The first side of the LP consists entirely of four-minute pop songs, and the second side varies widely, from the subdued funk of the title track to the bouncing instrumental "Hawkeye". At the beginning of 1985, the lead single "Let's Talk About Me" reached the Top 40 in Germany, in Switzerland and in the Netherlands. The song features voice-over commentary from Lee Abrams, credited on the album as "Mr. Laser Beam". Originally, the album was intended to be the second LP of a double album, with Ammonia Avenue being the first. After the discs were split into separate albums, Vulture Culture was given a more modern studio treatment with harder-hitting drums and dynamics. "Sooner or Later" was described by Parsons himself as "the third attempt to try and get another hit with the "Eye in the Sky"-esque chugging guitar line – "Prime Time" from Ammonia Avenue was the second, which I thought was a little more successful in that respect." In the charts, Vulture Culture was a success in continental Europe, often reaching the Top 10, and in Oceania; whereas it was less successful in North America. It was the last album by the band to be certified Gold. The song "Hawkeye" is an instrumental but does contain a line from Monica, a woman working at the canteen in Abbey Road Studios. The line she says is: "Only what's on the menu". This is the only Project album that does not feature the orchestration of Andrew Powell. Vulture Culture was the last Project album recorded on analogue equipment, and as with the previous two, mixed directly to the digital master tape.
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson. Vulture Culture was remastered and reissued in 2007 with the following bonus tracks:
"No Answers Only Questions " – 2:12
"Separate Lives " – 4:18
"Hawkeye " – 3:18
"The Naked Vulture" – 10:43
"No Answers Only Questions " – 2:56
Personnel
Ian Bairnson – guitar
Colin Blunstone – vocals
Richard Cottle – synthesizer, keyboards, saxophone
Stuart Elliott – percussion, drums
Mr. Laser Beam – vocals, speech/speaker/speaking part
