The Alan Parsons Project |
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Eve |
This album was originally released by Arista Records in 1979. The theme? Women.
September 22, 2008 saw the release of a remastered version of this album, complete with bonus tracks and improved packaging.
Concept: |
AP: "Observations on women. It was the first time it felt acceptable to write about human relationships, and since then we have avoided it. It's one of my least favourite albums, but having said that, it has two of my favourite songs" 'Lucifer' and 'If I Could Change Your Mind'. It's not an accident that they are two of the songs that made it onto 'The Definitive Collection'." |
Lucifer | instrumental | (5:08) |
You Lie Down With Dogs | vocal: Lenny Zakatek | (3:48) |
I'd Rather Be A Man | vocal: David Paton | (3:53) |
You Won't Be There | vocal: Dave Townsend | (3:43) |
Winding Me Up | vocal: Chris Rainbow | (3:55) |
Damned If I Do | vocal: Lenny Zakatek | (4:52) |
Don't Hold Back | vocal: Clare Torry | (3:37) |
Secret Garden | instrumental | (4:43) |
If I Could Change Your Mind | vocal: Lesley Duncan | (5:59) |
BONUS TRACKS | ||
Elsies Theme from The Sicilian Defence (The Project That Never Was) | instrumental | (3:00) |
Lucifer (Demo) | vocal: Eric Woolfson | (2:48) |
Secret Garden (Early Rough Mix) | instrumental | (4:41) |
Damned If I Do (Rough Mix) | vocal: Lenny Zakatek | (4:46) |
Dont Hold Back (Vocal Rehearsal Rough Mix) | vocal: Clare Torry | (3:43) |
Lucifer (Early Rough Mix) | instrumental | (4:17) |
If I Could Change Your Mind (Rough Mix) | vocal: Lesley Duncan | (5:46) |
Lucifer
Autoharp, Drum Machine, FX Compilation Alan Parsons Synths Duncan Mackay Guitars Ian Bairnson, Alan Parsons Bass David Paton Drums Stuart Elliott Orchestra and Choir arranged and conducted by Andrew Powell
You Lie Down With Dogs
Vocal Lenny Zakatek Synths Duncan Mackay Bass David Paton Drums Stuart Elliott
I'd Rather Be A Man
Vocals David Paton Synths Duncan Mackay Guitars and Backwards Wah-Wah FX Ian Bairnson Bass David Paton Drums Stuart Elliott
You Won't Be There
Vocals Dave Townsend Guitars Ian Bairnson Bass David Paton Drums Stuart Elliott
Winding Me Up
Vocals Chris Rainbow Guitars Ian Bairnson Bass David Paton Drums Stuart Elliott Orchestra arranged and conducted by Andrew Powell
Damned If I Do
Vocal Lenny Zakatek Synth Duncan Mackay Drums Stuart Elliott Orchestra arranged and conducted by Andrew Powell
Don't Hold Back
Vocal Clare Torry Backing Vocals Chris Rainbow Guitars Ian Bairnson Bass David Paton Drums Stuart Elliott
Secret Garden
One-Man Beach Boys Chris Rainbow Guitars Ian Bairnson Keyboards Duncan Mackay Bass David Paton Drums Stuart Elliott Orchestra arranged and conducted by Andrew Powell
If I Could Change Your Mind
Vocal Lesley Duncan Guitars Ian Bairnson Piano Eric Woolfson Bass David Paton Drums Stuart Elliott Orchestra arranged and conducted by Andrew Powell
BONUS MATERIAL NOTES
by Eric Woolfson & Alan Parsons - 2008
The recording process contains many magical moments on the creative journey. The process is not unlike throwing a lump of clay on a potter's wheel and then shaping and re-shaping the material an infinite number of times until the potter is satisfied. A casual observer might say "but you had the pot within the first minute, why didn't you just leave it at that." The art of the potter is to know just how far to go. The record producer's skill is to know when that point has been reached as far as the recordings are concerned and the writer has to apply a similar process to his compositions. They say a poem is never finished, it is abandoned. The same could certainly be said of music, lyrics or any creative effort. The great advantage of the recording process is that as one keeps rough mixes as a guide, one can delve into stages before the point of abandonment and revisit some of the magic from earlier attempts or stages.
From our personal point of view, it has been a fascinating experience to re-live these early stages, much of which were kept in archives and tape libraries and which might have well been forgotten with the passage of time but for the initiative of Tim Fraser-Harding at SONY BMG. We are also grateful to Haydn Bendall for his untiring patience and skill in assisting us in our trawl through the archives to complete this material.
