Vulture Culture

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Vulture Culture
Studio album by The Alan Parsons Project
Released 1984
Recorded May – July 1984
Abbey Road Studios
Genre Progressive rock, Pop rock
Length 37:59
Label Arista
Producer Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson
The Alan Parsons Project chronology

Ammonia Avenue
(1984)
Vulture Culture
(1984)
Stereotomy
(1985)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Rolling Stone [2]

Vulture Culture is the eighth studio album by The Alan Parsons Project, released in 1984.[3]

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 "Hawkeye".

At the beginning of 1985, the lead single "Let's Talk About Me" reached the Top 40 in Germany (where the album was #1[4]), in Switzerland (where Vulture Culture was #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).

Originally, the album was intended to be the second LP of a double album, with Ammonia Avenue being the first. After the discs were split into separate albums, Vulture Culture was given a more modern (for the time) studio treatment with harder-hitting drums and dynamics. "Sooner or Later" was recently described by Parsons himself as "the third attempt to try and get another hit with the "Eye in the Sky"-esque chugging guitar line – "Prime Time" from Ammonia Avenue was the second, which I thought was a little more successful in that respect."

In the charts, Vulture Culture was a success in continental Europe, often reaching the Top 10,[6] and in Oceania; whereas it was less successful in North America. It was the last album 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.

Track listing

All songs written by Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons, except where noted.

Side One

  1. "Let's Talk About Me" (lead vocal David Paton) – 4:29
  2. "Separate Lives" (lead vocal Eric Woolfson) – 4:59
  3. "Days Are Numbers (The Traveller)" (lead vocal Chris Rainbow) – 4:31
  4. "Sooner Or Later" (lead vocal Eric Woolfson) – 4:25

Side Two

  1. "Vulture Culture" (lead vocal Lenny Zakatek) – 5:22
  2. "Hawkeye" (instrumental) – 3:49
  3. "Somebody Out There" (lead vocal Colin Blunstone) – 4:55
  4. "The Same Old Sun" (lead vocal Eric Woolfson) – 5:25

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

  1. "No Answers Only Questions (final version)" (Woolfson) – 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)" (Woolfson) – 2:56

Personnel

Cultural references

  • The album name was referenced in Donkey Kong Country as the first level in Vine Valley, the 3rd area in the game.
  • The cover of the album pictures an Ouroboros, with a vulture's head instead of a serpent, which was made to symbolise greed.

Charts

Year Chart Position
1985 The Billboard 200 46
1985 UK Albums Chart 40
1985 Canada 25
1985 Norway 9

References

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