Tales of Mystery and Imagination
Studio album by The Alan Parsons Project
Released May 1976 (US), June 1976 (UK)
Recorded July 1975 - January 1976, Abbey Road Studios, Mama Jo's, Kingsway Hall
Genre Progressive rock, art rock
Length 40:46
Label 20th Century (US), Charisma (UK)
Producer Alan Parsons
Professional reviews
* Allmusic 4.5/5 stars link
* Rolling Stone (mixed) link
Tales of Mystery and Imagination is the debut album by the progressive rock group The Alan Parsons Project, released in 1976. The album's avant-garde soundscapes kept it from being a blockbuster, but the interesting lyrical and musical themes — retellings of horror stories and poetry by Edgar Allan Poe — attracted a small audience. The title of the album is taken from a popular title for Poe's macabre tales of the same name, Tales of Mystery & Imagination, first published in 1908 and many times since under this name. Critical reaction to the album was often mixed; for example, Rolling Stone's Billy Altman concluded that it mostly failed at reproducing Poe's tension and macabre fear, ending by claiming that "devotees of Gothic literature will have to wait for someone with more of the macabre in their blood for a truer musical reading of Poe's often terrifying works".
This album was released in the U.K. originally with a different name. Simply called The Alan Parsons Project, it was successful enough to achieve gold status but later that year the same album was released under the name of Tales of Mystery and Imagination.
"The Raven" features actor Leonard Whiting on lead vocals, with Alan Parsons performing vocals through an EMI vocoder. According to the album's liner notes, "The Raven" was the first rock song ever to feature a digital vocoder.
The Prelude of "The Fall of the House of Usher", although uncredited, is based on the opera fragment "La chute de la maison Usher" by Claude Debussy which was composed in 1908-1917.
Tales of Mystery and Imagination peaked at #38 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart. "(The System Of) Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether" peaked at #37 on the Pop Singles chart.
The original version of the album was available for several years on vinyl and cassette, but was not immediately available on CD. This was due in part to Parsons' desire to rework some tracks. In 1987, Parsons completely remixed the album, including additional guitar passages and narration (by Orson Welles) as well as updating the production style to include heavy reverb and the gated drum sound of the 80s. The CD notes that Welles never met Parsons or Eric Woolfson, but sent a tape to them of the performance shortly after the album was manufactured in 1976. In 1994 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL) released the original 1976 version on CD (UDCD-606), making the original available digitally for the first time. In 2007, a Deluxe Edition released by Universal Music included both the 1976 and the 1987 versions remastered by Alan Parsons during 2006 with eight additional bonus tracks.
In July, 2010, the album was named as one of Classic Rock magazine's "50 Albums That Built Prog Rock".
Track listing
1. "A Dream Within A Dream" [instrumental] – 4:14
2. "The Raven" – 3:57 (ft. Leonard Whiting on lead vocals, Alan Parsons lead vocal through an EMI vocoder)
3. "The Tell-Tale Heart" – 4:38 (ft. Arthur Brown)
4. "The Cask of Amontillado" – 4:33 (ft. John Miles)
5. "(The System Of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether" – 4:20 (ft. John Miles and Jack Harris)
6. "The Fall of the House of Usher [instrumental] - 16:10
1. "Prelude" – 7:02
2. "Arrival" – 2:39
3. "Intermezzo" – 1:00
4. "Pavane" – 4:36
5. "Fall" – 0:51
7. "To One in Paradise" – 4:46 (ft. Terry Sylvester on lead vocals, backing vocals by Eric Woolfson)
Orson Welles' narration appears on the 1987 Remix only, at the beginning of "A Dream Within a Dream" and "Prelude".
2007 Deluxe Edition
Disc 1: Tracks 1-11, Original Album in Original 1976 Mix
12. "The Raven" (original demo)
13. "Edgar" (demo of an unreleased track)
14. "Orson Welles Radio Spot"
15. "Interview with Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson" (1976)
Disc 2: Tracks 1-11, Original Album in 1987 Remix
12. "Eric's Guide Vocal Medley"
13. "Orson Welles Dialogue"
14. "Sea Lions in the Departure Lounge" (sound effects and experiments)
15. "GBH Mix" (unreleased experiments)
Personnel
* Alan Parsons - Organ, Synthesizer, Guitar, Keyboards, Recorder, Vocals, *Producer, Engineer, Projection
* Eric Woolfson - Synthesizer, Harpsichord, Keyboards, Vocals, Vocals (bckgr), Executive Producer
* Orson Welles - Narrator (1987 version only)
* Leonard Whiting - Vocals, Narrator
* Arthur Brown - Vocals
* John Miles - Guitar, Vocals
* Jack Harris - Vocals
* Francis Monkman - Organ, Keyboards
* Kevin Peek - Guitar (Acoustic)
* Terry Sylvester - Vocals
* Laurence Juber - Guitar (Acoustic)
* Andrew Powell - Keyboards, Arranger
* David Paton - Guitar (Acoustic), Bass, Guitar, Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
* Ian Bairnson - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
* Chris Blair - Assistant Engineer
* Peter Christopherson - Photography
* David Katz - Violin, Leader, Orchestra Contractor
* Burleigh Drummond - Drums
* English Chorale - Vocals
* Bob Howes - Choir, Chorus
* John Leach - Percussion, Vocals, Cimbalom, Kantele
* David Pack - Guitar
* Smokey Parsons - Vocals
* Joe Puerta - Bass
* Tony Richards - Assistant Engineer
* Jack Rothstein - Leader
* Daryl Runswick - Bass, String Bass
* David Snell - Harp
* The English Chorale and Played Ti - Choir, Chorus
* Stuart Tosh - Cymbals, Drums, Vocals, Tympani [Timpani]
* Tom Trefethen - Assistant Engineer
* Pat Stapley - Assistant Engineer
* Aubrey Powell - Photography
* Storm Thorgerson - Photography
* Hipgnosis - Design, Cover Art
* Sam Emerson - Photography
* Colin Elgie - Artwork, Graphic Design, Layout Design
* Billy Lyall - Piano, Drums, Glockenspiel, Keyboards, Recorder, Fender Rhodes
* Gordon Parry - Engineer
* Jane Powell - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
* Andrew Hurdle - Bass
* Christopher North - Keyboards
Charts
Year Chart Position
1976 The Billboard 200 38
1976 UK Albums Chart 56
1976 Canada 81