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]

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. Pyramid was nominated for the 1978 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.[4]

The book visible in the cover design is G. Patrick Flanagan – Pyramid Power: The Millennium Science (1973).[5]

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.[7]
  • Hyper-Gamma Spaces – The name came from Eric Woolfson's brother Richard, whose Mathematics Doctorial Thesis carried the title Hyper-Gamma Spaces.[8]
  • 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.[9]

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1978–79) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] 16
Canada (RPM Magazine)[11] 34
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[12] 23
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] 3
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[14] 4
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[15] 13
Spanish Albums (AFE)[16] 4
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 22
UK Albums (OCC)[18] 49

Year-end charts

Chart (1978) Position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19] 8
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[20] 18
Chart (1979) Position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21] 2

Certifications and sales

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[22] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Germany (BVMI)[23] Platinum 500,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[24] Gold 7,500^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[25] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[26] Gold 500,000^
Summaries
Worldwide — 2,000,000+[27]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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