THE ART OF DÉMIS ROUSSOS AND APHRODITE'S CHILD

Interesting compilation. And the fact that "The Art Of Démis Roussos And Aphrodite's Chid" is an Italian compilation is normal, due to Italian success of both Aphrodite's Child and Démis Roussos.

I do not have problem to judge this compilation: Great music, for me. But Prog... Hmmm... Prog is present in this compilation? Yes and not in poor quantity. Because yes, this type of Prog is not the Prog that the story have created but a great idea to plays a music that is innovative for 1968: Procol Harum and Mediterranean Folk in one song. Clearly it is difficult to recognize this mix, due to the fact that the songs are too POP Rock. But this type of mix is present in Aphrodite's Child songs. As in Démis Roussos songs this mix is present but the base of the music is too POP for a correct evalutation. In my point of view no too difference are present between Aphrodite's Child songs and Démis Roussos songs: only Aphrodite's Child songs present more keyboards and Rock as the songs of Démis Roussos section present orchestra (that replace the keyboards) and POP base.

It is true that this compilation is a strange compilation. Because contain music for Progsters but, also if present, Prog is not dominant. But with such beautiful songs ...

This compilation was given to me as a gift from a friend who recently came back from a long travel through europe. It has no real surprises. It includes the five hit singles recorded by Demis Roussos former band Aphrodite´s Child and seven of his own solo career. As expected it includes no tracks from AC´s revolutionary (and mostly unlistenable) 666 album. While I must point out that I like those songs very much, specially Roussos unique voice, I found the CD to be quite weak, since it has only the obvious hits and nothing new. It gives no perspective of how important Aphrodite´s Child was as band and has not enough songs to do justice to Roussos as a solo performer (where is Velvet Mornings? just to mention one).

If you happen to find only this album on the store and you just want to hear AC´s pop hits and some of Roussos most famous stuff then this CD may suit you. Otherwise there are better compilations of both AC and Roussous.

Rating: two stars, because of the fine tunes included.

Have you ever been... experienced? Oh, sorry, I mean: Have you ever been in Greece? Yes, you know: beach, sea, sun, black olives, tsatsiki, souvlaki, moussaka... And a glass of white retsina, of course. Wonderful. A paradise. The end of the world. Ops, sorry again, I said it. The end of the world. The Apocalypse. And how the world is supposed to end? Not with a bang. But with this record, perhaps... A lot of the charme of this music is in the fact that is a sort of "one shot". Never like this before, never like this after. It's the end of the world. And of the group, of course. Vangelis, the real mind beyond all this music, is well-known in Italy for a stunning commercial jingle made for the most famous brand of pasta in the world (yes, more known for that one that for Blade Runner, you can bet...). Latins said "sic transit gloria mundi" ("this way passes world's glory"). After all, it's a story of "how to make money if you're a musician". And what a kind of a musician. The answer is: not with an album like this one. This is for those that are waiting for the end of the world. Those that, a lot of time before that the musical contamination, the genres mixation, became a usual way to do, do not dislike music that is rock, greek rock ("what the hell is "greek rock"?", "okay, listen this one"), experimental music, and a lot of other stuff (and among them interesting lyrics). Speaking of the rating. I am not into that, I confess. Life is not black and white, so, why four stars or five? what about four stars and three quarters? Anyway, if five stars means "essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music", that's what this record is. Not the best record in prog rock history, but surely a masterpiece, and "one shot". The bang of the end of the world.

There are a thousand ways to read a band. In the case of the Greek Aphrodites Child it becomes very complicated in its simplicity to read his story in such a way as to enter into why this compilation is not a split compilation. The problem is that Aphrodites Child was a band that produced a vaguely progressive POP that had Vangelis as the lead songwriter and a great singer like Démis Roussos. Except "666" which, however, for me, is a Vangelis album, the style of Aphrodites Child is similar to that of Procol Harum, I Dik Dik, The Moody Blues and other similar bands. "666" is full Progressive. But, as mentioned, I don't read "666" as a band album. The dissolution of Aphrodite's Child opens up a small problem. On the one hand Vangelis was a source of wealth for the Phonogram. But she thought it would be better to focus on Aphrodites Child's singer and bassist, Démis Roussos. The problem was that without the compositions of Vangelis Démis he could have been shipwrecked. Instead he didn't happen. The split of Aphrodite's Child opens up a small problem. On the one hand Vangelis was a source of wealth for the Phonogram. But at Phonogram they thought it would be better to focus on Aphrodites Child's singer and bassist, Démis Roussos. The problem was that without the compositions of Vangelis Démis he could have been shipwrecked. Instead he didn't happen. Therefore it was natural for Phonogram to extend the band's contract to Démis Roussos alone, at least to take advantage of the moment. Incredibly Démis was successful. Even as an author. The compositions lost the Progressive elements gaining those Folk elements of the Greek tradition which, however, were never really exhibited at the forefront. In general, although the style is still that of Aphrodites Child pre "666" we can, in the singer-songwriter Dèmis (because this became), insert it in the Schlager genre, without scandalizing anyone. Listening well to Démis roussos, however, I am surprised at how much he has managed to compose extraordinary songs, full of epicity (linked to light arrangements yet steeped in epicity), building a repertoire that is not at all trivial (and, for me, superior to the Aphrodites Child repertoire ). In the case of Démis Roussos, a more unique than rare case in history, we can say that the operation of transferring Aphrodites Child fans to Démis Roussos was successful. And (mystery of musical history?) I have not yet found anyone who mentions "666" among his acquaintances when we discuss Aphrodites Child and Démis Roussos as one entity.

"The Art of Démis Roussos and Aphrodites Child" is a compilation, in conclusion, that I recommend to all fans of Aphrodites Child and Démis Roussos (and to those who love the music of the groups mentioned in the review and do not know Aphrodites Child or Démis Roussos). It is really well built and not at all obvious.