''Ammonia Avenue'' is the seventh

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the British

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band

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 ...

, released on 7 February 1984 by

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

. The

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

-influenced "

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 ...

" 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. ''Ammonia Avenue'' is one of the band's biggest-selling albums, carrying an

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

certification of gold and reaching the Top 10 in a number of countries.

Background and release

The title of the album was inspired by

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 ...

's visit to

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. It was formed by the merger of four leading British chemical companies in 1926. Its headquarters were at M ...

(ICI) in

Billingham Billingham is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. The town is on the north side of the River Tees and is governed by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. The settlement had previously formed its o ...

, England, where the first thing he saw was a street with miles of pipes, no people, no trees and a sign that read '

Ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous was ...

Avenue', whose portrait was used for the front cover. The album focuses on the possible misunderstanding of

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

scientific Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

developments from a public perspective and a lack of understanding of the public from a scientific perspective. This album was the second of three recorded on analogue equipment and mixed directly to the digital master tape. "You Don't Believe" had already been released as both a single and a new song on 1983's '' The Best of the Alan Parsons Project'' compilation.

Promotion

Music videos for "Don't Answer Me" and "Prime Time" were produced in 1984, the former with art and animation by MW Kaluta. The latter video is inspired by John Collier's story "Evening Primrose" and features two

mannequins A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. Pr ...

, a female and a male one, coming to life and falling in love with each other. About halfway through the video, a street sign for "Ammonia Ave." appears - a reference to the album title.

Reissue

''Ammonia Avenue'' was remastered and reissued in 2008 with bonus tracks, and in 2020 as well, on Blu-Ray audio format, including a high-definition remaster in stereo and multichannel sound, and the two promotional videos of the album as a bonus.

Track listing

All songs written and composed 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'' ( ...

and

. ;2008 Bonus Tracks #"Don't Answer Me" (Early Rough Mix) #"You Don't Believe" (Demo) #"Since the Last Goodbye" (Chris Rainbow Vocal Overdubs) #"Since the Last Goodbye" (Eric Guide Vocal – Rough Mix) #"You Don't Believe" (Instrumental Tribute to

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

) #"Dancing on a Highwire/Spotlight" (Work in Progress) #"Ammonia Avenue Part 1" (Eric Demo Vocal – Rough Mix) #"Ammonia Avenue" (Orchestral Overdub)

Personnel

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 ...

– electric and acoustic guitars *

Colin Blunstone Colin Edward Michael Blunstone (born 24 June 1945) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. In a career spanning more than 60 years, Blunstone came to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the English rock band the Zombies, whi ...

– vocals *

Mel Collins Melvyn Desmond Collins (born 5 September 1947, Isle of Man) is a British saxophonist, flautist and session musician. Collins has played in several progressive rock groups, having been a member of King Crimson on two occasions (the first from ...

– saxophone * Stuart Elliott – percussion, drums *

– Fairlight programming *

David Paton David Paton (; born 29 October 1949) 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" bef ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

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 ...

– orchestral arrangements and conducting *

Chris Rainbow Christopher James Harley, known by the stage name Chris Rainbow (18 November 1946 – 22 February 2015), was a Scottish pop rock singer and musician whose songs "Give Me What I Cry For" and "Solid State Brain" were often played by British radio ...

– vocals *

– all keyboards, vocals *

Lenny Zakatek Lenny Zakatek (born Lenny du Platel, 1947) is a British singer and musician who has lived in London since the age of thirteen. Zakatek was born just prior to Karachi becoming part of Pakistan and is best known for his work with the British band ...

– vocals * Christopher Warren-Green – The Philharmonia Orchestra leader *

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 ...

– album cover design

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control The Alan Parsons Project albums Concept albums 1984 albums Albums produced by Alan Parsons Arista Records albums Albums with cover art by Hipgnosis