Pyramid [Extra tracks, Original recording remastered]

Alan Parsons Project | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 27, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Label: Arista
• ASIN: B000IOM1YG
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,558 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2007 digitally remastered and expanded edition of the Alan Parsons classic album that was originally released in 1978. Parsons himself digital remastered all his catalog albums reissued in 2007 using the original master tapes. The difference in sound quality is amazing-each sounds absolutely fantastic. The packaging includes revamped booklets with fresh, elaborated liner notes based on interviews with Parsons and Woolfson as well as rare photos and memorabilia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The single most underrated "Project" by Eric Woolfson & Alan Parsons, September 4, 2008

By 

Parrish A. Highley "the_projectron" (Somewhere I've Never Travelled) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pyramid (Audio CD)

While I Robot and Eye in the Sky generally enjoy their fair share of accolades, The Project's third release has always struggled for the recognition it so richly deserves. Given its cohesion both conceptually and musically, that somewhat low regard seems every bit as mysterious as the theme of the album itself. But, then, if ever there was a complex theme cleverly shrouded in nuance and subtlety, it would be that of Pyramid!

The opening instrumental staggers the listener with an atmospheric ambience one would hope is destined for a proper quadraphonic presentation while the following "What Goes Up..." asks why, if nothing is lasting, even build a pyramid at all. Colin Blunstone of The Zombies made his first appearance with The Project singing "The Eagle Will Rise Again" - a stunning ballad where a very young Pharaoh struggles to reconcile the deity he is proclaimed to be with the gnawing insecurities from which every child suffers. (Curiously, this thought-provoking ballad was a favorite of the prodigious Kate Bush who would listen to it repeatedly in the late seventies.) Of One More River Alan, himself, has gone on written record saying, "this was better than anything we did on I Robot." Wow...that's a tall order for a shuffle to achieve, but "One More River" more than lives up to that assessment with its ambient bridge alone. The radio hit Can't Take It With You explains, in stark terms, how all the earthly treasures Tutankhamen accumulated throughout his short life won't be joining him in the next. In The Lap Of The Gods is arguably the finest piece of experimental music that Parsons and Woolfson ever composed, not the least of which is due to some of the best orchestral arrangements Andrew Powell has ever crafted, but it also marks a turning point on the album where the deceased pharoah lay entombed in his singular mausoleum while the multitudes who built it rejoice over the fruits of their life's singular task. Given all the heaviness of melancholy thought throughout PYRAMID, Woolfson and Parsons wisely saw the need for bit of humor. At the much deserved expense of G. Patrick Flanagan and his, shall we say, questionable claims of pyramid power, Pyramania is a send-up in the proud tradition Rodgers & Hammerstein. Hyper-Gamma-Spaces is another ambient instrumental by Alan Parsons that makes me pine for a quadraphonic surround mix on Sony's SACD. Lastly, Shadow Of A Lonely Man closes in epic, albeit somber, proportions with the spirit of the dead pharoah hovering quietly over his earthly treasures in a museum exhibit as passersby examine them with varying degrees of interest.

Ardent fans will revel in the bonus material. I was particularly intrigued with What Goes Up/Little Voice (Early Version Demo) and the two demo versions of "In The Lap Of The Gods." The vast improvement in sound quality from the original Arista disc is directly attributed to Sony's Direct Stream Digital sampling from the best source tapes available. My only complaint is that this masterpiece is not available in surround on SACD. I am pleased with this remaster for moderate volume listenings, but find myself wishing I could crank the volume from time to time without the subsequent signal clipping from my receiver.

In any case, I do hope this missive helps to elucidate Pyramid's elusive liner note:

"From the rise and fall of an ancient dynasty, to the quest for a key to unlock the secrets of the universe, this album seeks to amplify the haunting echoes of the past and explore the unsolved mysteries of the present. Pyramid...the last remaining wonder of the ancient world."

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars " If all things must fall ...why build a Pryamid at all ? ", December 6, 2002

By 

ADK (Royal Oak, Mi. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pyramid (Audio CD)

Pyramid is nothing short of a masterpiece.

But the Egyptian overtones and pyramid motif is just a surface, a tangible stage set, if you will. What this album really seems to be about, lyricaly and intellectualy, is man and his quest for eternal life and coming to grips (or not) with one's own inevitable mortality. Just look at the song titles... "In the lap of the Gods", "Can't take it with you", "The Eagle will rise again" "One more river" you get the idea.

Hammer dulcimers, timpanis, Egyptian flutes, a heavy choir, and other exotic instruments blend with rock instrumentation and the result is one of the greatest recording projects ever captured on tape. Recorded at Alan's home away from home, EMI Abbey Road studios London, it sounds like is was recorded in and around the pyramids with echo, atmosphere and grandiosity.

Colin Blunstone's sole vocal contribution on "Eagle will rise" is beautiful, un forced and sorrowful beyond description. One of the greatest vocal performances ever, to my ears.

The instrumental "In the lap of the Gods" is bold, dynamic, exotic, powerful and damn near overwhelming...Wow! turn up and test your audio system's abilities with that one my friend.

Pyramid is a complete (theme) album and I prefer to listen to it it's entirety from start to finish when possible.

Pyramid is like buried, forgotten (Egyptian) treasure. I bought the original vinyl album on a gamble as a curious teenager on it's first release back in 1978. Good move. I've never come across Pyramid in anyone else's record/cd collection since then(?)

Most people are duly impressed and curious when I slyly slip it into the car/home stereo. Personaly I never tire of hearing Pryamid and never will.

Even the un-remastered CD sounds incredible.

One of the greatest recordings of all time. A desert island disc without question.

"If all things must pass even a Pyramid won't last"

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner from Alan Parsons!, September 23, 2000

By 

Jeffery K. Matheus (Indianapolis, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pyramid (Audio CD)

The Alan Parsons Project's "Pyramid" is one of those magical albums that just keeps finding its way back into my CD player! I have had this CD since 1987, and still get the "craving" to hear it on a regular basis. This is just one of those albums with a perfect "flow", where every track just blends together to create a complete musical picture of the artist. But the songs on "Pyramid" will also stand up well on their own. Tracks like "What Goes Up", "Shadow of a Lonely Man", "Can't Take it With You", and "One More River" will stick with you long after the album has finished playing. "The Eagle Will Rise Again" - with its lush production and light airy vocals from The Zombies' Colin Blunstone - is certainly one of Parsons finest moments ever. I would rate "Pyramid" right alongside Parsons finest works, such as "Gaudi", "Eye In the Sky", "Try Anything Once" and "On Air". There are not as many straight-out "rock-n-roll" songs here as you would find on most other Parsons albums, the music on "Pyramid" is definitely a bit more on the "orchestral rock" side, with its occassional string inturledes, and subtle-symphonic accompanyment. I think that this album would have a great appeal to fans of British "art rock" bands like The Moody Blues and Barclay James Harvest, it certainly has many of the same musical strong points. As you would expect from one of rocks most important record producers, this album is sonically (as well as musically) excellent, and the CD format only enhances its clarity. It sounds like Parsons had a grip a that clean "90's" production sound all the way back in 1979! Also, in the same way that Parsons incorperated some influences of Spanish-music into 1987's "Gaudi", here he plays on the influence of Eastern music on a handful of tracks. This is an album not to be missed! Take the "voyage", discover the genius of Alan Parsons!