On Air
Album by Alan Parsons
Released	September 24, 1996
Recorded	1995-1996
Genre	Progressive rock
Length	49:36
Label	Digital Sound
Producer(s)	Alan Parsons
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link The test for your surround system
Alan Parsons chronology
Try Anything Once (1993)	On Air (1996)	The Time Machine (1999)

On Air is the second solo release by Alan Parsons following the split of The Alan Parsons Project. However, the album's chief creative force was the Project's long-time guitarist, Ian Bairnson. With their newfound independence from Arista, each decided early on that this release would be a work of art from start to finish where neither vision nor integrity would be subverted by commercial sensibility. The album follows the history of airborne exploration, from the mythological flight of Daedalus and Icarus to escape the labyrinth of the minotaur in "Too Close To The Sun", through Leonardo da Vinci's search to design a flying machine, or ornithopter, in long-time Project drummer Stuart Elliott's "One Day To Fly", until finally mankind's aspirations for space exploration placed on the shoulders of a single astronaut in "So Far Away" and the subsequent superpower race to put a man on the moon in "Apollo", a track backed by John F. Kennedy's famous speech of May 25, 1961. Image File history File links On_Air. ... An album is a collection of related audio tracks, released together commercially in an audio format to the public. ... Alan Parsons Born in Britain on December 20, 1949, he began his musical career as a staff engineer at EMI Studios, and first garnered significant industry exposure via his work on the Beatles 1969 masterpiece Abbey Road. ... September 24 is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Genres of Cuban music and other popular music A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Progressive rock (shortened to prog, or prog rock when differentiating from other progressive genres) is an ambitious, eclectic, and often grandiose style of rock music which arose in the late 1960s, reached the peak of its popularity in the early 1970s, and continues as a musical form to this day. ... A record label is a brand created by companies that specialize in producing, manufacturing, distributing and promoting audio and sometimes video recordings (especially music videos), on various formats including compact discs, LPs, DVD-Audio, SACDs, and cassettes. ... An analog sound is traditionally any sound that is represented continuously. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the performers, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Alan Parsons Born in Britain on December 20, 1949, he began his musical career as a staff engineer at EMI Studios, and first garnered significant industry exposure via his work on the Beatles 1969 masterpiece Abbey Road. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide. ... Image File history File links Description: Rating stars. ... Alan Parsons Born in Britain on December 20, 1949, he began his musical career as a staff engineer at EMI Studios, and first garnered significant industry exposure via his work on the Beatles 1969 masterpiece Abbey Road. ... Try Anything Once is the first solo album created by Alan Parsons following the split of The Alan Parsons Project. ... The Time Machine is the 3rd solo album produced and engineeered by Alan Parsons following the split of The Alan Parsons Project. ... Alan Parsons Born in Britain on December 20, 1949, he began his musical career as a staff engineer at EMI Studios, and first garnered significant industry exposure via his work on the Beatles 1969 masterpiece Abbey Road. ... The Alan Parsons Project was a British progressive rock and pop group active between 1975 and 1987, founded by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson. ... Legendary guitarist Ian Bairnson (born August 3, 1953 in the Shetland Isles, Scotland) has been one of the most sought after sessionists in the music industry, working with a myriad of artists from a plethora of musical genres. ... This article deals with the mythological character Daedalus. ... Icarus and Daedalus In Greek mythology, Icarus (Latin, Greek Íkaros, Etruscan Vicare) was the son of Daedalus (Daídalos). ... Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an Italian Renaissance architect, musician, anatomist, inventor, engineer, sculptor, geometer, and painter. ... Edward Frost of Cambridgeshire, England, constructed an ornithopter of willow, silk, and feathers in 1902 An ornithopter is an aircraft that flies by wing-flapping. ... Space exploration is the physical exploration of outer space objects and generally anything that involves the technologies, science, and politics regarding space endeavors. ... U.S. Space Shuttle astronaut Bruce McCandless II using a manned maneuvering unit (MMU) outside the Challenger in 1984. ... A map showing the nations and political entities discussed within this article. ... Crust composition Oxygen 43% Silicon 21% Aluminium 10% Calcium 9% Iron 9% Magnesium 5% Titanium 2% Nickel 0. ... John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to as John F. Kennedy, JFK, or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States. ... May 25 is the 145th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (146th in leap years). ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

