Parsons fanatics may cringe, but the idea of a greatest-hits package defining the
Alan Parsons Project makes perfect sense. That's because despite the group's high-concept, progressive rock oeuvre, the
Alan Parsons Project was, at heart, a singles band. The fact that
Parsons and crew were able to marry subjects like
Edgar Allan Poe,
Isaac Asimov's I, Robot books, pyramid power, Eve as everywoman, and others, to hit songs was no mean feat. And the songs collected herein are the perfect introduction to, and encapsulation of, the
Alan Parsons Project. There are the hits, of course: "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You," "Games People Play," "Time," "Eye in the Sky" and numerous others. Standing alongside are tracks that may not have made the top of the charts, but perhaps should have, and that offer further proof of the songwriting prowess of
Parsons and his longtime partner
Eric Woolfson, songs like "The Eagle Will Rise Again" and "Pyramid." The personnel credits and accompanying liner notes detail the group's voluminous collection of players, as well as its eclectic lead singers, from
John Miles to
Lenny Zakatek to former
Zombies singer,
Colin Blunstone, who with
Parsons Project rhythm stalwarts
Ian Bairnson,
David Paton, and
Stuart Tosh formed the short-lived
Keats. Overall,
The Definitive Collection offers both an excellent introduction and testament to the vitality and variety of the
Alan Parsons Project. ~ Ross Boissoneau