The Turn Of A Friendly Card (1980)
The Alan Parsons Project once again receives a No Skip Album award for their fifth studio album, The Turn Of A Friendly Card! Although the band was already getting praise and recognition for their previous work, this record was a far bigger commercial success, charting in several countries and featuring some of the Project’s biggest hit singles.
You can hear the group starting to evolve their sound a bit to stay current with the times. That being said, they do not stray away from their signature artistry or their dedication to making concept albums, and they do it better than anyone else.
The Turn Of A Friendly Card revolves around the idea of gambling and the risks and rewards that come with it. Each song on the record explores different aspects of this theme, from the thrill of the game to the consequences of losing. Musically, the album is poppier and more commercial than its predecessors, but maintains some light elements of progressive rock.
For a full breakdown of each track and the lyrical meaning behind each song, you can always look it up and read about it. But in short, May Be a Price to Pay is about the high stakes and potential consequences of gambling, and Games People Play speaks to the lengths people will go in their pursuit of success. Time discusses the value of time and how quickly it can slip away while pursuing success, and Nothing Left To Lose speaks to the feelings that arise from losing everything in a game of chance. The rest of the album touches on the potential addiction of gambling, the excitement of taking big risks, the thrill of the game and the inevitable regret that can come from losing everything. It is an interesting and bold concept to go for with this record, but for whatever reason, gambling really resonated with the band.
Sticking to one theme and one concept for an entire record is a challenge in and of itself, but to do this for five albums in a row in insanely impressive. To do so and achieve a NSA award is even more impressive and on top of that .. to achieve a true Five Star NSA award is outrageous. But, The Alan Parsons Project have done it. So go on, listen to the album and tip your hats to them. They deserve it.
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Highlight Songs:
Games People Play
Nothing Left to Lose
May Be a Price to Pay
Snake Eyes
I Don’t Wanna Go Home
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Own it, Stream it, Forget about it?
It’s 5 stars .. of course you have got to own this one. You’re crazy if you don’t and you risk people making fun of you for not owning it. We cannot have that, so stream the hell out of it until you can get your hands on a hard copy. Once you have it, place it on a pedestal, bless it with holy water, pray to it and thank it for coming into your life.
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Overall Rating:
5 Stars
