Customer Reviews

Turn Of A Friendly Card (Rm)

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Gambling is a rather odd, albeit contemporary, topic for a collection of music. The (near-)impossibility of winning, the addict, the desparate hope to improve one's position in life the easy way, the downside (i.e. the common one) of games of chance is a thread woven through the vocals with the possible exception of 'Time'. A case can be made for its inclusion, but the excellent lyrics might support various themes.

It was probably included simply because it is so good. It is without doubt one of Parsons best... ever.

Give this one a try.

One of the best albums from The Alan Parsons Project, my feel to it is an inverse to 'Ladyhawke' film. If the lattest was a rock soundtrack for a medieval film, this resembles to quote modern life with many medieval musical elements.

The proof of that is the opening horns in 'May Be a Price to Pay'. A superb instrumental introduction leads to the strong voice of Elmer Gantry. The words add also a medieval thematic speaking about sorcerers, masters and servants. There's a great orchestral part in the middle with very much melisma and a big feel of adventure!! The next song, 'Games People Play' is a good hit sung by Lenny Zakatek, a very dynamic pop-rock song. 'Time' is a classic and the first attempt of Eric Woolfson as a lead vocalist. It's a very deep and dramatic song, enforced by the beautiful orchestral arrangements. 'I Don't Wanna Go Home' is the classic crazy song in every record of the Project, properly sung by the expressive and theatric Lenny Zakatek.

The second side is even better. 'The Gold Bug' is a very interesting instrumental that goes in crescendo with some instruments being gradually added, like saxophone, haunting voices and synthesisers. It was almost copied in the next album with 'Mammagamma' but this is much more genuine and authentic. The next is a suite of 5 movements. 'The Turn of a Friendly card' is two versions of a beautiful ballad, the first more narrative and the last more dramatic and based in the instruments. 'Snake Eyes' is the most evident song touching the theme of gambling. 'Ace of Swords'is another medieval musical reference to the whole, linking with the gambling theme. It's a very upbeating theme full of quality arrangements by Andrew Powell. And 'Nothing Left to Lose' is a little but wonderful ballad with very warm and consolating lyrics for the "defeated warrior". The end of the album is like pesimistic but with an optimistic look to the future. I don't know if there is really a conclusion to the album, but the feel at the end is a little bitter-sweet. Anyway, this is a masterpiece of symphonic rock and a good one for getting started with the Project, as well as 'Eye in the Sky'.

The Alan Parsons Project's "The Turn Of A Friendly Card," their 1980 observation of the world of gambling, is an outstanding prog-pop album, and one of the group's very best works. In fact, I'd probably park this album right behind "Tales Of Mystery & Imagination" as the group's greatest disc. The music composed by Parsons & Eric Woolfson is simply stunning, the arrangements lush & breathtaking, the performances powerful. "May Be A Price To Pay" is a terrific opener, with singer Elmer Gantry taking you into the casino with this first-rate rocker. You can just see those roulette wheels spinning, the dice being thrown, and the cards being dealt while listening to this song, especially during the dreamy instrumental bridge. "Games People Play," sung by Lenny Zakatek, is a Project classic, another great exuberant rocker and one of the group's biggest hits. Eric Woolfson passionately sings "Time," another Project staple and one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded (and the only song that seems to depart from the album's gambling theme). I dare you not to melt on hearing this exquisite ballad! Zakatek returns to sing "I Don't Wanna Go Home," a terrific, rough & tough song about obsessive gamblers. "The Gold Bug" is a wonderfully hypnotic Project instrumental, and then, finally, there's the epic title suite, containing the songs "Snake Eyes", "Nothing Left To Lose," and the instrumental, "The Ace Of Swords." Sung by both Chris Rainbow & Eric Woolfson, this rock suite contains all the hallmarks of classic Project music: marvelous prog/pop, great orchestrations by Andrew Powell, a shimmering instrumental break, and top-notch performances and production---just like the rest of the album! "The Turn Of A Friendly Card" is a glowing gem from Alan Parsons & company, one of their finest. Getting this album is one gamble you can definitely bet on.

The Turn of a Friendly Card is one of the APP's most solid "concept" albums (about gambling, if you will). "Time" doesn't fit quite as well with this concept as the other tracks unless it's about one's time (or life) being stolen from loved one's by the gambling disease. The song is so beautiful and celestial, however, it is hard to think of it in such mundane terms. Besides the two instrumental tracks ("The Gold Bug" and "The Ace of Swords")being not as memorable as the instrumentals on Eye in the Sky, there is nothing weak on this album. "Games People Play" is one of my all-time favorite APP tracks. It is a fun rocker you can't help but sing along to. The title track is simple and beautiful with some of Woolfson/Parsons' best lyrics ("There are unsmiling faces and bright plastic chains and a wheel of perpetual motion...").

