The Alan Parsons Project had a varied roster but really revolved around Eric Woolfson and Alan Parsons.
The band was a prog rock band which produced a lot of concept albums, and had a sound quite similar to some of Pink Floyd’s stuff; this is in no small part due to Alan Parson working as a sound engineer for Dark Side Of The Moon.
One feature of the band’s style was that they’d have epic instrumental intros. “May Be A Price To Pay” absolutely comes through with an epic intro!
The song starts with a breathtaking theatrical brass section, before ominous strings and a tight bassline kicks in. Then the bassline loosens up, and before you know it, the main song has started. The chorus is suitably dark in tone for the rest of the song, but has a lightness reminiscent of Genesis.
The album from which this is taken, 1980’s Turn Of A Friendly Card, is about the problems of gambling, and “May Be A Price To Pay” is about subordinates sitting around gambling when their boss’s backs are turned. Servants playing while the master’s away, an easy enough scene to picture!
Brilliant!