The Avenue: Issue Twenty-Two

The twenty-second issue of The Avenue was released on March 1, 2002. Contents included:

Current News:

The news section at the next album, and the direction it will take. Alan said that he had begun doing some work with his son Jeremy Parsons, as well as with Simon Posford (of Shpongle). It's still early in the process, but desire to make an electronica album is beginning to take shape.

Also covered in current news: Ian Bairnson's progress in the new Pilot album, Stuart Elliott's recent appearance at a tribute concert, the passing of Pete Bardens, and much more.

In The Limelight: Jaki Whitren

Back in 1977 she came to the attention of Alan Parsons' fans when she sang vocals on "Some Other Time". In this interview she talks about her early career, and what's she's been doing since the 70's. Today she is a member of Court of Miracles which she describes this way, "It's always difficult to describe what kind of music C.O.M. plays, but generally speaking it gets described as 'funky, soul, jazz'."

Tales Of...:

Part twenty two of this section brings us to 1985, where we continue our look back at the "Vulture Culture" album. In this part, Alan tells what the original title of "Days Are Numbers" was, as well as the theme of Sooner or Later, and the story behind the ringing telephone.

Where Are They Now? (Part Two)

This is a look back at the Billboard chart of Oct 16, 1982. The idea was to see how the competition has fared, and whether Alan's recent performance on the singles chart is unique to him, or whether other artists are suffering a similar fate. That is, do Santana, Survivor, Juice Newton, and Fleetwood Mac have the same power they had back in the early eighties? (Part One was in issue 20)

"Let's Talk About...":

This time in our question and answer section, Alan covers a wide range of questions...

Aside from Atom Heart Mother and Dark Side of the Moon for Pink Floyd, has Alan done any other quad mixes for albums?

What do you think is your best contribution to the music world?

"If it's measured commercial success, that would have to be 'Dark Side of the Moon'. No matter what anyone else says, I think I made a big contribution to that record. In terms of my own satisfaction, it would be the good old first album, 'Tales'."

Is there a track which hasn't been released as a single which he felt should have been?

On the DTS version of "On Air" there is a warning about playing it on non-DTS equipment. Will it do damage? Is it playable at all?

If you had to make a second part of an album from "Tales" to "The Time Machine", which would you choose?

When writing songs, did Eric generally start with the lyrics or the music first?

Contest prizes in this issue include a copy of the Court of Miracles disc "Miracle Style", and items autographed by Alan Parsons!

In this issue, also included was the sheet music for the track "Hawkeye", and discography page 25.

This, and much more is happening in Issue Twenty One of The Avenue!

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