I Robot is a
progressive rockProgressive rock is a form of rock music that evolved in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility."...
albumAn album or record album is a collection of related audio or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites.-...
recorded by
The Alan Parsons ProjectThe Alan Parsons Project was a British progressive rock band active between 1975 and 1990, founded by Eric Woolfson and Alan Parsons.-History:Englishman Alan Parsons met Scotsman Eric Woolfson in the canteen of Abbey Road Studios in the summer of 1974...
, engineered by
Alan ParsonsAlan Parsons is a British audio engineer, musician, and record producer. He was involved with the production of several successful albums, including The Beatles' Abbey Road and Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon for which Pink Floyd credit him as an important contributor...
and
Eric WoolfsonEric Woolfson is a Scottish lead singer, songwriter and lyricist, executive producer, pianist, and co-founder of The Alan Parsons Project....
in 1977. It was released by Arista Records in 1977 and re-released on
CDA Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store sound recordings exclusively, but later it also allowed the preservation of other types of data. Audio CDs have been commercially available since October 1982...
in 1984 and 2007. It was intended to be based on the
I, RobotI, Robot is a collection of nine science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov, first published by Gnome Press in 1950 in an edition of 5,000 copies. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines Super Science Stories and Astounding Science Fiction between 1940 and 1950. The stories are...
stories written by
Isaac AsimovIsaac Asimov , was an American author and professor of biochemistry, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books...
, and actually Woolfson spoke with Asimov, who was enthusiastic about that. But the rights had already been granted to a TV/movie company, so the album's title was altered slightly by removing the comma, and the theme and lyrics were made to be more generically about robots rather than specific to the Asimov universe.
The cover inlay reads:
"I ROBOT...
I Robot is a
progressive rockProgressive rock is a form of rock music that evolved in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility."...
albumAn album or record album is a collection of related audio or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites.-...
recorded by
The Alan Parsons ProjectThe Alan Parsons Project was a British progressive rock band active between 1975 and 1990, founded by Eric Woolfson and Alan Parsons.-History:Englishman Alan Parsons met Scotsman Eric Woolfson in the canteen of Abbey Road Studios in the summer of 1974...
, engineered by
Alan ParsonsAlan Parsons is a British audio engineer, musician, and record producer. He was involved with the production of several successful albums, including The Beatles' Abbey Road and Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon for which Pink Floyd credit him as an important contributor...
and
Eric WoolfsonEric Woolfson is a Scottish lead singer, songwriter and lyricist, executive producer, pianist, and co-founder of The Alan Parsons Project....
in 1977. It was released by Arista Records in 1977 and re-released on
CDA Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store sound recordings exclusively, but later it also allowed the preservation of other types of data. Audio CDs have been commercially available since October 1982...
in 1984 and 2007. It was intended to be based on the
I, RobotI, Robot is a collection of nine science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov, first published by Gnome Press in 1950 in an edition of 5,000 copies. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines Super Science Stories and Astounding Science Fiction between 1940 and 1950. The stories are...
stories written by
Isaac AsimovIsaac Asimov , was an American author and professor of biochemistry, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books...
, and actually Woolfson spoke with Asimov, who was enthusiastic about that. But the rights had already been granted to a TV/movie company, so the album's title was altered slightly by removing the comma, and the theme and lyrics were made to be more generically about robots rather than specific to the Asimov universe.
The cover inlay reads:
"I ROBOT... THE STORY OF THE RISE OF THE MACHINE AND THE DECLINE OF MAN, WHICH PARADOXICALLY COINCIDED WITH HIS DISCOVERY OF THE WHEEL... AND A WARNING THAT HIS BRIEF DOMINANCE OF THIS PLANET WILL PROBABLY END, BECAUSE MAN TRIED TO CREATE ROBOT IN HIS OWN IMAGE."
The title of the final track, "Genesis Ch.1 v.32", follows this theme by implying a continuation to the story of
CreationCreation according to Genesis is the account of the creation of the world and of the first man and woman as found in the first two chapters of the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible....
