Biography
The Alan Parsons Project was the collective reference to several lineups of a British progressive rock team, active between 1975 and 1990, whose rosters consisted of Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson surrounded by a varying number of session musicians and some relatively consistent band members such as guitarist Ian Bairnson, arranger Andrew Powell, bassist and vocalist David Paton, drummer Stuart Elliott, and vocalist Lenny Zakatek. Behind the revolving line-up and the regular sidemen, the true core of the Project was the duo of Parsons and Woolfson. Parsons was an audio engineer and producer by profession, but also a musician and a composer. A songwriter by profession, Woolfson was also a composer, a pianist, and a singer. Almost all songs on the Project’s albums are credited to “Woolfson/Parsons”. They met in the summer of 1974. Parsons had already acted as Assistant Engineer on the Beatles’ albums Abbey Road (1969) and Let It Be (1970), had recently engineered Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), and had produced several acts for EMI Records. Woolfson, a songwriter and composer, was working as a session pianist; he had also composed material for a concept album idea based on the work of Edgar Allan Poe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Alan_Parsons_Project
Album & Cover
Tales of Mystery and Imagination is the debut studio album by the British progressive rock band The Alan Parsons Project, released on 1 May 1976 by 20th Century Fox Records in the United States and on 1 June 1976 by Charisma Records internationally. The lyrical and musical themes of the album, which are retellings of horror stories and poetry by Edgar Allan Poe, attracted a cult audience. The title of the album is taken from the title of a collection of Poe’s macabre stories of the same name, Tales of Mystery & Imagination, first published in 1908 and reprinted many times since. Musicians featured on the album include vocalists Arthur Brown of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown on “The Tell Tale Heart”, John Miles on “The Cask of Amontillado” and “(The System of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether”, and Terry Sylvester of The Hollies on “To One In Paradise”. The complete line-up of bands Ambrosia and Pilot play on the record, along with keyboardist Francis Monkman of Curved Air and Sky. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_of_Mystery_and_Imagination_(Alan_Parsons_Project_album)
Parsons wanted a classy cover design, including a book of lyrics, lengthy credits and a chronology of Poe’s life, thus the recurring image of the “taped man”. As Storm elaborated further: Poe was preoccupied with entombment. Many of his characters have been incarcerated in some form or other – in coffins, brick walls or under floorboards. We came up with the ‘taped’ man – a mummy-like figure who is wrapped, not in bandages, but in 2″ recording tape. This motif is partially horror-like, as well as being ‘entombed’, and the 2″ tape appropriately suggests that the album is done by a producer in a studio, as opposed to a band recording material they will play on stage. Although the clients were intrigued by this idea they did not desire a pictorial cover but preferred instead a precise graphic representation. The narrow strip of illustration from George [Hardie] shows a long shadow of the taped man. The booklet (attached to the inside of the cover) is composed of photos related to the songs, and line drawings which explore the taped man as he thrashes about in his restricted world and strives to unravel himself. The illustrated capital letters continue the idea. The layout and drawings are by Colin Elgie. The sleeve is one of our better attempts at combining photographs and illustration. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_of_Mystery_and_Imagination
Location: Mostly at St Pancras Station, London, UK
Who Did What: Photography – Aubrey Powell/Peter Christopherson/Storm Thorgerson.
Photography [Picture Of Alan Parsons] – Sam Emerson. Graphics and Booklet – Colin Elgie. Illustration – George Hardie
Label: 20th Century T-539(US), Charisma CDS 4003(UK)
Source: Vinyl. Album. Cover. Art, The Complete Hipgnosis Catalogue: Aubrey Powell
Tracklist
| Side One A Dream Within A Dream The Raven The Tell-Tale Heart The Cask Of Amontillado (The System Of) Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether |
Side Two The Fall Of The House Of Usher –Prelude –Arrival –Intermezzo –Pavane –Fall –To One In Paradise |
Credits
Arranged By [Orchestra & Choir], Conductor [Orchestra & Choir], Keyboards – Andrew Powell
Bass – Joe Puerta
Bass, Guitar, Vocals – David Paton
Cimbalom, Kantele – John Leach
Contractor [Orchestral] – David Katz
Double Bass [String Bass] – Darryl Runswick
Drums – Burleigh Drummond
Drums, Vocals – Stuart Tosh
Engineer [Assistant] – Chris Blair, Pat Stapley
Guitar – David Pack, Ian Bairnson
Keyboards – Billy Lyall, Christopher North, Francis Monkman
Keyboards, Vocals, Executive-Producer – Eric Woolfson
Layout [Inside], Artwork [Graphics] – Colin Elgie
Mastered By – Doug Sax
Producer, Engineer, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals – Alan Parsons
Technician [Technical Consultant] – Gordon Parry, Keith O. Johnson
Vocals – Arthur Brown, Jack Harris, Jane Powell, John Miles, Leonard Whiting, Smokey Parsons, Terry Sylvester, The English Chorale
Written-By – Parsons, Powell (tracks: B1), Woolfson
Notes
The release contains an 8-page-booklet in a gatefold cover. The songs are based on stories written by Edgar Allan Poe.
The album was recorded and mixed at Abbey Road Studios, London, between July 1975 and January 1976
