As a fan of Alan Parsons, I can't dismiss the fact this collection is loaded with great songs. The great irony to me is I was always disappointed that the song 'Ammonia Avenue' was omitted from the Definitive collection. (one of my favorites.) But whereas that has been corrected, they've created the double sin of omitting 'Breakdown' AND 'You Don't Believe.' I've resigned myself to the fact there will never be an officially proper definitive collection of this band!

Basically,THE ESSENTIAL ALAN PARSONS PROJECT, unlike THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION, covers only the years that Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson worked together, and thus includes many great songs not on the earlier set, including the entire title suite from THE TURN OF A FRIENDLY CARD. And so - as mentioned above - to complete your Alan Parsons library you need both anthologies, I, ROBOT, THE TURN OF A FRIENDLY CARD, TALES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION, EYE IN THE SKY, and the work Parsons did for such artists as Al Stewart, the Beatles, and many others.