The tracks on the second half of the album seem to be meant to tie in together as the track listing above suggests, however I think the title track and "Nothing Left To Lose" would have sounded better just standing on their own. "Nothing Left To Lose," like "Time," is another beautiful Eric Woolfson-sung track. My only qualm is the hard rocking ending to it (with the music from "Snake Eyes"), which I find rather distracting. Still, it is behind Ammonia Avenue as my second favorite APP album (just above Eye in the Sky and Gaudi). "Time" and "Games People Play" alone make this album worth its weight in "gold bugs" (or casino chips).

In my opinion The Turn Of A Friendly Card of The Alan Parsons Project is the best album ever made. The title song with lead vocals of Chris Rainbow is amazing. The instrumental 'Gold Bug' is even better than other APP instrumentals such as Sirius and Mammagamma of the Eye In The Sky album. Furthermore the voice of Eric Woolfson on 'Time' is supernatural. Other great songs are 'Maybe A Price To Pay' and 'Games People Play', that also made it to the charts. The Turn Of A Friendly Card is a majestic piece of art. Buy and listen to this wonderful combination of classical, rock and pop music!

A great album, though the occasional disco influence catches a bit, and distracts one very briefly a couple of times. Is this a concept album about gambling? Hmm... Think "metaphor" and look at the album cover. One of my all-time favorites.

When I got this album in late 1980 it didn't seem like a concept album about gambling. Maybe side 2 but not side 1. Although side 2 is good I got hooked on side 1. This album seemed to fit with my life at the time, that's why I liked it. But for an objective listener a "4" rating I would say is generous. Songs like "May be a Price to Pay", "Games People Play", "Time" and "I Don't wanna go home" are catchy tunes that are enjoyable to listen to over and over again in the beginning. But once you're tired of them you may never care to listen to them again, ever. This is a half concept album in my opinion. I don't see much correlation to gambling in the first few songs but don't have a problem with that because I like them more. "Games People Play" starts out with, "Where do we go from here now that all of the children are growing up" may be in reference to baby boomers and/or their parents but that's my opinion. Once again, these songs are catchy, but I don't think it's a Parson's CD you'll enjoy years later like some of his others. I feel like it went with the time though (late 1980, early 1981). So, if you want to get nostalgic, it's a good listen.

An atmosphere that reminds me the great "PINK FLOYD", especially on "Time".
Very good album, original, conceptual, a classic !

It's interesting in reading some of the other reviewers and how they feel sometimes that Parsons has been elevated to a "classic" rating, simply because he attempted to pull off several concept albums. Granted, Parsons is not going to be remembered for being a genius artist; no, but Parsons will be remembered for making the attempt to approach the rock scene from an entirely different angle. His use of orchestrations, electronic effects, mixed vocals and languishing instrumentals is what makes his music so enduring, at least to us diehard fans. I have only been truly disappointed in two of Parsons' albums: the repetitious "Vulture Culture" and the last "Time Machine," which he really didn't have anything to do with.
In "Turn of a Friendly Card," Parsons turned his attention to gambling, and while it doesn't quite mold into the epitome of concept albums, it is strong, and more importantly, melodic and delightful to listen to over and over.
"Time," like "Old and Wise" is a sumptious ballad, soaring and gliding into the ethereal world Parsons so beautifully knows. "Maybe a Price to Pay" is one of those "cinematic" songs that utilizes Parsons' effective use of building familiar themes into haunting reprises. "Snake Eyes" and "Games People Play" are sharp pop-influenced tunes that Parsons wisely used to attract a more universal audience.
How can anyone question his artistic intelligence? Listen to the use of all the instrumentations, his effective mixing of vocal highlights, and you'll truly see why Alan Parsons' albums will be cherished for quite a long time.
Then go to your radio and listen to some of the "music" playing now; there is nothing that comes even close.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

This is about gambling, loss, and desperation. Anyone who has prowled the casinos of Las Vegas at 2:00am and seen the glassy-eyed one-arm-bandit players hopelessly, robotically dropping coins into the slot machines hour-after-lost-hour will dig this album. The orchestration is lush - lots of brass - and lyrics might bring a tear to your eye, especially on the lovely "Time."