I Robot (album)

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under I, Robot .

I robot
Studio album from The Alan Parsons Project
Publication (s)	1977
admission	December 1976 to March 1977
Label (s)	Arista Records
Format (s)	LP , CD
Genre (s)	Art rock , progressive rock
Title (number)	10
running time	41:05
occupation	David Paton : bass , acoustic guitar Stuart Tosh : drums , percussion Ian Bairnson : Electric and Acoustic Guitar BJ Cole : steel guitar John Leach : Zymbal , Kantele Keyboards : Eric Woolfson , Alan Parsons , Duncan Makay Vocals : Lenny Zakatek , Allan Clarke , Steve Harley , Jack Harris , Peter Straker , Jaki Whitren , Dave Townsend
production	Alan Parsons
Studio (s)	Abbey Road Studios , London
chronology Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1976) I robot Pyramid (1978)

I Robot is an art rock album by the British music project The Alan Parsons Project . The album was released under the record label Arista Records in 1977 and was first re-released on CD in 1984. Remastered versions with bonus titles were released in 2007 ( 30th Anniversary Edition ) and 2013 ( Legacy Edition ).

history

Initially, Eric Woolfson wanted to publish another setting of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories in the tradition of the previous album, but this was prevented by their new label Arista Records , as they only had the rights to the second part of the series.

Another of Woolfson's favorite authors at the time was the Russian-American science fiction writer Isaac Asimov , whose collection of stories Ich, der Robot ( I, Robot in the English-language original) he had read and wanted to base the album on. Due to a contract with which Asimov had already ceded the filming rights including all related music recordings to a production company 10 years earlier, the group was not legally able to design the album in terms of appearance and content directly based on the novel. Therefore the title was changed slightly (the comma was omitted) and the lyrics and song titles were only related to robots in general, instead of specifically to the stories of Asimov.

The following text can be found in the inlay of the album:

“I robot… the story of the rise of the machine and the decline of man, which paradoxically coincided with his discovery of the wheel… and a warning that his brief dominance of this planet will probably end, because he tried to create his own image . ”

“Me, the robot… The story of the rise of the machine and the fall of man, which paradoxically began with the discovery of the wheel… And a warning that its brief domination on this planet will likely end as it has tried to be its likeness to create. "

Track list

All pieces composed by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson, except Total Eclipse by Andrew Powell

page 1

1. I Robot [Instrumental] - 6:02
2. I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You [Lead Vocal: Lenny Zakatek ] - 3:22
3. Some Other Time [lead vocals: Peter Straker & Jaki Whitren ] - 4:06
4. Breakdown [Lead Vocal: Allan Clarke ] - 3:50
5. Don't Let It Show [Lead Vocal: Dave Townsend ] - 4:24

Page 2

6. The Voice [Lead Vocal: Steve Harley ] - 5:24
7. Nucleus [instrumental] - 3:31
8. Day After Day (The Show Must Go On) [Lead Vocal: Jack Harris ] - 3:49
9. Total Eclipse [Instrumental] - 3:09
10. Genesis Ch.1 v.32 [Instrumental] - 3:28

Bonus tracks of the 30th anniversary edition

Boules [I Robot Experiment] - 1:59 Breakdown [Early Demo Of Backing Riff] - 2:09 I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You [Backing Track Rough Mix] - 3:28 Day After Day [Early Stage Rough Mix] - 3:40 The Naked Robot - 10:19

Legacy Edition bonus tracks

US Radio Commercial for I Robot - 1:01 I Robot [Boules Experiment] - 1:59 I Robot [Hilary Western Vocal Rehearsal] - 1:32 Extract 1 from The Alan Parsons Project Audio Guide - 1:04 Extract 2 from The Alan Parsons Project Audio Guide - 0:57 I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You [Backing Track Rough Mix] - 3:29 Some Other Time [Complete Vocal by Jaki Whitren] - 3:44 Breakdown [Early Demo of Backing Riff] - 2:09 Extract 3 from The Alan Parsons Project Audio Guide - 0:31 Breakdown [The Choir] - 1:51 Don't Let It Show [Eric Woolfson Demo] - 3:26 Day After Day (The Show Must Go on) [Early Stage Rough Mix] - 3:38 Genesis Ch.1. V.32 [Choir Session] - 2:18 The Naked Robot [Early Stage Instrumental Mixes] - 10:20 am

Cover

The cover is a collage by British graphic design agency Hipgnosis on a photo of the escalators in Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle Airport . superimposed by a drawing of a robot with a stylized atom as a brain. The idea of ​​using this place for the futuristic cover came from Eric Woolfson, who, according to his own account, the airport has always reminded of “the robotic activities of mankind”. The people on the escalators are assistants to the Hipgnosis leader Storm Thorgerson . Several photos were copied together for the photomontage that ultimately appeared.

The album's commercial success is in part attributed to the cover, as it was the first music album with a robot on the front at the time the film Star Wars was released and the sci-fi hype associated with it.

Web links

• Reviews of I Robot on the baby blue pages
• I Robot at Allmusic (English)
• Tim O'Neil: The Alan Parsons Project: I Robot. In: popmatters. March 27, 2007 (review of the record). 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Historical information on the-alan-parsons-project.com (English). Retrieved September 18, 2013.
2. ↑ Excerpt ( Isaac Asimov relating to I Robot ) from an interview with Eric Woolfson in London in 2009 ( official upload to YouTube )
3. ↑ Andrew Powell on his contributions to The Alan Parsons Project . Retrieved October 15, 2013.
4. ↑ Excerpt ( I Robot album sleeve ) from an interview with Eric Woolfson 2009 in London ( official upload on YouTube )