Elsies Theme from The Sicilian Defence (The Project That Never Was) As many Project aficionados will know, a largely experimental album entitled The Sicilian Defence was recorded at the same time as EVE. This work became the subject of a major disagreement with the record company and was shelved. However, in the process of searching the archives for bonus material, at the labels request, we have included a track (previously untitled), which is dedicated to Erics newest granddaughter. Lucifer (Demo) This was the first ever demo, recorded on a simple Revox home recording setup in a beachfront apartment in Monte Carlo in the Principality of Monaco. Super Bear, the studio where Eve was recorded was a one hour drive up into the hills above Nice, France. Secret Garden (Early Rough Mix) This rough mix comes from the halfway stage of the recording process and highlights some of the sounds and effects that were less prominent on the final versions. Damned If I Do (Rough Mix) This is a mix with the strings very forward, so we could hear them in detail. The rough mix in the background might have been tailored for the orchestral players to hear while they added their contribution. Drums are a particular nuisance if they spill out into the orchestra mics from the monitor speakers or headphones of the orchestral players - so on this mix they are at a low level, as is the guitar solo. Very often, different sections of the orchestra would be recorded separately in order to have full control over each orchestral group without affecting the others. This would explain the absence of the horns (used on the final version), which were recorded on their own on a later take. Dont Hold Back (Vocal Rehearsal Rough Mix) When a vocal is recorded, often many versions are put onto tape and by a process of cherry picking lines, phrases or words, the optimum master vocal is compiled. In this early stage of recording her vocal, Clare Torry is experimenting and laying down several versions of sections of the song, which would eventually be condensed into the master lead vocal. (Incidentally for those who dont already know, Alan had originally put Clares name forward as a singer to work with Pink Floyd on Dark Side of the Moon.) Lucifer (Early Rough Mix) In this early studio version, we had added a Morse code buzzer rendition of the letters E V E as per the title of the album. It can be heard here much more prominently than on the final mix. If I Could Change Your Mind (Rough Mix) Recording a lead vocal can be a lengthy process and this is a rough snapshot of the track after Lesley Duncans vocal was finished. There is also a long section at the end featuring a brass idea, which was ultimately mixed out in order to favour the solo guitar used on the final mix. On this track, as with many others, a longer version is recorded than is actually used, but adding a fade to a track is always done in the final stages. One of Alans trademarks as a producer for the APP was elongated tail pieces which he would shorten on the final mix as was the case here.
Original Credits
Produced by Alan Parsons
Executive Producer - Eric Woolfson
Recorded at Super Bear Studio, Berre-Les-Alpes, France. Orchestra and Choir Recording at Arco Studios, Munich, Germany
Engineer - Alan Parsons
Assistant Engineers - Patrick Jaune at Super Bear, Dave Siddle at Arco Studios
The Orchestra of the Munich Chamber Opera care of Ebehard Schoener
Leader - Sandor Farcas
Orchestra Co-cordinator - Curtis Briggs
Special Thanks to Damon, Jo, Ruth, Kouki, Christianne, Robert and Anthony at Super Bear, Doug Hopkins and The RAK Mobile, Dusty Miller for keeping the CS80 synth working and in tune, Roger Trinder, Eric Prince, Polly Rockberger, Smokey, Hzael and countless others.
Trivia Consultants - Shapiro and Steinburg
Original Cover Design - Hipgnosis
Reissue Credits
Compiled for reissue by Eric Woolfson & Haydn Bendall (for Woolfsongs Ltd.), Tim Fraser-Harding & Jeff Magid (for SONY BMG) and Alan Parsons.
Expanded Edition Mastered by Dave Donnelly and Alan Parsons at DNA Mastering, Studio City, California.
Produced for reissue by Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson and Jeff Magid.
Special thanks to Tim Fraser-Harding, Haydn Bendall and Sally Seddon
Reissue design by Mainartery Design
Memorablia - With thanks to Steve Martin, Sally Seddon, Scott Holder and Mainartery
All tracks written by Eric Woolfson/Alan Parsons
Except "Elise's Theme" written by Eric Woolfson
Published by Woolfsongs Ltd./Careers Music Inc. administered by Universal Music, except "Elise's Theme" published by Woolfsongs Ltd (MCPS)
All bonus tracks copyright 2008
Licensed courtesy of Woolfsongs Ltd
The official website
www.the-alan-parsons-project.com
One of the benefits of the Expanded Edition of the classic APP albums is the improved bookelets and extra artwork. Early in the remastering project Tim Fraser-Harding contacted Steve Martin at The Avenue about artwork and rarities.
Many of the images submitted were used within the booklet, but just like "Little Voice", some things got left on the cutting room floor. In spirit of the Extended Editions, here are three of the images that didn't make the cut.
Left: "Lucifer" 7" Single Sleeve; Middle: Custom Label from "Eve" vinyl edition; Right: Photo taken inside the studio
Click on any image to enlarge.
This page, copyright 2009 The Avenue / Avenue Communications.