The Alan Parsons Project - what genre?
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Topic: The Alan Parsons Project - what genre?
Posted By: Dan Locke
Subject: The Alan Parsons Project - what genre?
Date Posted: August 01 2010 at 22:34
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People always classify them as progressive rock, but I'm not seeing it. They had moments where they approached it, but Tales of Mystery and Imagination is the only full album that I can actually call an example of the genre, and that's really only because of "The Fall of the House of Usher" and the overarching concept-album structure.
So, what were they? As far as I can tell, they did pretty much everything - heck, I Robot even had disco on it!
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Replies:
Posted By: scatterplot1
Date Posted: August 01 2010 at 23:13
| I think APP was half prog/half pop(until a certain point). "Turn of a Freindly Card"(the long song, not the whole album) was prog fer sure. The entire side 1, I did not care for, that was pop. "The Gold Bug" opening side 2 had to be prog. The next LP, Eye in the Sky.......well, it's high-tech pop now. Their instrumentals both prior to "Card" and after.....Some nice, some just plain corny("In the Lap of the Gods")....but cute. I don't equate "Cute" or "Corny" with Prog. The thing about instrumentals like "Los Endos"(Genesis)....There's nothing cute about it. You rock to it, tap yer feet and say "Wow" when it's over. But Alan will never be dismissed, as he was one of the slickest producers in rock history. Let's not forget what he did for Al Stewart. RIP Mr. Woolfson. |
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: August 02 2010 at 10:15
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You've answered your own question, as far as I'm concerned. Bands that do 'pretty much everything' are arguably progressive by definition. That said, I know what you're driving at. They are a kind of cross over, arty rock band, who didnt want to prog out too extremely, but did want to do something with a bit of depth. Personally, I can take or leave them, although I do like I Robot quite a lot. ------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: August 02 2010 at 11:53
Disco was the first thing that popped into my mind before I read the opening post.  I only have the first two and I find APP to be reasonably crossover.
------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: August 02 2010 at 12:31
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Love them. A great mix of prog tendencies with pop sensibilities. Most definitely fitting in nicely in cross over prog.
------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org |
Posted By: himtroy
Date Posted: August 02 2010 at 12:52
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I consider Tales of Mystery and Imagination and I Robot to be prog rock albums. Turn of a Friendly Card the song is progressive, the other side has prog moments at most. But I Robot is a fantastic album, and was a key album for getting me into prog. I think it's more progressive than Tales of Mystery and Imagination is definitely. The songs I Robot and The Voice (that crazy breakdown in the middle of the song) are both pretty progressive. The entire second half of the album is pretty spacey and Total Eclipse is absolute madness . ------------- Which of you to gain me, tell, will risk uncertain pains of hell? I will not forgive you if you will not take the chance. |
Posted By: genbanks
Date Posted: August 02 2010 at 16:55
That's a good definition of Alan Parsons Project. That's just crossover prog as many others bands or solo artists in this site. Some of them are even less prog than Alan Parsons (Roger Hodgson for example).
I think that A valid path has some prog elements too.
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lazland wrote:Posted By: GY!BE
Date Posted: August 02 2010 at 17:02
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I think APP had a lot of pop influences in certain albums but they always had this prog particularities proper to them,,,great band by the way...A DREAM WITHIN A DREAM... |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: August 02 2010 at 18:39
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Hi,
For the time it came out, it was nice stuff and ... well ... progressive in that it was different and nice, not because it had anything musically that was totally innovating and different out there. It started out more progressive and it became conventional in my book.
But nice stuff. Nothing great. I'm not sure I would consider this "progressive", since it's most important feature really was that it was very well recorded, not that the works themselves were that important.
I call this the Orange Juice or Apple Sauce Genre! ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: August 02 2010 at 18:46
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. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Deleuze
Date Posted: August 02 2010 at 21:20
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lol, even pop bands in the 70' had prog influences, Idk why u guys are always seeking genres...just enjoy the music :p
------------- 
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Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: August 02 2010 at 22:25
| I think that their first two albums (which i really love) were prog, with pop tendencies. Their next albums were progressivley more pop, with prog tendencies, until there remained only pop. |
Posted By: Kestrel
Date Posted: August 03 2010 at 17:55
| I just put them in "Prog Lite" with Styx and Supertramp's Breakfast in America |
Posted By: tamijo
Date Posted: August 04 2010 at 07:30
Either you like it or you dont, shouldent change anythong if they are consideres Prog lite, Prog related, or even not prog. ------------- Prog is whatevey you want it to be. So dont diss other peoples prog, and they wont diss yours |
Posted By: POTA
Date Posted: February 01 2011 at 21:31
| I'm a big APP fan. Their music is dark, soothing and atmospheric. I've always considered them prog. They fit in nicely in a playlist of Camel and Barclay James Harvest. Also, listening to the first two minutes of The Raven loudly in a pair of big, cushy headphones is indescribable. |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: February 02 2011 at 02:01
They were always AOR to me and had very little to do with prog BUT recently I have been enjoying some of their songs. I put that down to age.
