CHINA

Vangelis is truly an artistic genius, always delving into his own creative mind, heart and spirit to create some of the most atmospheric, romantic and inspiring music. 1979 was a particularly productive year for this artist and China turned out to be one of his finest works ever, best demonstrating his talent by giving his beautiful orchestral syntho-harmonies a Far- Eastern flavour. The track titles paint the picture for the music, bringing this man's vision of a mystical culture to life. "Chung Kuo" is a fanfare for an Emperor, it has a military pomp feel to it and "The Long March is a beautiful piano solo that almost conveys a sense of sad nostalgia. It's one of my favourite moments, as is "The Plum Blossom" which presents a folk violin against the dynamic backdrop of Vangelis' synthesizer "power" chords. "The Tao Of Love" is, quite simply, stunning: a wonderful blend of electronic and acoustic arpeggios. "Himalaya," is the best of all though, sweeping and "other worldly", vast, cold and indifferent, much like the Himalayas, yet this piece also has the power to calm the nerves. . Highly recommended. Listen using a pair of decent headphones.