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1977 studio album by the Alan Parsons Project From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I Robot is the second studio album by British rock band the Alan Parsons Project, released on 8 July 1977 by Arista Records. The album draws conceptually on author Isaac Asimov's science fiction Robot stories, exploring philosophical themes regarding artificial intelligence.[3] It was re-released on vinyl and cassette tape in 1984 and on CD in 2017.
I Robot | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 8 July 1977[1] | |||
Recorded | December 1976 – March 1977 | |||
Studio | Abbey Road, London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 41:05 | |||
Label | Arista | |||
Producer | Alan Parsons | |||
the Alan Parsons Project chronology | ||||
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Singles from I Robot | ||||
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The album was intended to be based on the I, Robot stories written by Asimov, and Eric Woolfson spoke with Asimov himself, who was enthusiastic about the idea. As the rights already had been granted to a TV/movie company, the album's title was altered slightly by removing the comma in "I," and the theme and lyrics were made to be more generically about robots rather than to be specific to the Asimov universe.[6][7] The cover inlay reads: "I Robot... The story of the rise of the machine and the decline of man, which paradoxically coincided with his discovery of the wheel... and a warning that his brief dominance of this planet will probably end, because man tried to create robot in his own image." The title of the final track, "Genesis Ch.1 v.32", follows this theme by implying a continuation to the story of Creation, since the first chapter of Genesis only has 31 verses.[8]
According to the band's website, Paul McCartney unintentionally helped to inspire the song "Some Other Time". When Parsons had asked if McCartney could read a line of poetry for the band's first album in exchange for a favor Parsons had previously done him, McCartney replied by saying; "Some other time Alan, some other time". This gave the band an idea for a song title.[9]
By pure coincidence, the album was released shortly after Star Wars came out in the United States. The group acknowledges that part of the album's success came from it being the only album with a robot on the cover during a time when robots were suddenly "all the rage".[10]
The artwork was created by the English art design group Hipgnosis. The album cover photo features Storm Thorgerson's assistants in the escalator tubes of the circular Terminal 1 building of the Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris.[11] The picture was taken without the permission of the airport management.[12] Over this is superimposed a painting of a robot with a stylised atom for a brain. The robot also appears on the label of the record. The original vinyl release has a gatefold-style cover; the inside spread has the lyrics and a monochrome photograph of Parsons. The pose and angle of the photograph echoes that of the robot on the front cover.
Three singles were released from the album: "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You", "Don't Let it Show" and "Day After Day (The Show Must Go On)". The LP track "Breakdown" went into heavy rotation on AOR stations and continues to be played on classic rock radio.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Christgau's Record Guide | C[13] |
The New York Times praised the "really ingenious use of the possibilities of the modern recording studio," but concluded that "the overall esthetic is still a flatulent one, self-importantly preening itself as art."[14]
I Robot has been reissued multiple times in various formats since its initial release on vinyl, including numerous audiophile releases. Besides the 8-track, vinyl and compact-cassette releases, Arista also released the original aluminum CD along with the rest of the Project albums, up to that time. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL) released the album on standard vinyl (MFSL 1-084), UHQR vinyl (MFQR 1-084), Ultradisk One-Step vinyl (UD1S 1-041), and on aluminium CD (MFCD-1-804). Classic Records has released the album in analogue form on 180-gram vinyl, as well as digitally on HDAD (24 bit/192 kHz DVD-Audio and 24 bit/96 kHz DVD-Video). JVC released the album as a K2 edition, with Ammonia Avenue and Eye in the Sky. In 2007, as part of a larger campaign, Sony released a remastered version along with bonus tracks on CD. It was later released in Japan as an SHM-CD, with the same mastering.
The album was re-released under Legacy Recordings as a "legacy edition" in 2013 on CD, with an extra disc with unreleased bonus tracks, mastered by Dave Donelly. There was also a vinyl edition with the same mastering launched one month later.
All songs written and composed by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson, except where noted.
No. | Title | Lead Vocals | Length |
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1. | "I Robot" | The English Chorale | 6:02 |
2. | "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You" | Lenny Zakatek | 3:22 |
3. | "Some Other Time" | Peter Straker & Jaki Whitren | 4:06 |
4. | "Breakdown" | Allan Clarke | 3:50 |
5. | "Don't Let It Show" | Dave Townsend | 4:24 |
Total length: | 21:44 |
No. | Title | Lead Vocals | Length |
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1. | "The Voice" | Steve Harley | 5:24 |
2. | "Nucleus" | Instrumental | 3:31 |
3. | "Day After Day (The Show Must Go On)" | Jack Harris | 3:49 |
4. | "Total Eclipse" (Andrew Powell) | The English Chorale | 3:09 |
5. | "Genesis Ch. 1 V. 32" | The New Philharmonia Chorus | 3:28 |
Total length: | 19:21 |
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Australia (ARIA)[33] | Gold | 20,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada)[34] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
Germany (BVMI)[35] | Gold | 400,000[36] |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[37] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[38] | Silver | 60,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[39] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |