Ammonia Avenue

Ammonia Avenue
Studio album by The Alan Parsons Project
Released	February 7, 1984
Recorded	Mid 1982-Late 1983 Abbey Road Studios
Genre	Progressive rock, Pop rock
Length	40:10
Label	Arista
Producer	Alan Parsons
The Alan Parsons Project chronology
The Best of The Alan Parsons Project (1983) Ammonia Avenue (1984) Vulture Culture (1985)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	[2]

Ammonia Avenue is one of the most commercially successful albums of The Alan Parsons Project.

It was the second of the group's three most accessible albums, beginning with Eye in the Sky and ending with Vulture Culture. Ammonia Avenue was originally intended to be released as a double album with Vulture Culture's material forming the second record.

The Phil Spector-influenced million selling smash "Don't Answer Me" was Ammonia Avenue's lead single; it reached the Top 20 in several countries,^[3] and represents the last Alan Parsons Project's big hit. "Prime Time" was a follow up release that fared well in the top 40. "Since The Last Goodbye" and "You Don't Believe" were also minor hits. Music videos for "Don't Answer Me" and "Prime Time" were produced in 1984, the former with art and animation by MW Kaluta. The latter video is inspired by John Collier's story "Evening Primrose".

The title of the album was inspired by Eric Woolfson's visit to Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) in Billingham, England, where the first thing he saw was a street with miles of pipes, no people, no trees and a sign that said 'Ammonia Avenue'. The album focused on the possible misunderstanding of industrial scientific developments from a public perspective and a lack of understanding of the public from a scientific perspective.^[4]

Track listing

All tracks written by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson.

1. "Prime Time" (lead vocal Eric Woolfson) – 5:03
2. "Let Me Go Home" (lead vocal Lenny Zakatek) – 3:20
3. "One Good Reason" (lead vocal Eric Woolfson) – 3:36
4. "Since the Last Goodbye" (lead vocal Chris Rainbow) – 4:34
5. "Don't Answer Me" (lead vocal Eric Woolfson) – 4:11
6. "Dancing on a Highwire" (lead vocal Colin Blunstone) – 4:22
7. "You Don't Believe" (lead vocal Lenny Zakatek) – 4:26 _{(This track actually appeared first on The Best of the Alan Parsons Project released a year earlier)}
8. "Pipeline" (instrumental)– 3:56
9. "Ammonia Avenue" (lead vocal Eric Woolfson) – 6:30

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

10. "Don't Answer Me" (Early Rough Mix)
11. "You Don't Believe" (Demo)
12. "Since the Last Goodbye" (Chris Rainbow Vocal Overdubs)
13. "Since the Last Goodbye" (Eric Guide Vocal - Rough Mix)
14. "You Don't Believe" (Instrumental Tribute to The Shadows)
15. "Dancing on a Highwire/Spotlight" (Work in Progress)
16. "Ammonia Avenue Part 1" (Eric Demo Vocal - Rough Mix)
17. "Ammonia Avenue" (Orchestral Overdub)

Personnel

• Ian Bairnson – acoustic guitar, guitar, electric guitar
• Colin Blunstone – vocals
• Mel Collins – synthesizer, saxophone
• Stuart Elliott – percussion, drums
• Alan Parsons – keyboards, programming, vocals
• David Paton – bass, guitar, vocals
• Chris Rainbow – vocals
• Eric Woolfson – keyboards, vocals
• Lenny Zakatek – vocals
• The Philharmonia Orchestra leader - Christopher Warren-Green

Charts

Year	Chart	Position
1984	The Billboard 200	15
1984	UK Albums Chart	24
1984	Canada	29

References

1. ^ "allmusic ((( Ammonia Avenue > Overview )))". www.allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r14920. Retrieved 2009-09-26. 
2. ^ "Ammonia Avenue : Alan Parsons Project : Review : Rolling Stone". rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/301828/review/5942044?utm_source=Rhapsody&utm_medium=CDreview. Retrieved 2009-09-26. 
3. ^ [1]
4. ^ Woolfson, Eric. "Albums, Back Catalogue" (– ^{Scholar search}). http://www.the-alan-parsons-project.com/albums/ammoniaavenue.php. Retrieved 2007-05-28 ^{[dead link]}