"ELSEWHERE": Vangelis albums

It is impossible to review or comment on albums without giving an opinion. Though I tried to be as "general" as possible, please bear in mind that all tastes are different and consider any opinion stated in the usual "IMHO" context.

Later albums

Rapsodies (1986) Vangelis' second collaboration with Irene Papas features music and text based on (or inspired by) Greek Orthodox liturgical chant. Papas sings the Greek Lyrics which are in fact Greek Orthodox Christian Hymns. Vangelis composed one additional song that blends nicely with the other material. In most countries this album is hard to find. 1 Ti Ipermacho Stratigo 6:51 2 O! Gliki Mou Ear 8:40 3 Ton Nimfona Sou Vlepo 1:36 4 Rapsodia 5:24 5 Tin Oreotita Tis Parthenias Sou 4:39 6 Christos Anesti 7:20 7 Asma Asmaton 11:14 Read TRANSLATIONS to learn more about the texts and the meanings behind the songs. In Greece, a remastered edition was released in 2007, with a partly translated track list: 1 To My Champion And Commander 6:52 2 Oh, My Sweet Springtime 8:41 3 I See Your Bridal Chamber All Bedecked 1:36 4 Rhapsody 5:26 5 The Beauty Of Your Virginity And The Splendor Of Your Purity 4:41 6 Ressurection 7:23 7 Song Of Songs 11:13

Invisible Connections (1985) This strange work was released on the legendary classical label "Deutsche Grammophon". It's hard to find in most countries, although asking in specialized classical shops might pay off even in countries where the album can never be found in the Vangelis bins. "Invisible Connections" is an expressionistic piece that sounds more like a soundcollage than music. It consists of carefully blend dark sounds, providing an eerie atmosphere. There are no melodies or harmonies, or even rhythms, causing it to be one of Vangelis' less popular albums. A CD released in Japan retitled the piece to "Meis?", which translates to the English "Meditation". 1 Invisible Connections 18:30 2 Atom Blaster 7:42 3 Thermo Vision 13:19

Mask (1985) A work full of strange electronic sequences and choruses. The overall feeling is very classical, due to large movements of choirs, timpani, but the romantic approach that might be expected has been replaced with dark undertones. Melodies make way for repetitive motifs that create rather complex but hypnotic constructions. It follows very few of popular or classical music's usual conventions which, even though it's rather elegant in some passages, makes the music a bit less accessible for some people. One might need to acquire a taste for it. Movement 1 10:18 Movement 2 3:26 Movement 3 6:38 Movement 4 8:41 Movement 5 10:00 Movement 6 4:22

Soil Festivities (1984) This album marked the beginning of a slightly darker and more experimental era of Vangelis' style. "Soil Festivities" consists of 5 movements, each starting with a simple repetitive cue over which Vangelis starts to improvise long stretched melodies with both gentle and dark results. Although the production might feel rather cold, it's intimate at the same time, as if you're sitting right next to the synthesizer setup, listening along to the extended improvised session. Those who are looking for "Chariots of Fire" like hum-along hits should look elsewhere. Inspired by the life that can be found beneath the surface, the music breaths its own subtle organic feeling. This album deserves an equally close examination. It's not everyone's favorite, but hailed by many enthusiastic fans. Movement 1 18:20 Movement 2 6:20 Movement 3 6:06 Movement 4 9:54 Movement 5 7:20

Antarctica (1983) The soundtrack to a legendary Japanese film by Koreyoshi Kurahara, which at the time of release broke all of the country's cinema records. It follows a number of snow dogs - due to circumstances tragically left behind on a camp at the South Pole - on their survival journey homewards. Most amazingly based on a true story. For years, the soundtrack album was only available in Japan, popping up in other countries as a rare and expensive import, when in 1988 Polydor finally decided to sell the album also in the rest of the world. Most of the music has been build around the strong and famous main theme, most prolifically arranged in the first track. Many calm and hypnotic renditions are heard throughout the album, which generally breathes a cold but enchanting atmosphere. The music is brilliantly paced and immediately awakens visions of wide snowy landscapes, mixed with flavors of the heroics of the movie's dog protagonists. The cover design depends on which pressing of the CD you buy, with the white cover being the most seen throughout the world. But in general, no matter which design you have, the other one is always depicted on the other side of the booklet. The CD released in the States includes only the white design. 1 Theme From Antarctica 2 Antarctic Echoes 3 Kinematic 4 Song of White 5 Life of Antarctica 6 Memory of Antarctica 7 Other Side of Antarctica 8 Deliverance

Private Collection (1983) The third "Jon and Vangelis album" features 6 tracks. The sixth being the highly popular "Horizon" is particularly popular with fans, perhaps because of its impressive length of 22:53, or because there's a number of instrumental parts that are more remeniscent of Vangelis' romantic solo works. All tracks are tender songs with romantic influences, making the album more consistent in style then the previous Jon & Vangelis recordings... A number of tracks where released as singles, but none of them did very well in the singles charts, although "He is Sailing" celebrated quite some air play at the time. 1 Italian Song 2:53 2 And When The Night Comes 4:35 3 Deborah 4:54 4 Polonaise 5:24 5 He is Sailing 6:47 6 Horizon 22:53

Chariots Of Fire (1981) This is the soundtrack to Hugh Hudson's Oscar winning film with the same title. The true story is about two contrasting British athletes who compete in the Olympic games in 1924. The catchy main theme and the stylishly contrasting understated sport action won Vangelis the prestigious Academy Award (tm), better known as the Oscar, for "Best original score". He was unable to attend the ceremony in Los Angeles, so the statue was accepted by the Academy on Vangelis' behalf. Almost all the music on the album are rerecorded versions, compared to the music found in the movie. The main titles, for instance, sound much richer and more gratuitous on the album. Other themes, like "Five Circles", were totally rearranged. The film version of that track was piano dominated and sounded and developed rather differently. Vangelis was accused of plagiarising the main theme from another Greek composer named Stavros Logarides, but a judge wisely decided it was an original composition in favor of Vangelis, when the matter was taken to court. The album contains one track (Jerusalem) that was neither written nor performed by Vangelis. Mobile Fidelity has released an ULTRADISC II version of this album. This means a digitally remastered version pressed as a 24KT goldplated CD (for durability) released only in limited quantities. It is hard to find, by now, but only interesting for collectors, because the sound quality was debatably worse than the original CD pressing. During the Olympic Games of 2000 in Sydney, another remastered version of Chariots of Fire was released by Polydor in the UK. It had updated artwork by original designer Alwyn Clayden and contained rarely seen pictures in the booklet. The sound, remastered by Vangelis himself indeed improved slightly over both the original CD and the Ultradisc versions, sounding more clear and warm. Finally, in 2006 Universal released another version, again remastered by Vangelis, to commemorate the soundtrack's 25th anniversary. Sound quality is comparable to the previous Vangelis remaster. 1 Titles 3:33 2 Five Circles 5:20 3 Abraham's Theme 3:20 4 Eric's Theme 4:18 5 100 Metres 2:04 6 Jerusalem 2:47 [Not a Vangelis track] 7 Chariots Of Fire 20:41

The Friends Of Mr. Cairo (1981) The second "Jon and Vangelis" album. Early LP releases didn't actually include the classic "I'll Find My Way Home". It was a seperate single release that became a huge hit, so it was added to later pressings of the album. The title song - with a duration of more than 12 minutes on the album - is a tribute to the imagination of early (gangster) - movies. It opens with some voices acting out a 30's style action scene with soundeffects synchronized to the music. Another classic is the song "State of Independence", which was rerecorded by Donna Summer and went on to become a world wide hit. 1 I'll Find My Way Home 4:31 2 State Of Independence 7:56 3 Beside 4:12 4 The Mayflower 6:38 5 The Friends Of Mr. Cairo 12:09 6 Back To School 5:09 7 Outside Of This (Inside Of That) 5:03

See You Later (1980) This peculiar album contains many vocals (Jon Anderson and Peter Marsh amongst others) and voice-overs. It seems to be a satire on modern societies hypocrisies like the overestimated importance of external bravura and "trying to impress"-behavior. Many vocals have been processed, and the overall sound is a bit strange. It contains a lot of "tongue in cheek" humor. The style of the album kind of diverges from Vangelis his usual works. 1 I Can't Take It Anymore 5:38 2 Multi-Track Suggestion 5:32 3 Memories Of Green 5:44 4 Not a Bit - All Of It 2:55 5 Suffocation 9:21 6 See You Later 10:22

Short Stories (1980) The first "Jon and Vangelis" album (Jon Anderson, lead singer of Yes) contains a collection of diverse songs. Most were mainly improvised and in many cases the very first recording made it to the album. Jon was introduced to Vangelis when Vangelis was asked to join Yes as a keyboardist. Because of creative differences between Yes and Vangelis this never actually happened, but in the short time they gathered Jon and Vangelis apparently became very good friends. 1 Curious Electric 6:40 2 Each And Everyday \ 3 Bird Song / 5:07 4 I Hear You Now 5:11 5 The Road 4:31 6 Far Away In Baagad 8:02 7 Love is \ 8 One More Time / 6:17 9 Thunder 2:13 10 A Play Within A Play 7:02 Note:This is the official tracklist of the CD. This contains in fact an error. The track "Love is" is not included at the start of track 7 but in fact at the end of track 6. This can be verified by listening to the lyrics, or looking at the tracks of the "Chronicles" compilation CD.

Odes (1979) This album by "Irene Papas and Vangelis" consists of a collection of songs that originated from traditional vocal material dealing - in part - with the Greek resistance to the Ottoman Empire (early 19th Century and before). Vangelis and Irene Papas performed the songs in a modern way and wrote two additional new songs ("La Danse Du Feu" and "Racines"). Vangelis plays synthesizers while Papas sings the Greek lyrics. 1 Les 40 Braves 5:14 2 Neranzoula (Le Petit Oranger) 5:51 3 La Danse Du Feu 6:03 4 Les Kolokotronei 3:16 5 Le Fleuve 6:44 6 Racines 8:47 7 Lamento 8:29 8 Menousis 6:37 Read TRANSLATIONS to learn more about the texts and the meanings behind the songs. In Greece, a remastered edition was released in 2007, with a partly translated track list: 1 40 Braves 5:16 2 Little Orange Tree 5:44 3 Fire Dance 6:01 4 The Kolokotronei 3:15 5 The River 6:41 6 The Roots 8:45 7 Lamento 8:25 8 Menoussis 6:36

Earlier albums