Vulture Culture

Vulture Culture is the eighth studio album by The Alan Parsons Project, released in 1984 (early 1985 in some countries) via the Arista label.[3]

Vulture Culture
Studio album by
The Alan Parsons Project
ReleasedDecember 1984
RecordedMay – July 1984
Abbey Road Studios, London
Genre
Length37:59
LabelArista
ProducerAlan Parsons and Eric Woolfson
The Alan Parsons Project chronology
Ammonia Avenue
(1983)		 Vulture Culture
(1984)		 Stereotomy
(1985)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Rolling Stone[2]

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).

Originally, the album was intended to be the second LP of a double album, with Ammonia Avenue being the first. After the discs were split into separate albums, Vulture Culture was given a more modern (for the time) studio treatment with harder-hitting drums and dynamics. "Sooner or Later" was described by Parsons himself as "the third attempt to try and get another hit with the "Eye in the Sky"-esque chugging guitar line – "Prime Time" from Ammonia Avenue was the second, which I thought was a little more successful in that respect."

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 Woolfson4:59
3."Days Are Numbers (The Traveller)"Chris Rainbow4:31
4."Sooner or Later"Eric Woolfson4:25
Side two
No.TitleLead VocalsLength
1."Vulture Culture"Lenny Zakatek5:22
2."Hawkeye"Instrumental3:49
3."Somebody Out There"Colin Blunstone4:55
4."The Same Old Sun"Eric Woolfson5:25

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

  1. "No Answers Only Questions (final version)" (Woolfson) – 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)" (Woolfson) – 2:56

Personnel

Charts
Chart (1984/85) Peak
Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 32
Canada 25
Norway 9
Spanish Albums Chart 2
UK Albums Chart 40
USA (Billboard 200) 46

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[8] Gold 50,000^
Germany (BVMI)[9] 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. Rollingstone.com.
  3. Alan Parsons Project, The – Vulture Culture at Discogs. Discogs.com (03 February 2018).
  4. charts.de. charts.de.
  5. The Alan Parsons Project – Let's Talk About Me. hitparade.ch.
  6. The Alan Parsons Project – Vulture Culture. dutchcharts.nl.
  7. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 229. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. "Canadian album certifications – Alan Parsons Project – Vulture Culture". Music Canada.
  9. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Alan Parsons Project; 'Vulture Culture')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
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