Vulture Culture

Vulture Culture
Studio album by
The Alan Parsons Project
ReleasedMarch 1985
RecordedMay–July 1984
StudioAbbey Road Studios, London
Genre
Length37:59
LabelArista
ProducerAlan Parsons and Eric Woolfson
The Alan Parsons Project chronology
Ammonia Avenue
(1984) 		Vulture Culture
(1985) 		Stereotomy
(1985)
Singles from Vulture Culture
  1. "Let's Talk About Me"
    Released: 11 January 1985[1]
  2. "Days Are Numbers"
    Released: April 1985 (US)
  3. "Vulture Culture (remix)"
    Released: 1985 (Germany)
  4. "The Same Old Sun"
    Released: 1985 (EU)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Rolling Stone[3]

Vulture Culture is the eighth studio album by the Alan Parsons Project, released in March 1985 via the Arista label.[2]

Overview

The first side of the LP (CD tracks 1–4) consists entirely of four-minute pop songs, and the second side varies widely, from the subdued funk of the title track to the bouncing instrumental "Hawkeye".

At the beginning of 1985, the lead single "Let's Talk About Me" reached the top 40 in Germany (where the album was No. 1[4]), in Switzerland (where Vulture Culture was No. 2) and in the Netherlands.[5] The song features voice-over commentary from Lee Abrams, credited on the album as "Mr. Laser Beam" (an anagram of his name).

On the charts, Vulture Culture was a success in continental Europe, reaching the top 10 in many countries,[6] and in Australia; whereas it was less successful in the US. It was the last album by the band to be certified Gold.

The song "Hawkeye" is an instrumental but does contain a line from Monica, a woman working at the canteen in Abbey Road Studios. The line she says is: "Only what's on the menu".

This is the only Project album that does not feature the orchestration of Andrew Powell.[citation needed] However, the album was the first to feature Richard Cottle, who played various synthesisers on the record, including the Fairlight CMI and the Yamaha DX7.[7]

Vulture Culture was the last Project album recorded on analogue equipment, and as with the previous two, mixed directly to the digital master tape.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson.

Side one
No.TitleLead VocalsLength
1."Let's Talk About Me"David Paton4:29
2."Separate Lives"Eric Woolfson4:38
3."Days Are Numbers (The Traveller)"Chris Rainbow4:52
4."Sooner or Later"Eric Woolfson4:24
Side two
No.TitleLead VocalsLength
1."Vulture Culture"Lenny Zakatek5:22
2."Hawkeye"(Instrumental)3:48
3."Somebody Out There"Colin Blunstone4:54
4."The Same Old Sun"Eric Woolfson5:26

Vulture Culture was remastered and reissued in 2007 with the following bonus tracks:

  1. "No Answers Only Questions (final version)" – 2:12
  2. "Separate Lives (alternative mix)" – 4:18
  3. "Hawkeye (demo)" – 3:18
  4. "The Naked Vulture" – 10:43
  5. "No Answers Only Questions (the first attempt)" – 2:56
    • "No Answers Only Questions" is credited solely to Eric Woolfson on the expanded edition CD notes and is one of the only songs released by the band where this occurs.[8]

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[23] Gold 50,000^
Germany (BVMI)[24] Gold 250,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 8.
  2. ^ a b "allmusic ((( Vulture Culture > Overview )))". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
  3. ^ Rolling Stone Music | Album Reviews Archived 14 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Rollingstone.com.
  4. ^ charts.de[dead link‍]. charts.de.
  5. ^ The Alan Parsons Project – Let's Talk About Me. hitparade.ch.
  6. ^ The Alan Parsons Project – Vulture Culture. dutchcharts.nl.
  7. ^ Elen, Richard (May 1984). "The Alan Parsons Project". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 11 December 2024 – via Music Magazine Archive.
  8. ^ "Vulture Culture (1985) | the Alan Parsons Project".
  9. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 229. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ^ "Austriancharts.at – The Alan Parsons Project – Vulture Culture" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  11. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0514". RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  12. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Alan Parsons Project – Vulture Culture" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  13. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Alan Parsons Project – Vulture Culture" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  14. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 30 July 2024. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Alan Parsons Project".
  15. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Alan Parsons Project – Vulture Culture". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  16. ^ "Charts.nz – The Alan Parsons Project – Vulture Culture". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  17. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002. Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  18. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – The Alan Parsons Project – Vulture Culture". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  19. ^ "Swisscharts.com – The Alan Parsons Project – Vulture Culture". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  20. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  21. ^ "The Alan Parsons Project Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  22. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0618". RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  23. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Alan Parsons Project – Vulture Culture". Music Canada.
  24. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Alan Parsons Project; 'Vulture Culture')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.