Pyramid (The Alan Parsons Project album)

Pyramid (stylized as Pyr△mid) is the third album by progressive rock band The Alan Parsons Project, released in May 1978.^[4] It is a concept album centred on the pyramids of Giza. At the time the album was conceived, interest in pyramid power and Tutankhamun was widespread in the US and the UK.^[5] Pyramid was nominated for the 1978 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.^[6]

Pyramid
Studio album by The Alan Parsons Project
Released	May 1978
Recorded	September 1977 – February 1978
Studio	Abbey Road Studios, London, England
Genre	Progressive rock art rock symphonic rock new wave
Length	37:46
Label	Arista
Producer	Alan Parsons
The Alan Parsons Project chronology
I Robot (1977) Pyramid (1978) Eve (1979)
Singles from Pyramid
"Pyramania" Released: June 1978 (UK) "What Goes Up" Released: September 1978 "Hyper-Gamma-Spaces" Released: January 1979 (EU)[1]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Mojo	[3]

The book visible in the cover design is G. Patrick Flanagan – Pyramid Power: The Millennium Science (1973).^[7]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson.

Side one

No.	Title	Vocals	Length
1.	"Voyager"	Instrumental	2:14
2.	"What Goes Up…"	David Paton, additional vocals by Dean Ford	3:31
3.	"The Eagle Will Rise Again"	Colin Blunstone	4:20
4.	"One More River"	Lenny Zakatek	4:15
5.	"Can't Take It with You"	Dean Ford	5:06

Side two

No.	Title	Vocals	Length
1.	"In the Lap of the Gods"	Instrumental	5:27
2.	"Pyramania"	Jack Harris	2:45
3.	"Hyper-Gamma-Spaces"	Instrumental	4:19
4.	"Shadow of a Lonely Man"	John Miles; additional vocals by Colin Blunstone	5:34

Bonus tracks

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

10. "Voyager/What Goes Up/The Eagle Will Rise Again" (instrumental) – 8:55
11. "What Goes Up/Little Voice" (early version demo) – 4:07
12. "Can't Take It with You" (early version demo) – 1:45
13. "Hyper-Gamma-Spaces" (demo) – 2:21
14. "The Eagle Will Rise Again" (alternate version – backing track) – 3:20
15. "In the Lap of the Gods" (Part I – demo) – 3:14
16. "In the Lap of the Gods" (Part II – backing track rough mix) – 1:56

Bonus tracks details

• What Goes Up/Little Voice – Another song called, at the time, Little Voice was included in this demo but was not used in the final album.^[7]
• Can't Take It With You (early version demo) – Alan Parsons (unusually) played all the instruments.^[7]
• Hyper-Gamma Spaces – The name came from Eric Woolfson's brother Richard, whose Mathematics Doctoral Thesis carried the title Hyper-Gamma Spaces.^[7]
• The Eagle Will Rise Again (alternative version-backing track) – Intended as a Reprise Rock Band version demo attempt. This was abandoned as there was already enough material for the album.^[7]

Personnel

• David Paton – bass (all tracks), acoustic guitar (tracks 2, 4–6, 9) vocals (tracks 2–3, 5)
• Stuart Elliott – drums (all tracks), percussion (tracks 1–2, 4–9)
• Ian Bairnson – electric and acoustic guitars (tracks 1–7, 9)
• Eric Woolfson – Projectron (track 1), Fender Rhodes (track 2), clavichord and virginals (track 3), piano (tracks 5–7, 9), organ (track 6), backing vocals (3, 5)
• Duncan Mackay – synthesizers (track 1, 4–5, 7–8)
• Alan Parsons – Fender Rhodes (track 1), acoustic guitar (track 5), Wurlitzer (track 8), Projectron (tracks 8–9), backing vocals (track 3)
• John Leach – kantele (track 1), cimbalom (track 6)
• Andrew Powell – autoharp (track 3)
• Phil Kenzie – saxophone solos (track 4)
• Dean Ford, Colin Blunstone, Lenny Zakatek, John Miles, Jack Harris – vocals
• Choir: The English Chorale, Choirmaster: Bob Howes
• Produced and engineered by Alan Parsons
• Executive production: Eric Woolfson
• Arrangements: Andrew Powell
• Album cover design: Hipgnosis
• Photography Aubrey Powell / Rob Brimson
• Mastering: Chris Blair

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1978–1979) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[8] 16 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[9] 17 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[10] 34 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[11] 23 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] 3 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[13] 4 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[14] 13 Spanish Albums (AFE)[15] 4 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 22 UK Albums (OCC)[17] 49 US Billboard 200[18] 26

Year-end charts Chart (1978) Peak position German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19] 8 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[20] 18 Chart (1979) Peak position German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21] 2

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[22]	Gold	20,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[23]	2× Platinum	200,000^
Germany (BVMI)[24]	Platinum	500,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[25]	Gold	7,500^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[26]	Gold	50,000^
United States (RIAA)[27]	Gold	500,000^
Summaries
Worldwide	—	2,000,000+[28]
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.