In the early hours of December 2nd 2009 a remarkable talent in the world of song writing and composition, vision, and stage musicals passed away at the age of 64: his name, Eric Woolfson. The name may not be familiar to you, but his many achievements and associations in the world of music will surely be; and if they are not, they now will be. Being a fan for many years of Woolfson’s work, I felt a desire to write a tribute to the man and his music, the paths he travelled, and the ideas he envisioned that became reality. Sure, the Internet has plenty of sites to go to for such information, but the information is fragmented and not all in one place. Eric’s achievements in the music world deserve something more cohesive and more comprehensive. So, if you will indulge me, I will begin and slightly digress, by first talking about the Alan Parsons Project.
The Alan Parsons Project
My first serious introduction to the music of the Alan Parsons Project was in December 1978, at the age of 12, via an 8-track tape of I, Robot (1977), which I would listen over and over to. Ethereal, post-psychedelic, and funky, possessing pop sensibilities, progressive rock artistry, orchestra and choral arrangements, instrumentals, literary musings, and thoughtful social-science lyricism, all delivered and mastered skilfully via multi-tracks and dimensional audio, I, Robot made me a fan of the Alan Parsons Project immediately and for years to come. And like I, Robot the albums and hit singles off Turn Of A Friendly Card (1980) and Eye In Sky (1982) have been firmly implanted in my memories and musical taste. For anyone who was listening, the music of the Alan Parsons Project was rather like a musical anti-hero of its time. And young or old, the Project’s music crossed the boundaries of and touched several generations. And that is what’s so remarkable: my mother – who would’ve been round 48 at the time of I, Robot’s release – was a fan of the Alan Parsons Project.
Without a doubt the Alan Parsons Project is one of the most interesting, creative, daring, and well-known musical projects in the history of the recording industry. And although the creative intention of each of its 10 albums was to relay a concept, a theme, a musical prose and journey, designed to be listened to as such, the APP certainly had its share of radio hits, too: ‘I Wouldn’t Want To Be Like You’, ‘Games People Play’, ‘Time’, ‘Sirius/Eye In The Sky’, and ‘Don’t Answer Me’, just to name a few.
Alan Parsons’ technical skills as both a recording engineer and producer will no doubt be familiar to avid fans of The Beatles’ last two albums, as well as in connection to certain albums by Pink Floyd, Wings, Pilot, Cockney Rebel, Steve Harley, Al Stewart, and Ambrosia. But Parsons’ name in relation to the Alan Parsons Project’s identity – well received by the record company that would release its first album – disguises the strongest motivation behind, and indeed, the creator, writer and initial visionary of the Alan Parsons Project – Eric Woolfson. Now this, of course, isn’t to say that Eric Woolfson would’ve wanted it any other way: being a writer first and foremost, Woolfson always preferred the shadows to the limelight. However, fact is fact: when casual fans of the Alan Parsons Project hear the name Eric Woolfson, his name is unfamiliar, and his vital role in the Project and its music will not be immediately apparent. This said, let’s go back before the formation of the Alan Parsons Project.
A very brief introduction to Eric Woolfson
Eric Woolfson was born in Glasgow, Scotland on March 18th 1945. Inspired by an uncle who played the piano masterfully, Woolfson took up the piano at an early age. A few initial piano lessons aside, which were soon abandoned, Woolfson began exploring the piano on his own and soon developed into a self-taught pianist, who to the very end of his days, surprisingly never learned to read music. After an unsuccessful attempt to enter the world of Chartered Accountancy, Woolfson headed south to London in the early 1960s.
The Journey from Scotland Southwards into England
On his foray southward, Eric Woolfson stopped for a time in Manchester, England, and became involved with music biz agency, Kennedy Street Enterprises, whereupon he had a brief stint as guest pianist for the pop group Herman’s Hermits. But not being guaranteed a retainer, Woolfson continued his journey southward to London. Upon reaching London, Woolfson hung round Denmark Street hoping to find work in England’s ‘Tin Pan Alley’; and work he found as a session pianist, playing alongside such up and coming musicians as Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones – both later of Led Zeppelin – as well as Vic Flick, the signature guitar sound of the John Barry Seven and the James Bond Theme.
