Post by erik on Apr 22, 2023 19:55:40 GMT -5
A neo-Spector hit from the era of MTV is in this week's Pop Music Hits Spotlight.
DON’T ANSWER ME (Alan Parsons Project; Arista; 1984)—Buoyed by his experiences of having been a sound engineer on two of rock’s most important albums, Abbey Road by The Beatles, and Dark Side Of The Moon[/b] by Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons struck out on his own as an arranger and performer in the progressive pop-rock field with his Alan Parsons Project in 1975. The group’s first album, the Edgar Allan Poe-inspired 1976 opus Tales Of Mystery And Imagination[/b], ser the table for their trans-Atlantic success for the next eight years. The big American break came in 1977 with I Robot, a neo-futuristic concept album inspired by the classic Isaac Asimov story of the same; it reached #9 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart, aided by the #36 hit “I Wouldn’t Want To Be Like You”. Subsequent albums like 1978’s Pyramid[/i/I], 1979’s Eve, and 1980’s The Turn Of A Friendly Card found both mainstream Top 40 AM and Album Rock success on the U.S. side of the Atlantic, with the latter album featuring the progressive rock ballad classic “Time” (#15, August 1981). The title track of 1982’s Eye In The Sky became the group’s biggest hit, reaching #3 in October 1982. While the emergence of MTV, music videos, and high-profile personalities like Michael Jackson, Prince, and Madonna would soon swamp the airwaves, the Alan Parsons Project continued onward; and in early 1984, they released Ammonia Avenue. The big single from the album was “Don’t Answer Me”, a Phil Spector-inspired song which featured members of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra. Despite being significantly out of step in a year otherwise dominated by Jackson and his album Thriller, “Don’t Answer Me” managed to reach #15 on the Hot 100 for the week ending May 5, 1984. Although the group’s success tailed off as the 1980’s went on, the Alan Parsons Project remained a staple of Adult Contemporary and FM Rock radio formats weill into the millennium.
DON’T ANSWER ME (Alan Parsons Project; Arista; 1984)—Buoyed by his experiences of having been a sound engineer on two of rock’s most important albums, Abbey Road by The Beatles, and Dark Side Of The Moon[/b] by Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons struck out on his own as an arranger and performer in the progressive pop-rock field with his Alan Parsons Project in 1975. The group’s first album, the Edgar Allan Poe-inspired 1976 opus Tales Of Mystery And Imagination[/b], ser the table for their trans-Atlantic success for the next eight years. The big American break came in 1977 with I Robot, a neo-futuristic concept album inspired by the classic Isaac Asimov story of the same; it reached #9 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart, aided by the #36 hit “I Wouldn’t Want To Be Like You”. Subsequent albums like 1978’s Pyramid[/i/I], 1979’s Eve, and 1980’s The Turn Of A Friendly Card found both mainstream Top 40 AM and Album Rock success on the U.S. side of the Atlantic, with the latter album featuring the progressive rock ballad classic “Time” (#15, August 1981). The title track of 1982’s Eye In The Sky became the group’s biggest hit, reaching #3 in October 1982. While the emergence of MTV, music videos, and high-profile personalities like Michael Jackson, Prince, and Madonna would soon swamp the airwaves, the Alan Parsons Project continued onward; and in early 1984, they released Ammonia Avenue. The big single from the album was “Don’t Answer Me”, a Phil Spector-inspired song which featured members of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra. Despite being significantly out of step in a year otherwise dominated by Jackson and his album Thriller, “Don’t Answer Me” managed to reach #15 on the Hot 100 for the week ending May 5, 1984. Although the group’s success tailed off as the 1980’s went on, the Alan Parsons Project remained a staple of Adult Contemporary and FM Rock radio formats weill into the millennium.