PAGE OF LIFE

Well this is the album where Jon and Vangelis became the Carpenters.Melodic but totally inofensive music with little that called be 'prog'.Its a very nice and totally boring as hell.Sorry but they really should not have bothered and you would be well advised to avoid this unless you want something to have a snooze to.

The fourth and the last album by Jon and Vangelis "Page of life" is the most confusing one in term of release version. The first (I would say the original) version was released in 1991 and it contains 12 tracks, of which one "Wisdom Chain" is released as a single. The album seem didn't get much attention so in 1998, a second version of the same album was released in the USA with some differences in the set list as well as album cover even though the album title is the same. The one posted in this site is the second version (USA). The album that I have contains this set list: 1. Wisdom chain, 2. Page of life, 3. Money, 4. Jazzy box, 5, Garden of senses, 6. Is it love, 7. Anyone can light a candle, 8. Be a good friend of mine, 9. Shine for me, 10. Genevieve, 11. Journey to Ixtlan, 12. Little guitar. The cd-single that was released with the first edition is now highly sought after by both admirers of Jon Anderson as well as Vangelis because it contains the melancholic "Sing with your eyes" which can not be found anywhere else...

"Page of Life" took many years to complete as it seemed the two gentlemen had some initiatives, ideas and styles of their individual preferences and fine tuned them into a one cohesive album. Especially with Vangelis who might may have lost interest after initial sessions, changing studios plus record companies. So it took quite some time to get the on the market, plus having some session-musicians for additional percussion and Jon Anderson in charge for the beautiful 'Is It Love' - a track that some critics mentioned as an uncredited ABWH track. They left out material recorded long time ago in 1986, in which 'Sing With Your Eyes' appeared on the CD-single released with the album. Musically, the original album version that I have (the 1991 version) is a very interesting album and very enjoyable especially if you listen to it during night time like I did last night. Half of the album contains music that have been common with Jon and Vangelis album but the other half has some different styles with some influences of jazz music. I enjoy both the common ones and the new style with jazz influence.

It's a very good album and it's a must for Jon and Vangelis fans. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Very poor overall. It was almost like ..."should we revisit the successful formulae after all these years???".... I say this smacks of background music, has very little punch to it and may have been released purely for commercial reasons.' Change We Must' and ' Page Of Life' are OK but the closing ' Wisdom Chain' loses it's way and quite honestly this sums up this album.

Change (the tracks and their order) we must

Released in 1991, "Page of life" remains at time of writing the last collaboration between Jon Anderson and Vangelis. Right from the opening "Change we must", the album adopts a relaxed, almost ambient mood, with soft washes of sound and pleasing melodies. That opening track would later become the title of a solo album by Anderson, its title coming from a book called "Change we must" written by Hawaiian spiritual teacher Nana Veary. The version here uses repetitive themes in an Enya sort of way, the piece gradually building as it weaves it alluring themes. Surprisingly perhaps, the track features some fine guitar work by Jim Hahn (who appeared on Yes' "Union" album as Jim Haun).

Elsewhere, "Garden of senses" maintains the mood, but this time (uncredited) saxophone appears enhancing the melancholy mood. "Genevieve" lightens that mood again, but remains staunchly understated.

The final track, "Wisdom chain", is a 10+ minute epic which sets out as a Vangelis solo effort. The music sounds as if it has been lifted from one of his soundtrack albums, with sweeping synth orchestration and majestic themes. Anderson eventually makes his mark on the song, which becomes a repeating mantra.

"Money" seems to be a rather odd exception on the album, being a prosaic slice of unoriginal pop rock.

In all, a highly enjoyable final outing for Jon and Vangelis. This album has been rather lost from the vast discographies of the two protagonists, but those who found previous J&V efforts to their liking will be pleased with what they are presented with here.

Note this review is of the 1998 USA release. Vangelis apparently did not approve of this version, which sees some of the tracks being tinkered with by Anderson, and others omitted altogether.

I have listened to both versions of this album, and I prefer the sound mixing of the 1998 release, which apparently was the original mixing of this album that wasn´t liked by the record label (Arista) and / or Vangelis. I think that the mixing of the 1998 version is more clear and "atmospheric", but since both versions have a few differences in the songs which were included, I think that it is interesting to listen to both. In my opinion, the mixing released in 1991 (maybe only released in Europe) is less clear and more "dry". Anyway, the style of the music in this album is more closer to New Age than to Progressive Rock music, sometimes being very "romantic" and "Pop". But maybe this is my favourite album from them. There are also other changes in sound as Vangelis was using then more modern digital synthesisers and more programmed drum machines. Anderson worked very well in all the vocal arrangements. From the 1991 release I prefer the version of "Wisdom Chain", which in comparison to the version of the 1998 release is shorter and more "direct". The version from the 1998 release includes a long instrumental introductory part by Vangelis which at least for me doesn´t have very much in common with the other parts of the song, and sounds a bit "forced". From the 1998 release, "Change We Must" is an excellent song (with uncredited vocals by Mary Hopkin). In conclusion: I prefer the mixing of the 1998 release, but as a whole both albums are very enjoyable. Apparently, the 1998 version which was released in the U.S. , unauthorized by Vangelis but released with the authorization of Anderson, was the reason they stopped working together.

