The Raven (song)
| "The Raven" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Alan Parsons Project | ||||
| from the album Tales of Mystery and Imagination | ||||
| B-side | "The Fall of the House of Usher (Prelude)" | |||
| Released | September 1976[1] | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock, funk rock | |||
| Length | 3:43 | |||
| Label | 20th Century | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson | |||
| Producer(s) | Alan Parsons | |||
| The Alan Parsons Project singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"The Raven" is the first song by the Alan Parsons Project, recorded in April 1976 at Mama Jo's Studio, North Hollywood, Los Angeles.[2] It is the second track on their debut album, Tales of Mystery and Imagination, which is a tribute to author and poet Edgar Allan Poe.[3] Though the song is based on Poe's poem of the same name, and is almost a verbatim recital of the lyrics of the poem, Poe is not given song writing credit. It is credited to Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson.[4]
According to the liner notes of the album, "The Raven" is first rock songs to use a vocoder,[5] developed by Electronic Music Studios (EMS), to distort vocals. It is also one of the few songs by the band featuring the vocals of Alan Parsons, who sings the first verse through the EMI vocoder. Actor Leonard Whiting performs the lead vocals for the remainder of the song, with Eric Woolfson and the Westminster City School Boys Choir as backing vocals.[6]
The single appeared on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at #80 in October 1976.[7]
The 1987 reissued version of the song contains a guitar solo by Ian Bairnson near the end, before the "Quoth the Raven"/"Nevermore, nevermore, nevermore, never!" refrains and a few licks between the lyrics.[8]
In 2004, the choral band Gregorian made a cover of the song for their album The Dark Side.[9]
American rapper Danny Brown sampled the song for "Clean Up" on his 2013 album Old.[10]
Personnel
- Original (1976)
- Burleigh Drummond, Stuart Tosh — drums
- Bob Howes and the English Chorale — choir vocals
- Christopher North — keyboards
- David Pack — guitars
- Alan Parsons — opening lead vocals (using EMI vocoder)
- Andrew Powell — conducted and arranged orchestra
- Joe Puerta — bass guitar
- Leonard Whiting — lead vocals
- Eric Woolfson — backing vocals, keyboards
- Reissue (1987)
- Ian Bairnson — lead guitar solo
References
- ^ Strong, Martin Charles (22 October 1995). Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 616. ISBN 9780862415419.
- ^ "The Alan Parsons Project – Tales Of Mystery And Imagination - Edgar Allan Poe". Discogs. 1976.
- ^ "Tales of Mystery and Imagination". The Alan Parsons Project Official Website.
- ^ "The Raven". ML Genius Holdings, LLC. Woolfsongs Ltd/ Careers Music Inc.
- ^ "The Raven by The Alan Parsons Project". Song Facts.
- ^ DeGagne, Mike. "Tales of Mystery and Imagination: Edgar Allan Poe Review". AllMusic.
- ^ "Hot 100". Billboard (magazine). 30 October 1976.
- ^ "The Alan Parsons Project – Tales Of Mystery And Imagination". Discogs. 1987.
- ^ "The Dark Side - Gregorian". AllMusic.
- ^ "Clean Up by Danny Brown". Who Sampled.
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- 1975 debut singles
- 1975 songs
- Music based on works by Edgar Allan Poe
- Funk rock songs
- The Alan Parsons Project songs
- Songs written by Alan Parsons
- Songs written by Eric Woolfson
- Song recordings produced by Alan Parsons
- 20th Century Fox Records singles
- Songs based on poems
- Songs about birds
- Songs about fictional characters
- Halloween songs
- 1970s song stubs