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 involved with the production of several notable albums, including the Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' (1969) and ''Let It Be'' ( ...

, 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 a ...

'' 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 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 accompanie ...

. Project regulars

Ian Bairnson Ian Bairnson (born 3 August 1953 as ''John Bairnson'') is a Scottish musician, best known for being one of the core members of The Alan Parsons Project. He is a multi-instrumentalist, who has played saxophone and keyboards, although he is best ...

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

, Stuart Elliott and Richard Cottle anchor the band with Parsons,

Gary Howard Gary William Howard (born 16 June 1955) is a British musician, best known as a member of the a cappella group The Flying Pickets. Early life Gary William Howard was born in Ilford, Essex on 16 June 1955. His father John was a mechanic who ...

('' Freudiana'') 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 written by Andy Qunta, Keith Reid, Maggie Ryder and Chris Thompson, and recorded by the Australian singer John Farnham and released as a single in September 1986 ahead of his album ''Whispering Jack''. "You're the V ...

", a song first recorded and released by

John Farnham John Peter Farnham Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British born Australian singer. Farnham was a Teen idol, teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed then as Johnny Farnham, but has since forged a career as an Adu ...

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). Later performances opt for seguing "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 music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, 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'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' prior to a joint Parsons concert with

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, 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 Alan Parsons Project. Together with Parsons they sold over 50 million albums worldwide. F ...

. 1.

Sirius Sirius is the list of brightest stars, brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek language, Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinisation ...

- 2:25
2. Eye In The Sky - 4:55
3. Luciferama - 4:56
4.

Old And Wise "Old and Wise" is a 1982 song by the Alan Parsons Project from the album ''Eye in the Sky''. The song reached number 21 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' AC chart in early 1983 and number 74 in the United Kingdom; the first of the band's singles to ...

- 4:49
5. Psychobabble - 5:22
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 myste ...

- 5:39
7.

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

- 5:08
8. You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned - 4:18
9. Prime Time - 5:15
10. Limelight - 4:40
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
12. Standing On Higher Ground - 5:30

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 Anderson Amos Temba "Andy" Qunta (born 9 January 1951) is an English singer, songwriter, composer and musician. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Qunta is best known as the keyboardist of the Australian rock band Icehouse from between 19 ...

, Chris Thompson,

Keith Reid Keith Stuart Brian Reid (born 19 October 1946 Allmusic.com biography by Jason Ankeny/ref>) is a lyricist and songwriter who wrote the lyrics of every song released by Procol Harum that was not previously recorded by someone else, with the except ...

Maggie Ryder Maggie Ryder is an English singer/songwriter and musician, principally known as a backing singer for bands such Queen and Eurythmics. Career In her early career, Ryder was the keyboard player with British funk/rock band Krakatoa. She co-wr ...

) - 5:06

Personnel

* Jeremy Meek - Bass, backing vocals (1-12) * Felix Krish - Bass (13-15) * Chris Thompson - Vocals (live, 13, 15) *

- 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 graphic designer 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 a ...

* 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