The Eye in the Sky: A Tale of Music, Paranoia,

and Unexpected Discovery

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Alan Parsons Project, Eye in the Sky (1982)

Not inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

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I must’ve been 15. My mom had watched me all week like a detective circling her prime suspect. Saturday loomed—the day she’d decreed I attend “the talk” at church: a session warning teens about the subliminal satanic messages hidden in rock music.

The flyer she brought home was a masterpiece of paranoia—plastered with logos from my favorite bands. They promised to expose the “dark, subliminal, and diabolical influences corrupting modern youth.”

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Translation: my weekend was ruined.

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Normally, I was a good kid. I never pushed back. But this time, I said, “No.” Wrong move.

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My mom—God’s soldier in a house of sinners—wasn’t about to let “Stairway to Heaven” decide my eternal fate. By Friday, she’d had enough. Her ultimatum: “Either you go on your own, or I take you—and trust me, you’ll sit through every minute of it.”

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So… I went. No escape. She drove in silence, hands tight on the wheel, maternal judgment so thick it could crack glass. When we pulled up to the church, I hoped she’d just drop me off. Nope. She parked. Watched me walk in. Didn’t even blink.

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Inside, I slunk to the back row. But of course, someone spotted me. “You, young man!” the speaker called. “Come sit up front with us.” Fantastic. Voluntold into the spotlight.

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After praising my “beautiful biblical name,” they launched into their musical witch hunt. Queen. The Beatles. Led Zeppelin. Black Sabbath. And oddly enough—a band I’d never even heard of: The Alan Parsons Project.

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Their song “Eye in the Sky” was apparently their crown jewel of Satanic propaganda. Its lyrics—“I am the eye in the sky, looking at you / I can read your mind”—were offered as proof that Alan Parsons was part of some Orwellian mind-control conspiracy.

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Then it got wild. They played the record backwards.

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And wouldn’t you know it? They claimed to hear “Soy el diablo.”

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Yes, in Spanish. Because obviously, Alan Parsons took the time to include a bilingual message from Satan.

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Founded in 1975 by engineer Alan Parsons and songwriter Eric Woolfson, the Alan Parsons Project was never a conventional band. They were a revolving studio collective, known for their polished production and conceptual ambition. Parsons had worked on Abbey Road and Dark Side of the Moon. Woolfson brought melody, narrative, and philosophical depth.

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They blended progressive rock, orchestral flourishes, and literary themes—exploring science, psychology, myth, and fate. I Robot drew from Isaac Asimov. Pyramid tackled ancient mysteries. The Turn of a Friendly Card looked at addiction and chance.

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But Eye in the Sky was their masterstroke.

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Released in 1982, the album opens with “Sirius,” an instrumental now immortalized in sports arenas. It flows seamlessly into the title track—an eerie, beautiful meditation on power, privacy, and perception.

Other standouts are “Psychobabble”: theatrical, biting, and paranoid. “Old and Wise”: an aching ballad about aging and reflection. “Silence and I”: orchestral and cinematic. “Mammagamma”: a futuristic, synth-driven instrumental. Every note is placed with surgical precision. The result is an album that felt timeless then—and still does.

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Thank You, Lord… for Alan Parsons

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That day at church was supposed to scare me straight.

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It failed—beautifully.

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Instead of repentance, I walked away with a new band to explore. While the organizers obsessed over backward lyrics and satanic whispers, I made a mental note: Check out this Alan Parsons guy.

They meant to save me from darkness. Instead, they handed me the keys to one of the most sophisticated, inventive musical catalogs I’d ever discover.

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Decades later, “Eye in the Sky” still lives in my regular rotation. I think back on that over-the-top church session and smile. And somewhere, I hope my mom is watching from above, relieved I turned out okay—even if she’s still shaking her head at my musical choices.

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Because if fear could make people hear the devil in a backward record…

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🎸 Rock Wisdom

Because if fear could make people hear the devil in a backward record…

What truths might we hear if we stopped spinning in circles and simply listened?