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Posted By: Chris S
Date Posted: February 02 2011 at 03:20
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Loved them up to Eye in the Sky.....after that they kind of fizzled from a consistent standpoint. As for genre labels, crossover/AOR IMO. Woolfson was the driving force from Turn Of A Freindly Card....but good quality productions which is what you would expect from the engineer of DSOTM. ------------- ...As I venture through the slipstream, between the viaducts in your dreams...[/COLOR] |
Posted By: halabalushindigus
Date Posted: February 02 2011 at 03:51
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great disco band ------------- assume the power 1586/14.3 |
Posted By: halabalushindigus
Date Posted: February 02 2011 at 03:57
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seriously, the band drummer Stuart Elliot hasd those tight chops that were always on time real slow. Engineering was always a-plus. Ian Bairnson guitar was always chromactically well conceived. Alans use of different vocalists from Lenny Zakatek to Chris Rainbow and, of couse, Eric Woolfson was soft, well spoken. Their music wasn't so much progressive but Alan Parsons sequencing elements definetly put him in a class by himself ------------- assume the power 1586/14.3 |
Posted By: Chris S
Date Posted: February 02 2011 at 11:32
------------- ...As I venture through the slipstream, between the viaducts in your dreams...[/COLOR] |
Posted By: TODDLER
Date Posted: February 02 2011 at 11:48
| Tales of Mystery and Imagination truly brings back some memories for me. I remember buying the album and having it on my weird playlist for a couple of years. I would often play it in between Songs From the Wood and Going For the One. Tales was the only recording ever ....where I could tolerate Arthur Brown's voice. Not personally being a huge fan of A.B., I think he shines on this one! Also the record was reminiscent of Pink Floyd material.....I think everyone knows that right? It creates an atmosphere by far...for the listener. In that sense, I found it to be a definite prog album. But then again....my experience was based on the reality that Alan Parsons had no other records during that period in time and so my perception of him as an artist was quite different then. |
Posted By: jean-marie
Date Posted: February 03 2011 at 17:47
| it's kind of prog pop! sometimes more pop than prog but it has great times , i love this band |
Posted By: VelBG
Date Posted: February 04 2011 at 15:08
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The first album is one of the works that got me into prog in the first place, so it must have something in common with the genre, no? =)
------------- http://suzercatel.tk" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Svetonio
Date Posted: February 05 2011 at 04:15
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Prog Related AOR. |
Posted By: CloseToTheMoon
Date Posted: February 05 2011 at 20:43
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Of the 2 albums I've heard, I found Tales to be a bit theatrical and I Robot to be a nice, well rounded album that fits nicely between Dark Side of The Moon and Crime of the Century.
------------- It's funny how the colors of the real world only seem really real when you viddy them on the screen. |
Posted By: Gerinski
Date Posted: February 06 2011 at 01:20
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At least they (or "he"?) must be credited for trying to put some quality in mainstream music.
Tales, I Robot and Pyramid are very good albums. After that I don't care much for what they did but I still respect them.
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Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: February 06 2011 at 19:31
| The music was created by both Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson, the concepts of the album seem to have been thought of by Parsons, but the lyrics by Woolfson. Andrew Powell was the arranger of the orchestrations. Erick Woolfson did sing and play keyboards from time to time. Alan Parsons almost contributed to nothing as far as playing and singing was concerned (from time to time he would sing as part of the chorus, or play som rythm instrument, but nothing particularly important). The project was mainly Parsons and Woolfson, plus to a lesser degree Powell. |
Posted By: AtomicCrimsonRush
Date Posted: February 07 2011 at 03:45
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Tales of Mystery and I Robot seals the deal for me. Great prog concept albums. ------------- 
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Posted By: progbethyname
Date Posted: October 15 2013 at 14:01
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APP are definitely Prog and to classify them into one specific sub-genre or even genre of music for that matter would be ridiculous. APP are a dynamic fusing of many different Sub Genres of Prog. I look at them as being a combination of crossover Prog, Progressive Electronic and Psyche/Space rock. Amazing. Beautiful band. I tell you how many times I've listened to the song 'Some other Time' in my life. Unbelievable.  ------------- Gimmie my headphones now!!! 🎧🤣 |
Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: October 15 2013 at 14:13
 ------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: October 15 2013 at 15:05
How about Pink Floyd Lite....?
 Always heard their tracks on FM radio and their first 3 lp's at friends homes, but never really got into them.
They did have some nice tracks here and there but they always seemed to lack something for me. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: infocat
Date Posted: October 15 2013 at 21:40
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To me APP and Supertramp define Crossover Prog. Prog with pop elements. Or pop with prog. There are too many bands in Crossover that should be in a more 'standard' prog genre. Oh well! ------------- -- Frank Swarbrick Belief is not Truth. |
Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: October 16 2013 at 00:53
They do not define crossover prog, for the simple reason that when they started out in the 70's, nobody used the phrase. Both APP and Tramp were merely standouts amongst the general art/prog scene of the time. I do, however, agree with you about your letter point re the number in Crossover, which, to me, has merely been used as a dumping ground for a whole pile of bands where we couldn't decide/be bothered (delete as appropriate). ------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org |
Posted By: surrogate people
Date Posted: October 16 2013 at 12:01
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The first time I heard someone calling APP "progressive rock" I was quite surprised. I had always considered it more of an AOR band, even if that word may be as ambiguous as prog. Apart from their debut album, you can always find some proggy songs here and there, such as The turn of a friendly card, Silence and I, Ammonia avenue or La sagrada Familia. Who cares about labels anyway? ------------- Surrogate People they walk on by, they walk on by When they replace you They live your life, they live your life |
Posted By: progbethyname
Date Posted: October 16 2013 at 12:39
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One of the most redeeming features about an artist is when you can't label them into one single category of a music genre or sub-genre. APP are just that. They keep you guessing and that is a wonderful unique quality in my opinion. Certain albums from APP take on different themes and styles, but more importantly Labeling anyone particular album into one genre or sub genre just doesn't fit with APP. Gotta love it. Same goes for NINE INCH NAILS. They can't be labeled singularly either.  ------------- Gimmie my headphones now!!! 🎧🤣 |
Posted By: progbethyname
Date Posted: October 16 2013 at 12:42
 ------------- Gimmie my headphones now!!! 🎧🤣 |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: October 16 2013 at 21:18
As a matter of fact, gieven what I have read on this site, I understand many of the prog giants actually started their career (and perhaps even released several of their prog masterpieces) before the term prog came into being. However, when did the term prog actually came to be used? |
Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: October 17 2013 at 01:08
Oh dear....this, my dear chap, will inevitably morph into the "what was the first prog album" debate, a question which has been flogged so much on this site, death would be a happy release for it. It is certainly a debate I have little interest in. All I will say is that these now middle aged ears remember when they were young ears the phrase prog being used in the early 70's onward......this is all we need to know  ------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: October 17 2013 at 09:59
------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: yam yam
Date Posted: October 17 2013 at 10:51
Ditto. Arjen Lucassen did a cover of it on his 'Lost In The New Real' album last year. The choruses were sung by Jaki, and the verses by Peter, who had previously starred in the 'Hair' musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London.  This is an equally beautiful APP track from 'Eye In The Sky' (1982), which DOES have Colin Blunstone on vocals:  |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: October 17 2013 at 11:11
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Pop-Prog, Symph Lite, Crossover...whatever you call it, APP's I, Robot is great!! I can't say I like that much of the Parsons catalogue but I love that album (especially the reissue with more instrumentals). ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: progbethyname
Date Posted: October 17 2013 at 12:32
Beautiful Yami!! Not as good as APP originals of course but stil.... ------------- Gimmie my headphones now!!! 🎧🤣 |
Posted By: Prog_Traveller
Date Posted: October 17 2013 at 13:21
I'm a pretty big fan of theirs. I even got to see them live twice(once on their own and once opening for YES). I would call them prog pop or pop prog. You could even call them art rock. Were they a full blown prog band? Probably not but neither were a lot of bands who often considered prog(cough cough moody blues cough cough). I would say they are in the same ball park as Ambrosia or the Moody Blues as far as prog content goes. All my opinion of course. 
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