A Valid Path is the fourth solo album by English rock musician
Alan Parsons. The record was released on 24 August 2004 via Artemis label.
Background
The gap between this and his previous album, The Time Machine, was the third greatest period between two consecutive albums, after the time between the split of The Alan Parsons Project and Parsons' first solo work (not counting Freudiana) and the time between this album and The Secret. In addition to contributors such as
David Gilmour, another noteworthy musical credit on the album is Parsons' son Jeremy; his debut appearance on his father's albums.
A Valid Path was released on Audio CD and
DualDisc, with the DualDisc containing the album recorded in 5.1 Surround in both
DTS and
Dolby Digital formats. Other features of the DualDisc include a track commentary by the artist and interviews with Alan Parsons and the main collaborators on the release including David Gilmour and
the Crystal Method.
"L'Arc En Ciel" dedicated to
Anson Grossfeld 1957–2004 – (Parsons, Wiles) instrumental featuring
Überzone – 5:26
"A Recurring Dream Within a Dream" a composite of "A Dream Within a Dream" and "The Raven" – (both compositions by Parsons, Woolfson) lead vocal Alan Parsons featuring Jeremy Parsons and narration by
Orson Welles – 4:06
"You Can Run" – (Parsons, Pack) lead vocal
David Pack – 3:51
"Chomolungma" – (Parsons, Parsons, Olsson) instrumental featuring Jeremy Parsons and P.J. Olsson with added concluding narration by
John Cleese – 6:35