The 3-CD box set has the original album remastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road on one CD, and two additional CDs containing the 1987 remix and over 70 minutes of previously unreleased bonus tracks.
Tales of Mystery and Imagination is an extremely mesmerizing aural journey through some of Edgar Allan Poe’s most renowned works. With the use of synthesizers, drums, guitar, and even a glockenspiel, Parsons’ shivering effects make way for an eerie excursion into Poe’s well-known classics. On the album’s 1987 remix, the instrumental “Dream Within a Dream” has Orson Welles narrating in front of this wispy collaboration of guitars and keyboards (Welles also narrates “Fall of the House of Usher: Prelude”).
The EMI vocoder is used throughout “The Raven” with the Westminster City School Boys Choir mixed in to add a distinct flair to its chamber-like sound. Parsons’ expertise surrounds this album, from the slyness that prevails in “(The System Of) Doctor Tarr and Professor Feather” to the bodeful thumping of the drums that imitate a heartbeat on “The Tell-Tale Heart.” “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a lengthy but dazzling array of musicianship that keeps the album’s persona intact, while enabling the listener to submerge into its frightening atmosphere. With vocalists Terry Sylvester, John Miles, and Eric Woolfson stretched across each track, this variety of different singing styles adds color and design to the album’s air. Without any underlying theme to be pondered upon, Alan Parsons instead paints a vivid picture of one of the most alluring literary figures in history by musically reciting his most famous works in expert fashion.
CD1: Original Album (1976) + Bonus Material
01 A Dream Within A Dream
02 The Raven
03 The Tell-tale Heart
04 The Cask Of Amontillado
05 (The System Of) Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether
06 Fall Of The House Of Usher: I Prelude
07 Fall Of The House Of Usher: II Arrival
08 Fall Of The House Of Usher: III Intermezzo
09 Fall Of The House Of Usher: IV Pavane
10 Fall Of The House Of Usher: V Fall
11 To One In Paradise
Bonus Track:
12 The Raven (Original Demo)
13 Edgar (Demo Of An Unreleased Track)
14 Orson Welles Radio Spot
15 Interview With Alan Parsons And Eric Woolfson (1976)
CD2: Album Remix (1987) + Bonus Material
Album Remix (1987)
01 A Dream Within A Dream
02 The Raven
03 The Tell-tale Heart
04 The Cask Of Amontillado
05 (The System Of) Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether
06 Fall Of The House Of Usher: I Prelude
07 Fall Of The House Of Usher: II Arrival
08 Fall Of The House Of Usher: III Intermezzo
09 Fall Of The House Of Usher: IV Pavane
10 Fall Of The House Of Usher: V Fall
11 To One In Paradise
Bonus Track:
12 Eric’s Guide Vocal Medley
13 Orson Welles Dialogue
14 Sea Lions In The Departure Lounge (Sound Effects And Experiments)
15 GBH Mix (Unreleased Experiments)
CD3: Bonus Material Previously Unreleased
01 Album Launch At Los Angeles Planetarium (Introduction By Warren Duffy)
02 A Dream Within A Dream (Piano Takes)
03 A Dream Within A Dream (Recorder Takes)
04 A Dream Within A Dream / The Raven (Early Mix With Eric On Vocoder)
05 The Raven (Out-Take And Extended Jam)
06 The Tell-Tale Heart (Eric Guide Vocal)
07 The Cask Of Amontillado (Rough Mix / Piano And Backing Vocals)
08 The Cask Of Amontillado (Eric And Alan Guide Vocals)
09 Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether (Early Rough Mix)
10 Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether (Vocal Take)
11 Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether (Eric’s Guide Vocal)
12 Prelude (Orchestral Take 19)
13 Pavane (Experimenting & Take 1)
14 To One In Paradise (Rough Mix)
15 Interview With Alan And Eric (London, August 1987)