Stereotomy

Last updated

Stereotomy
Stereotomyversion0.jpg
Studio album by
The Alan Parsons Project
ReleasedNovember 1985
RecordedOctober 1984 – August 1985
Studio Mayfair Studios
Genre
Length41:58
Label Arista
Producer Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson
The Alan Parsons Project chronology
Vulture Culture
(1985)		Stereotomy
(1985)		 Gaudi
(1987)
Alternate cover
The Alan Parsons Project - Stereotomy.jpg
Re-release cover
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]

Stereotomy is the ninth studio album by the Alan Parsons Project, released in 1985.

Contents

Not as commercially successful as its predecessor Vulture Culture , the album is structured differently from earlier Project albums: containing three lengthy tracks ("Stereotomy" at over seven minutes, "Light of the World" at over six minutes, and the instrumental "Where's the Walrus?" running over seven and a half minutes) and two minute-long songs at the end. It is a full digital production and both the LP and CD releases were encoded using the two-channel Ambisonic UHJ format.

The original vinyl packaging was different from all the reissues: it featured more elaborate artwork of the paper sleeve supplied with a special color-filter oversleeve. When inserted, the over-sleeve filtered some of the colors of the artwork, allowing four different variations (two per side). That was supposed to symbolize visual stereotomy. In the reissues, only one variant remained. The artwork was nominated for Best Album Package at the 29th Annual Grammy Awards.

The word "stereotomy" is taken from "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" by Edgar Allan Poe. [3] It refers to the cutting of solid shapes into different forms, and is used as a metaphor for the way that famous people (singers, actors, etc.) are 'shaped' by the demands of fame. The short track "Chinese Whispers" also references "Rue Morgue" in that although an instrumental, it features Eric Woolfson’s daughters Sally and Lorna reciting a sequence of words from the story.

At the time of release, Parsons said, "Stereotomy is really our best album in years." However, he and Woolfson noted that the record suffered a lack of record label support. [4]

Stereotomy earned a Grammy nomination in 1987 – for Best Rock Instrumental Performance: Orchestra, Group, or Soloist – for the track "Where's the Walrus?" [5]

Stereotomy marks the final appearance of David Paton on bass – he went on to join Elton John's touring band – and is the first Project release since Tales of Mystery and Imagination not to feature Lenny Zakatek.

Musician reviewer J. D. Considine wrote simply: "Unnecessary surgery." [6]

Track listing

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

Side one
No.TitleLead VocalsLength
1."Stereotomy" John Miles up to 5:11, Eric Woolfson 5:11 to 5:507:18
2."Beaujolais" Chris Rainbow 4:27
3."Urbania"(Instrumental)4:59
4."Limelight" Gary Brooker 4:39
Side two
No.TitleLead VocalsLength
1."In the Real World"Miles4:20
2."Where's the Walrus?"(Instrumental)7:31
3."Light of the World" Graham Dye, backing vocal Steven Dye 6:19
4."Chinese Whispers"(Instrumental, spoken word by Sally and Lorna Woolfson)1:01
5."Stereotomy Two"Miles1:21

Stereotomy was remastered and reissued in 2008 with the following bonus tracks:

  1. "Light of the World" (backing track) – 6:14
  2. "Rumour Goin' Round" (demo) – 5:01
  3. "Stereotomy" (Eric Woolfson guide vocal) – 6:37
  4. "Stereotomy Two" (backing rough mix) – 1:23

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1985–86)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [7] 50
Canada RPM Top 100 [8] 32
Italian Albums ( Musica e Dischi ) [9] 17
Spanish Albums (AFYVE) [10] 5
US Billboard 200 [11] 43

Inspirations

The track "Chinese Whispers" is based on the game of Chinese whispers. It has some snippets of dialogue heavily overlaid on top of each other. The words are taken from Edgar Allan Poe's work Murders in the Rue Morgue:

"...The larger links of the chain run thus – Chantilly, Orion, Dr. Nichol, Epicurus, Stereotomy, the street stones, the fruiterer."

The titles of "Urbania" and "Where's the Walrus?" can be attributed to Lee Abrams, a (then) radio programmer for WLUP Radio (Chicago, IL) and friend of Parsons and Woolfson. Eric Woolfson remembers:

"He was really quite inspirational in this album [Stereotomy] in telling us what we'd been doing wrong, in his view, on the previous albums... 'Urbania' was one of the words he came out with during the course of a long conversation. Another title he's responsible for... is 'Where's the Walrus,' the other instrumental, 'cause he was really giving us a hard time, I must tell you: 'Your guitar sounds are too soft, and your whole approach is, you know, slack, and your lyrics—there’s no great lyrics anymore! I mean, where's the walrus? I don't hear the walrus!' Referring, of course, to John Lennon's `I am the Walrus’..."

[12] [ better source needed ]

Abrams is frequently credited on Project recordings as "Mr. Laser Beam" ("laser beam" being an anagram of Lee Abrams).

A copy of Stereotomy can (very) briefly be seen in The Big Lebowski when Maude tells The Dude to look through her LPs.

