Alan Parsons Project to reissue “Tales Of Mystery And Imagination” for 50th anniversary

The Alan Parsons Project will mark the 50th anniversary of its 1976 debut, “Tales Of Mystery And Imagination – Edgar Allan Poe”, with four reissue editions, according to OndaRock. The top edition is a three-LP 180-gram set remastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios, limited to 1,976 numbered copies, each with a certificate of authenticity.

The box contains the original album, the 1987 remix and a third disc, “Work In Progress”, with early versions of the mixes, demos and alternate recordings. It also includes an illustrated book with all the lyrics, notes on the added tracks and interviews with Alan Parsons, Sally Woolfson and several musicians and collaborators involved in the record.

The three-CD edition, also remastered by Showell, carries both historic versions of the album and 34 bonus tracks, 12 of them previously unreleased. Collectors get a strictly limited picture disc with the 1976 album and a 30 x 30 cm insert reproducing the gatefold's inner artwork. The fourth edition is a Blu-ray with a new 2026 Dolby Atmos mix and the 5.1 surround mix Parsons prepared in 2016, both taken from the original multitrack tapes, plus a 16-page booklet. The editions can be pre-ordered.

The Alan Parsons Project formed in Glasgow in 1975 and disbanded in 1990. The British band, described as progressive rock and art rock, made 11 studio albums, the newest being “The Sicilian Defence” (2014). The 1976 record is a concept album inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's tales and poems; according to OndaRock, “The Raven” is the first track to use a vocoder, and “A Dream Within A Dream” features narration by Orson Welles. Their major success came with “I Robot” in 1977.