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The Turn of a Friendly Card

The Alan Parsons Project - The Turn of a Friendly Card Audio CD

A fair review of the The Alan Parsons Project "The Turn of a Friendly Card" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Alan Parsons Project reviews here, or go back to the The Alan Parsons Project tabs.

Band: The Alan Parsons Project
Title: The Turn of a Friendly Card
Rating:

Release Date: 2009-01-27
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: May Be a Price to Pay 2: Games People Play 3: Time 4: I Don't Wanna Go Home 5: Gold Bug 6: Turn of a Friendly Card, Pt. 1 7: Snake Eyes 8: Ace of Swords 9: Nothing Left to Lose 10: Turn of a Friendly Card, Pt. 2 11: May Be a Price to Pay [Intro - Demo] 12: Nothing Left to Lose [Basic Backing Track] 13: Nothing Left to Lose [Chris Rainbow Vocal Overdub Compilation] 14: Nothing Left to Lose [Early Studio Version with Eric's Guide Vocal] 15: Time [Early Studio Attempt] 16: Games People Play [Rough Mix][*] 17: Gold Bug [*][Demo Version]

An outstanding album with a heavy emotional impact
Some of APP's albums, like "Eve", "Gaudi", and "Ammonia Avenue", are only loosely held together by some points of commonality. What I really love about this album, is just how strong the theme is throughout it. And of course, "Tale of Mystery and Imagination" has a "theme of inspiration" as opposed to a "theme of content". But "Turn of a Friendly Card" not only adheres as closely to its theme as "Tales. . . " does, but the basis of it is so well executed. The only other APP album which comes as close to telling a full story is "Eve".

There is something about the album which appeals to me at a deep emotional level. I've never had a gambling problem (which is the theme of the album), but the recurring line of the album, "the game never ends/ when your whole world depends/on the turn of a friendly card" just feels like so much of my life. I think anyone who lives life not accepting what they have, but wanting more, or who has ambition, or has taken risks can identify with that feeling, the feeling of being on the rollercoaster and just not being able to get off of it. And the album captures that so well.

I have yet to meet the APP album I didn't like. I was introduced to them via "Vulture Culture" and then "Stereotomy", eventually I got the "Best of. . . " discs, but didn't listen to them for years. After emerging from a decade of Metalica and Marilyn Manson, and rediscovering the music I grew up on, I pucked up "Turn of a Friendly Card". I now own all of their albums, and I like something about each one of them, but "Turn of a Friendly Card" gets heard more than the others put together.

Best of Alan Parsons
I have the album and the CD and I wouldn't part with neither for any amount of money. I personally think this is the best of any of Alan Parsons Works.

for me it's simple
It's a must for me and I'm happy to have this job in my hands now. I'm an Alan Parsons Project's fan. If you are not a fan then the traditional "Turn of a Friendly Card" should be good enough for you.

Eric Woolfson's Treatise on the Human Tragedy of Gambling Addiction
While many superficial songs have been written on the subject, The Turn of a Friendly Card explores the excitement and disappointment, the folly and the wisdom that can sometimes come when there is Nothing Left To Lose. If much of Peter Gabriel's lasting artistic legacy will be the principled stands he has taken for the cause of human rights, then a similar legacy should linger long after Eric Woolfson for his insights into the human tragedies of gambling addiction. That song, in particular, embodies an uplifting melody around starkly somber lyrics that together create a sense of quiet resignment, a singularly unique emotion not heard in many songs. But as deeply as this concept album delves into these themes of mental addiction and the power of choice versus the unconscious, Woolfson delves even deeper in his musical GAMBLER where additionally the primal male fantasies of heroism are turned against the hero. This album benefits from not only the stellar production and engineering of Alan Parsons, but also from two of the finest instrumentals Parsons has ever composed: The Gold Bug and The Ace Of Swords.

