The Avenue: Issue Seventeen

The seventeenth issue of The Avenue was released on July 1, 2000. Contents included:

Current News:

The news section starts with a look back at the appearance of Alan on VH1's "Where Are They Now?" and the recent tour date in Turkey.

Movie connections continue with "Sirius" being used in the new Imax movie "Michael Jordan To The Max".

In business news, we looked at the end of both Thoughtscape Sounds and Mobile Fidelity. Of MOFI, Alan said, "The main relationship I had with Mobile Fidelity was the Sound Check disc, which they did quite well with. I've since put it with Cliff Electronics, and they are handling distribution. I don't think there's another audiophile specialist really. It is a small market, and I think ultimately that was Mobile Fidelity's downfall. They couldn't expand because the market itself doesn't expand, as it's always the same number of people. I've still got hopes for Sound Check and maybe even doing a new version on DVD."

Alan also spoke of the recent departure of Pete Smith and the changes in management.

Of Note:

In this issue, the "Of Note:" section looks at the upcoming album by Chris Thompson, as well as updates on Eric Woolfson, Colin Blunstone and David Pack.

Eric Stewart article (Part 1):

In this issue we begin a look at the life and career of Eric Stewart. Long before his appearance on "Freudiana", he was a founding member of 10cc. Find out more about his roots and his early days in music.

Tales Of...:

Part seventeen of this section brings us to 1982, and our look back at “Eye In The Sky”, about which Alan said, "It was interesting that 'eye in the sky', is a vague yet multifaceted expression. It can be a surveillance camera, it can mean a helicopter, it can mean the hieroglyphic eye, or a shape in the sky. The album was also meant to be very Orwellian. I saw somewhere, maybe it was one of the encyclopaedia's of rock, where I think they described the album as Orwellian. Of course 1984 was only a couple years away at the time, so it was quite appropriate.”

Your Thoughts On "The Time Machine" (Part 2):

In a past issue, the fans were asked to let Alan know what they thought of the new album. Once again we ranked the favourite tracks and "Time Machine" (Part One) still came out on top. In addition, we looked at which version people bought and where they shopped. And of course, this wouldn't be complete without the comments from the fans.

"Let's Talk About...":

The question and answer section looked at the meanings behind songs, vocalists, and more....

Did Eric write some lyrics for "Where's The Walrus" and if so, where are they and what was the theme?

Did any musical ideas from "The Sicilian Defence" appear on any subsequent album?

Why hasn't Alan sung lead vocal since "The Raven" (1976)? I think Alan sounded very good.

"Thanks, but it took a lot of electronic help. For “The Raven” it was not a real vocal sound at all, it was an electronic synthesis of my voice. I also did that electronic piece on “The Voice” ('he's gonna get you'). The part on “Time” could be argued as a counter lead vocal. The real reason that I don't sing is that I don't think I'm a really good singer. Modesty prevents me from stealing any limelight. I'd much rather have people ask 'why don't you sing?', than 'why do you sing?'"

What is the meaning of the applause at the end of "Doctor Tarr"?

What are the lead instruments on the "I Robot" track?

Is there any dream project you have in mind, perhaps produce opera or something else which you haven't done before?

Contest prizes in this issue include: the chance to win a rare defective copy of the double "Best Of..." CD from France (they put the music of one disc on both discs!). Plus, more items autographed by Alan Parsons!

In this issue, one insert page is the discography section's look at compact discs, the other is the sheet music for the track "Time".

This, and much more happened in Issue Seventeen of The Avenue!

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