No, this isn’t déjà vu; we did review The Turn of a Friendly Card three years ago. But that was Esoteric’s four-disc edition. Now, in their infinite wisdom, the powers that be have sought to re-release this album – along with the two albums that followed, Eye in the Sky and Ammonia Avenue – in newly remixed 50th Anniversary editions, both in CD form and half-speed 2LP versions. You’ll notice that the albums themselves aren’t actually celebrating their 50th anniversary just yet; this year is simply the anniversary of the band’s first output.
It seems excessive to put out reissues at such an unrelenting pace, feeding on FOMO and giving a slight remixing tweak to an album that already sounded fantastic to begin with (Alan Parsons was originally celebrated as an audio engineer, after all). But if there’s a market for these, then why not give the people what they want? And besides, this is still my first time hearing the album, so I’ll capitalise on the opportunity.
By 1980, the Alan Parsons Project had put out five albums in as many years and were quickly becoming a commercial juggernaut. Their lacklustre 1979 album Eve had a rather tepid reception compared to their previous albums, which caused the duo to double down for their fifth output. The effort paid off with The Turn of a Friendly Card, which is seen as one of the most celebrated of the band’s career, along with I Robot.
The group were known for their concept albums, and this one was no different. Like many other British groups (think of ELP on Love Beach), they had fled the UK to escape Labour’s exorbitant tax rates on top earners (which had become as high as 98%) and settled in Monaco. In the cramped micro-nation, it was impossible to escape casino culture, and I’m sure a few negative experiences at the table inspired Eric Woolfson to pen this cautionary tale of gambling and relating it to the risks we take in everyday life.
The album begins promisingly with May Be a Price to Pay, introduced by a brass fanfare and bass notes. The spacey section immediately afterwards feels very signature APP, but the track takes a right turn into catchy commercial fare. This doesn’t mean it’s not a great song, though. Things then take a disco turn on Games People Play, based around a repeated sequence on the keyboard. It’s less ambitious than the first track, but the instrumental and guitar solo are worthwhile.
However, it all falls apart with Time, a slow and dreary ballad. While Woolfson’s lead vocals are decent enough, this feels like an unfortunate track for him to debut his voice on. I Don’t Wanna Go Home is more standard APP fare, but is not memorable at all. Over on Side Two, a variant of the original fanfare is whistled at the start of The Gold Bug, much like an Ennio Morricone spaghetti western score. The title also recalls Edgar Allen Poe, who wrote a novel of the same name in 1843. After forgettable pop, I’m grateful for an instrumental excursion.
This brings us to The Turn of a Friendly Card suite, which is 16 minutes long and is broken over both sides of the second half-speed vinyl. Before you prog fans get excited, this ‘suite’ is really more of a song cycle as the tracks themselves don’t overlap at all. I will say, it’s odd to have a song cycle about gambling within a concept album about gambling. The pair could have just put the title track and its reprise at the beginning of the album and had the whole album be a ‘suite’. I just don’t really get it.
The title track has a strong, memorable theme but is too short and feels restrained. Snake Eyes feels like more dismissable AOR, but things finally approach proper prog with The Ace of Swords, another instrumental featuring an unpredictable flurry of time signatures. I was truly scratching my head on how to count it. Things switch once again as Woolfson returns on vocals for the country-sounding Nothing Left to Lose, a track that features a surprising amount of pathos. Any interlinking of suite parts is done at the end of this track, as a rock instrumental recalls Snake Eyes. Lastly, the title theme is reprised with such a similar arrangement that you wonder if it’s the same take. This time, however, it gives way to a grand outro featuring a guitar, brass and string solos. It’s a truly APP way to end the album.
Compared to Esoteric’s expansive four-disc version, the four bonus tracks presented on the CD edition may seem meagre, but truthfully I was relieved that there was not much more to listen to as I was left underwhelmed by The Turn of a Friendly Card and did not think I could stomach much more. If anything, I was actually pushed back to Tales of Mystery and Imagination and ended up playing that album more than this one during my reviewing period.
I know that prog was never APP’s MO, but I’m still staggered that they could produce such an excellent array of pop-rock tunes on their first album that they could never quite match afterwards. The first side of Tales should be studied under a microscope as an example of prog-pop perfection. The Turn of a Friendly Card, meanwhile, is certainly not a bad album; it’s beautifully produced and the remixing here provides deeper audio clarity than on previous versions. Some of the songs (May Be a Price to Pay, Games People Play and the title track) are instant classics while the others are more forgettable, although the three-minute The Ace of Swords shines like a glimmering beacon of prog in a post-punk, post-disco wasteland. If you’re a fan of the Alan Parsons Project’s signature brand of pop and somehow don’t already own this album, then you’re bound to love it, but if it’s prog you’re after, I’d recommend going back to the start of their discography.
TRACK LISTING
01. May Be a Price to Pay (4:58)
02. Games People Play (4:21)
03. Time (5:02)
04. I Don’t Wanna Go Home (5:03)
05. The Gold Bug (4:34)
06. The Turn of a Friendly Card, Pt. 1 (2:40)
07. Snake Eyes (3:19)
08. The Ace of Swords (2:57)
09. Nothing Left to Lose (4:06)
10. The Turn of a Friendly Card, Pt. 2 (3:25)
~ Bonus Tracks:
11. Games People Play (Rough Mix) (4:32)
12. Time (Early Studio Attempt) (4:42)
13. The Turn of a Friendly Card (Single Edit) (3:45)
14. Snake Eyes (Early Version, Eric Guide Vocal) (3:22)
Time – 56:37
MUSICIANS
Stuart Elliott – Drums, Percussion
David Paton – Bass & Acoustic Guitars
Ian Bairnson – Electric, Acoustic & Classical Guitars
Eric Woolfson – Keyboards, Piano, Harpsichord, Organ, Lead Vocal
Alan Parsons – Projectron (4 & 11), Whistling & Finger Snaps (5), Clavinet (5 & 8), Autoharp (5), Harpsichord (8), Additional Vocals (3)
Chris Rainbow – Lead & Backing Vocals
Elmer Gantry (Dave Terry) – Lead Vocal
Lenny Zakatek – Lead & Backing Vocals
Andrew Powell – The Philharmonia Orchestra (Arranger & Conductor)
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Cooking Vinyl
Country of Origin: UK
Date of Release: 27th March 2026
LINKS
Alan Parsons – Website | Facebook | YouTube (APP) | YouTube | X | Instagram
CD information | Half Speed Vinyl information