"Limelight" was used by NBC Sports for a music video of the 1986 New York Mets during the postgame show of the 1986 World Series after the Mets defeated the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 to win the World Championship.

in 1989 "Stereotomy", "Where's the Walrus?", and "Chinese Whispers" were used as background music in Cuando Llega El Amor starring Lucero, and Omar Fierro.

"Limelight" was used CBC Sports for the closing montage of the 1992 Grey Cup where the Calgary Stampeders defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 24-10. Doug Flutie led Calgary to their first Grey Cup title in 21 years.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Alan Parsons Project</span> British rock band

The Alan Parsons Project were a British rock band active between 1975 and 1990, whose core membership consisted of producer, audio engineer, musician and composer Alan Parsons and singer, songwriter and pianist Eric Woolfson. They were accompanied by varying session musicians and some relatively consistent session players such as guitarist Ian Bairnson, arranger Andrew Powell, bassist and vocalist David Paton, drummer Stuart Elliott, and vocalists Lenny Zakatek and Chris Rainbow. Parsons and Woolfson shared writing credits on almost all of the Project's songs, with Parsons producing or co-producing all of the band's recordings.

<i>Tales of Mystery and Imagination</i> (Alan Parsons Project album) 1976 studio album by The Alan Parsons Project

Tales of Mystery and Imagination (Edgar Allan Poe) is the debut studio album by British rock band The Alan Parsons Project. It was released on 25 June 1976 in the United Kingdom by Charisma Records. 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.

<i>Ammonia Avenue</i> 1984 album by The Alan Parsons Project

Ammonia Avenue is the seventh studio album by the British progressive rock band The Alan Parsons Project, released in February 1984 by Arista Records. The Phil Spector-influenced "Don't Answer Me" was the album's lead single, and reached the Top 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Mainstream Rock Tracks charts, as well as the fourth position on the Adult Contemporary chart. The single also reached the Top 20 in several countries and represents the last big hit for the Alan Parsons Project. "Prime Time" was a follow-up release that fared well in the Top 40, reaching No. 34. "You Don't Believe" was the first single in November 1983, reaching #54 on the Billboard Hot 100 and "Since the Last Goodbye" was a minor hit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Woolfson</span> Scottish musician and songwriter (1945–2009)

Eric Norman Woolfson was a Scottish songwriter, lyricist, vocalist, executive producer, pianist, and co-creator of the band The Alan Parsons Project, who sold over 50 million albums worldwide. Woolfson also pursued a career in musical theatre.

<i>I Robot</i> (album) 1977 studio album by The Alan Parsons Project

I Robot is the second studio album by British rock band The Alan Parsons Project, released on 8 July 1977 by Arista Records. The album draws conceptually on author Isaac Asimov's science fiction Robot stories, exploring philosophical themes regarding artificial intelligence. It was re-released on vinyl and cassette tape in 1984 and on CD in 2017.

<i>Eye in the Sky</i> (album) 1982 studio album by the Alan Parsons Project

Eye in the Sky is the sixth studio album by British rock band the Alan Parsons Project, released in May 1982 by Arista Records. At the 25th Annual Grammy Awards in 1983, Eye in the Sky was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album. In 2019, the album won the Grammy Award for Best Immersive Audio Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.

<i>Pyramid</i> (The Alan Parsons Project album) 1978 studio album by The Alan Parsons Project

Pyramid is the third album by progressive rock band The Alan Parsons Project, released in May 1978. It is a concept album centred on the pyramids of Giza. At the time the album was conceived, interest in pyramid power and Tutankhamun was widespread in the US and the UK. Pyramid was nominated for the 1978 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.

<i>Eve</i> (Alan Parsons Project album) 1979 studio album by The Alan Parsons Project

Eve is the fourth studio album by British rock band The Alan Parsons Project, released in September 1979 by Arista Records. The album's focus is on the strength and characteristics of women, and the problems they face in the world of men. It had originally been intended to focus on "great women in history", but evolved into a wider concept. The album name was the same as Eric Woolfson's mother-in-law.

<i>The Turn of a Friendly Card</i> 1980 studio album by the Alan Parsons Project

The Turn of a Friendly Card is the fifth studio album by the British progressive rock band the Alan Parsons Project, released in 1980 by Arista Records. The title piece, which appears on side 2 of the LP, is a 16-minute suite broken up into five tracks. The Turn of a Friendly Card spawned the hits "Games People Play" and "Time", the latter of which was Eric Woolfson's first lead vocal appearance. An edited version of the title piece combining the opening and ending parts of the suite was also released as a single along with an official video.

<i>Vulture Culture</i> 1985 studio album by The Alan Parsons Project

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

<i>Gaudi</i> (The Alan Parsons Project album) 1987 studio album by The Alan Parsons Project

Gaudi is the tenth album by The Alan Parsons Project, released in 1987. Gaudi refers to Antoni Gaudí, the Catalan Spanish architect, and the opening track references what is probably Gaudí's best known building, the Sagrada Família.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Paton</span> Musical artist

David Paton is a Scottish bassist, guitarist and singer. He first achieved success in the mid-1970s as lead vocalist and bassist of Pilot, who scored hits with "Magic", "January", "Just a Smile" and "Call Me Round" before splitting in 1977. Paton is also known for his work in the original lineup of The Alan Parsons Project (1975-1985), and for working with acts such as Kate Bush, Camel and Elton John.