During this time Woolfson managed to secure a meeting with The Rolling Stones’ manager and producer, Andrew Oldham. Oldham was tardy and kept Woolfson waiting nearly four hours. But Woolfson remained patient and persevered: during the meeting, Oldham asked Woolfson to perform something he’d written himself. After playing only one song, Oldham was immediately impressed and offered Woolfson a publishing deal with Immediate Records (how’s that for irony?). Soon after, Woolfson’s song writing talents would lead him to having his songs recorded and performed by artists such as Marianne Faithfull, The Tremeloes, and Frank Ifield, amongst many others.
As Woolfson’s repertoire grew and burgeoned, further publishing offers from other companies came his way. One such offer Woolfson signed to was with Southern Music, where Woolfson joined an echelon of composers that featured Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. During this time Webber and Rice’s expressed desire to utilise their songs as a vehicle for stage musicals rather than pop songs, became firmly implanted in Woolfson’s subconscious, and would serve many years later as the initial spark that would illuminate an entirely different path in Woolfson’s career.
Despite working as a session pianist for years and having had his songs recorded all over Europe and America, Woolfson found such endeavours a rather difficult way to earn a living, and so fated his hand at artist management. His first client was artist Carl ‘Kung Fu Fighting’ Douglas; his second, a record producer named Alan Parsons, whom Woolfson had met in the canteen of Abbey Road Studios during a recording session in the summer of 1974. Douglas’ chart-topping success goes without saying, but his career would prove fleeting. Parsons, on the other hand, had recent success with Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon, as well as had produced several successful acts and singles for EMI. Woolfson’s management of Parsons proved fruitful; a successful partnership was formed and would soon develop into something more extraordinary.
During this time and prior, Parsons had been often frustrated with having to accommodate the views of the artists he worked with, feeling that such accommodations compromised his ability as a producer and engineer. This frustration was made vocal to Woolfson, who then – inspired by how the film business had become a director’s medium, with directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick – proposed to Parsons the idea of making music as a producer’s medium: like a movie, each album would have a particular theme, a particular concept; there would be no band in the traditional sense, no particular lead singer, no particular image, and no live performances – a progressive music project that would live and thrive in the studio, controlled by the producers. Parsons realised the potential and scope of such an idea, agreed, and the Alan Parsons Project was formed.
Initially the idea behind the Alan Parsons Project was that Parsons would contribute 50% of the music and Woolfson the other 50%. But in reality this equation would prove otherwise: Woolfson ended up writing nearly all of the Project’s music, as well as writing all the lyrics and handling the Project’s business affairs; whereas Parsons focused on what he did best: engineering, producing, and keeping abreast of fresh technology and creative advances within the audio/recording industry.
Tales of Mystery and Imagination
Before meeting Parsons and becoming his manager, Woolfson had already composed material for a concept album based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe – Woolfson’s greatest literary inspiration. It was agreed that this material would be used as the basis and theme for the Alan Parsons Project’s first album, which was initially released in the U.K. in 1976 under the simple title The Alan Parsons Project. Later that year the album was re-released with a new title: Tales of Mystery and Imagination. The formula worked and the album proved a success, leading to a deal with Arista Records to release further albums.
From Tales of Mystery and Imagination onward, the Alan Parsons Project was a two-fold vehicle providing a creative platform for Eric Woolfson’s writing, musical and conceptual ideas, and allowing Parsons to exercise freely his skills and ideas in the recording studio.
Aside from Edgar Allan Poe’s literature, Woolfson’s writing for the Project’s subsequent albums would be inspired by luminaries such as Issac Asimov, Antonio Gaudi, and Sigmund Freud, to name few; as well as would focus on themes such as the past through the eyes of the present; women’s effect on men; a restless middle-aged man who gambles his life away; Orwell-inspired futurism; and public perception of industrial and scientific methods and advances.
On each Alan Parsons Project album a roster of guest vocalists – many (such as Lenny Zakatek, David Paton – who also played bass on many of the Project’s albums –, and, later, Colin Blunstone) recurring – were brought in to deliver the lead vocals, as were guest musicians, accompanied by Woolfson and Parsons. Ian Bairnson of the Scottish pop group Pilot (whom Parsons and Woolfson had worked with previously) ended up playing guitar on every APP album; and on all but one of the Project’s albums, British composer Andrew Powell, had arranged and conducted the orchestra and choir.
