Alan Parsons
Monday, October 29, 2012 at 9:29PM 
Perhaps known as one of the best producers/engineers in the music business, and equally as respected for being the co-founder of the Alan Parsons Project, Alan Parsons is a true legend. Parsons has been active in the music world since 1967, working with a plethora of artists from a producer/engineer standpoint, and has released about a dozen records or so under the "APP" moniker and also as a solo artist.
During our recent interview with Alan Parsons, he revealed to us that while he has pretty much retired from releasing music under his own name (he states he may release an EP of 3 or 4 songs here and there, but is convinced today's music listener does not have the attention span for a CD of 40-50 minutes of music), he will continue working with other artists who inspire him. Parson's most recent protege is a ukulele virtuoso by the name of Jake Shimabukuro. Earlier this month, Shimabukuro released his "Grand Ukulele" CD, which was produced by Parsons (with orchestration by none other than Kip Winger).
As a performer, Parson will continue to tour sporadically as the "Alan Parson's Live Project" (out of respect to deceased "APP" co-founder Eric Woolfson, who passed away in 2010), as he recently finished up a tour of South America, and has dates booked in Europe, which will take him well into 2013. Short and to the point, Parsons was very candid during our conversation, as we discussed his duality of being both a performer and producer, and surprisingly denounced two of the accolades that some may refer to as Parsons' 'claim to fame.'
RockMusicStar: Alan, what are your current plans as a solo artist?
Alan Parsons: I recently did a tour of South America and will also be doing a tour of Europe and Spain.
RMS: Are there any plans for any shows in the US?
AP: No, not really. We only have a couple of dates booked in Florida, which are in December.
RMS: Being that you're out on the road again, what concert would you cite as the greatest gig you ever performed?
AP: Probably the most memorable show I ever did was in Moscow (Russia), which was about 4 years ago.
RMS: What was it like to be an engineer on both classic albums "Abbey Road" (the Beatles) and "Dark Side of the Moon" (Pink Floyd)?
AP: I didn't engineer either of those records. I was there, but I can't take credit for engineering them.
RMS: Wow, everything I read prior to doing this interview credits you with engineering those albums.
AP: You probably did (read that), as it's probably the most misquoted thing ever written about me.
RMS: Well, my next question was going to be, "What was it like working on "Dark Side of the Moon?"
AP: Probably the other biggest misquote (about me) is that I 'produced' Pink Floyd as well. If I had produced a record like "Abbey Road" that would put me on the same level as George Martin.
RMS: Do you get more joy out of being a producer or a performer?
AP: With producing, I really feel at home in the studio. It's what I grew up learning how to do. But ultimately, I find the two things fairly different, so it's hard to say.
RMS: Do you have any plans to work with anyone that you admire artistically?
AP: There's a guy from the Porcupine Trees that I admire very much, his name is Steven Wilson. He's going to be making a solo album that I will be engineering, and that will be coming out soon.
I also discovered a new band out of the UK, they're called Electric Litany. They're half Greek/half Brit. They're erratically different, so I'm really looking forward to working with them as well.
RMS: Who's your most inspiring influence? Who do you respect most in the business?
AP: One of the guys I really admire is a guy who's well known in Britain, but perhaps not too well known here. He was one of the original members of ELO, and his name is Roy Wood. I worked with him on an album that came out in 1974/75. He's such a remarkable musician. I learned so much about songwriting and musicianship from him.
RMS: What do you feel is your most under appreciated work?
AP: There was a song called "Limelight" that came out in 1985/86. I felt it should have been a hit.
RMS: What is the accomplishment you're most proud of?
AP: Probably having three consecutive hit singles in the UK.
RMS: In closing, could you share with us one of your favorite stories from working in the music business for all these years?
AP: There's one story I remember from the (Beatles) 'rooftop sessions' of "Let It Be." It was the band's idea to have me help in the recording, which culminated in the 'rooftop sessions.' It was a very windy morning when we set up to record, so I had the idea to go out and buy some pantyhose or stockings to cover the microphones. I got some very strange looks when I went into this ladies wear shop to ask for pantyhose. They asked what size and I said it didn't matter. So they probably thought that I was buying them to go rob a bank or something.
For more on Alan Parsons, go to www.alanparsonsmusic.com
Reader Comments (1)
Why is he saying he did not work on Abbey Road and DSOTM, that's crazy.. Or has it been a lie all this time??