' in any obvious way. A great deal has happened in the technical area of sound recording since 1976 when the album was first released. Microchip & digital recording have revolutionised the recording studio in recent years. This change has resulted in rock music writers taking an entirely different attitude to composition. Countless successful pieces of rock music have emanated with a great debt to machinery. However, it's interesting to note that 'Tales' was originally recorded without the use of such now commonplace items as digital reverberations & delays, drum machines, or computer assisted mixing. By choice, the only synthesizer heard on the original album was a 'wind' effect at the beginning of 'Arrival' using filtered white noise, although the first commercially available Moog Synthesizer had appeared 6 or 7 years earlier. Despite the absence of synthesizer on the 1976 version, this album was considered by many to be hi-tech & 'electronic sounding'. Anything without synths those days seems to get branded 'low-tech' or pure Rock'n'Roll. We've tried to use synths on the new version bearing in mind what would have been right for the album. A.P.
Project Trivia Alan Parsons recorded 'Dark Side Of The Moon' by Pink Floyd for which he was paid a basic salary of 35 pounds per week. He produced 'Year of the Cat' by Al Stewart for a little bit more. He also worked with The Beatles, Paul McCartney, Hollies & Ambrosia. He has 10 Grammy nominations to this credit. He directed 'London Calling' for MTV. 'Cashbox' rated him the 13th best male vocalist in 1977. He almost never sings. Eric Woolfson used to manage Carl Douglas of 'Kung Fu Fighting' game. He once played with Herman's Hermits. He worked for Andrew Loog Oldham. He's involved in UK politics. He sang on many of APP hits incl. 'Time' & 'Eye In The Sky'. Andrew Powell produced the first 2 albums by Kate Bush. He's also worked with artists ranging from Stockhausen, Boulez & Ligeti to Donovan, Leo Sayer, Chris de Burgh & Kansas. He scored the soundtrack for the Richard Donner film 'Ladyhawke' starring Matthew Boderick. He frequently conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra. His initials also AP, like Parsons & Poe. David Paton wrote & sang 'Magic' by Pilot in 1975. He now plays bass for Elton John - who played piano on many of the Hollies hits on which Alan worked. Stuart Tosh played drums for Pilot & 10CC. Ian Bairnson has played guitar on all the Projects. He's recorded with Jon Anderson, Kate Bush, George Martin & Mick Fleetwood. He wrote the 1983 hit 'Can't Stand The Heat' for Bucks Fizz. He's made TV appearances with Stanley Clarke & Steve Gadd. He competes in motor-cycle trials & is his club champion. Leonard Whiting played Romeo in Franco Zeffirelli feature film 'Romeo & Juliet' Whatever happened to 'The Crazy World of Arthur Brown'? Did Arthur get 'Fired'? John Miles had many hits in Europe with his own band, (some produced by Alan). he plays keyboards & guitar on stage for Tina Turner. He duets with Tina on vocals when Brian Adams is not available! David Pack, Joe Puerta, Christopher North & Burleigh Drummond were the band 'Ambrosia'. They'd made US hits inc. 'How Much I Feel' & 'You're The Biggest Part of Me'. David's solo performances were featured in the film 'White Knights' & he was worked extensively with Quincy Jones & Patti Austin. Joe plays bass with Bruce Hornsby. Gordon Parry is an ward winning classical music engineer. His masterpiece is the recording of Wagner's 'The Ring' for London Records. He now works for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Keith Johnson devised for this album, the first of a new generation of keyboards using voltage control technology & analog sampling. It became known as The Projectron. The instrument was capable of making sounds similar to the 'Fairlight', produced many years later. Terry Sylvester replaced Graham Nash in the 'Hollies' in 1970. He sang with Allan Clarke on 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother' & 'The Air That I Breathe'. Tony Richards is the son of Ron Richards, who produced all the Hollies hits. Toby Works for Alan as a full-time assistant. CLAUDE DEBUSSY wrote an operatic work he called 'Le Projet' (The Project) based on 'The Fall of the House of Usher'. It was never completed. Francis Monkman was a founder member of 'Curved Air'. He later joined forces with guitarist John Williams & Kevin Peek to form the band 'Sky'. Laurence Juber was one of the last generation of 'Wings'. The late Orson Welles never met Alan or Eric. He sent a tape after receiving the script for the narration on this album. 'Tales' was premiered at The Griffith Park Observatory Planetarium with one of the first ever specially commissioned laser shows. (P) © 1976 PolyGram Records Inc. Marketed by Phonogram 
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