Vulture Culture

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Vulture Culture
symphonic rock
  • pop rock
  • new wave
    • Length37:59
    LabelArista
    ProducerAlan Parsons and Eric Woolfson
    The Alan Parsons Project chronology
    Ammonia Avenue
    (1984)     		Vulture Culture
    (1984)     		Stereotomy
    (1985)
    Professional ratings
    Review scores
    SourceRating
    AllMusic[1]
    Rolling Stone[2]

    Vulture Culture is the eighth studio album by the Alan Parsons Project, released in December 1984 via the Arista label.[3]

    Overview

    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 instrumental "Hawkeye".

    At the beginning of 1985, the lead single "Let's Talk About Me" reached the Top 40 in Germany (where the album was No. 1[4]), in Switzerland (where Vulture Culture was No. 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).

    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 by the band 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.

    Vulture Culture was the last Project album recorded on analogue equipment, and as with the previous two, mixed directly to the digital master tape.

    Track listing

    All songs written and composed by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson.

    Side one
    No.TitleLead VocalsLength
    1."Let's Talk About Me"David Paton4:29
    2."Separate Lives"Eric Woolfson4:38
    3."Days Are Numbers (The Traveller)"Chris Rainbow4:52
    4."Sooner or Later"Eric Woolfson4:24
    Side two
    No.TitleLead VocalsLength
    1."Vulture Culture"Lenny Zakatek5:22
    2."Hawkeye"(Instrumental)3:48
    3."Somebody Out There"Colin Blunstone4:54
    4."The Same Old Sun"Eric Woolfson5:26

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

    1. "No Answers Only Questions (final version)" – 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)" – 2:56
      • "No Answers Only Questions" is credited solely to Eric Woolfson on the expanded edition CD notes and is one of the only songs released by the band where this occurs.[7]

    Personnel

    Charts

    Chart (1984–85) Peak
    position
    Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 32
    Canada RPM[9] 25
    Italian Albums (
    Musica e Dischi)[10]
    		 17
    Norway 9
    Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[11] 2
    UK Albums Chart 40
    US Billboard 200 46

    Year-end charts

    Chart (1985) Rank
    Canada [12] 94

    Certifications

    Region Certification Certified units/sales
    Canada (Music Canada)[13] Gold 50,000^
    Germany (BVMI)[14] Gold 250,000^

    ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

    References

    1. ^ "allmusic ((( Vulture Culture > Overview )))". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
    2. ^ Rolling Stone Music | Album Reviews Archived 14 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Rollingstone.com.
    3. ^ Alan Parsons Project, The – Vulture Culture at Discogs. Discogs.com (03 February 2018).
    4. ^ charts.de[dead link]. charts.de.
    5. ^ The Alan Parsons Project – Let's Talk About Me. hitparade.ch.
    6. ^ The Alan Parsons Project – Vulture Culture. dutchcharts.nl.
    7. ^ https://www.the-alan-parsons-project.com/vulture-culture
    8. ISBN 0-646-11917-6
      .
    9. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums - April 27, 1985" (PDF).
    10. Musica e Dischi
      (in Italian). Retrieved 28 May 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Alan Parsons Project".
    11. ISBN 84-8048-639-2
      .
    12. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1985 - December 28, 1985" (PDF).
    13. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Alan Parsons Project – Vulture Culture". Music Canada.
    14. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Alan Parsons Project; 'Vulture Culture')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
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