Tales of Mystery and Imagination: Edgar Allan Poe

by Alan Parsons, The Alan Parsons Project

Overview

Tales of Mystery and Imagination is an extremely mesmerizing aural journey through some of Edgar Allan Poe's most renowned works. With the use of synthesizers, drums, guitar, and even a glockenspiel, Parsons' shivering effects make way for an eerie excursion into Poe's well-known classics. On the album's 1987 remix, the instrumental "Dream Within a Dream" has Orson Welles narrating in front of this wispy collaboration of guitars and keyboards (Welles also narrates "Fall of the House of Usher: Prelude"). The EMI vocoder is used throughout "The Raven" with the Westminster City School Boys Choir mixed in to add a distinct flair to its chamber-like sound. Parsons' expertise surrounds this album, from the slyness that prevails in "(The System Of) Doctor Tarr and Professor Feather" to the bodeful thumping of the drums that imitate a heartbeat on "The Tell-Tale Heart." "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a lengthy but dazzling array of musicianship that keeps the album's persona intact, while enabling the listener to submerge into its frightening atmosphere. With vocalists Terry Sylvester, John Miles, and Eric Woolfson stretched across each track, this variety of different singing styles adds color and design to the album's air. Without any underlying theme to be pondered upon, Alan Parsons instead paints a vivid picture of one of the most alluring literary figures in history by musically reciting his most famous works in expert fashion. ~ Mike DeGagne

Product Details

Release Date:	05/06/2016
Label:	Imports
UPC:	4988031144053
Rank:	65227

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Alan Parsons Project   Primary Artist
Alan Parsons   Primary Artist,Organ,Guitar,Vocals,Recorder,Keyboards,Synthesizer
Westminster City School Boys Choir   Primary Artist,Ensemble,Orchestra,Choir/Chorus
English Chorale   Primary Artist,Vocals,Orchestra,Choir/Chorus
Bob Howes   Primary Artist,Ensemble,Orchestra,Choir/Chorus
The English Chorale and Played Ti   Choir/Chorus
John Miles   Guitar,Vocals,Guitar,Vocals
Smokey Parsons   Vocals
Jack Rothstein   Orchestra Leader
Andrew Hurdle   Bass
Jane Powell   Vocals,Vocals (Background),Vocals (Background)
David Paton   Guitar,Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background),Bass
David Pack   Guitar
Leonard Whiting   Vocals,Vocoder
Arthur Brown   Vocals
Joe Puerta   Bass
Stuart Tosh   Drums,Vocals,Cymbals,Timpani
William Lyall   Keyboards
Daryl Runswick   Bass,String Bass
Burleigh Drummond   Drums
Christopher North   Keyboards
David Snell   Harp
Andrew Powell   Conductor,Keyboards
Ian Bairnson   Guitar,Soloist,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
David Katz   Violin,Orchestra Leader
Francis Monkman   Organ,Keyboards
Kevin Peek   Guitar (Acoustic)
John Leach   Vocals,Kantele,Cimbalom,Percussion
Terry Sylvester   Vocals
Jack Harris   Vocals
Laurence Juber   Guitar (Acoustic)
Eric Woolfson   Vocals,Keyboards,Harpsichord,Synthesizer,Vocals (Background)
Billy Lyall   Drums,Piano,Recorder,Keyboards,Glockenspiel,Fender Rhodes

Technical Credits

Hipgnosis   Design,Cover Art
Tom Trefethen   Assistant Engineer
Jack Rothstein   Leader
Colin Elgie   Artwork,Layout Design,Graphic Design
Eric Norman Woolfson   Composer
Leonard Whiting   Narrator
Peter Christopherson   Photography
Orson Welles   Narrator
Andrew Powell   Composer,Choir Arrangement,Orchestral Arrangements
Chris Blair   Assistant Engineer
Tony Richards   Assistant Engineer
David Katz   Leader,Orchestra Contractor
The Alan Parsons Project   Composer,Performer
Sam Emerson   Photography
Storm Thorgerson   Photography
Aubrey Powell   Photography
Gordon Parry   Engineer,Engineering Consultant
Edgar Allan Poe   Composer
Pat Stapley   Assistant Engineer
Alan Parsons   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Projection
Eric Woolfson   Composer,Executive Producer