"Don't Answer Me" by Alan Parsons Project

Song#:  1819
Date:  03/03/1984
Debut:  70
Peak:  15
Weeks:  15
Genre:  Soft Rock



Pop Bits:  After their LP Eye in the Sky became a hit thanks to the #3 title track, the Project released a hits compilation while working on their follow-up album. When Ammonia Avenue was completed, this track got issued as the first single. It was well-received at AC where it peaked at #4. Pop and Rock liked it too and the tune reached #15 on both charts. Although it wouldn't be as big of a hit as "Eye in the Sky," it would do well enough to help the album get to gold level. In the group's UK homeland, this single would actually be their best charting effort getting to #58.

ReduxReview:  I totally loved this Spector-esque, retro, wall-of-sound song. Those warm chords draw me in every time. It didn't hurt that it had a terrific chorus, a great video, and that familiar Eric Woolfson vocal. I was surprised that it stopped short of the Top 10. It really deserved to get in there. It's one of their best singles and ranks among my favorite songs in Project catalog.

ReduxRating:  9/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) Apparently, on a plane flight to New York, Project co-leader Eric Woolfson met John Harvey Jones, who was the chairman of Imperial Chemical Industries in England. Jones invited Woolfson to tour one of the company's plants located in Billingham thinking that it might provide the musician with some kind if inspiration. When Woolfson arrived at the plant, the first thing he encountered was a street lined with miles of piping with zero signs of life anywhere, including trees, plants, etc. The only other item that stood out was a sign that said "Ammonia Avenue." Obviously, it was the area of the plant that made ammonia. The strange industrial environment had an affect on Woolfson and it did inspire him in the making of the Project's album that was titled after the street he had encountered.  2) The video for this song was the first one done for the Alan Parsons Project. The animated video centered around a fictional comic strip titled The Adventures of Nick and Sugar. It was drawn and directed by Michael Kaluta, who had created many covers for DC Comics. The video would grab an MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best Experimental Video at the very first ceremony.

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