Pyramid (The Alan Parsons Project album)

Pyramid (stylized as Pyr△mid) is the third album by progressive rock band The Alan Parsons Project, released in May 1978.[3] It is a concept album centred on the pyramids of Giza. At the time the album was conceived, interest in pyramid power and Tutankhamun was widespread in the US and the UK.[4] Pyramid was nominated for the 1978 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.[5]

Pyramid
Studio album by
The Alan Parsons Project
ReleasedMay 1978
RecordedSeptember 1977 – February 1978
StudioAbbey Road Studios, London, England
Genre
Length37:46
LabelArista
ProducerAlan Parsons
The Alan Parsons Project chronology
I Robot
(1977)		 Pyramid
(1978)		 Eve
(1979)
Singles from Pyramid
  1. "Pyramania"
    Released: June 1978 (UK)
  2. "What Goes Up"
    Released: September 1978
  3. "Hyper-Gamma-Spaces"
    Released: January 1979 (EU)[1]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]

The book visible in the cover design is G. Patrick Flanagan – Pyramid Power: The Millennium Science (1973).[6]

Track listing

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

Side one
No.TitleVocalsLength
1."Voyager"Instrumental2:24
2."What Goes Up…"David Paton, additional vocals by Dean Ford3:31
3."The Eagle Will Rise Again"Colin Blunstone4:20
4."One More River"Lenny Zakatek4:15
5."Can't Take It with You"Dean Ford5:06
Side two
No.TitleVocalsLength
1."In the Lap of the Gods"Instrumental5:27
2."Pyramania"Jack Harris2:45
3."Hyper-Gamma-Spaces"Instrumental4:19
4."Shadow of a Lonely Man"John Miles; additional vocals by Colin Blunstone5:34

Bonus tracks

Pyramid was remastered and reissued in 2008 with the following bonus tracks:

  1. "Voyager/What Goes Up/The Eagle Will Rise Again" (instrumental) – 8:55
  2. "What Goes Up/Little Voice" (early version demo) – 4:07
  3. "Can't Take It with You" (early version demo) – 1:45
  4. "Hyper-Gamma-Spaces" (demo) – 2:21
  5. "The Eagle Will Rise Again" (alternate version – backing track) – 3:20
  6. "In the Lap of the Gods" (Part I – demo) – 3:14
  7. "In the Lap of the Gods" (Part II – backing track rough mix) – 1:56

Bonus tracks details
  • What Goes Up/Little Voice – Another song called, at the time, Little Voice was included in this demo but was not used in the final album.[6]
  • Can't Take It With You (early version demo) – Alan Parsons (unusually) played all the instruments.[6]
  • Hyper-Gamma Spaces – The name came from Eric Woolfson's brother Richard, whose Mathematics Doctoral Thesis carried the title Hyper-Gamma Spaces.[6]
  • The Eagle Will Rise Again (alternative version-backing track) – Intended as a Reprise Rock Band version demo attempt. This was abandoned as there was already enough material for the album.[6]

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (1978–79) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 16
Canada (RPM Magazine)[8] 34
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[9]23
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10]3
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[11]4
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[12]13
Spanish Albums (AFE)[13] 4
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[14]22
UK Albums (OCC)[15]49

Year-end charts
Chart (1978) Position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] 8
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[17] 18
Chart (1979) Position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 2

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[19] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Germany (BVMI)[20] Platinum 500,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[21] Gold 7,500^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[22] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[23] Gold 500,000^
Summaries
Worldwide — 2,000,000+[24]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Alan Parsons Hyper Gamma Spaces". Dutch Charts.
  2. DeGagne, Mike. Pyramid at AllMusic
  3. M.C. Strong (1995). "Great Rock Discography". Edinburgh: Canongate. p. 616.
  4. "Pyramid". Alan Parsons Project Official Website.
  5. "Grammy nominations – Alan Parsons". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  6. The Alan Parsons Project – Pyramid. CD Remaster liner notes (2008)
  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. "RPM Top 100 Albums – September 30, 1978 (page 35)" (PDF).
  9. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Alan Parsons Project – Pyramid" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  10. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Alan Parsons Project – Pyramid" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  11. "Charts.nz – The Alan Parsons Project – Pyramid". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  12. "Norwegiancharts.com – The Alan Parsons Project – Pyramid". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  13. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  14. "Swedishcharts.com – The Alan Parsons Project – Pyramid". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  15. "The Alan Parsons Project | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  16. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1978. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  17. "Top Selling Albums of 1978 – The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  18. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  19. "Canadian album certifications – Alan Parsons Project – Pyramids". Music Canada.
  20. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Alan Parsons Project; 'Pyramids')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  21. "New Zealand album certifications – Alan Parsons Project – Pyramids". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  22. Sólo Éxitos 1959–2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979–1990 (in Spanish). Iberautor Promociones Culturales. 2005. ISBN 8480486392.
  23. "American album certifications – Alan Parsons Project – Pyramids". Recording Industry Association of America.
  24. "Top Sales – Arista Records". Billboard. 27 January 1979. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  • Pyramid, Alan Parsons Project. Arista Records AB 4180, 1978 (Vinyl LP)
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