I Robot (album)

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I Robot
Studio album by
the Alan Parsons Project
Released8 July 1977[1]
RecordedDecember 1976 – March 1977
StudioAbbey Road, London
Genre
Length41:05
LabelArista
ProducerAlan Parsons
The Alan Parsons Project chronology
Tales of Mystery and Imagination
(1976) 		I Robot
(1977) 		Pyramid
(1978)
Singles from I Robot
  1. "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You"
    Released: August 1977[4]
  2. "Don't Let It Show"
    Released: December 1977 (US)
  3. "I Robot"
    Released: February 1978 (UK)
  4. "Day After Day"
    Released: February 1978 (US)

I Robot is the second studio album by British rock band the Alan Parsons Project, released on 8 July 1977 by Arista Records. The album draws conceptually on author Isaac Asimov's science fiction Robot stories, exploring philosophical themes regarding artificial intelligence.[3] It was re-released on vinyl and cassette tape in 1984 and on CD in 2017.

Background and concept[edit]

The album was intended to be based on the I, Robot stories written by Asimov, and Eric Woolfson spoke with Asimov himself, who was enthusiastic about the idea. As the rights already had been granted to a TV/movie company, the album's title was altered slightly by removing the comma in "I," and the theme and lyrics were made to be more generically about robots rather than to be specific to the Asimov universe.[5][6] 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 Creation, since the first chapter of Genesis only has 31 verses.[7]

According to the band's website, Paul McCartney unintentionally helped to inspire the song "Some Other Time". When Parsons had asked if McCartney could read a line of poetry for the band's first album in exchange for a favor Parsons had previously done him, McCartney replied by saying; "Some other time Alan, some other time". This gave the band an idea for a song title.[8]

By pure coincidence, the album was released shortly after Star Wars came out in the United States. The group acknowledges that part of the album's success came from it being the only album with a robot on the cover during a time when robots were suddenly "all the rage".[9]

Artwork[edit]

The artwork was created by the English art design group Hipgnosis. The album cover photo features Storm Thorgerson's assistants in the escalator tubes of the circular Terminal 1 building of the Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris.[10] The picture was taken without the permission of the airport management.[11] Over this is superimposed a painting of a robot with a stylised atom for a brain. The robot also appears on the label of the record. The original vinyl release has a gatefold-style cover; the inside spread has the lyrics and a monochrome photograph of Parsons. The pose and angle of the photograph echoes that of the robot on the front cover.

Singles[edit]

Three singles were released from the album: "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You", "Don't Let it Show" and "Day After Day (The Show Must Go On)". The LP track "Breakdown" went into heavy rotation on AOR stations and continues to be played on classic rock radio.

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Christgau's Record GuideC[12]

The New York Times praised the "really ingenious use of the possibilities of the modern recording studio," but concluded that "the overall esthetic is still a flatulent one, self-importantly preening itself as art."[13]

Reissues[edit]

I Robot has been reissued multiple times in various formats since its initial release on vinyl, including numerous audiophile releases. Besides the 8-track, vinyl and compact-cassette releases, Arista also released the original aluminum CD along with the rest of the Project albums, up to that time. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL) released the album on standard vinyl (MFSL 1-084), UHQR vinyl (MFQR 1-084), Ultradisk One-Step vinyl (UD1S 1-041), and on aluminium CD (MFCD-1-804). Classic Records has released the album in analogue form on 180-gram vinyl, as well as digitally on HDAD (24 bit/192 kHz DVD-Audio and 24 bit/96 kHz DVD-Video). JVC released the album as a K2 edition, with Ammonia Avenue and Eye in the Sky. In 2007, as part of a larger campaign, Sony released a remastered version along with bonus tracks on CD. It was later released in Japan as an SHM-CD, with the same mastering.

The album was re-released under Legacy Recordings as a "legacy edition" in 2013 on CD, with an extra disc with unreleased bonus tracks, mastered by Dave Donelly. There was also a vinyl edition with the same mastering launched one month later.

Track listing[edit]

