Platinum & Gold Collection

by Alan Parsons, The Alan Parsons Project

Overview

The Alan Parsons Project were a rarity -- a prog rock band that had genuine crossover pop hits, and sometimes even sounded better when distilled to singles. Part of the reason for that is that Parsons assembled his band after the heyday of prog rock; the Project released its first album in 1975, a few years after the wild, woolly peak of prog. Another part of the reason is that, as a studio craftsman, he favored lush, immaculate soundscapes that are very pleasing to the ear -- and when wedded to a good melody, made for excellent FM radio cuts and, eventually, soft rock crossovers. Nowhere is that argument proved better than 2003's Platinum & Gold Collection. There have been plenty of other Parsons collections of varying quality -- including the 1997 double-disc set The Definitive Collection for those who want a thorough overview -- but this does the best job of showcasing Parsons' pop personality by presenting the bigger pop hits ("I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You," "Games People Play," "Time," "Eye in the Sky," "Don't Answer Me") along with a few catchy album-oriented radio hits, such as the sleekly atmospheric "Sirius." A couple of key songs -- "I Robot," "Psychobabble" -- are absent, but they're not particularly missed, since this plays so very well as a polished pop album. Out of all the collections, it's the most listenable, and the only Alan Parsons Project album needed for those who appreciate the band for its crossover pop hits. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	06/17/2003
Label:	Bmg Heritage / Arista
UPC:	0828765255622
Rank:	78963

Tracks

1. Sirius
2. Eye in the Sky
3. I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You
4. Don't Answer Me
5. Games People Play
6. You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned
7. Days Are Numbers (The Traveller)
8. You Don't Believe
9. Time
10. Limelight
11. Sooner or Later
12. (The System of) Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Alan Parsons Project   Primary Artist
Alan Parsons   Primary Artist
Gary Brooker   Vocals
Lenny Zakatek   Vocals
Chris Rainbow   Vocals
John Miles   Vocals
Eric Woolfson   Vocals
Andrew Powell   Conductor

Technical Credits

Elliott Federman   Mastering
Rob Santos   Compilation Producer
John Hudson   Project Director
David Nathan   Liner Notes
Eric Woolfson   Executive Producer,Composer
Gretchen Brennison   Compilation Producer
Jeremy Holiday   Project Director
Alan Parsons   Producer,Engineer,Composer
Mathieu Bitton   Design,Art Direction
Edgar Allan Poe   Composer
Bill Pitzonka   Liner Notes
Andrew Powell   Orchestral Arrangements,Choir Arrangement