Review Nº 833

The Greek musician Vangelis, the keyboardist of Aphrodite's Child in the early of 70's, was a possible candidate, at the time, for the vacant position of the keyboardist of Yes in 1974 when Tony Kaye left the band. It didn't have happened, but there were lively contacts between Vangelis and the Yes' singer Jon Anderson. Already in the following year Jon Anderson appeared on the sixth studio album of Vangelis "Heaven And Hell", as a guest singer. But, finally, three studio albums appeared under the name Jon & Vangelis in the end of the 70's and early of the 80's, "Short Stories" in 1979, "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo" in 1981 and "Private Collection" in 1983. The duo had some commercial success with titles like "I Hear You Now" and "I'll Find My Way Home". In 1991, the duo appeared with another album "Page Of Life".

The genesis of this fourth album of Jon & Vangelis dates back to the summer of 1988, when Anderson went on vacation with his family to the Greek island of Hydra after releasing his fifth solo album "In The City Of Angels". Vangelis was also prowling around the Greek islands on his yacht with a built-in recording studio. As it could not be otherwise, the two old friends soon got down working in which what would be "Page Of Life" that would only emerge three years later.

In 1989 the duo would meet again in Rome for a week, as Vangelis was working there on their new solo album "The City". Again, Vangelis took advantage of Jon Anderson's visit to complete the Greek sessions, augmented and polished at the Sound Studios in Athens in 1988. A new final round of additional recordings and remixes of several previous tracks would take place in mid of 1990 in Paris, where Vangelis had returned after several years wandering around London, United States, Athens and Rome. Finally, in June 1991, "Page Of Life" was released, not without some changes in the content, at the request of Arista, such as the suppression of the dreamlike "Change We Must" and the cutting of the instrumental introduction of "Wisdom Chain", giving way to a more pop ballad of Anderson solo called "Is It Love".

"Page Of Life" is somehow a very interesting album for me. You may call it a beautiful showcase for Anderson's singing and for Vangelis' instrumentation, as always. The lyrics could be described as clever social commentary and messages for world harmony in musical landscapes that allow amazing showcases for both Anderson's angelic vocals and Vangelis' multifaceted synth textures. Half of the album contains music that sounds familiar compared to the previously released albums by Jon & Vangelis. They once again created a very spiritual and musical synergy, which combines elements of rock, classical music, symphonic rock, electronic music, new age and world music. However, the other half of "Page Of Life" contains influences of jazz and soul styles that you'll hardly hear on the previous albums of the duo.

Highlights include the beautiful title track song "Page Of Life", worthy of Jon & Vangelis in their prime, the whimsical and elegant "Is It Love" which is mostly an Anderson's creation with some very Vangelis like piano and electric guitar from several guest musicians, the dreamy and hypnotic ballad "Garden Of Senses" with a beautiful vocal arrangement and the Vangelis' nice sax sound, the sweeping gentle piano/vocal duet "Anyone Can Light A Candle" find Anderson at his most passionate and romantic and the melancholic "Genevieve", with its surging key strings and with an almost oriental backing. The latter has some of Vangelis' simplest but most attractive melodies while "Anyone Can Light A Candle" reappeared on Anderson's solo album "Change We Must" from 1994. That version is very similar to this one.

Other tracks include the graceful and familiar "Shine For Me", "Journey To Ixtlan" that has almost a classical feel and it's probably the most prog song, "Wisdom Chain" is in the familiar territory of the duo with Anderson's vocals and Vangelis' keys motif, "Be A Good Friend Of Mine" is an up-tempo mainstream song whith a 80's pop soud, "Money" is a pop rock song that sounds different from the rest of the album, "Jazzy Box", a light-hearted fusion instrumental with Vangelis creating all manner of effects and "Little Guitar" featuring a rare but sweetly effective acoustic guitar solo.

The bonus track "Sing With Your Eyes" is one of the few survivors from the original 1986 sessions but isn't featured on the original album. That is a shame because this is one of the strongest offerings with its classical style arrangement.

Conclusion: Of the four albums of Jon & Vangelis, "Page Of Life" is the weakest and certainly the less prog. It's full of lyricism but musically is somewhat dispersed and that has aged considerably worse than the previous three albums of the duo. So, whether you like "Page Of Life" or not, it strongly depends on your personal musical taste. If we can forget the prog and that it isn't very cohesive, we must admit that it's an album with some interesting and good moments and when you can still hear the same sound of the duo on many tracks. For me, it has mainly a problem. It contains too much music that was mainly written to chart a single. But others might judge it differently and regard it to be an album equally good as the other three. Again, it's all a matter of taste. So, I don't recommend this album to everybody. I only recommend "Page Of Life" for those who like the gentle side of the things and who likes Anderson's solo work, really.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)