All songs written and composed by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleLead VocalsLength
1."I Robot"The English Chorale6:02
2."I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You"Lenny Zakatek3:22
3."Some Other Time"Peter Straker & Jaki Whitren4:06
4."Breakdown"Allan Clarke3:50
5."Don't Let It Show"Dave Townsend4:24
Total length:21:44
Side two
No.TitleLead VocalsLength
1."The Voice"Steve Harley5:24
2."Nucleus"Instrumental3:31
3."Day After Day (The Show Must Go On)"Jack Harris3:49
4."Total Eclipse" (Andrew Powell)The English Chorale3:09
5."Genesis Ch. 1 V. 32"The New Philharmonia Chorus3:28
Total length:19:21
2007 reissue bonus tracks[14]
  2. "Boules" (I Robot experiment) – 1:59
  3. "Breakdown" (early demo of backing riff) – 2:09
  4. "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You" (backing track rough mix) – 3:28
  5. "Day After Day" (early stage rough mix) – 3:40
  6. "The Naked Robot" – 10:19
2013 Sony Music Entertainment reissue (Legacy Edition) bonus tracks[15]
  2. "U.S Radio Commercial for I Robot – 1:01
  3. "I Robot (Boules Experiment)" – 1:59
  4. "I Robot" (Hilary Western Vocal Rehearsal) – 1:33
  5. "Extract 1 from The Alan Parsons Project Audio Guide" – 1:04
  6. "Extract 2 from The Alan Parsons Project Audio Guide" – 0:57
  7. "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You" (backing track rough mix) – 3:28
  8. "Some Other Time" (Complete vocal by Jaki Whitren) – 3:43
  9. "Breakdown" (early demo of backing riff) – 2:09
  10. "Extract 3 from The Alan Parsons Project Audio Guide" – 0:31
  11. "Breakdown - The Choir" – 1:51
  12. "Don't let it Show" (Eric Woolfson demo) – 3:26
  13. "Day After Day" (early stage rough mix) – 3:40
  14. "Genesis Ch. 1 V. 32" (Choir session) – 2:18
  15. "The Naked Robot" – 10:19

Personnel[edit]

Charts[edit]

Certifications and sales[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[31] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Germany (BVMI)[33] Gold 400,000[32]
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[34] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[35] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[36] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

In popular culture[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "BPI certifications".
  2. ^ Houle, Zachary (3 December 2013). "The Alan Parsons Project: I Robot (Legacy Edition)". PopMatters. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "I Robot – The Alan Parsons Project". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  4. ^ "Great Rock Discography". p. 616.
  5. ^ "Official Website". 13 March 2014.
  6. ^ "I Robot 1977, Alan Parsons Project 2nd Album, Alan Parsons & Eric Woolfson". The-alan-parsons-project.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  7. ^ "Interview: Alan Parsons: The Artist and Scientist of Sound Recording". BlogSpot. 24 April 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  8. ^ https://www.the-alan-parsons-project.com/i-robot
  9. ^ https://www.the-alan-parsons-project.com/i-robot
  10. ^ Eric Woolfson interview - I Robot album sleeve
  11. ^ Libération - The Alan Parson Project, les robots de l’aube
  12. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: P". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 10 March 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  13. ^ Rockwell, John (23 October 1977). "When the Punks Meet the Progressives". The New York Times. p. D20.
  14. ^ "I Robot 1977, Alan Parsons Project 2nd Album, Alan Parsons & Eric Woolfson". The-alan-parsons-project.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  15. ^ "I Robot (Legacy Edition) by the Alan Parsons Project on Amazon Music - Amazon.com". Amazon. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ "Austriancharts.at – The Alan Parsons Project – I Robot" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5431a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  19. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Alan Parsons Project – I Robot" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  20. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Alan Parsons Project – I Robot" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  21. ^ "Charts.nz – The Alan Parsons Project – I Robot". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  22. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002. Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  23. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – The Alan Parsons Project – I Robot". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  24. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  25. ^ "The Alan Parsons Project Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  26. ^ "The Top 100 Albums of '77". RPM. Vol. 28, no. 14. 31 December 1977. p. 15. ISSN 0315-5994. Retrieved 9 November 2021 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  27. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1977 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  28. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1978. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  29. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1978 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  30. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1979. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  31. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Alan Parsons Project – I Robot". Music Canada.
  32. ^ "Dateline: Hamburg - Electrola Takes Honours" (PDF). Music Week. 25 August 1979. p. 10. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  33. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Alan Parsons Project; 'I Robot')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  34. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  35. ^ "British album certifications – Alan Parsons Project – I Robot". British Phonographic Industry.
  36. ^ "American album certifications – Alan Parsons Project – I Robot". Recording Industry Association of America.
  37. ^ "Benatar's music creates yearning for life on edge". Deseret News. 25 May 2006. Retrieved 29 April 2009. Songs such as the title track, "If You Think You Know How to Love Me," "We Live for Love," "Heartbreaker," "So Sincere," a remake of Alan Parsons' "Don't Let It Show" ...
  38. ^ "Pat Benatar". Billboard. 1979. Retrieved 29 April 2009. "Don't Let It Show" is an Alan Parsons song and this tune perhaps ...
  39. ^ Godwin, Gail (1982). A mother and two daughters. Viking Press. p. 292. ISBN 9780670490219.
  40. ^ 21 Pilot. Wink Martindale. Retrieved 11 September 2022 – via YouTube.
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