💿 The Alan Parsons Project – The Best of The Alan Parsons Project, Vol. 2 (1987)
Release Date: 1987
Label: Arista Records
Genre: Progressive Rock, Pop Rock, Art Rock
Type: Compilation Album
Producer: Alan Parsons
🔥 The Best of The Alan Parsons Project, Vol. 2 is a compilation album by The Alan Parsons Project, released in 1987. It serves as a follow-up to the earlier 1983 greatest hits collection, gathering more notable tracks from the band’s extensive catalog.
The album highlights songs from several of the group’s most successful releases of the late 1970s and 1980s, showcasing their unique mix of progressive rock, polished production, and melodic songwriting.
📝 Tracklist
(Track listings varied slightly depending on regional releases, but commonly included the following songs.)
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“Prime Time”
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“Let’s Talk About Me”
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“Standing on Higher Ground”
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“Stereotomy”
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“Don’t Answer Me”
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“Days Are Numbers (The Traveller)”
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“La Sagrada Familia”
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“Sooner or Later”
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“Beaujolais”
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“Pipeline”
🎤 Album Credits
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Alan Parsons – Producer, Engineer
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Eric Woolfson – Songwriting, Keyboards, Vocals
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Lenny Zakatek – Lead Vocals on several tracks
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John Miles – Lead Vocals
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Chris Rainbow – Backing Vocals
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David Paton – Bass, Vocals
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Stuart Elliott – Drums
🎶 Like the band’s studio albums, the compilation features the rotating group of musicians and vocalists that defined the Alan Parsons Project sound.
🌟 Most Popular Tracks Included
Some well-known songs featured on this compilation include:
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“Don’t Answer Me” – A nostalgic pop-inspired hit from Ammonia Avenue.
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“Standing on Higher Ground” – Energetic track from the Gaudi album.
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“Days Are Numbers (The Traveller)” – Atmospheric and philosophical song from Vulture Culture.
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“Stereotomy” – Epic progressive track exploring the pressures of fame.
💰 Sales & Commercial Performance
💿 The compilation helped maintain interest in the band’s catalog during the late 1980s.
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Released shortly after the final studio album Gaudi
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Popular among fans wanting a broader overview of the band’s later material
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Continued the band’s strong presence in classic rock and progressive rock collections
Compilation albums like this often acted as entry points for new listeners discovering the band.
🎉 Fun Facts
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The album focuses mainly on tracks from the band’s later 1980s releases.
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Many songs included here feature more pop-oriented arrangements compared to the early progressive albums.
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The compilation helped introduce younger listeners in the late 80s to the Alan Parsons Project.
🕵️ Trivia
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The Alan Parsons Project released ten studio albums between 1976 and 1987, each with its own concept or theme.
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Alan Parsons gained early fame as the engineer on The Dark Side of the Moon.
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The band functioned primarily as a studio project rather than a touring act during most of its existence.
🤔 Did You Know?
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Eric Woolfson later adapted several Alan Parsons Project albums into musical theater productions.
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The band’s music is often praised for audiophile-level recording quality, thanks to Alan Parsons’ meticulous engineering.
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Many Alan Parsons Project songs remain staples of classic rock radio stations worldwide.
