Purchase this song (link)
Once upon a time - 30 years or so ago - the Alan Parsons Project was on my Heavy Rotation list. That would have been about the same time as Steve Winwod's <Arc of a Diver>, so we are talking about the early 80 s- the time that Parson's <Eye in the Sky> came out.
Although Parsons is still doing his thing, it's likely that few of you would recall it: he is the engineer behind the Beatles' <Abbey Road> album. And Pink Floyd's <Dark Side of the Moon>. And Al Stewart's <Year of the Cat>.
So ... in this day of employment woes, you might ask: what does an engineer do? Is that a viable career path for me? The Internet tells us that recording engineers "shape the sound -- setting up the equipment and sometimes actually producing the album". Musicians that worked with Parsons note that he is known for going beyond the "duties" required by the job.
Around the 80s, Parsons decided to put his energies into a band of his own- the Alan Parsons Project, making use of his various contacts. The Project was just that, rather than being an established band, generally not playing live, the band made use of revolving lead singers and a small core of regular musicians.
At one point, Parsons' music made it as far as the top 10 in several countries: the album containing this hit song went as high as #7. From the late 70s to the mid 80s, his music was at- or near- the top (Abbey Road and Dark Side of the Moon, of course, hitting the top spot)
Style-wise ... you need to keep in mind the time-frame and associated influences of the time period- (this is the era of late Yes, Genesis and various other groups that were expanding the 3 minute/Beatles pop hot to a 10 minute extended oevre) - the music pushed the limits of what was expected/standard: more that 3 minutes long ... deviating from the standard I..IV..V chord progression - verging on jazz ... jazz-rock or beyond.
Hopeless world - that's what the lyrics say//
My tenuous link: the lyrics: lost in the middle of ...
