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Most of the Project's titles, especially the early work, share common traits (likely influenced by s, they tended to begin with an instrumental introduction which faded into the first song, often had an instrumental piece in the middle of the second LP side, and concluded with a quiet, sad, or powerful song. The opening instrumental was largely done away with by 1980; no later Project album except ''Eye in the Sky'' featured one. Ironically, the instrumental on that album, "Sirius," eventually became the best-known Parsons instrumental because of its frequent use as entrance music by American sports teams, most notably the Chicago Bulls during their 1990s dynasty. The group was notable for its lack of a single lead vocalist. Lead vocal duties alternate between Woolfson (mostly for slow or sad songs) and a stream of guest vocalists chosen by their vocal style to complement each song. Woolfson sang lead on many of the group's hits (including "Time" and "Eye In The Sky") and the record company pressured Parsons to use him more, but Parsons preferred "real" singers, which Woolfson admitted he was not. In addition to Woolfson, Chris Rainbow, Lenny Zakatek, and Colin Blunstone made regular appearances. Other singers, such as Ambrosia's David Pack, Vitamin Z's Geoff Barradale, and Procol Harum's Gary Brooker, have recorded only once or twice with the Project. Parsons himself only sang lead on one song ("The Raven") and can be heard singing backup on another ("To One in Paradise"). Both of those songs appeared on the group's first record, '' Tales Of Mystery And Imagination '', an album containing music based on the stories and poetry of Edgar Allan Poe . Although the vocalists varied, a small number of musicians worked with the Alan Parsons Project regularly. They, and Parsons' production, are the reason listeners can instantly recognize a song as a Project work even with an unfamiliar singer. Andrew Powell (composer and arranger of orchestral music throughout the life of the Project), Ian Bairnson (guitar) and Richard Cottle (synthesizer and saxophone) were integral parts of the Project's sound. Powell is also notable for having composed a Film Score in the Project style for Richard Donner 's film '' Ladyhawke ''. Behind the revolving lineup and the regular sidemen, the true core of the Project was the duo of Parsons and Woolfson. Eric Woolfson was a lawyer by profession, but is a classically-trained composer and pianist as well. Alan Parsons was a successful producer and accomplished engineer. Both worked together to craft noteworthy songs with impeccable fidelity, and almost all songs on Project albums are credited to "Woolfson/Parsons." MEMBERS
TRIVIA
DISCOGRAPHY
After those albums, Parsons released other titles under his name ('' Try Anything Once '', '' On Air '', '' The Time Machine '', and '' A Valid Path ''), while Woolfson made Concept Albums named ''Freudiana'' (about Sigmund Freud 's work on Psychology ) and '' Poe - More Tales Of Mystery And Imagination '' (continuing from the Alan Parsons Project's first album about Edgar Allan Poe 's literature). Although the studio version of ''Freudiana'' was produced by Alan Parsons (and featured the regular Project backing musicians, making it an 'unofficial' Project album), it was primarily Eric Woolfson's idea to turn it into a musical. This eventually led to a rift between the two artists. While Alan Parsons pursued his own solo career and took many members of the Project on the road for the first time in a successful worldwide tour, Eric Woolfson went on to produce musical plays influenced by the Project's music. ''Freudiana'', ''Gaudi'' and ''Gambler'' were three musicals that included some Project songs like "Eye in the Sky", "Time", "Inside Looking Out," and "Limelight." The live music from ''Gambler'' was only distributed at the performance site (in Cologne , Germany). A collection called ''The Instrumental Works'' (1990; now out of print) includes many of the Project's instrumental tracks. SINGLES
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