Tales of Mistery and Imagination

Tales of Mistery and Imagination

1. A Dream Within A Dream (Instrumental) Poe 3:43 2. The Raven Poe 4:01 3. The Tell-Tale Heart Poe 4:40 4. The Cast Of Amontillado Poe 4:29 5. (The System of) Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether - The Fall Of The House Of Usher (Instrumental) Poe 4:15 6. (The System of) Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether - I. Prelude Poe 5:51 7. (The System of) Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether - II. Arrival Poe 2:36 8. (The System of) Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether - III. Intermezzo Poe 1:06 9. (The System of) Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether - IV. Pavane Poe 4:44 10. (The System of) Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether - V. Fall Poe 1:07 11. To One In Paradise Poe 4:14

Engineer/producer Alan Parsons and his colleague, songwriter and lyricist Eric Woolfson, formed the Alan Parsons Project in 1975. Throughout their career, the Alan Parsons Project has recorded concept albums (including adaptations of Poe and Asimov books), with a revolving cast of session musicians. 1982's Eye in the Sky was their greatest success; the title track charted in the Top Ten on the pop charts and the album went platinum. Although they haven't been able to repeat that success, the group has maintained a devoted cult audience. All Music Guide, All Music Guide

AMG EXPERT REVIEW: Tales of Mystery and Imagination is an extremely mesmerizing aural journey through some of Edgar Allen 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. The instrumental "Dream Within a Dream" has Orson Welles narrating in front of this wispy collaboration of guitars and keyboards. The EMI vocoder is used throughout "The Raven" with The Westminister City School Boys Choir mixed in to add a distinct flair to it's 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 in tact, while enabling the listener to submerge into it's 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