Alan Parsons
Alan Parsons
Alan Parsonsis an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was involved with the production of several significant albums, including the Beatles' Abbey Road and Let It Be, and the art rock band Ambrosia's debut album Ambrosia as well as Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon for which Pink Floyd credit him as an important contributor. Parsons' own group, the Alan Parsons Project, as well as his subsequent solo recordings, have also been successful commercially...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionMusic Producer
Date of Birth20 December 1948
The Dark Side of the Moon has flash - the true flash that comes from the excellence of a superb performance.
Any effects created before 1975 were done with either tape or echo chambers or some kind of acoustic treatment. No magic black boxes!
Folk rock was my real roots. I did a few gigs as a folk artist, in the style of Fairport Convention.
I'm delighted about the track's success in the sports world, but the frustrating thing is, I don't think I got rich on it. The labels and publishers did very cheap deals on our songs.
I started in a research lab for TV cameras, then I worked at a tape duplication facility. That was the first introduction for me to recorded music and hi-fi.
That Beatle euphoria has always been there, and it's hard to be in a room with a Beatle and try to be totally natural. You never shake that off.
I try to find a way that the other guy hasn't thought of using a sound or a sample.
In Russia we had to have special visas in our passports, and when we had to show our passports at the Kremlin gates, we realized that, Oh my God, we're actually playing in THE Kremlin!
I had the honor of speaking with Asimov. The album ended up being something not directly related to Asimov, but related instead to the concept of the power of robotics.
The Sicilian Defence was our attempt at quickly fulfilling our contractual obligation after I Robot, Pyramid and Eve had been delivered. The album was rejected by Arista, not surprisingly, and we then renegotiated our deal for the future and the next album, The Turn of a Friendly Card. The Sicilian Defence album was never released and never will be, if I have anything to do with it. I have not heard it since it was finished. I hope the tapes no longer exist.
Audiophiles don't use their equipment to listen to your music. Audiophiles use your music to listen to their equipment.
The Dark Side of the Moon is a fine album with a textural and conceptual richness that not only invites, but demands involvement. There is a certain grandeur.
I was 17 and just learning what high fidelity was, what good sound was, and learning the mechanics of tape machines. It was a real education, going right from the consumer end to the record factory.
In France, you can sell a lot, but nobody outside of France ever hears of it.