Eric Woolfson’s Lyrics
It is commonly said that ignorance is bliss. It is also said that perception is merely a version of one’s reality. I couldn’t agree more. In the case of Eric Woolfson’s lyrics (and this can be applied to many other song writers and literary writers in general), what is intended to relay and bear significance to a particular subject, concept, or viewpoint, can easily be misinterpreted or reinterpreted to mean something entirely different. Unless an author makes such lyrical intentions bluntly and obviously clear, the words and meaning of the words are open to interpretation. This is one of the reasons why I love Eric’s lyrics so much: despite having a meaning that he himself understands and wishes to relay, the lyrics become open to interpretation, taking on a double life, proving just as significant and meaningful as the initial, but not so obvious, intent. If the Alan Parsons Project’s music didn’t expand one’s imagination, Woolfson’s lyrics certainly did.
The Identifying Voice Of The Alan Parsons Project
Eric Woolfson always recorded his own voice on the lead vocal tracks for the APP demos, which were then replaced by guest vocalists possessing a stronger range but similar key and feel to Woolfson’s own voice. Woolfson never thought of himself as a singer, and Parsons couldn’t have agreed more. But on the Project’s fifth album, Turn Of A Friendly Card, and largely due to time and budget constraints, Woolfson proposed to Parsons the idea of using Woolfson’s own vocals as the lead on certain recorded songs. This proposition contradicted the formula of the Alan Parsons Project, and Parsons didn’t support the idea. But in the end, Parsons agreed. From Turn Of A Friendly Card onward – largely due to the immense popularity of the hit single ‘Time’, which Woolfson sang lead on – Woolfson’s unusual vocals would prove a favourite for fans, critics, and A&R reps alike; and his voice would return as lead for the Project’s biggest hit singles in the 1980s: ‘Eye In The Sky’ and ‘Don’t Answer Me’. Though unintentional and unfairly measured, and despite the continued usage of guest vocalists for the leads on the majority of their recordings, by the mid-1980s, Woolfson’s voice would stand out as the identifying voice of the Alan Parsons Project.
The Highs and The Lows
Eye In The Sky (1982) and Ammonia Avenue (1984) proved to be the Alan Parsons Project’s most commercially successful albums, each garnering a smash hit single and several minor hits. Up to that time, both albums were the most commercial-sounding releases, too. What the Project gained through commercial success, it had lost in the more musically experimental sense. But despite the success of Eye In The Sky and Ammonia Avenue, by the mid-1980s the Alan Parsons Project seemed to have reached its peak, and with its subsequent three releases, Vulture Culture and Stereotomy (both 1985), and Guaudi (1987), and with the exception of the Project’s fans in Germany, began slowly to fade from the public’s musical radar.
Freudiana
Woolfson’s memory of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s outspoken desire back in the 1960s to apply his compositions to stage musicals rather than pop songs must have been realised more fully in the mid-1980s, as it was during this time that Woolfson began thinking that a writer like himself may be more suited for musical theatre. What was to be the last Alan Parsons Project album, Freudiana (1989), instead became an Eric Woolfson solo album, with Parsons credited as producer, engineer, and musician. Freudiana would be the last project Woolfson would work on with Parsons.
During the recording of Freudiana, Woolfson was introduced to Brian Bolly (a previous partner of Andrew Lloyd Webber), who realised Woolfson’s vision to turn the album’s music and concept into a stage musical, and subsequently agreed to market the album in this direction. Freudiana the stage musical debuted in Vienna, Austria in December 1990 to much critical acclaim, and consequently played 380 shows for the next two years, primarily in Germany. Woolfson had discovered a new vehicle for his compositional skills, and a golden-paved road for it to travel along.
The success of Freudiana the musical lead to further albums and further successful stage musicals: Gaudi (1995), Gambler (1996), Edgar Allan Poe (2003), and Dancing Shadows (2007). Though primarily played in Germany and later Korea and Japan, Woolfson’s musicals were highly successful and garnered many awards. And they continue: in 2009 the German language premiere of Edgar Allan Poe debuted on August 29th at the Halle Opera House in Halle, Germany.
During this year, sadly, Eric Woolfson passed away. The extraordinary gifts he was bestowed with, and the artistic visions he pursued and accomplished, were given back to all of us, to enjoy for a life time and beyond.
Long live the music and remembrance of Eric Woolfson.