If asked just what was The Alan Parsons Project, the simple answer would be a couple of musical geniuses who had the good sense to surround themselves with a bunch of other musical geniuses. Even a casual interest in the liner notes will reveal the unique talents of Andrew Powell who was solely responsible for all of the Project's orchestral arrangements. But far less obvious would be the tremendous contributions that guitarist Ian Bairnson made throughout the life of the Project in terms of arrangement and, all too often, extremely complicated key changes. On I Don't Wanna Go Home in particular, Bairnson places a single sheet of paper between the strings and the pickup of his guitar in order to achieve an almost unheard organic quality to his playing. Even Chris Rainbow deserves much more praise for his "rainbow effect" vocal harmonies laden throughout The Project catalog and showcased on the bonus material Nothing Left To Lose (Chris Rainbow Overdub Vocal Compilation).

While I have heard some refer to The Alan Parsons Project as a poor man's Pink Floyd, I contend strongly that The Turn of a Friendly Card stands toe to toe with the best efforts Pink Floyd ever put forth. The range of styles, tempos, and moods are as diverse as those on The Floyd's most successful album Dark Side of the Moon, but that should come as no surprise considering Parsons' substantial involvement in recording and engineering that masterpiece. While this album's influence may not go as deep and wide as Dark Side despite the success of the singles Time and Games People Play, it certainly should given the relevance of the subject matter in modern societies where gambling is more widely sanctioned than ever.

The Turn of a Friendly Card
The single "Snake Eyes" peaked at #47 & "Games People Play" was a Top 20 hit. The Turn of a Friendly Card was Parsons fifth studio album, it peaked at #13 on the charts. The third single was "Time', it peaked at #15. The Turn of a Friendly Card has gambling as its central theme & it does this rather well.

The album opens with "May Be a Price to Pay", unlike most Parsons albums up to this point, it's not an instrumental. It's probably the weakest song a Parsons had ever opened with. The song begins with a horn fanfare then gets into the proper part of it but it never rises above the ordinary. Next is "Games People Play", it borders on pop but nothing unique though it does have a catchy chorus. "Time" slows down the tempo, it's one of their prettier songs. "I Don't Wanna Go Home" has a syncopated feel but once again isn't anything special. Bairnson does give a pretty decent lead solo. "The Gold Bug" is an instrumental & is the easily the best song on the album. On previous albums Parsons would have opened the album with this song. Its beginning reminds me of music from a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western. The sax solo is a highlight of the song. Then we get what was on the original release a five part song that was called "The Turn of a Friendly Card", each section identified by a part, i. e. , pt. 1, pt. 2, etc. The first part was entitled "The Turn of a Friendly Card, Pt. 1" , is a slow tempo song with a beautiful melody. It becomes a recurring theme through the remaining songs. Then comes the single "Snake Eyes" which has a prominent rhythm guitar. It solidifies the theme of the album. Then comes "The Ace of Swords" (a tarot reference), a harpsichord is one of the main instruments opening the song. It's an instrumental that has a jazz-like section. "Nothing Left to Lose" is another slow tempo song that features a memorable melody. It ends with a reggae sample then goes int a heavier rendition of previous theme. Ian Bairnson gives us one of his best solo efforts. "Nothing Left to Lose" repeats the melody of "The Turn of a Friendly Card". This ends the original album. Overall there isn't a bad song on this album & the five part song "The Turn of a Friendly Card" is the definite highlight of the album. "The Gold Bug" stands right above it.

The remastering is excellent & features seven(!) bonus tracks. We get the demo version of "May Be a Price to Pay" Then there's three versions of "Nothing Left to Lose", the first one is only the instrument tracks, the second one is has a Chris Rainbow voval but incomplete, then the third version has Eric Woolfson doing a guide vocal (a common practice in those days). We get an early attempt at "Time", this song came a long way from this version. There's a rough mix of "Games People Play", which means it was a mix they knew they weren't going to use. Finally there's the demo version of "The Gold Bug" which is interesting because we see some of the genesis of the song. It's not near as good as the finished product, which is what makes it a demo, right?

The Turn of a Friendly Card is another Parsons album I'm never quite sure about, my feelings go back & forth on it at times. It's a solid effort just not a spectacular one. I guess you could say I've been spoiled by some of their better efforts.

You can see a complete list of all The Alan Parsons Project discography, or go back to the The Alan Parsons Project tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.