Turn of a Friendly Card

Alan Parsons Project | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Arista
• ASIN: B000002VCU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  DVD Audio  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (91 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #126,184 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. May Be a Price to Pay

2. Games People Play

3. Time

4. I Don't Wanna Go Home

5. The Gold Bug

6. The Turn of a Friendly Card: The Turn of a Friendly Card, Pt. 1

7. The Turn of a Friendly Card: Snake Eyes

8. The Turn of a Friendly Card: The Ace of Swords

9. The Turn of a Friendly Card: Nothing Left to Lose

10. The Turn of a Friendly Card: The Turn of a Friendly Card, Pt. 2

Editorial Reviews

The fifth release in 1979 from Alan Parsons Project after the string of successful releases including I Robot, Pyramid and Eve. Transferred for the first time from the original flat analog masters supplied by Mr. Parsons who both produced and engineered this sensational title. The improvements in terms of low level detail and clarity were dramatic enough to persuade us to reissue this title on LP as well as on DVD audio. All previous editions of this title on all formats have been transferred from production masters - we are a generation earlier here with the tape Alan mixed to 26 years ago. The songs include: Games People Play, Time, Nothing Left to Lose and the title track among others. --This text refers to the Vinyl edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eric Woolfson's Treatise on the Human Tragedy of Gambling Addiction, September 18, 2008

By 

Parrish A. Highley "the_projectron" (Somewhere I've Never Travelled) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Turn of a Friendly Card (Audio CD)

If much of Peter Gabriel's lasting artistic legacy will be the principled stands he has taken for the cause of human rights, then a similar legacy should linger long after Eric Woolfson for his insights into the human tragedies of gambling addiction. While many superficial songs have been written on the subject, The Turn of a Friendly Card explores the excitement and disappointment, the folly and the wisdom that can sometimes come when there is Nothing Left To Lose. That song, in particular, embodies an uplifting melody around starkly somber lyrics that together create a sense of quiet resignation, a singularly unique emotion not heard in many songs. But as deeply as this concept album delves into these themes of mental addiction and the power of choice versus the unconscious, Woolfson delves even deeper in his musical GAMBLER where additionally the primal male fantasies of heroism are turned against the hero. This album benefits from not only the stellar production and engineering of Alan Parsons, but also from two of the finest instrumentals Parsons has ever composed: The Gold Bug and The Ace Of Swords.

If asked just what was The Alan Parsons Project, the simple answer would be a couple of musical geniuses who had the good sense to surround themselves with a bunch of other musical geniuses. Even a casual interest in the liner notes will reveal the unique talents of Andrew Powell who was solely responsible for all of the Project's orchestral arrangements. But far less obvious would be the tremendous contributions that guitarist Ian Bairnson made throughout the life of the Project in terms of arrangement and, all too often, extremely complicated key changes. On I Don't Wanna Go Home in particular, Bairnson places a single sheet of paper between the strings and the pickup of his guitar in order to achieve an almost unheard organic quality to his playing. Even Chris Rainbow deserves much more praise for his "rainbow effect" vocal harmonies laden throughout The Project catalog and showcased on the bonus material Nothing Left To Lose (Chris Rainbow Overdub Vocal Compilation).

(Please be aware that there are three distinct versions of this album before making your purchase. There is the recent SONY/BMG remaster that I personally recommend as it sounds the best to my ear, the inferior compact disc that ARISTA released in the mid-1980s, and the HDAD released by CLASSIC RECORDS. Normally, CLASSIC RECORDS releases superior products, but I would only recommend the HDAD to those whose chief concern is dynamic range as this particular rendering has an enormous amount of tape hiss. For the money, you simply cannot beat the sound quality of the SONY's direct stream digital remaster!)

While I have heard some refer to The Alan Parsons Project as a poor man's Pink Floyd, I contend strongly that The Turn of a Friendly Card stands toe to toe with the best efforts Pink Floyd ever put forth. The range of styles, tempos, and moods are as diverse as those on The Floyd's most successful album Dark Side of the Moon, but that should come as no surprise considering Parsons' substantial involvement in recording and engineering that masterpiece. While this album's influence may not go as deep and wide as Dark Side despite the success of the singles Time and Games People Play, it certainly should given the relevance of the subject matter in modern societies where gambling is more widely sanctioned than ever.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gambling With The Alan Parsons Project, August 5, 2003

By 

Alan Caylow (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Turn of a Friendly Card (Audio CD)

The Alan Parsons Project's "The Turn Of A Friendly Card," their 1980 observation of the world of gambling, is an outstanding prog-pop album, and one of the group's very best works. In fact, I'd probably park this album right behind "Tales Of Mystery & Imagination" as the group's greatest disc. The music composed by Parsons & Eric Woolfson is simply stunning, the arrangements lush & breathtaking, the performances powerful. "May Be A Price To Pay" is a terrific opener, with singer Elmer Gantry taking you into the casino with this first-rate rocker. You can just see those roulette wheels spinning, the dice being thrown, and the cards being dealt while listening to this song, especially during the dreamy instrumental bridge. "Games People Play," sung by Lenny Zakatek, is a Project classic, another great exuberant rocker and one of the group's biggest hits. Eric Woolfson passionately sings "Time," another Project staple and one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded (and the only song that seems to depart from the album's gambling theme). I dare you not to melt on hearing this exquisite ballad! Zakatek returns to sing "I Don't Wanna Go Home," a terrific, rough & tough song about obsessive gamblers. "The Gold Bug" is a wonderfully hypnotic Project instrumental, and then, finally, there's the epic title suite, containing the songs "Snake Eyes", "Nothing Left To Lose," and the instrumental, "The Ace Of Swords." Sung by both Chris Rainbow & Eric Woolfson, this rock suite contains all the hallmarks of classic Project music: marvelous prog/pop, great orchestrations by Andrew Powell, a shimmering instrumental break, and top-notch performances and production---just like the rest of the album! "The Turn Of A Friendly Card" is a glowing gem from Alan Parsons & company, one of their finest. Getting this album is one gamble you can definitely bet on.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TIED WITH I ROBOT AS PARSONS BEST, April 18, 2001

By 

"cardinals4ever" (KY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Turn of a Friendly Card (Audio CD)

Like I ROBOT,there isnt a weak spot on FRIENDLY CARD.MAY BE A PRICE TO PAY is a great song to lead off the album with typically strong Parsons lyrics and melodies.GAMES PEOPLE PLAY is a great upbeat tune that still gets plenty of airplay.TIME just may be the most heartfelt song of all time.Eric Woolfson's vocals on TIME are phenomenal.GOLD BUG is another in a long line of great Parsons instrumentals.SNAKE EYES is a song that should have done much better on the charts than it did.The title track is one of the most powerful songs that the project has ever done.NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE is another heartfelt song sung beautifully by Woolfson.While all of Parsons albums are very good,I would rank FRIENDLY CARD with I ROBOT as Parson's best work.