“The question I have been asked more than any other over the past 30 years is:

“As you are the creator and writer of The Alan Parsons Project, and sometimes lead singer, why is it not called ‘The Eric Woolfson Project’? Or perhaps the ‘Parsons/Woolfson Project?”

I describe the decision to call it ‘The Alan Parsons Project’ as both the best and the worst decision of my career. The best, because I have enjoyed the benefits of the APP success without having to deal with public recognition and media attention. The worst because outside my family and friends, few people have any idea of who I am or what I do, which is a price, I have always felt, was worth paying.

At the time Alan and I first met, he was known in the music business, having worked on Pink Floyd’s classic ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ and with the Beatles. I, on the other hand, was relatively unknown. As well as writing the songs and lyrics for the Project, I was also the manager and I felt it would be more beneficial to stay in the shadows with the main focus on Alan’s role as Engineer/ Producer.

When Tim Fraser-Harding at Sony Music asked me in 2006 if there was any unreleased material or alternative mix versions of tracks in the Alan Parsons Project archives my first thought was – probably not much. However, on investigating, I discovered many gems which I had forgotten about in the 20 years since Alan and I worked together in the studio.

Alan and I didn’t always agree on what would make a good Project recording. It is no secret that Alan’s reaction on first listening to ‘Eye in the Sky’ and ‘Don’t Answer Me’ was less than enthusiastic and I had to argue hard for their inclusion. However, I didn’t always get my way and some songs fell by the wayside. In going through the archives we found abandoned songs or backing tracks of incomplete songs with little or no vocal line and some of these tracks have been included on the recently released, expanded edition APP albums in the untouched form in which we discovered them.

All of this gave rise to an idea that I could perhaps complete some of the unfinished works, together with other material that would unquestionably have been candidates for inclusion had Alan and I continued working together on more Projects,

It’s often said that there can be a certain magic for the listener when a composer sings his own material. I certainly was gratified that when I did sing lead vocals on tracks such as ‘Eye in the Sky’, ‘Time’ and ‘Don’t Answer Me’,  the reaction was very positive and they became some of our greatest hits. For this reason and in response to many requests and kind comments sent through the websites, all of the songs on this album use my vocals.

Alan Parsons is now based in the US and is more focused on performing live with a band these days. We have travelled along very separate paths since our last collaboration on the album Freudiana in 1990. So for this album, I have turned to two other talented recording engineers – Haydn Bendall and Austin Ince. It has been great fun working on these songs, in various studios, in the comfort of my own home and, of course, in the legendary Abbey Road Studios.

I have very much enjoyed the experience of revisiting and completing songs from many eras of my writing life. I hope you enjoy the results!”

Eric Woolfson – November 2008

Although the recordings were made at different places and at different times, the final mixes were completed by Austin Ince in Abbey Road Studio, October 2008. I’m also grateful to Austin for the contributions he made to the instrumentation on several tracks and to Haydn Bendall for his considerable contributions.

All music & lyrics – Eric Woolfson
Produced by Eric Woolfson
Engineered by Austin Ince & Haydn Bendall
Published by Woolfsongs Ltd
(p) & © Woolfsongs Ltd 2008
All Rights Reserved