..:: audio-music dot info ::..


Main Page     The Desert Island     Copyright Notice
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz


Alan Parsons: Tales of Mystery and Imagination

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Mercury Records
Released: 1975
Time:
 40:46
Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): Alan Parsons
Rating: *********. (9/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.alanparsons.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2004.06.29
Price in €: 6,99





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Dream Within a Dream [instrumental] - 3:43
[2] The Raven - 4:01
[3] The Tell-Tale Heart - 4:40
[4] The Cask of Amontillado - 4:29
[5] (The System of) Doctor Tarr and Professor... - 4:15
[6] Fall of the House of Usher: Prelude [instrumental] - 5:51
[7] Fall of the House of Usher: Arrival [instrumental] - 2:36
[8] Fall of the House of Usher: Intermezzo [instrumental] - 1:06
[9] Fall of the House of Usher: Pavane [instrumental] - 4:44
[10] Fall of the House of Usher: Fall [instrumental] - 1:07
[11] To One in Paradise - 4:14

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


ALAN PARSONS - Organ, Synthesizer, Guitar, Keyboards, Recorder, Vocals, Engineer, Projection
ERIC WOOLFSON - Synthesizer, Harpsichord, Keyboards, Vocals, Background Voaclas, Executive Producer
BILLY LYALL - Piano, Drums, Glockenspiel, Keyboards, Recorder, Fender Rhodes
ORSON WELLES - Narrator
JANE POWELL - Vocals, Background Voaclas
ANDREW HURDLE - Bass
CHRISTOPHER NORTH - Keyboards
ARTHUR BROWN - Vocals
WILLIAM LYALL - Keyboards
JOHN MILES - Guitar, Vocals
FRANCIS MONKMAN - Organ, Keyboards
KEVIN PEEK - Acoustic Guitar
TERRY SYLVESTER - Vocals
LAURENCE JUBER - Acoustic Guitar
ANDREW POWELL - Keyboards, Orchestral Arrangements, Choir Arrangement
DAVID PATON - Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Guitar, Vocals, Background Voaclas
IAN BAIRNSON - Acoustic ^ Electric Guitar
DAVID KATZ - Violin, Leader, Orchestra Contractor
BURLEIGH DRUMMOND - Drums
ENGLISH CHORALE - Vocals
JACK HARRIS - Vocals
BOB HOWES - Choir, Chorus
JOHN LEACH - Percussion, Vocals, Cimbalom, Kantele
DAVID PACK - Guitar
SMOKEY PARSONS - Vocals
JOE PUERTA - Bass
JACK ROTHSTEIN - Leader
DARRYL RUNSWICK - Bass, String Bass
DAVID SNELL - Harp
THE ENGLISH CHORALE AND PLAYED TI - Choir, Chorus
STUART TOSH - Cymbals, Drums, Vocals, Tympani
LEONARD WHITING - Vocals, Narrator

GORDON PARRY - Engineer
CHRIS BLAIR - Assistant Engineer
PETER CHRISTOPHERSON - Photography
TONY RICHARDS - Assistant Engineer
TOM TREFETHEN - Assistant Engineer
PAT STAPLEY - Assistant Engineer
AUBREY POWELL - Photography
STORM THORGERSON - Photography
HIPGNOSIS - Design, Cover Art
SAM EMERSON - Photography, Photography
COLIN ELGIE - Artwork, Graphic Design, Layout Design

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


1976 LP Charisma 4003
1991 CD Mercury 832820-2
1991 CS Mercury 832820-4
1994 LP Mobile Fidelity 204
1994 CD Mobile Fidelity 606
1998 CD Ultradisc/Mobile Fidelity 606



Tales of Mystery and Imagination is an extremely mesmerizing aural journey through some of Edgar Allan Poe's most renowned works. With the use of synthesizers, drums, guitar, and even a glockenspiel, Parsons' shivering effects make way for an eerie excursion into Poe's well-known classics. The instrumental "Dream Within a Dream" has Orson Welles narrating in front of this wispy collaboration of guitars and keyboards. The EMI vocoder is used throughout "The Raven" with the Westminister City School Boys Choir mixed in to add a distinct flair to it's chamber-like sound. Parsons' expertise surrounds this album, from the slyness that prevails in "(The System Of) Doctor Tarr and Professor Feather" to the bodeful thumping of the drums that imitate a heartbeat on "The Tell-Tale Heart." "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a lengthy but dazzling array of musicianship that keeps the album's persona in tact, while enabling the listener to submerge into it's frightening atmosphere. With vocalists Terry Sylvester, John Miles, and Eric Woolfson stretched across each track, this variety of different singing styles adds color and design to the album's air. Without any underlying theme to be pondered upon, Alan Parsons instead paints a vivid picture of one of the most alluring literary figures in history by musically reciting his most famous works in expert fashion.

Mike DeGagne - All Music Guide



Alan Parsons hatte sich bereits als Tontechniker der Abbey Road-Studios bei den Beatles und Pink Floyd und als Produzent einen Namen gemacht, als 1976 sein erstes Album mit Texter, Sänger und Keyboarder Eric Woolfson erschien. Zwei Jahre hatten sie mit über 200 Musikern aus Rock, Pop und Klassik an dem ambitionierten Werk Tales Of Mystery And Imagination gearbeitet, das auf den Gothic Novels von Edgar Allen Poe basierte. Die musikalische Literatur-Interpretation war im romantischen Stil gehalten und auf sinfonische Orchesterarrangements des jungen Dirigenten und Arrangeurs Andrew Powell aufgebaut.

Seite 1 des Konzeptalbums war der Songteil, den so unterschiedliche Sänger wie Arthur Brown, John Miles und Terry Sylvester von den Hollies bestritten. Seite 2 war bis auf "The One In Paradise" eine rein instrumentale und sehr stimmungsvolle Umsetzung von "The Fall Of The House Of Usher". Das Album löste einen Classic-Rock-Boom aus. Doch nur wenige kamen an die sensible Qualität des Alan Parsons Project heran, das eine Grammy-Nominierung erhielt. "The Raven" mit dem speziell entwickelten Harmony Vocoder entwickelte sich zu einem echten Songklassiker.

Ingeborg Schober - Amazon.de



Ton-Magier Alan Parsons' Debüt ehrte 1976 den Grusel-Großmeister Edgar Allan Poe und wurde durch donnernde Arrangements und orchestrales Flair zum Konzept-Klassiker.

© Audio



As unlikely as the idea seems today to use the suspense-filled stories of Edgar Allan Poe as the basis for an album of rock tunes, listeners in the 1970s--who were barraged with such high-flown concepts during the heyday of prog-rock--turned the record into a major hit. The Project actually scored a Top 40 hit with "(The System of) Doctor Tarr and Professor Feather." Thanks to FM radio overplay, however, "The Raven" is probably the album's best-known track today. The 1987 CD version of "ToMaI" differs somewhat from the original vinyl. Parsons dropped in synthesizer parts to modernize the album, and added an opening recitation by Orson Welles. But the integrity of the original is maintained well enough, and the album remains a classic excuse to dim the lights, pour a glass of sherry (amontillado, natch), and break out the headphones.

Daniel Durchholz - Amazon.com
 

 L y r i c s


Currently no Lyrics available!

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


Currently no Samples available!