Alan Parsons Turn Of A Friendly Card CD

Additional Tracks; Special Edition

The Alan Parsons Project: Alan Parsons (vocals, keyboards), Elmer Gantry, Lenny Zakatek, Chris Rainbow (vocals), Eric Woolfson (vocals, keyboards), Ian Bairnson (guitars), David Paton (bass), Stuart Elliot (drums, percussion).
Orchestra of the Munich Chamber Opera Care of Eberhardt Schoener arranged and conducted by Andrew Powell.
All songs written by Eric Woolfson and Alan Parsons.
Arranger: Andrew Powell.
With TURN OF A FRIENDLY CARD, Alan Parsons has furthered his bid for mainstream success by combining his lush, synthesized art rock with memorable melodies. In fact, two of the album's songs--the infectious, pulsing "Games People Play" and the dreamily drifting "Time"-- became durable radio singles. Like all of Parsons's efforts, however, this album is far more than just a collection of singles.
TURN OF A FRIENDLY CARD continues Parsons's penchant for concept albums: every song centers on gambling and its literal and metaphorical implications. While this is intriguing, the album's more seductive qualities lie in its densely layered arrangements and pristine production, which create a spacey, expansive, highly detailed effect that nearly cries out to be played on a high-end stereo. While a well-assembled compilation like the double-disc DEFINITIVE COLLECTION is a better place to get acquainted with the scope of Parsons's solo work, this effort from 1980 is one of his best.
With two of the Alan Parsons Project's best songs, the lovely ballad "Time" and the wavy-sounding "Games People Play," The Turn of a Friendly Card remains one of this group's most enjoyable albums. Parsons' idea, the subject of the album's six tracks, centers around the age-old temptation of gambling and its stranglehold on the human psyche. On "Games People Play," vocalist Lenny Zakatek sounds compelling and focused, giving the song a seriousness that aids in realization of the album's concept. With "Time," it is Eric Woolfson who carries this luxurious-sounding ode to life's passing to a place above and beyond any of this band's other slower material. The breakdown of human willpower and our greedy tendencies are highlighted in the last track, entitled "The Turn of a Friendly Card," which is broken into five separate parts. "Snake Eyes," sung by Chris Rainbow, is the most compelling of the five pieces, and ties together the whole of the recording. As in every Parsons album, an instrumental is included, in this case an interesting number aptly titled "The Gold Bug." Like most of the band's instrumentals, its flow and rhythm simulate the overall tempo and concept of the album, acting as a welcome interlude. Although short, The Turn of a Friendly Card is to the point and doesn't let down when it comes to carrying out its idea. ~ Mike DeGagne