Customer Reviews

Turn of a Friendly Card

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

"Turn Of A Friendly Card" was The Alan Parsons Project commercial breakthrough in 1980,peaking at #13 on the Billboard Album Chart and producing two Top 20 hits,the up-tempo synth-laden "Games People Play" and the lovely dream-like ballad "Time".A concept album about gambling,it's also one of APP's best efforts,featuring polished,dynamic production,strong vocals (by Eric Woolfson,Chris Rainbow,Lenny Zakatek and Elmer Gantry,respectily),lush orchestraion, and thoughtful,tuneful songs throughout with no weak songs.This expanded reissue contains 7 bonus tracks(mostly alternate or demos of the album's songs),liner notes by Jerry Ewing,period pictures vividly reproduced in the booklet and a wonderful remastering job by Dave Donnelly and Alan Parsons himself at DNA Mastering,the latter of which is an excellent reason for any fan to replace their old 1980's-era Arista CD for good.Why this is not available stateside is a mystery.UPDATE:It has finally been released stateside in early 2009 as with the rest of the APP catalog.

If you are not currently an Alan Parsons fan, but you'd like to dabble, I would heartily recommend this album to you. Sometimes due to technology, or music trends, recordings sound 'dated'. Not so with this beautiful, insightful album. Here Alan and Eric take on the concept of gambling; it's highs and lows.

This was the first APP album I ever listened to, and within the first week, I bought all of them. I would guess that having worn out 2 cassette tapes, melted a CD (long story there), and bought this same album a total of 4 times now, there is no doubt, I'm hooked and you will be too.

Many of these songs will probably sound familiar to you, even if you're not a fan yet. There is rarely a sweeter ballad heard than "Time". If you watched sports programs in the 80's than you probably heard "The Ace of Swords". Contemporary radio stations just loved "Games People Play" to death.

But probably the best for me, and the most moving was "Nothing Left to Lose". Find me one person that hasn't felt like that song: "Nothings good, the news is bad..."

Do yourself a favor... If you buy any Alan Parsons CD, BUY this first! You'll be glad you did!

In my opinion The Turn Of A Friendly Card of The Alan Parsons Project is the best album ever made. The title song with lead vocals of Chris Rainbow is amazing. The instrumental 'Gold Bug' is even better than other APP instrumentals such as Sirius and Mammagamma of the Eye In The Sky album. Furthermore the voice of Eric Woolfson on 'Time' is supernatural. Other great songs are 'Maybe A Price To Pay' and 'Games People Play', that also made it to the charts. The Turn Of A Friendly Card is a majestic piece of art. Buy and listen to this wonderful combination of classical, rock and pop music!

The duo of Eric Woolfson and Alan Parsons, better known as The Alan Parsons Project, produced ten studio albums from 1976 through 1987. The pair always had a theme with each album, crafting each song to comform to the subject matter. "The Turn of a Friendly Card," produced in 1980, contains their most easily accessible theme - the addiction to gambling. The album spawned two hits: "Games People Play," a fast rocker and the ballad, "Time."

My dad exposed me to this album in the early 1980's and it is by far my favorite (I own all of their albums but two). It is replete with amazing orchestration, masterfully arranged by Andrew Powell, a long-time friend of Alan Parsons. The melodies are the the most addicting, the title track being my favorite tune. Lyrically, the album is extremely poetic, with similies and analogies strung throughout. Of course, no Alan Parsons album would be complete without an instrumental. This one contains two, my favorite being "The Gold Bug." It's a piece, like Pachebel's canon, that builds on a bassline (better known as a passacaglia) for each verse, culminating in an awesome sax solo. The other instrumental, entitled "Ace of Swords," is really an orchestral piece, utilizing mixed meter and a cool harpsichord part.

As a public-school music teacher, I have often used this album as a listening example for my band and choir classes. Roughly 70% of the kids like the album (even though it is 20+ years old) because it speaks to any age level, both musically and thematically. I believe any "Projectologist" will agree - this album is the best place to start! Enjoy!

The Turn of a Friendly Card is one of the APP's most solid "concept" albums (about gambling, if you will). "Time" doesn't fit quite as well with this concept as the other tracks unless it's about one's time (or life) being stolen from loved one's by the gambling disease. The song is so beautiful and celestial, however, it is hard to think of it in such mundane terms. Besides the two instrumental tracks ("The Gold Bug" and "The Ace of Swords")being not as memorable as the instrumentals on Eye in the Sky, there is nothing weak on this album. "Games People Play" is one of my all-time favorite APP tracks. It is a fun rocker you can't help but sing along to. The title track is simple and beautiful with some of Woolfson/Parsons' best lyrics ("There are unsmiling faces and bright plastic chains and a wheel of perpetual motion...").

The tracks on the second half of the album seem to be meant to tie in together as the track listing above suggests, however I think the title track and "Nothing Left To Lose" would have sounded better just standing on their own. "Nothing Left To Lose," like "Time," is another beautiful Eric Woolfson-sung track. My only qualm is the hard rocking ending to it (with the music from "Snake Eyes"), which I find rather distracting. Still, it is behind Ammonia Avenue as my second favorite APP album (just above Eye in the Sky and Gaudi). "Time" and "Games People Play" alone make this album worth its weight in "gold bugs" (or casino chips).

Everyone raves about "Time" and "Games People Play". They're part of side 1 which is nothing more than a preview of Woolfson's 80s material, not bad but not compelling. Side 2 of this album, however, is the whole Project at it's best and it's one of the best thematic pieces you'll ever hear. It's just too bad there wasn't enough thematic material for two sides, hence my measly 4 star rating. This is probably a more "accesible" album for first time listeners since it combines all the "pop" elements found later in albums like Eye in the Sky and the great thematic elements found in the first three albums (Tales of Mystery and Imagination, I Robot, and Pyramid). That makes it an "easy" choice for new listeners to pick. But if you like this stuff, you'll immediately get sucked into the "heavier" material, not metal heavy, just deeper. But, Side 2 is really hard to beat!

One of the best albums from The Alan Parsons Project, my feel to it is an inverse to 'Ladyhawke' film. If the lattest was a rock soundtrack for a medieval film, this resembles to quote modern life with many medieval musical elements.

The proof of that is the opening horns in 'May Be a Price to Pay'. A superb instrumental introduction leads to the strong voice of Elmer Gantry. The words add also a medieval thematic speaking about sorcerers, masters and servants. There's a great orchestral part in the middle with very much melisma and a big feel of adventure!! The next song, 'Games People Play' is a good hit sung by Lenny Zakatek, a very dynamic pop-rock song. 'Time' is a classic and the first attempt of Eric Woolfson as a lead vocalist. It's a very deep and dramatic song, enforced by the beautiful orchestral arrangements. 'I Don't Wanna Go Home' is the classic crazy song in every record of the Project, properly sung by the expressive and theatric Lenny Zakatek.

The second side is even better. 'The Gold Bug' is a very interesting instrumental that goes in crescendo with some instruments being gradually added, like saxophone, haunting voices and synthesisers. It was almost copied in the next album with 'Mammagamma' but this is much more genuine and authentic. The next is a suite of 5 movements. 'The Turn of a Friendly card' is two versions of a beautiful ballad, the first more narrative and the last more dramatic and based in the instruments. 'Snake Eyes' is the most evident song touching the theme of gambling. 'Ace of Swords'is another medieval musical reference to the whole, linking with the gambling theme. It's a very upbeating theme full of quality arrangements by Andrew Powell. And 'Nothing Left to Lose' is a little but wonderful ballad with very warm and consolating lyrics for the "defeated warrior". The end of the album is like pesimistic but with an optimistic look to the future. I don't know if there is really a conclusion to the album, but the feel at the end is a little bitter-sweet. Anyway, this is a masterpiece of symphonic rock and a good one for getting started with the Project, as well as 'Eye in the Sky'.