Eye in the Sky (song)



"Eye in the Sky" is a 1982 song by the British rock band The Alan Parsons Project from the album Eye in the Sky. It hit #3 on the Billboard charts in the U.S. in October 1982, #1 in both Canada and Spain, and #6 in New Zealand and was their most successful release. The instrumental piece entitled "Sirius" segues into "Eye in the Sky"' on the original recording.

Overview
The 1:54 minute instrumental piece entitled "Sirius" immediately precedes "Eye in the Sky"' on the original recording, which then segues into "Eye in the Sky". On the single release, "Eye In The Sky" appears on its own, with "Sirius" edited out; this is the version that was usually played on pop radio at the time. However, album-oriented rock and classic rock stations almost exclusively include the "Sirius" intro.

Personnel

 * Alan Parsons – Fairlight CMI, production, engineering, composer
 * Eric Woolfson – Wurlitzer electric piano, vocals, composer, lyrics
 * Ian Bairnson – acoustic and electric guitars
 * David Paton – bass
 * Stuart Elliott – drums
 * Chris Rainbow – backing vocals

Cover versions

 * Asia Featuring John Payne released a cover of this song on their album Recollections: A Tribute to British Prog in 2014.
 * Synthpop artist Parralox released a cover of this song as a single in 2013.
 * Disco band "Mad" covered this song in 1983.
 * Folk rock artist Jonatha Brooke covered this song on her 2004 album, Back in the Circus.
 * Israeli artist Noa covered this song on her 2002 album, Now.
 * Rapper Immortal Technique sampled the song on his 2011 album, The Martyr.
 * Gary War covered the song on his 2008 album New Raytheonport.
 * "The Saga Continues" by P. Diddy on his 2001 album The Saga Continues...
 * "Ja no brillen mai" by Joan Dausà i els Tipus d'Interès (in Catalan).
 * The song was covered in 2013 by Red Band and Marina Maximilian Blumin on Israeli TV show The Red and Dvir Show (המופע של רד ודביר).
 * An instrumental cover of the song was released on jazz guitarist Gilad Hekselman's 2013 album "This Just In".
 * The Portland, Oregon band Viva Voce recorded the song in 2007 as part of a compilation album called Bridging the Distance, made to benefit p:ear, a local program designed to assist homeless and transitional youth.

Critics in Europe and North America have pointed to similarities between the melody of Lady Antebellum's 2010 single "Need You Now" and "Eye in the Sky".