, since the first chapter of Genesis only has 31 verses. The track "Don't Let it Show" was later covered by
Pat BenatarPat Benatar is a four-time Grammy Award-winning American singer best known for her mezzo-soprano vocal range and establishing herself as one of rock's top vocalists and one of music's top-selling female artists with hit songs such as "Love Is a Battlefield", "Hit Me with Your Best Shot", and...
on her album
In the Heat of the NightIn the Heat of the Night is the debut album of Pat Benatar, released in 1979. It peaked at #12 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of her breakthrough hit "Heartbreaker", plus covers of Nick Gilder's "Rated X", John Mellencamp's "I Need a Lover", The Alan Parsons Project's "Don't Let it Show" and...
.
Reissues and remastering
I Robot has been reissued multiple times in various formats since its initial release on vinyl including numerous
audiophileAn audiophile, from Latin audio "I hear" and Greek philos "loving," is a hobbyist who seeks high-quality audio reproduction via the use of non-mass-produced high-end audio electronics....
releases.
Mobile Fidelity Sound LabMobile Fidelity Sound Lab is a company that produces reissues of albums. All releases are made from the first-generation master recordings and mastered at half-speed, which MFSL claims allows for an improved sound quality. In the past, MFSL has produced cassette tape, LP, CD and VHS releases of a...
(MFSL) released the album on standard vinyl (MFSL 1-084), UHQR vinyl (MFQR 1-084), and on aluminum CD (MFCD-1-804). Classic Records has released the album in analog form on 180 Gram Vinyl, as well as digitally on HDAD (24bit/192 kHz & 24bit/96 kHz DVD-Audio).
In 2007, as part of a larger campaign, Sony released a remastered version along with bonus tracks on CD.
Songs
Don't Let It Show begins with an
organThe organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet...
, and then the singing begins. The drums and bass come in before the start of the second verse. After its verses and choruses, it goes into a keyboard
riffIn music, a riff is an ostinato figure: a repeated chord progression, pattern, refrain or melodic figure, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompaniment of a musical composition. Though they are most often found in rock music, Latin, funk...
codaCoda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage which brings a piece to a conclusion.-Coda as a section of a movement:...
as the drums pick up, and then it fades. The song has two segments. The first segment has
Dave TownsendDave Townsend was a vocalist for The Alan Parsons Project in 1977 on the album I Robot and in 1979 on the album Eve. Very little is known about his biographical data, as he was in no major bands....
's vocal and in sung and played in the key of D. The second segment is the
instrumentalRock Instrumentals have a separate page.An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments. This term is used when referring to popular music rather than to other musical genres such as European...
coda, which modulates to Bb. Then, it goes up to C as the tempo increases, and then back up to D. The first half of the song is a slow moving ballad while the second half is more up-tempo. The
interludeIn popular music, a break is an instrumental or percussion section or interlude during a song derived from or related to stop-time – being a "break" from the main parts of the song or piece....
at the end of the song is accompanied by string and brass instruments.
In 1979 the song was covered by
Pat BenatarPat Benatar is a four-time Grammy Award-winning American singer best known for her mezzo-soprano vocal range and establishing herself as one of rock's top vocalists and one of music's top-selling female artists with hit songs such as "Love Is a Battlefield", "Hit Me with Your Best Shot", and...
for her
In the Heat of the NightIn the Heat of the Night is the debut album of Pat Benatar, released in 1979. It peaked at #12 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of her breakthrough hit "Heartbreaker", plus covers of Nick Gilder's "Rated X", John Mellencamp's "I Need a Lover", The Alan Parsons Project's "Don't Let it Show" and...
LP.
Gail GodwinGail Kathleen Godwin is an American novelist and short story writer. She has published one non-fiction work, two collections of short stories, and eleven novels, three of which have been nominated for the National Book Award and five of which have made the New York Times Bestseller List.Godwin was...
describes it as "much more sentimental than the usual Alan Parsons."
Track listing
All tracks written by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson; except "Total Eclipse" written by
Andrew PowellAndrew Powell - musical composer, arranger and performer - was born 18 April 1949 in London, England of Welsh parents.- Early life :He began taking piano lessons at the age of four and later attended Kings College School, Wimbledon by which time he was also learning the viola, violin and orchestral...
- "I Robot" (instrumental) – 6:02
- "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You" (lead vocal: Lenny Zakatek
Lenny Zakatek is a Pop & Rock singer & musician, residing in London, England since the age of 13....
) – 3:22
- "Some Other Time" (lead vocals: Peter Straker & Jaki Whitren) – 4:06
- "Breakdown" (lead vocal: Allan Clarke
Allan Clarke is a retired British singer who was one of the founding members of The Hollies. He retired in 1999.-Career:...
