DERVISH D

Spiral (1977) was the 3rd album that Vangelis recorded at his Nemo studio in London. It was the first album to feature the new Yamaha CS 80 synthesizer, for which Vangelis became a renowned master. Thematically Spiral moved from the astronomic worlds of Albedo 0.39 (1976) towards more philosophical ideas, being inspired especially by Chinese Lao Tse, the founder of Taoism.

Both tracks here were taken from Spiral, which as a whole is much better and has finer soundscapes than these pieces, I think. Its probably best known track, the charming 'To the Unknown Man' was also released as a single. 'Dervish D' is catchy and sort of commercial sounding (almost in the 80's style!), comparable to Jan Hammer's Miami Vice music. As a composition I find it rather dull and over-repetitive.

'3 + 3' (whatever the title is suggesting) is nearly ten minutes long on Spiral, the single edit is three minutes sharp. I'm not a great admirer of this piece either, but it's notably more interesting than 'Dervish D'. It actually reminds me of the Vangelis album China (1979), which isn't among his finest works.

Two least fascinating tracks from a classic and innovative synth album by one of the genre's greatest musicians. Three stars.