While the ode to hot air ballooning "Blown By The Wind" and following instrumental "Cloudbreak" are arguably the finest guitar work Bairnson has ever recorded, the creative catalyst for this album is the beautiful, albeit melancholy, ballad "Brother Up In Heaven". The song's lyrics remember Ian's deceased cousin Erik Mounsey who was killed in a friendly fire incident above Iraq in 1994. The death of this young helicopter pilot is made even more haunting by the fact that he was an unarmed peacekeeper. Ode is a form of stately and elaborate lyrical verse. ... Hot air balloons are the oldest successful human flight technology, dating back to the Montgolfier brothers invention in Annonay, France in 1783. ... An instrumental is, in contrast to a song, a musical composition or piece without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments. ... Friendly fire (or non-hostile fire) is a term originally adopted by the United States military in reference to an attack on friendly forces by other friendly forces, which may be deliberate (eg. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... Peacekeeper is a person involved in peacekeeping. ...

Track listing

1. "Blue Blue Sky" – 1:38 (Ian Bairnson)
2. "Too Close To The Sun" – (Alan Parsons, Ian Bairnson, Stuart Elliot)
3. "Blown By The Wind" – 5:25 (Bairnson)
4. "Cloudbreak" (instrumental) – 4:39 (Bairnson, Parsons, Elliot)
5. "Can't Look Down" – 4:37 (Bairnson)
6. "Brother Up In Heaven" – 4:02 (Bairnson)
7. "Fall Free" – 4:21 (Bairnson, Elliot, Parsons) - dedicated to skysurfer Rob Harris (1966-1995)
8. "Apollo" (instrumental) – 6:06 (Elliot, Parsons, Bairnson)
9. "So Far Away" – 4:07 (Bairnson)
10. "One Day To Fly" (Stuart Elliott, Scott English)
11. "Blue Blue Sky" – 4:24 (Bairnson)

Skysurfing is a kind of skydiving in which the skydiver wears a board attached to their feet and performs surfing-style aerobatics during freefall. ... Rob Harris (December 17, 1966 - December 14, 1995) was the skysurfing world champion of 1994 and 1995. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Personnel

• Alan Parsons – keyboards, mixing, engineering
• Eric Stewart – lead vocals (tracks 1, 3, 11)
• Neil Lockwood – lead vocals (tracks 2, 5, 6)
• Steve Overland – lead vocals (track 7)
• Christopher Cross – lead vocals (track 9)
• Graham Dye – lead vocals (track 10)
• Peter Beckett – backing vocals (track 6)
• Ian Bairnson – guitars, bass guitar, synthesizer
• John Giblin – bass guitar
• Richard Cottle – saxophone
• Stuart Elliott – percussion, drums
• Gary Sanctuary – keyboards
• Andrew Powell – orchestral arranger and conducter
• Christopher Warren-Green – orchestra leader
• Storm Thorgerson – cover design

Alan Parsons Born in Britain on December 20, 1949, he began his musical career as a staff engineer at EMI Studios, and first garnered significant industry exposure via his work on the Beatles 1969 masterpiece Abbey Road. ... Roland EXR-3 Keyboard The musical keyboard, also known as the piano keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers on a musical instrument which produce notes. ... Eric Stewart is a musician and songwriter most known for his tenure in 10CC in the 1970s. ... Christopher Cross (born Christopher Geppert on May 3, 1951 in San Antonio, Texas) is an American singer and songwriter. ... Legendary guitarist Ian Bairnson (born August 3, 1953 in the Shetland Isles, Scotland) has been one of the most sought after sessionists in the music industry, working with a myriad of artists from a plethora of musical genres. ... The classical guitar typically has nylon strings. ... A Fender Jazz Bass Bass guitar (also called electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply bass) refers to an electric bass or an electric/acoustic string instrument with a similar appearance to the guitar, but with a larger body, commonly four strings, longer scale neck and tuned an octave lower... A classic FM synthesizer, the Yamaha DX7. ... John Giblin. ... Percussion instruments are music instruments played by being struck, shaken, rubbed or scraped, hence the percussive name. ... A drum kit (or drum set or trap set - the latter an old-fashioned term) is a collection of drums, cymbals and other percussion instruments arranged for convenient playing by a sole percussionist (drummer), usually for jazz, rock, or other types of contemporary music. ... Gary Sanctuary is a British pianist, keyboard player, composer and in-demand session musician. ... Dark Side of the Moon, was one of Thorgersons iconic album cover designs. ...

External links

• Official Ian Bairnson Website
• Eagle Flight Memorial
• The Military Verdict