Alan Parsons Live is the first live album by

Alan Parsons Alan Parsons (born 20 December 1948) is an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Parsons was the sound engineer on albums including the Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' (1969) and '' Let It Be'' (1970), Pink Floyd's ''The ...

, 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 ''Try Anything Once'' is the first solo album by Alan Parsons, released in 1993. It was his first album following the split of the Alan Parsons Project. This album features vocals by Ambrosia's David Pack, Jacqui Copland, former Mindbender ...

'' 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 The Alan Parsons Project was a British rock music, rock duo formed in London in 1975. Its core membership consisted of producer, audio engineer, musician and composer Alan Parsons, and singer, songwriter and pianist Eric Woolfson. They shared w ...

. Project regulars

Ian Bairnson John "Ian" Bairnson (3 August 1953 – 7 April 2023) was a Scottish musician and member of Pilot and the Alan Parsons Project. He was a multi-instrumentalist, who played saxophone and keyboards, but mainly performed as a guitarist, which he pl ...

Andrew Powell Andrew Powell (born 18 April 1949) is a British musical composer, arranger and performer, born of Welsh parents. He moved to Wales in 2003. Early life Powell was born in Surrey, England. He began piano lessons at the age of four and later atte ...

, Stuart Elliott and Richard Cottle anchor the band with Parsons, Gary Howard (''

Freudiana ''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, causing the Project's split. With the two still workin ...

'') and ex-

Manfred Mann's Earth Band Manfred Mann's Earth Band are an English rock band formed by South African musician Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann. Their hits include covers of Bruce Springsteen's "For You (Bruce Springsteen song), For You", "Blinded by the Light" an ...

vocalist Chris Thompson (''

'') providing vocals for the live tracks. The album is notable for instrumental track "Luciferama" (a blending of "Lucifer" and "Mammagamma" that first appeared on Andrew Powell's 1983 instrumental album ''The Philharmonia Orchestra Plays The Best of The Alan Parsons Project,'' was played like this at the Project's ''Night of the Proms'' live performance in 1990 and remains in Parsons' live set to this day); "When", another Parsons songwriting contribution by Bairnson, sung by Thompson; "Take the Money and Run", the second songwriting and first lead vocal contribution to a Parsons album by Elliott; and Thompson's first non-demo studio recording of his co-composition "

You're The Voice "You're the Voice" is a song recorded by Australian singer John Farnham released in 1986. It became an immediate hit in Australia as well as several European countries including the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was released as a single in Sept ...

", a song first recorded and released by

John Farnham John Peter Farnham (born 1 July 1949) is a British-born Australian singer. Farnham was a teen pop idol from 1967 until the mid-1970s, billed as Johnny Farnham. He has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer.McFarlane (1999). Enc ...

in 1986. It is also the only Parsons live album that contains a full rendition of "The Raven" with the vocoder part. The track is prefaced by the second part of "A Dream Within a Dream" (uncredited on the album; bootlegs show that the

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

introduction from the 1987 remix of ''

Tales of Mystery and Imagination ''Tales of Mystery & Imagination'' (often rendered as ''Tales of Mystery and Imagination'') is a popular title for posthumous compilations of writings by American author, essayist and poet Edgar Allan Poe and was the first complete collection of ...

'' was used as an opening tape, but edited out of the official release). Later performances opt for segueing "Breakdown" into the second half of "The Raven".

Reception

Despite rating the album 2.5 stars out of 5 for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, reviewer Mike DeGagne praised "When" for "being the catchiest of the trio" of the new songs, as well as the "explosiveness" of the live performances, especially on "Prime Time" and "Standing on Higher Ground", "which both sound livelier than the album versions". He further praised the "fresh and crisp" sound throughout, and concluded, "The stellar execution of the songs played live on this album proves that the group - which remained shy of the spotlight - should have toured more frequently." Mark Jenkins, reviewing the album for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' prior to a joint Parsons concert with

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, had equal criticism of his keyboard-oriented rock as "rather prim and a bit stiff; it betrays little of the spontaneity of live performance," yet praise for its being "less bombastic than much British art-rock" as well as "a cunning balance between mainstream and snob appeal." Jennings concluded that "slick, tame adult-rock may be out of vogue, but "Live" shows that its melodic quotient is undiminished."

