ALBEDO 0.39

Albedo 0.39 is one of the better albums to come out of this period of Vangelis' career. It's a definite contrast from his previous work, Heaven And Hell, which took on the classic prog one album, one track split into two parts format. Albedo 0.39 is roughly the same length, but made up of nine tracks instead of 2. This makes Albedo 0.39 one of the most accessible albums from this part of Vangelis' extensive catalogue.

This album contain what are considered to be two of Vangelis' classics: Pulstar and Alpha. Pulstar is good, but a bit too cheesy for me. Alpha, on the other hand, is a very tasteful track and the definite highlight of the album, taking a short, beautiful tune and building it up to give a magnificent sound.

Half the album is dedicated to the tracks Main Sequence and Nucleogenesis Parts 1 and 2. These are the most energetic and loudest tracks on the album, though definitely not the strongest. Some parts of these tracks are good, competent instrumental section, but other parts require an acquired taste and are not particularly tuneful. Not bad, but not all that good, either.

The rest of the tracks seem less proggy, more ambient to me. They are short tracks with minimalistic melodies with more of a focus on atmosphere than actual tune. They are good, but not jaw-droppingly amazing.

Overall the album is good, but not great. There are some nice moments, but most of the album, though not bad, is largely forgettable. If you're after some more accessible early Vangelis, or want some spacey ambient/instrumental prog, then you might want to consider this album.