Poe Artists: Alan Parsons

An interview with legendary music engineer, producer and musician Alan Parsons

Backgrounder: In 1976, music producer Alan Parsons, who worked on the famous Abbey Road album by The Beatles and later on Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, released his first concept album under the name The Alan Parsons Project.

The album, Tales of Mystery and Imagination, was a collection inspired by the work of Edgar Allen Poe in collaboration with composer Eric Woolfson. It featured singer Arthur Brown, ex-Zombie Colin Blunstone, Cockney Rebel's Steve Harley, the Hollies' Allan Clarke, and guitarist Ian Bairnson -- to interpret and perform Parsons and Woolfson's conceptually-linked, lushly arranged and orchestrated music.

In , Parson released a deluxe edition of Tales of Mystery and Imagination that features new arrangements of the music, interviews with Parsons and Woolfson, and previously unreleased demo tracks. There's even a radio ad voiceover done by Orson Welles!

This summer, the Edgar Allan Poe 200 Project asked Alan about how Poe's works inspired his music.

EAP200: How did you like using Poe's verse for your first concept album?

Parsons: It was a joy to work on his stuff, and perfect for the consumer hunger at the time for conceptual works.

EAP200: When do you first recall being inspired by Poe?

Parsons: I first got involved with Poe at school, where it was suggested reading. Then I really got into it later because of my attraction to the macabre, but also because of some of his poetic works, such as To One in Paradise.

EAP200: Have you ever considered doing a follow-up to the album with more songs based on Poe's writing?

Parsons: Eric Woolfson who worked with me on the album did base a musical on a newer work. It had a very extravagant premiere at Abbey Road, but I'm not sure what happened with it after that. I've often considered doing some kind of musical theatre about Poe, too.

EAP200: What do you think of the Poe movie that's supposed to be coming out in 2009?

Parsons: I heard about the Stallone movie. A movie deserves to be made about him, and if not, a musical that reflects the spirit of it. He had an interesting life, to say the least.

EAP200: Do you have any thoughts on the upcoming bicentennial of Poe's birth in 2009?

Parsons: I'd be interested to know what will happen with the visitor to the gravesite. I see this as a very big landmark. Poe was arguably America's greatest ever writer - her deserves the recognition. To this day he still captures people's imaginations.

For more about Alan Parsons, visit his official Website.

Photos: Copyright Alan Parsons Music - used with permission