I Robot (album)
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| I Robot | |||||
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| Studio album by The Alan Parsons Project | |||||
| Released | June 1977 | ||||
| Recorded | December 1976–March 1977 Abbey Road Studios |
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| Genre | Progressive rock | ||||
| Length | 63:26 | ||||
| Label | Arista Records | ||||
| Producer | Alan Parsons | ||||
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| The Alan Parsons Project chronology | |||||
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I Robot is a progressive rock album recorded by The Alan Parsons Project, engineered by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson in 1976. It was released under the Arista Label in 1977 and re-released on CD in 1984, and again in 2007. It was intended to be based on the I, Robot stories written by Isaac Asimov, and actually Woolfson spoke with Asimov which was enthusiastic about that. But the rights had already been granted to a TV/movie company, so the album's title was altered slightly by removing the comma, and the theme and lyrics were made to be more generically about robots rather than specific to the Asimov universe.[1]
The cover inlay reads: "I ROBOT... THE STORY OF THE RISE OF THE MACHINE AND THE DECLINE OF MAN, WHICH PARADOXICALLY COINCIDED WITH HIS DISCOVERY OF THE WHEEL... AND A WARNING THAT HIS BRIEF DOMINANCE OF THIS PLANET WILL PROBABLY END, BECAUSE HE TRIED TO CREATE ROBOT IN HIS OWN IMAGE."
The title of the original final track follows this theme by referencing "Genesis Ch.1 v.32", implying a continuation to the story of Creation, since the first chapter of Genesis only has 31 verses.
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[edit] Reissues and re-mastering
I Robot has been reissued multiple times in various formats since its initial release on vinyl including numerous audiophile releases.
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL) released the album on standard vinyl (MFSL 1-084), UHQR vinyl (MFQR 1-084), and on aluminum CD(MFCD-1-804). Classic Records has released the album in analog form on 180 Gram Vinyl, as well as digitally on HDAD (24bit/192khz & 24bit/96khz DVD-Audio).
In 2007, as part of a larger campaign, Sony released a remastered version along with bonus tracks on CD.
[edit] Track listing
All tracks written by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson (except "Total Eclipse" written by Andrew Powell)
[edit] Side one
- "I Robot" (instrumental) – 6:02
- "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You" (lead vocal Lenny Zakatek) – 3:22
- "Some Other Time" (lead vocals Peter Straker & Jaki Whitren) – 4:06
- "Breakdown" (lead vocal Allan Clarke) – 3:50
- "Don't Let It Show" (lead vocal Dave Townsend) – 4:24
[edit] Side two
- "The Voice" (lead vocal Steve Harley) – 5:24
- "Nucleus" (instrumental) – 3:31
- "Day After Day (The Show Must Go On)" (lead vocal Jack Harris) – 3:49
- "Total Eclipse" (instrumental) – 3:09
- "Genesis Ch.1 v.32" (instrumental) – 3:28
[edit] Additional Tracks
I Robot was remastered and reissued in 2007 with the following bonus tracks:
- "Boules (I Robot Experiment)" - 1:59
- "Breakdown (Early Demo of Backing Riff)" - 2:09
- "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You (Backing Track Rough Mix)" - 3:28
- "Day After Day (Early Stage Rough Mix)" - 3:40
- "The Naked Robot" - 10:19
[edit] Personnel
- David Paton: bass, acoustic guitars
- Stuart Tosh: drums, percussion
- Ian Bairnson: electric and acoustic guitars
- Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons, Duncan Mackay: keyboards
- B.J. Cole: steel guitar
- John Leach: cimbalom and kantele
- Lenny Zakatek, Allan Clarke, Steve Harley, Jack Harris, Peter Straker, Jaki Whitren and Dave Townsend: vocals
- Produced and engineered by Alan Parsons
[edit] Charts
| Year | Chart | Position |
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| 1977 | The Billboard 200 | 9 |
| 1977 | UK Albums Chart | 30 |
[edit] References
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