) – 3:50
- "Don't Let It Show" (lead vocal: Dave Townsend
Dave Townsend was a vocalist for The Alan Parsons Project in 1977 on the album I Robot and in 1979 on the album Eve. Very little is known about his biographical data, as he was in no major bands....
) – 4:24
- "The Voice" (lead vocal: Steve Harley
Steve Harley is a English singer and songwriter, best known for his work with the 1970s rock group Cockney Rebel, with whom he still occasionally tours .-Biography:As a child, Harley suffered from polio, spending four years in hospital up to the age...
) – 5:24
- "Nucleus" (instrumental) – 3:31
- "Day After Day (The Show Must Go On)" (lead vocal: Jack Harris
Jack Harris was a vocalist for British progressive rock band The Alan Parsons Project. He sang lead vocals on 'Day After Day ' on the album I Robot , and the single 'Pyramania' taken from the Grammy-nominated Pyramid...
) – 3:49
- "Total Eclipse" (instrumental) – 3:09
- "Genesis Ch.1 v.32" (instrumental) – 3:28
I Robot was remastered and reissued in 2007 with the following bonus tracks:
- "Boules" (I Robot experiment) – 1:59
- "Breakdown" (early demo of backing riff) – 2:09
- "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You" (backing track rough mix) – 3:28
- "Day After Day" (early stage rough mix) – 3:40
- "The Naked Robot" – 10:19
Personnel
- David Paton
David Paton is a bass and guitar player, most notably with three different bands: Pilot, The Alan Parsons Project, and Camel. He has also worked as a solo artist, session musician, and sometime vocalist....
– bass, acoustic guitars
- Stuart Tosh
Stuart MacIntosh is a drummer, songwriter and vocalist.Also known as Stuart Tosh, MacIntosh recorded and toured with a succession of well-known and respected bands during the 1970s and 1980s, including Pilot, The Alan Parsons Project, 10cc and Camel....
– drums, percussion
- Ian Bairnson
Ian Bairnson is a Scottish musician, famous for being one of the core members of The Alan Parsons Project...
– electric and acoustic guitars
- Eric Woolfson
Eric Woolfson is a Scottish lead singer, songwriter and lyricist, executive producer, pianist, and co-founder of The Alan Parsons Project....
, Alan ParsonsAlan Parsons is a British audio engineer, musician, and record producer. He was involved with the production of several successful albums, including The Beatles' Abbey Road and Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon for which Pink Floyd credit him as an important contributor...
, Duncan Mackay – keyboards
- B.J. Cole – steel guitar
- John Leach – cimbalom and kantele
A kantele or kannel is a traditional plucked string instrument of the zither family native to Finland, Estonia and Karelia. It is related to the Russian gusli, the Latvian kokle and the Lithuanian kanklės...
- Lenny Zakatek
Lenny Zakatek is a Pop & Rock singer & musician, residing in London, England since the age of 13....
, Allan ClarkeAllan Clarke is a retired British singer who was one of the founding members of The Hollies. He retired in 1999.-Career:...
, Steve HarleySteve Harley is a English singer and songwriter, best known for his work with the 1970s rock group Cockney Rebel, with whom he still occasionally tours .-Biography:As a child, Harley suffered from polio, spending four years in hospital up to the age...
, Jack HarrisJack Harris was a vocalist for British progressive rock band The Alan Parsons Project. He sang lead vocals on 'Day After Day ' on the album I Robot , and the single 'Pyramania' taken from the Grammy-nominated Pyramid...
, Peter Straker, Jaki Whitren, Steve Davies and Dave TownsendDave Townsend was a vocalist for The Alan Parsons Project in 1977 on the album I Robot and in 1979 on the album Eve. Very little is known about his biographical data, as he was in no major bands....
– vocals
- Produced and engineered by Alan Parsons
Alan Parsons is a British audio engineer, musician, and record producer. He was involved with the production of several successful albums, including The Beatles' Abbey Road and Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon for which Pink Floyd credit him as an important contributor...
Charts
| Year |
Chart |
Position |
| 1977 |
The Billboard 200 |
9 |
| 1977 |
UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website ; the full Top 200 is published exclusively in ChartsPlus.To qualify for the UK albums...
|
30 |
| 1977 |
Canada |
11 |