- On Air (Alan Parsons album)
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On Air Studio album by Alan Parsons Released September 24, 1996 Recorded December 1995 - June 1996 Genre Progressive rock Length 49:36 Label Digital Sound Producer Alan Parsons Alan Parsons chronology Try Anything Once
(1993)On Air
(1996)The Time Machine
(1999)Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic [1]
On Air is the second solo release by Alan Parsons following the split of The Alan Parsons Project, however the album's chief creative force was the Project's long-time guitarist, Ian Bairnson. Its concept revolves around the history of airborne exploration.
Contents
Album's concept
With their newfound independence from Arista, Parsons and Bairnson decided early on that this release would be a work of art from start to finish where neither vision nor integrity would be subverted by commercial sensibility.
The album follows the history of airborne exploration, from the mythological flight of Daedalus and Icarus to escape the labyrinth of the Minotaur in "Too Close To The Sun", through Leonardo da Vinci's search to design a flying machine, or ornithopter, in long-time Project drummer Stuart Elliott's "One Day To Fly", until finally mankind's aspirations for space exploration placed on the shoulders of a single astronaut in "So Far Away" and the subsequent superpower race to put a man on the moon in "Apollo", a track backed by John F. Kennedy's famous speech of May 25, 1961.
While the ode to hot air ballooning "Blown By The Wind" and following instrumental "Cloudbreak" are arguably the finest guitar work Bairnson has ever recorded, the creative catalyst for this album is the beautiful, albeit melancholy, ballad "Brother Up In Heaven". The song's lyrics remember Ian's deceased cousin Erik Mounsey who was killed in a friendly fire incident above Iraq in 1994. The death of this young helicopter pilot is made even more haunting by the fact that he was an unarmed peacekeeper.
Release
On Air was issued as both a stereo CD and a 5.1 channel dts mix. Included with the music CD was a CD-Rom disk exploring the On Air theme.
Track listing
- "Blue Blue Sky" - (Bairnson) Lead Vocals Eric Stewart – 1:38
- "Too Close To The Sun" - (Parsons, Bairnson, Elliott) Lead Vocals Neil Lockwood – 5:04
- "Blown By The Wind" - (Bairnson) Lead Vocals Eric Stewart – 5:25
- "Cloudbreak" - (Bairnson, Parsons, Elliott) Instrumental – 4:39
- "I Can't Look Down" - (Bairnson) Lead vocals Neil Lockwood – 4:37
- "Brother Up In Heaven" dedicated to Erik Mounsey 1965-1994 - (Bairnson) Lead Vocals Neil Lockwood – 4:02
- "Fall Free" inspired by skysurfer Rob Harris 1966-1995 - (Bairnson, Elliott, Parsons) Lead Vocals Steve Overland – 4:21
- "Apollo" - (Elliott, Parsons, Bairnson) Instrumental with John F. Kennedy audio clips – 6:06
- "So Far Away" - (Bairnson) Lead Vocals Christopher Cross – 4:07
- "One Day To Fly" - (Elliott, English) Lead Vocals Graham Dye – 6:16
- "Blue Blue Sky" - (Bairnson) Lead Vocals Eric Stewart – 4:24
Personnel
- Alan Parsons – keyboards, mixing, engineering
- Andrew Powell – orchestral arranger and conductor
- Ian Bairnson – guitars, bass guitar, synthesizer
- Stuart Elliott – percussion, drums
- Eric Stewart – lead vocals (tracks 1, 3, 11)
- Neil Lockwood – lead vocals (tracks 2, 5, 6)
- Steve Overland – lead vocals (track 7)
- Christopher Cross – lead vocals (track 9)
- Graham Dye – lead vocals (track 10)
- Peter Beckett – backing vocals (track 6)
- John Giblin – bass guitar
- Richard Cottle – saxophone
- Gary Sanctuary – keyboards
- Christopher Warren-Green – orchestra leader
- Storm Thorgerson – cover design
Notes
External links
- The test for your surround system
- Official Ian Bairnson Website
- Eagle Flight Memorial
- The Military Verdict
The Alan Parsons Project Alan Parsons · Eric Woolfson
Andrew Powell · Ian Bairnson · Richard CottleStudio albums Tales of Mystery and Imagination · I Robot · Pyramid · Eve · The Sicilian Defence (unreleased) · The Turn of a Friendly Card · Eye in the Sky · Ammonia Avenue · Vulture Culture · Stereotomy · GaudiAlan Parsons solo Try Anything Once · On Air · The Time Machine · A Valid Path · Eye 2 Eye: Live In Madrid
Eric Woolfson solo Compilations The Best of The Alan Parsons Project (1983 album) · The Best of the Alan Parsons Project, Vol. 2 · The Best of The Alan Parsons Project (2002 album) · The Definitive Collection · The Essential Alan Parsons Project · The Instrumental WorksSingles "(The System of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether" · "The Raven" · "I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You" · "Don't Let It Show" · "Pyramania" · "What Goes Up" · "Lucifer" · "Damned If I Do" · "Games People Play" · "Time" · "Snake Eyes" · "The Turn of a Friendly Card" (single-version) · "Eye in the Sky" · "Psychobabble" · "Old and Wise" · "You Don't Believe" · "Don't Answer Me" · "Prime Time" · "Let's Talk About Me" · "Days Are Numbers (The Traveller)" · "Stereotomy" · "Limelight" · "Standing on Higher Ground"Related articles Categories:- Alan Parsons albums
- Concept albums
- 1996 albums
- Albums with cover art by Storm Thorgerson
- Albums produced by Alan Parsons
- Progressive rock albums
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