Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs believes that mastering systems should be neutral and transparent. The essential idea is to unveil all the detailed musical information on the original master recording without adding deterioration, coloration or other sonic artefacts.
With proprietary innovations such as GAIN 2™, general music enthusiasts and audiophiles alike have reaped the benefit of a higher consumer audio standard without investing in costly new hardware.
A1: Sirius (Instrumental)
A2: Eye in the Sky
A3: Children of the Moon
B1: Gemini
B2: Silence and I
C1: You’re Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned
C2: Psychobabble
D1: Mammagamma (Instrumental)
D2: Step by Step
D3: Old and Wise
The opening track to the Alan Parsons Project’s Eye in the Sky remains the most recognized instrumental in sports—fanfare inseparably tied with introducing NBA legend Michael Jordan and his six-time world-champion Chicago Bulls mates before games, and still used by many teams as an energy-raising prelude. Indeed, the subdued grandiosity, cosmic bluster, and lights-out wonder of “Sirius” sets the table for the band’s smash 1982 album, whose hallmark smoothness, lushness, and balance extend to the music’s exquisite songwriting, dreamy emotions, and underlying orchestral scope. Credit for the record’s craft, cohesiveness, and accessibility also falls to Alan Parsons and creative partner Eric Woolfson’s knack for recruiting session pros that translate their visions with unquestioned feeling—particularly, vocalists who include former Zombie leader Colin Blunstone and soul singer Lenny Zakatek.
Mastered from the original master tapes, Mobile Fidelity’s RTI-pressed 180g 45RPM 2LP version of Eye in the Sky features succulent warmth, magnificent balance, low-end heft, and see-through transparency that take you into the studio with Parsons at Abbey Road Studios. Each note seems perfectly placed, every sequence painstakingly considered. Boasting front-to-back depth, concert-hall-level separation, realistic presence, and bang-on accuracy, the reissues illustrate the lasting importance of perfectionist-minded engineering and recording techniques. These releases will test the capabilities of the world’s finest stereo systems. There’s more information, more texture, more nuance— more of everything to be experienced. British progressive rock would never again sound so sophisticated, suave, or steady.
Boasting front-to-back depth, concert-hall-level separation, realistic presence, and bang-on accuracy, Mobile Fidelity's edition of Eye in the Sky illustrates the lasting importance of perfectionist-minded engineering and recording techniques. Few works possess such a mesmerizing blend of reference-setting sonics and commercial acumen, facets that helped earn the set a Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Album – and, more than 35 years after its release, a Grammy for Best Immersive Audio Album for its surround format. Parsons' track record – he sat behind the boards for the Beatles' Abbey Road and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon – speaks for itself. As do the performances throughout Eye in the Sky, which features Woolfson's exquisite songwriting and memorable lead vocals on the hit title track.
Bypassing the conceptual themes present on the group's other signature efforts, Eye in the Sky uses a string of seamless melodies, hooks, and mood to draw and hold listeners' attention. It survives as Parsons and Woolfson's pop triumph, full of exquisite songwriting, dreamy emotions, and soft edges that parallel an underlying orchestral scope and prog-derived drama. For example, the string- and brass-laden "Silence and I" alone qualifies as a rhapsodic symphony. Credit for the music's craft, cohesiveness, and accessibility also falls to Parsons and Woolfson's knack for recruiting session pros that translate their visions with unquestioned emotion – particularly, the assembly of star vocalists that include Elmer Gantry ("Psychobabble"), former Zombie frontman Colin Blunstone ("Old and Wise"), and soul singer Lenny Zakatek ("You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned" and "Step by Step").
As with all Parsons releases, the arrangements proverbially dot every "i" and cross every "t." Each note seems perfectly placed, every sequence painstakingly considered. Not to mention the narratives to the surveillance-obsessed title track and pulsing "Psychobabble" carry more weight in the 21st century than they did in the early stages of the Reagan/Thatcher era. And, just as it begins, with an appropriate flourish announcing the catchiness that follows, the platinum-selling Eye on the Sky finishes with fitting sentimentality in the form of a spiraling, saxophone-led ballad ("Old and Wise") that could easily fit on Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here.
GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ is a proprietary cutting system built and designed by legendary design genius Tim De Paravicini, with consultation from one of Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's founding fathers - Stan Ricker, an audio engineer responsible for many of MFSL's most heralded past releases.
The GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system is comprised of a Studer™ tape machine with customised reproduction electronics* and handcrafted cutting amps that drive an Ortofon cutting head on a restored Neumann VMS-70 lathe. (*It is worth noting that independent studies have confirmed that the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system can unveil sonic information all the way up to 122kHz!)
First and foremost, Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs only utilise first generation original master recordings as source material for their releases. MFSL then play back master tapes at half speed enabling the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system to fully extract the master's sonic information. The lacquers are then plated in a specialised process that protects transients in the musical signal. (Due to this process, there may be occasional pops or ticks inherent in initial play back, but as the disc is played more, a high quality stylus will actually polish the grooves and improve the sound). MFSL further ensure optimum sound quality by strictly limiting the number of pressings printed for each release. These limited editions, in addition to being collectors' items, ensure that the quality of the last pressing matches the quality of the first.
Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar – Ian Bairnson
Bass – David Paton
Contractor [Orchestral] – George Hamer
Coordinator [Production Coordinator], Mastered By [Mastering Consultant] – Chris Blair
Drums, Percussion – Stuart Elliot
Engineer [Assistant] – Tony Richards
Executive-Producer – Eric Woolfson
Keyboards – Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson
Leader [Chorus Master] – Bob Howes
Mastered By – Rob LoVerde
Orchestrated By, Conductor [Choir], Arranged By [Choir] – Andrew Powell
Photography By – Keith W. Lehman
Producer, Engineer – Alan Parsons
Programmed By [Fairlight] – Alan Parsons
Saxophone – Mel Collins
Sleeve – APB, Colin Chambers, Hipgnosis
Vocals – Chris Rainbow, Colin Blunstone, David Paton, Elmer Gantry, Eric Woolfson, Lenny Zakatek, The English Chorale
Written-By – Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson
Recorded, Mixed at Abbey Road Studios
Mastered from the Original Master Tapes by Krieg Wunderlich, assisted by Rob LoVerde at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, Sebastopol, CA on the GAIN 2 ULTRA ANALOG SYSTEM.
Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, MFSL 2-500
Series: Original Master Recording, Gain 2™ Ultra Analog, 45RPM 180g Series
Format: 2 x Vinyl LP, 45RPM, Limited Edition, Special Edition, Numbered, Reissue, Remastered
Country: US
Released: 2021
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Mobile Fidelity records are typically supplied in a thin plastic wrap with a perforated edge. Unfortunately, during normal handling, it's very easy for this perforated edge to pop open. Rather than ship your record exposed to the elements, if this outer wrap pops open, we carefully replace it with a proper sealable outer record sleeve in order to keep your record safe. Trust us, it's for the better! Have no doubt that your record is brand new and ready to add to your collection!
| Model Number | LMF2-500 |
|---|---|
| RRP | 140.00 |