Track listing (EU edition)

All songs written by Alan Parsons and

Eric Woolfson Eric Norman Woolfson (18 March 1945 – 2 December 2009) 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 p ...

. 1.

Sirius Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word (Latin script: ), meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbr ...

- 2:25
2. Eye In The Sky - 4:55 Lead Vocal: Gary Howard
3. Luciferama - 4:56
4. Old And Wise - 4:49 Lead Vocal: Gary Howard
5. Psychobabble - 5:22 Lead Vocal: Chris Thompson
6.

The Raven "The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a visit ...

- 5:39 Lead Vocal: Alan Parsons (first verse, vocoder), Gary Howard (second verse) and Chris Thompson (finale)
7.

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

- 5:08 Lead Vocal: Gary Howard
8. You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned - 4:18 Lead Vocal: Chris Thompson
9. Prime Time - 5:15 Lead Vocal: Gary Howard
10. Limelight - 4:40 Lead Vocal: Chris Thompson
11.

Don't Answer Me "Don't Answer Me" is a 1984 song by the Alan Parsons Project from the album '' Ammonia Avenue''. It reached number 15 on the ''Billboard'' charts in the United States and was the final ''Billboard'' Top 20 hit for the group. It also reached numb ...

- 4:13 Lead Vocal: Gary Howard (first verse), Chris Thompson (second verse)
12. Standing On Higher Ground - 5:30 Lead Vocal: Chris Thompson

Track listing (US and Canada)

All songs written by Parsons and Woolfson, except as indicated. Side 1
1. Sirius - 2:25
2. Eye In The Sky - 5:04
3. Psychobabble - 5:31
4. The Raven - 5:58
5. Time - 5:19
6. Luciferama - 5:04
7. Old And Wise - 4:52
8. You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned - 4:27

Side 2
9. Prime Time - 5:28
10. Limelight - 4:48
11. Don't Answer Me - 4:28
12. Standing On Higher Ground - 5:17
13. When (Bairnson) - 4:15
14. Take The Money And Run (Elliott, Powell) - 6:18
15.

( Andy Qunta, Chris Thompson,

Keith Reid Keith Stuart Brian Reid (19 October 1946 – 23 March 2023) was an English lyricist and songwriter. He was best known for being the songwriter who wrote the lyrics of every original song released by Procol Harum, with the exception of the so ...

, Maggie Ryder) - 5:06

Personnel

* Jeremy Meek - Bass, backing vocals (1-12) * Felix Krish - Bass (13-15) * Chris Thompson - Vocals (live, 13, 15) * Gary Howard - Vocals (live) * Stuart Elliott - Drums; Vocals (14) *

- Lead guitar, assistant producer * Richard Cottle - Keyboards, saxophone *

- Keyboards *

- Producer, Mixer, Backing Vocals, Keyboards, Rhythm guitar * Artwork – Julien Mills * Tour coordinator – Keith Morris * Design – Peter Curzon,

Storm Thorgerson Storm Elvin Thorgerson (28 February 1944 – 18 April 2013) was an English art director and music video director. He is best known for closely working with the group Pink Floyd through most of their career, and also created album or other art f ...

* Layout (EU edition) – Myosotis * Cover (non-EU editions) - Jon Crossland, Peter Curzon, Storm Thorgerson * Management – Pete Smith, Isis Music * Mastering – Simon Heyworth * Photography – Paul Maxon, Storm Thorgerson * Live Engineering – Bill Irving, Gary Bradshaw * Recorded Digitally on Tascam DA-88s using Audio Technica Microphones. * Mastered at Chop'em Out. * Recorded on tour in Europe in May 1994. * Live Postproduction at Parsonics, Sussex, October 1994. * Tracks 13-15 Recorded and mixed at Parsonics, February 1995.

Reception

Track listing (EU edition)

Track listing (US and Canada)

Personnel

References

Further reading