Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson’s sci-fi classic from 1977 will available as a super deluxe boxset
The Alan Parsons Project’s second album, I Robot, is to be reissued in a variety of formats, including a limited edition Super Deluxe boxset.
Originally released on Clive Davis’ Arista Records on the 8 July 1977, I Robot draws conceptually on author Isaac Asimov’s science fiction Robot stories, exploring philosophical themes regarding artificial intelligence.
The expanded CD release includes a 2025 remaster of the original album by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios, alongside four additional bonus tracks and a fully illustrated, 12-page booklet containing sleevenotes featuring quotes from Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson as well as lyric sheet.
In addition, I Robot will also be released on various vinyl formats including 180g classic black vinyl, and limited edition, 180g heavyweight clear vinyl, featuring half-speed remasters by Showell at Abbey Road Studios.
The limited edition Super Deluxe boxset contains 4CDs, 1 Blu-ray Disc and a 180g heavyweight LP vinyl edition in a gatefold sleeve. With an additional 70 bonus tracks (47 of them previously unreleased) taken from studio sessions out-takes, the collection features Dolby Atmos and 5.1 Surround Sound mixes by Parsons from the original multi-track master tapes, along with a new stereo HD & CD remaster of the original album by Showell.
Also included is a fully illustrated 12” x 12” casebound book featuring interviews, full lyrics and commentary on the bonus tracks, an A1 poster and a reproduction press kit folder.
Robot Wars
Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, I Robot featured a variety of different lead vocalists including Steve Harley, Allan Clarke, Lenny Zakatek, Peter Straker, Jack Harris and Jaki Whitren, alongside a selection of session musicians including guitarist Ian Bairnson, bass player David Paton, drummer Stuart Tosh and of course, Woolfson on keyboards with arrangements by Andrew Powell.
Four singles were released from the album, including I Wouldn’t Want To Be Like You. In the accompanying music video, Parsons plays the role of a man in a surreal chase with an anonymous humanoid played by Woolfson.
One of the duo’s three albums to make the Top 30 in the UK, alongside 1982’s Eye In The Sky and Ammonia Avenue from 1984, I Robot was a Top 10 success in the US, reaching No.9.
Much of the Stateside success is owed to luck and timing: the first Star Wars film had appeared in US cinemas three months before the album’s release. Woolfson noted, “We brought out I Robot almost exactly at the same time as Star Wars was released. Of course, Star Wars featured robots, and the only record sleeves in stores, especially in America, that had a robot on it was ours. Having a robot-like figure on the cover worked very much to our advantage.”
For further information, including full tracklisting, and to pre-order click here
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