Vulture Culture

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Vulture Culture
TAPP-VultureCulture.jpg
Studio album by
Released15 February 1985
RecordedMay – July 1984
Studio Abbey Road Studios, London
Genre
Length37:59
Label Arista
Producer Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson
The Alan Parsons Project chronology
Ammonia Avenue
(1984)
Vulture Culture
(1985)
Stereotomy
(1985)
Singles from Vulture Culture
  1. "Let's Talk About Me"
    Released: 11 January 1985 [1]
  2. "Days Are Numbers"
    Released: April 1985 (US)
  3. "Vulture Culture (remix)"
    Released: 1985 (Germany)
  4. "The Same Old Sun"
    Released: 1985 (EU)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]

Vulture Culture is the eighth studio album by the Alan Parsons Project, released in 1985 via the Arista label.

Contents

Overview

The first side of the LP (CD tracks 1–4) consists entirely of four-minute pop songs, and the second side varies widely, from the subdued funk of the title track to the bouncing instrumental "Hawkeye".

At the beginning of 1985, the lead single "Let's Talk About Me" reached the Top 40 in Germany (where the album was No. 1 [4] ), in Switzerland (where Vulture Culture was No. 2) and in the Netherlands. [5] The song features voice-over commentary from Lee Abrams, credited on the album as "Mr. Laser Beam" (an anagram of his name).

In the charts, Vulture Culture was a success in continental Europe, reaching the Top 10 in many countries, [6] and in Australia; whereas it was less successful in the US. It was the last album by the band to be certified Gold.

The song "Hawkeye" is an instrumental but does contain a line from Monica, a woman working at the canteen in Abbey Road Studios. The line she says is: "Only what's on the menu".

This is the only Project album that does not feature the orchestration of Andrew Powell.

Vulture Culture was the last Project album recorded on analogue equipment, and as with the previous two, mixed directly to the digital master tape.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson.

Side one
No.TitleLead VocalsLength
1."Let's Talk About Me"David Paton4:29
2."Separate Lives"Eric Woolfson4:38
3."Days Are Numbers (The Traveller)"Chris Rainbow4:52
4."Sooner or Later"Eric Woolfson4:24
Side two
No.TitleLead VocalsLength
1."Vulture Culture"Lenny Zakatek5:22
2."Hawkeye"(Instrumental)3:48
3."Somebody Out There"Colin Blunstone4:54
4."The Same Old Sun"Eric Woolfson5:26

Vulture Culture was remastered and reissued in 2007 with the following bonus tracks:

  1. "No Answers Only Questions (final version)" – 2:12
  2. "Separate Lives (alternative mix)" – 4:18
  3. "Hawkeye (demo)" – 3:18
  4. "The Naked Vulture" – 10:43
  5. "No Answers Only Questions (the first attempt)" – 2:56
    • "No Answers Only Questions" is credited solely to Eric Woolfson on the expanded edition CD notes and is one of the only songs released by the band where this occurs. [7]

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [22] Gold50,000^
Germany (BVMI) [23] Gold250,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

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