Ultimate

Performer: Alan Parsons
Engineer: Alan Parsons Project
Distributor: BMG (distributor)

Notes: The Alan Parsons Project: Alan Parsons (vocals, various instruments); John Miles (vocals, guitar); Eric Woolfson (vocals, keyboards); David Paton, Lenny Zakatek, Elmer Gantry, Jack Harris, Chris Rainbow (vocals); Ian Barnson (acoustic & electric guitar); David Pack (guitar); Billy Lyall (recorder, piano, keyboards); Richard Cottle (saxophone, keyboards); Mel Collins (saxophone); Duncan McKay, Christopher North (keyboards); Joe Puerta (bass); Stuart Elliot, Stuart Tosh, Burleigh Drummond (drums). Producer: Alan Parsons. Compilation producer: Gretchen Brennison. Recorded between 1976 & 1985. Personnel: Alan Parsons (vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards); John Miles (vocals, guitar); David Paton (vocals, acoustic guitar, background vocals); Eric Woolfson (vocals, keyboards, background vocals); Lenny Zakatek, Colin Blunstone, Elmer Gantry, Jack Harris , Leonard Whiting, Dean Ford, Chris Rainbow (vocals); David Pack (guitar); Ian Bairnson (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Billy Lyall (recorder, piano, keyboards); Richard Cottle (saxophone, keyboards); Mel Collins (saxophone); Richard MacKay (keyboards); Burleigh Drummond, Stuart Elliot, Stuart Tosh (drums). Liner Note Author: Bill Pitzonka. Released a few months after the mid-priced compilation Platinum & Gold Collection, Ultimate is a longer, more comprehensive overview than its predecessor, which doesn't necessarily mean that it's a better choice for the casual listener. Platinum & Gold Collection has a concentrated selection of radio hits from the Alan Parsons Project, featuring nearly all of their charting singles, including "You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned," a minor hit missing on Ultimate; for that reason, along with its cheaper list price, it remains a better choice for listeners who want the pop-oriented side of Parsons. Ultimate is for the fans who listened to the Project on album-oriented FM radio, yet never bought the full-length records. While all the big hits are here, the focus is more on the elaborate instrumentals and prog epics that made the group a staple of AOR in the late '70s and early '80s. There are some missing hits here -- not just the aforementioned "You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned" but also "Stereotomy," "Let's Talk About Me," and "Snake Eyes" -- but they're not particularly missed, since all the radio favorites are here, and it's a well-sequenced collection. Anybody looking for something more thorough than Platinum & Gold will be happy with this, but, as mentioned above, if hits are all you need, that cheaper collection will serve you just as well as this. Nevertheless, this is a good comp. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Alan Parsons began as a high-profile recording engineer, working with the likes of the Beatles and Pink Floyd, but he soon made an artistic name of his own with the Alan Parsons Project, a free-floating collective that revolved around Parsons and his partner Eric Woolfson. APP turned out (unsurprisingly) immaculate productions that blended '70s progressive rock with accessible AM pop and enjoyed a number of hit singles in the '80s.

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