Unlike my colleague Duke, I was never a huge fan of the Alan Parsons Project. I heard the singles on the radio and a few of the album tracks here and there, yes, but I didn't really track the band the way I did someone like, say, Yes. With one notable exception…

From 1980-82, I shared various living spaces in the college town of Davis, CA with a buddy named Doug. If there was one thing Doug and I were notorious for (well, one thing I'll admit to these days), it was playing certain albums TO DEATH. As in, we've just heard it for the fourth time that evening and we'd say, sure, let it roll again. Thus my mixture of loyal affection and existential dread for the album The Turn Of A Friendly Card (a.k.a. TOAFC).

By then well-known for their concept albums, in 1980 the Project turned its sights to the subject of gambling. It was a reasonably original theme for a concept album, having rarely been addressed by anyone with more intellectual wattage than Kenny Rogers (insert cutting remark here). Parsons and lyricist/occasional lead vocalist Eric Woolfson co-composed the album with imagination and flair.

Of course, one of the APP's hallmarks was stretching the idea of a concept album to its logical limits; truth be told, the five-part title suite is the only part of the album that squarely addresses gambling. The rest of the songs either suggest or simply feature titles suggesting a thematic connection.

What sets this album apart and makes it remarkably listenable - even twenty-plus years later - is the strength of the arrangements by keyboardist/co-composer/producer Parsons. Cuts like the hit single "Games People Play" may not shine with originality or brawn, but there is a dynamism to the very progressive way Parsons mixes strings with exotic synth tones and (thank you!) acoustic drums that creates one terrific pop hook after another. "GPP" is a great example of the AP approach at this stage of his career in that it has a basic pop structure, but features unusual shifts in tone and tempo, an ambient middle section, great use of orchestral elements and a generous guitar solo -- all decidedly progressive touches.

Another of APP's hallmarks is the use of multiple vocalists. You'd expect this to be a bit jarring, but thanks to Parson's slick production and careful choice of singers, it isn't at all. Elmer Gantry's soaring vocals are as perfect for the spacious, driving, synth-and-drums thumper "May Be A Price To Pay" as Lenny Zakatek's gritty "tattered and torn" despair is on "I Don't Wanna Go Home." In every case Parsons exhibits great instincts in matching the singer to the song.

The one cut that lies completely outside the gambling concept, "Time," may actually be the best on the entire album. This ballad, floating along amongst sighing strings and synthesizer washes and layered background vocals, melds the adjectives "lush" and "melancholy" as thoroughly as anything I've ever heard, and TOAFC co-mastermind Eric Woolfson's vocals are pitch-perfect.

The instrumentals "The Gold Bug" and "The Ace Of Swords" are, as always, a highlight. The latter in particular features expert incorporation of the orchestra into a largely futuristic, synthesizer-driven cut. The APP core of Ian Bairnson (guitars), David Paton (bass), Stuart Elliott (drums) and Andrew Powell (orchestral arrangements), along with Parsons and Woolfson on keys, is at the height of its powers here.

There are places where this album feels a little dated, notably in some of the overly slick '80s guitar tones. Overall, though, TOAFC is a superb piece of work that hangs together well and still entertains through repeated listens a quarter-century after its day in the sun. Whether or not it's in fact the Project's very best -- your mileage may vary -- it's up there among them. Thanks for the memories, Alan.

Rating: A-

User Rating: A

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