Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Alan Parsons Project, The
Label: Sony BMG
Released: 1982
Duration: 1982
Rating: 4.5/5
With “Eye in the Sky”, both the title track and the album as a whole, the legendary prog rock outfit The Alan Parsons Project became one of the most in-demand names among fans of the big radio hits that rained down practically non-stop in the eighties. TAPP had been hinting at the commercial peak of their career with a run of quality albums, all marked by a unique blend of progressive rock and pop that firmly anchored them among the most beloved art rock bands at the turn of the seventies into the eighties. The songwriting, instrumental and production duo, made up of famed English producer and sound engineer Alan Parsons and Scottish singer, keyboardist and songwriter Eric Woolfson, suddenly found themselves at the very top of the charts with this one. In their case, though, that was far from meaning they’d lost any artistic creativity along the way. If anything, quite the opposite.
“Eye in the Sky” is, in every respect, one of their most inspired albums, and it strikes a really good balance between shorter, melodic rock numbers built on punchy guitar phrases and hypnotic choruses, and more epic-minded pieces loaded with mighty symphonic arrangements. For the latter, a real orchestra under the baton of Andrew Powell took care of business once again. As has always been the Alan tradition, the production is again marked by a pronounced perfectionism. So despite the heavy use of electronically tinged Wurlitzer and Fairlight synthesizers, the album sounds far less robotic and synthetic than plenty of the popular records of its day.
Like every TAPP album before it, “Eye in the Sky” had a concept. This time it was built around the phenomenon of different religious and political beliefs and their impact on the life of the individual. Many of the lyrics carry references to church and political attempts to control a person’s soul, which keeps the album’s messages relevant even today. There’s no frontal attack in them, though, more a case of leaving it to the individual to think things over for themselves. The inspiration for the title came from a news story about a spy satellite, and also from the back of the dollar bill, which shows the well-known symbol of the Illuminati (the pyramid with the eye).
The album opens with the instrumental “Sirius”, which has by now become almost a folk anthem, adopted by fans of various basketball clubs. At one time the famous NBA club Chicago Bulls used it as their opening theme (back when Michael Jordan was playing for them). The popular WWF wrestler Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat also used it as his entrance music when coming to the ring. This legendary anthem, which gradually melts into their best-known hit, is recognizable by its peculiar keyboard riff, which in time gives way to majestic orchestral arrangements and “weeping” guitar passages. In the next moment comes the segue into their most famous and best-loved hit, the one that shot them into the pop rock orbit of the eighties. We’re talking, of course, about the nostalgic title track, which even people who’ve never heard of the band know, unless they’ve spent most of their lives living under a rock. With seemingly simple moves, Alan, Eric and their gang of companions managed to create an evergreen hit whose lyrics deal with the all-encompassing surveillance of “Big Brother”. They laid a simple guitar riff over melodic synth textures, while Eric’s vocal performance, peaking in an unbelievably hypnotic chorus, is one of the most moving of his career. This unforgettable classic has passed the test of time with flying colors in every respect: its atmosphere is still soaked in an incredible amount of nostalgia and sentimentality, while its message is more relevant than ever.
“Children of the Moon”, which keeps to a mid-tempo groove, is nowhere near as well known as its famous predecessor, but it’s still another great example of symphonic subtlety fused with rock muscle. The catchy, melodic rock chorus, delivered by longtime singer and bassist David Patton (ex-Pilot, Camel), is backed up by a convincing interplay between Bairnson’s “weeping” guitar phrases and lavish orchestral arrangements performed by a classical orchestra. Next comes a segue into the ballad “Gemini”, which switches the whole ambience around completely and where Bairnson’s pedal steel guitar really gets its moment. The nostalgic vocalizing this time comes from Chris Rainbow, another longtime collaborator, who’s also well known to all fans of Camel.
“Silence And I” is an orchestra-driven ballad with Eric singing in falsetto. A relatively syrupy intro is followed by a majestic, battle-ready orchestral section that even masters of symphonic prog rock pomp and extravagance like Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman wouldn’t be ashamed of. That’s the main reason this song deserves more attention than it might seem to at first listen. After it comes the expected leap into somewhat harder, more rock-oriented territory with the excellent AOR standard “You’re Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned”, where the ever-phenomenal Lenny Zakatek shines as lead vocalist. For many he’s even the best singer who ever worked with the legendary project. The change of mood compared to the previous track, with its bluesy riff and almost danceable rhythm, couldn’t be more obvious, while the melodic chorus is almost shamelessly hypnotic. The keyboards here were played by none other than the big boss himself, Alan Parsons, which is rather unusual, since it was a rare practice for him.
The tongue-in-cheek “Psychobabble” has a pretty goofy, almost nursery-rhyme keyboard motif and a pulsing bass line courtesy of Mr. Patton. The cheeky synth motif, which sounds slightly archaic, gets rescued by the excellent singing of old TAPP acquaintance Elmer Gantry. The synthetic instrumental “Mammagamma” is the only track on the album that, with its pronounced electronic synth lines performed by Mr. Parsons, sounds a bit out of context nowadays, which also makes it the weakest piece on the album. You could even take it as a kind of ominous omen of the electronics-leaning, mostly unconvincing works from his later solo career.
The nostalgic AOR heavyweight “Step By Step” fixes the taste in your mouth quite nicely. It has one of the best choruses in the project’s history and easily ranks among TAPP’s evergreens. Behind the mic here was none other than Lenny Zakatek, who, with the help of ethereal backing vocals, managed to bring in a generous dose of soul and lift an already excellently crafted chorus melody up yet another notch. The instrumental flourishes, led by an excellent guitar solo, are also very well executed across a highly melodic skeleton. The closing ballad “Old And Wise” is structurally quite similar to “Silence And I”, except that the orchestral arrangements head into more baroque waters. Colin Blunstone’s falsetto vocal is once again “right on the money” for all the romantic souls, while those in a more “fighting mood” won’t appreciate his singing approach the same way and will probably find it rather syrupy. Eternal prog rock dreamers, meanwhile, will enjoy most of all the excellent saxophone solo by legendary occasional saxophonist/flutist Mel Collins (ex-King Crimson, Camel), which wraps up the album in a very fitting way.
“Eye in te Sky” remains a one-of-a-kind art rock classic to this day, and in the ears of every eternal music romantic it sounds every bit as nostalgic as it did when it came out. They wove the ever-rewarding concept of political and religious terror, closely tied to the never-more-relevant phenomenon of the “all-seeing eye”, into a heap of melodic rock evergreens, while still holding on to just the right amount of artistic individuality and an experimental feel for tinkering with all kinds of symphonic sounds, a reminder of their prog rock roots. After the huge success of the “eye in the sky”, TAPP didn’t rest on their laurels. They carried on for the rest of their career making quality concept albums and seductive radio hits that still keep delighting music gourmets.
Lineup
Alan Parsons – keyboards, programming, production
Eric Woolfson – keyboards, vocals
Ian Bairnson – acoustic and electric guitar
David Paton – bass guitar, vocals
Stuart Elliott – drums & percussion
Mel Collins – saxophone
Chris Rainbow – vocals
Lenny Zakatek – vocals
Elmer Gantry – vocals
Colin Blunstone – vocals
English orchestra conducted by Andrew Powell – orchestral arrangements
Production
Alan Parsons
Track list
1. Sirius
2. Eye In The Sky
3. Children Of The Moon
4. Gemini
5. Silence And I
6. You’re Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned
7. Psychobabble
8. Mammagamma
9. Step By Step
10. Old And Wise