<i>Freudiana</i> 1990 studio album by Eric Woolfson and Alan Parsons

Freudiana is a rock opera by Eric Woolfson. It was to be the 11th album by the Alan Parsons Project, but during its development, Woolfson had creative differences with Alan Parsons. The production, released in 1990, utilizes the Project's personnel as well as many guest vocalists. Alan Parsons later began his career as a solo artist with his 1993 album Try Anything Once, which was musically in a direction more or less continued from that of the Project's 1987's Gaudi.

"(The System of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether" is a 1976 single by The Alan Parsons Project which first appeared on their album Tales of Mystery and Imagination: Edgar Allan Poe. The single reached number 37 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 62 in Canada. Like the other songs on the album, it is based on a story by American author Edgar Allan Poe, in this case "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" (1845); the song was written by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson, and was originally recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London in September 1975. The 1987 reissue featured a "cathedral organ".

<i>The Essential Alan Parsons Project</i> 2007 greatest hits album by The Alan Parsons Project

The Essential Alan Parsons Project is a compilation album released by English progressive rock musician Alan Parsons and The Alan Parsons Project on 6 February 2007. It was released through Sony BMG as part of The Essential album series. The album featured some of the band's best known songs as well as some rare tracks.

<i>The Definitive Collection</i> (Alan Parsons album) 1997 greatest hits album by The Alan Parsons Project

The Definitive Collection is a 1997 2 CD compilation by The Alan Parsons Project, released through Arista Records. It includes two songs taken from Alan Parsons' first solo album.

<i>The Alan Parsons Project That Never Was</i> 2009 studio album by Eric Woolfson

Eric Woolfson sings The Alan Parsons Project That Never Was is an album by the progressive rock musician Eric Woolfson, co-creator with Alan Parsons of The Alan Parsons Project, as well as main songwriter and manager of the band. Released in 2009, this was Woolfson's final album before he died of cancer in December of that year. The album includes songs that remained unreleased since the Project time for various reasons; however, as Woolfson himself remarks in the booklet, Parsons' dislike for some of Woolfson's compositions would have often caused them to be excluded from a Project album in its very early stages - such as, for example, "Steal Your Heart Away", an "unashamedly commercial" song with a conventionally sentimental lyric, which Parsons, in Woolfson's words, would have absolutely detested. "Somewhere in the Audience" and "Immortal" are slightly re-arranged and re-recorded versions of two of Woolfson's demos for his 2003 musical about Edgar Allan Poe; the final versions of these songs, sung by the musical's protagonist Steve Balsamo, are featured on the album Poe: More Tales of Mystery and Imagination. "Train to Wuxi" was the original version of "Train to Freedom", which is also included in the Poe musical and features Woolfson's one and only guitar solo.

<i>Poe: More Tales of Mystery and Imagination</i> 2003 studio album by Eric Woolfson

Poe: More Tales of Mystery and Imagination is an album by Eric Woolfson. It contains some, but not all, of the songs from his musical Edgar Allan Poe.

<i>The Sicilian Defence</i> (album) 2014 studio album by The Alan Parsons Project

The Sicilian Defence is the twelfth studio album by The Alan Parsons Project, released in 2014. It was named after the Sicilian Defence, a famous chess opening. This was the final Alan Parsons Project studio album to be released, 24 years after the split of the band, and it has so far only been available as part of the eleven-CD box set The Complete Albums Collection.

<i>Alan Parsons Live</i> 1994 live album by Alan Parsons

Alan Parsons Live is the first live album by Alan Parsons, recorded in May 1994 during his European tour, and released late that year by Arcade Records in Europe. RCA/BMG added three new studio tracks and changed the cover art when releasing the album in the rest of the world in 1995, renaming it The Very Best Live; stylized on the cover with "The Very Best" in a smaller font between Alan Parsons and Live. Despite the tour promoting Try Anything Once with seven songs from the album in the setlist, the live performances on the album are all songs from his years with The Alan Parsons Project.

References

  1. ↑ Stereotomy at AllMusic
  2. ↑ "Album Reviews". Rolling Stone .
  3. ↑ Bill Henderson (16 February 1986). "Review: The Alan Parsons Project, Stereotomy". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on 1 March 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  4. ↑ Aikin, Jim; Doerschuk, Bob (August 1986). "The Essence of Studio Rock". Keyboard Magazine .
  5. ↑ "History of The Alan Parsons Project". The-alan-parsons-project.com. Archived from the original on 3 November 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  6. ↑ Considine, J.D. (April 1986). "Stereotomy". Musician .
  7. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 229. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  8. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Albums - March 8, 1986" (PDF).
  9. ↑ "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 28 May 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Alan Parsons Project".
  10. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002. Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN   84-8048-639-2.
  11. ↑ "The Alan Parsons Project Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  12. ↑ "Alan Parsons Project List FAQ - Version 1.0". www.pattifiasco.com. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.