Alan Parsons brings latest Project to Hemmens

The Hemmens Cultural Center continues its 2007-08 season as The Alan Parsons Live Project takes the stage at 8 p.m. Saturday after an opening set by Lobster Newberg.

As recording engineer for Pink Floyd's legendary "Dark Side of The Moon," a producer, and the main force behind multi-platinum albums by The Alan Parsons Project, Alan Parsons is one of the most influential artists of our time.

The Project debuted in 1976 with "Tales of Mystery and Imagination," a collection inspired by the work of Edgar Allan Poe. Similarly, the science fiction of Isaac Asimov served as the raw material for 1977's follow-up "I Robot." After the success of "Pyramid" in 1978, he moved to Monaco -- an event that clearly influenced "The Turn of a Friendly Card," a meditation on gambling recorded in Paris in 1980. The Alan Parsons Project scored two Top 20 hits from this album, "Games People Play" and "Time."

Having resettled back home in England, more successes followed with "Eye in the Sky," "Ammonia Avenue," "Vulture Culture," "Stereotomy," and "Gaudi."

After members of the band went their separate ways, Parsons felt the need to bring his music to the live concert stage and to continue to record conceptual symphonic rock music. With his long-standing previous collaborators, guitarist Ian Bairnson, drummer Stuart Elliott and orchestral arranger Andrew Powell, Parsons dropped the "Project" identity for Alan Parsons -- Try Anything Once in 1994. The partnership continued for "On Air" in 1996 and "The Time Machine" in 1999.

One of the most familiar Project tracks is "Sirius," perhaps best known as the Chicago Bulls theme and featured at countless NBA games. More recently, Alan's music has taken a new contemporary direction into the world of electronica. His latest album, "A Valid Path," features a number of notables in the genre including The Crystal Method, Shpongle and Uberzone.

Tickets are on sale now at The Hemmens box office, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin. To order tickets by phone, call (847) 931-5900 or order online at www.hemmens.org.