Stereotomy

Stereotomy
Studio album from The Alan Parsons Project
Publication (s)	1985
Label (s)	Arista Records
Format (s)	LP , CD
Genre (s)	Progressive rock , pop rock
Title (number)	8th
running time	41:58
occupation	Alan Parsons , Eric Woolfson, et al. a.
production	Alan Parsons
Studio (s)	Mayfair Studios
chronology Vulture Culture (1985) Stereotomy Gaudi (1987)

Stereotomy is the ninth studio album by The Alan Parsons Project , which was released in November 1985 and was available in Germany from December 1985.

Although it was often rated better musically than its predecessor Vulture Culture , it was not as commercially successful. One reason could be Eric Woolfson's lower vocal percentage (he only sings a short section on the album's title track). The album is structured differently than previous albums by Alan Parsons Projects: it contains three long pieces and two one-minute songs at the end. It is an entirely digital production and both the LP and CD releases have been encoded using the two-channel Ambisonic UHJ format.

“Stereotomy” is a term from spatial geometry and describes the intersection of surfaces of geometric bodies, in particular the so-called stone cut, which is used in vault constructions. Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's " The Double Murder on Rue Morgue ", it stands here as a metaphor for the way in which celebrities (singers, actors, etc.) are "formed" by their celebrity.

Despite the commercial failure, the song Where's the Walrus was nominated for a Grammy in 1987 in the category "Best Rock Instrumental Piece". From the repertoire, the song Limelight made it not only into the live program, but also into the compilation Best of Alan Parsons Live .

Pieces

All pieces were written by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson.

Side one

1. Stereotomy - 7:18
2. Beaujolais - 4:27
3. Urbania - 4:59
4. Limelight - 4:39

Side two

1. In The Real World - 4:20
2. Where's The Walrus? - 7:31
3. Light of the World - 6:19
4. Chinese Whispers - 1:01
5. Stereotomy Two - 1:21

Stereotomy was remastered and re-released in 2008 with the following additional tracks:

10. Light Of The World (backing track)
11. Rumor Goin 'Round (demo)
12. Stereotomy (Eric Woolfson guide vocal)
13. Stereotomy (backing rough mix)

Guest musician

Alan Parsons gathered many of his friends and protégés around him. His closest companion Eric Woolfson, his discovery John Miles , who was already featured on Parsons' previous albums, as well as Chris Rainbow, Steven and Graham Dye, who had recorded among his sound engineering skills at Abbey Road Studios , acted as vocalists . Procol Harum founder Gary Brooker completed the line-up. David Paton on bass and Ian Bairnson on guitar came from the band Pilot , which made Parsons a global success in 1974. Drummer Stuart Elliott had worked with Parsons confidants Paul McCartney and Al Stewart . The various keyboard instruments were operated by Parsons and Woolfson, others by Richard Cottle, who also played the saxophone , both of which he had already done on Vulture Culture . The sound was rounded off by the London Philharmonia Orchestra .

Artwork

In addition to the background color brown, only the colors light blue and red were used for the motif and font, whereby the record cover only becomes “readable” through the plastic film surrounding it. The film is put over the cover like another sleeve. It is blue on one side, red on the other, and can be turned over, which means that the "other" color is covered and so it takes on the function of a color filter. The “remaining” color shows the information (which appears chaotic when there is no film). The inner sleeve is a standard neutral white. The label on the record A side repeats the unfiltered, therefore two-tone, image of the cover motif, which is similar to a Rorschach test and looks demon-like, while the label on the B side prints legible content and production information in blue letters on a brown background without the use of foil are.

Andrew Ellis and his assistant Colin Chambers came up with the idea and execution. The graphic designer Ellis started at the famous company Hipgnosis , which had created spectacular cover images for Pink Floyd , and from 1982 to 1989 he ran his own company, Icon Communications, which specializes in sound carrier design in London and Los Angeles . Because of his experience in this field, he was involved in book publications on record covers. Colin Chambers had previously co-designed the cover for Eye in the Sky .

Others

The LP Stereotomy appears very briefly in the movie The Big Lebowski when Maude tells the dude to check out her LPs.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Stereotomy. Retrieved December 24, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Andrew Ellis. (No longer available online.) In: greatbritishentrepreneurawards.com. Archived from the original on July 26, 2014 ; accessed on July 21, 2014 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ^ Alan Parsons Project, The - Eye In The Sky. In: discogs.com. Retrieved July 21, 2014 .