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Tales of Mystery and Imagination

Tales of Mystery and Imagination is a progressive rock album by the Alan Parsons Project, released in 1976 (see 1976 in music). The album's avant-garde soundscapes kept it from being a blockbuster, but the interesting lyrical and musical themes -- retellings of horror stories by Edgar Allan Poe -- attracted a small audience.

Tales of Mystery and Imagination peaked at #38 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart. "(The System Of) Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether" peaked at #37 on the Pop Singles chart.

In 1987 Parsons completely remixed the album for CD with some new instrumentation, and restored the narration by Orson Welles that had been recorded for the original album but not used. Consequently the original vinyl mix has never been heard in a digital format.

Track listing

  1. A Dream Within a Dream [instrumental] - 3:43
  2. The Raven - 4:01
  3. The Tell-Tale Heart - 4:40
  4. The Cask of Amontillado - 4:29
  5. (The System of) Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether - 4:15
  6. The Fall of the House of Usher: Prelude [instrumental] - 5:51
  7. The Fall of the House of Usher: Arrival [instrumental] - 2:36
  8. The Fall of the House of Usher: Intermezzo [instrumental] - 1:06
  9. The Fall of the House of Usher: Pavane [instrumental] - 4:44
  10. The Fall of the House of Usher: Fall [instrumental] - 1:07
  11. To One in Paradise - 4:14

Personnel