Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England.

Composers: Eric Woolfson; Alan Parsons.

The Alan Parsons Project/Alan Parsons: Alan Parsons (keyboards); Elmer Gantry (vocals); Ian Bairnson (guitars); Haydn Bendall (keyboards); David Paton (bass instrument); Stuart Elliot (drums); Lenny Zakatek, Eric Woolfson, Chris Rainbow (background vocals).

Personnel: English Chorale (vocals); Mel Collins (saxophone); John Wallace (piccolo trumpet); Andrew Powell (piano); Jack Harris (background vocals).

Released in 1982, EYE IN THE SKY marks the commercial peak of the Alan Parsons Project, and easily stands out as one of the British pop act's best albums. Like other Project records, EYE is tied together by a unifying concept--in this case, technology and surveillance--and the sterling production of keyboardist/mastermind Parsons. While the shimmering title track (with its haunting "I can read your mind" refrain) proved to be the album's big hit, EYE IN THE SKY also boasts the majestic, Pink Floyd-esque instrumental "Sirius" and "Old and Wise," a lushly orchestral tune that features Colin Blunstone of the Zombies on vocals. (Note: The 2007 reissue of includes numerous bonus tracks.)

Released in 1982, EYE IN THE SKY marks the commercial peak of the Alan Parsons Project, and easily stands out as one of the British pop act's best albums. Like other Project records, EYE is tied together by a unifying concept--in this case, technology and surveillance--and the sterling production of keyboardist/mastermind Parsons. While the shimmering title track (with its haunting "I can read your mind" refrain) proved to be the album's big hit, EYE IN THE SKY also boasts the majestic, Pink Floyd-esque instrumental "Sirius," and "Old and Wise," a lushly orchestral tune that features Colin Blunstone of the Zombies on vocals. (Note: The 2007 reissue includes numerous bonus tracks.)

Eye in the Sky provided the Alan Parsons Project with their first Top Ten hit since 1977's I Robot, and it's hard not to feel that crossover success was one of the driving forces behind this album. The Project never shied away from hooks, whether it was on the tense white funk of "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You" or the gleaming pop hooks of "Games People Play," but Eye in the Sky was soft and smooth, so smooth that it was easy to ignore that the narrator of the title track was an ominous omniscient who spied either on his lover or his populace, depending on how deeply you wanted to delve into the concepts of this album. And, unlike I Robot or The Turn of a Friendly Card, it is possible to listen to Eye in the Sky and not dwell on the larger themes, since they're used as a foundation, not pushed to center stage. What does dominate is the lushness of sound, the sweetness of melody: this is a soft rock album through and through, one that's about melodic hooks and texture. In the case of the spacy opening salvo "Sirius," later heard on sports talk shows across America, or "Mammagamma," it was all texture, as these instrumentals set the trippy yet warm mood that the pop songs sustained. And the real difference with Eye in the Sky is that, with the exception of those instrumentals and the galloping suite "Silence and I," all the artiness was part of the idea of this album was pushed into the lyrics, so the album plays as soft pop album -- and a very, very good one at that. Perhaps nothing is quite as exquisite as the title song, yet "Children of the Moon" has a sprightly gait (not all that dissimilar from Kenny Loggins' "Heart to Heart"), "Psychobabble" has a bright propulsive edge (not all that dissimilar from 10cc), and "Gemini" is the project at its dreamiest. It all adds up to arguably the most consistent Alan Parsons Project album -- perhaps not in terms of concept, but in terms of music they never were as satisfying as they were here. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine