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VANGELIS

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Vangelis biography
Evanghelos Odysseas Papathanassiou "VANGELIS" - Born March 29, 1943 (Volos, Greece) - died May 17, 2022 (Paris, France)

VANGELIS (the "g" is pronounced as a hard "g", as in "get") is a world-renowned new age and electronic musician. His best known compositions are the Academy Award-winning 1981 theme to the movie "Chariots of Fire" and the entire score to "Blade Runner". He also composed the anthem of Football World Cup 2002.

Early life and work
VANGELIS began composing when he was 4 years old, and is largely a self-taught musician. He refused to take traditional piano lessons, and throughout his career he did not have substantial knowledge of reading or writing musical notation. He studied classical music, painting and film direction at the Academy of Fine Arts in Athens.

In the early 1960s he formed the pop group FORMINX (sometimes spelled "FORMYNX"), which became very popular in Greece. During the student riots in 1968 he moved to Paris and formed progressive rock band APHRODITE'S CHILD with Demis Roussos and Loukas Sideras. They had a hit single in Europe called "Rain and Tears." The group was disbanded in 1972, although Roussos made several appearances on VANGELIS' later work.

Beginning of solo career
VANGELIS began his solo work by writing scores to two films by French filmmaker Frederic Rossif in 1973. His first official solo album was 1974's "Earth". At about the same time, he rehearsed for a couple of weeks with another prog-rock band, YES. Although he never joined the band, he became friends with singer Jon Anderson, with whom he later worked on many occasions.

After moving to London, VANGELIS signed a deal with RCA Records, set up his own studio (Nemo Studios) and began recording a string of well-regarded electronic albums. Music from the acclaimed 1975 album "Heaven and Hell" was later used as the theme to the PBS television series Cosmos.

Work in film and commercial success
He and Jon Anderson released several albums together in the 1980s and '90s as JON & VANGELIS. In 1982 VANGELIS won the Academy Award for Original Music Score for "Chariots of Fire". The theme song topped the US Billboard charts for one week after climbing steadily for one year.

That year he also began working with director Ridley Scott; VANGELIS scored his films "Blade Runner" and "1492: Conquest of Paradise". He also scored many of the undersea documentaries o...
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VANGELIS discography


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VANGELIS top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

2.84 | 45 ratings
Sex Power (OST)
1970
2.44 | 40 ratings
Fais Que Ton Rêve Soit Plus Long Que La Nuit
1972
3.65 | 121 ratings
Earth
1973
3.77 | 156 ratings
L' Apocalypse Des Animaux (OST)
1973
3.45 | 73 ratings
Can You Hear The Dogs Barking? [Aka: Ignacio] (OST)
1975
3.90 | 265 ratings
Heaven and Hell
1975
3.70 | 212 ratings
Albedo 0.39
1976
3.22 | 66 ratings
La Fête Sauvage
1976
3.76 | 209 ratings
Spiral
1977
2.60 | 104 ratings
Beaubourg
1978
3.74 | 111 ratings
The Dragon
1978
3.25 | 94 ratings
Hypothesis [Aka: Visions Of The Future]
1978
3.87 | 172 ratings
China
1979
3.67 | 73 ratings
Vangelis & Irene Papas: Odes
1979
3.53 | 112 ratings
Opéra Sauvage (OST)
1979
2.57 | 93 ratings
See You Later
1980
3.08 | 163 ratings
Chariots of Fire (OST)
1981
3.46 | 110 ratings
Antarctica (OST)
1983
3.58 | 103 ratings
Soil Festivities
1984
3.58 | 98 ratings
Mask
1985
2.53 | 70 ratings
Invisible Connections
1985
3.05 | 45 ratings
Vangelis & Irene Papas: Rapsodies
1986
3.64 | 104 ratings
Direct
1988
3.31 | 95 ratings
The City
1990
3.99 | 177 ratings
1492 - Conquest of Paradise (OST)
1992
4.11 | 270 ratings
Blade Runner (OST)
1994
3.82 | 102 ratings
Voices
1995
3.29 | 106 ratings
Oceanic
1996
3.79 | 96 ratings
El Greco
1998
2.75 | 80 ratings
Mythodea
2001
2.77 | 66 ratings
Alexander (OST)
2004
2.90 | 39 ratings
El Greco (OST)
2007
3.00 | 10 ratings
Amore (OST)
2015
3.66 | 55 ratings
Rosetta
2016
3.21 | 29 ratings
Nocturne - The Piano Album
2019
3.17 | 32 ratings
Juno to Jupiter
2020

VANGELIS Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.65 | 17 ratings
Neuronium and Vangelis A Separate Affair
1996

VANGELIS Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

3.48 | 21 ratings
Mythodea-Music for the NASA mission: 2001 Mars Odyssey
2001
3.63 | 11 ratings
Vangelis And The Journey To Ithaka
2013

VANGELIS Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

2.89 | 27 ratings
Best of Vangelis
1978
3.04 | 23 ratings
Greatest Hits
1981
3.04 | 44 ratings
Themes
1989
3.83 | 12 ratings
Best In Space
1994
3.90 | 10 ratings
Space Themes
1995
3.55 | 11 ratings
Gift: Greatest Hits
1997
3.62 | 39 ratings
Portraits
1997
2.90 | 20 ratings
Reprise 1990-1999
1999
4.00 | 9 ratings
Cosmos
2001
2.64 | 9 ratings
The Best Of Vangelis
2003
2.54 | 25 ratings
Odyssey - The Definitive Collection
2003
3.67 | 6 ratings
The Music Of Vangelis
2005
4.77 | 46 ratings
Blade Runner 25th Anniversary
2007
3.61 | 14 ratings
Delectus - The Polydor & Vertigo Recordings 1973-1985
2017

VANGELIS Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

2.67 | 3 ratings
Astral Abuse/Who Killed (as Alpha Beta)
1971
2.75 | 4 ratings
Odyssey
1974
3.60 | 5 ratings
The Vangelis Radio Special
1975
3.50 | 2 ratings
So Long Ago, So Clear
1975
5.00 | 9 ratings
Pulstar / Alpha
1976
4.71 | 7 ratings
To The Unknown Man
1977
3.05 | 3 ratings
Dervish D
1977
4.00 | 6 ratings
Hymne / Irlande
1979
3.67 | 3 ratings
The Long March (Part I & II)
1979
3.16 | 6 ratings
Not a Bit - All Of It
1980
3.50 | 2 ratings
My Love
1980
3.37 | 8 ratings
Chariots of Fire
1981
4.00 | 7 ratings
Silent Portraits
1984
3.19 | 7 ratings
The Will Of The Wind
1988
4.00 | 8 ratings
Missing
1989
3.09 | 4 ratings
Good to See You
1990
4.40 | 5 ratings
Conquest Of Paradise
1992
3.50 | 2 ratings
Voices
1995
2.18 | 3 ratings
Song of the Seas
1996
4.33 | 3 ratings
Ask the Mountains
1996
4.50 | 2 ratings
Sauvage et Beau
1996
3.30 | 12 ratings
2002 FIFA World Cup Official Anthem
2002
1.80 | 5 ratings
Świadectwo - Muzyka Filmowa (with Robert Janson)
2008

VANGELIS Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Beaubourg by VANGELIS album cover Studio Album, 1978
2.60 | 104 ratings

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Beaubourg
Vangelis Prog Related

Review by docsketchy

4 stars First of all, I take umbrage at the star rating system for this album, since it is not actually prog rock. It is experimental electronica. There are many reviews here that lambaste this album because it is not what they expected from Vangelis. However, one has only to listen to the modular synth electronica that is being made today to realize that Vangelis was only about 45 years ahead of his time. Also, if one wants to put this album in context, then one must listen not to other Vangelis music or prog rock, but to go back and listen to such works as Stockhausen's Etudes or Ligeti's Artikulations. Beaubourg is like those works, only less formal and more melodic. There are actually some really beautiful sections of Beaubourg -- for example, the first five minutes makes a very compelling composition, full of beauty and drama.

When I first got this record back in the early 80s, I didn't really know what to make of it. However, it is now my favourite Vangelis album. Another Vangelis album that I thought was really useless at the time is Invisible Connections. However, it is now probably my second favourite Vangelis album. These albums are pure abstract electronica, and they are very good in that context. In my view, much of the more accessible Vangelis music has not aged particularly well, but that certainly cannot be said of Beaubourg and Invisible Connections -- they stand up very well amongst the experimental electronica being made today.

 China by VANGELIS album cover Studio Album, 1979
3.87 | 172 ratings

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China
Vangelis Prog Related

Review by alainPP

5 stars VANGELIS with CHINA as a hidden chronicle, just for fun.

1 Chung Kuo with the intro cosmic waves or Chinese artifices that set the sky ablaze; immense apocalyptic, symphonic and majestic intro, the arrival of this comet sound, shooting star, flame-fall of the extinguishing fire?; in short we are at the dawn of the great journey on this binary air quickly chiselled by a Mandarin keyboard... the slap what... I had read at the time 'the long march of the mandarins at the time of the mellotron' yes I take it out. 2 The Long March for the melancholic solf'ge piano variation where a synth adds a little more spleen, shhh it's the break and it's not this crescendo that will scare us 3 The Dragon bam it goes to the right, to the left, the fire is not extinguished; return to 'Beaubourg' for preposterous synthetic experiments; good it's going a well restrained air arises for a conventional Asian dance; the minimalist break and the flight of synths amplified by the majestic percussion gives the expected relief, we are indeed in China to climb the great wall. Dantesque and eventful this piece 4 The Plum Blossom for the variation on the arid violin, the one that makes hair and other hair rise high, a tune that twirls, that moves like a salad basket supposed to dry this damn lettuce... ah the images scroll by, come on the theme Chinese in the final background. 5 The Tao Of Love for the variation of the Chinese air, the one where you see the cherry trees of Japan in bloom, yes we are going very far to change countries... in short, the theme dripping with marshmallow sweetness to ask questions hassles of everyday life, well I will take a tea with this synth that relaxes and imposes respect ... a bit of the child in the sea in the distance 6 The Little Fete and the characteristic tuba flute that we dream of hearing to symbolize our arrival on the ground, drum roll, crystalline arpeggio, drops of water... yes we have arrived, I take a bottle of wine, now I speak Chinese too... my shadow is never first? good barker title to make you think you're there when you're still here 7 Yin & Yang continues on the same path, synths, local string instruments to make you forget Europe, France, you're good there and nothing will make you come back, dong dong says this song ; the ambient variation which arises wisely on a guitar and harp arpeggio ennobles the air so that the wicked evangelical synths show the end of their keyboards; boo it would even become oppressive; small aside on this album chosen to try to raise awareness of the progressive extent through music, here we are; I have a soft spot for the percussion associated with these high notes raising the emotion to the firmament for the finale. 8 Himalayas for the piece of my favorite, yes Julien it's not just you; in short, a dark, sinister, evolving rise, a crescendical rise as one can only love, a hypnotizing and hypnotized sound, a bewitching air that I used in relaxation, that is to say; the title which runs for an hour, which makes you forget your temporal landmarks. As often halfway through an evolution, a break, here a musical will-o'-the-wisp with invading sounds, like one that goes behind my ear; good little Chinese symphonic explosion in the last third before the final monolithic plaintive declension 9 Summit for the dark happy ending, gloomy air, on a 'Blade Runner' when it was still only in the drawers; the progressive title so to come back to earth, finally to leave the great wall and land in Paris.... what did you not know that the great wall is a temporal passage, well at least I will have been used for something ; good this ambient title, latent on a musical structure in overloop, to put in phase anvil and stirrup.

Good this VANGELIS to rediscover art-rock, even if it's rather Japanese-rock here... and I have a Chinese friend who loves this pun. A good album by VANGELIS which is more OCNI than OMNI!!

 Albedo 0.39 by VANGELIS album cover Studio Album, 1976
3.70 | 212 ratings

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Albedo 0.39
Vangelis Prog Related

Review by alainPP

4 stars 1 Pulstar typical intro, indescribable, everyone has it in their musical unconscious, a bit like that of 'Tubular Bells'; cascading, arrowing synth, violent percussion, a roaring drum; the piece which confirms to you that you are not like everyone else, a little above the ambient doldrums, ah that is relieving; the air grandiloquent with a chiseled synth sweetness. Extraterrestrial attacks, fireworks with the incorporated sound, in short the Vangelis sound with this majestic keyboard; it spins, ah at the first... o'clock... ok it's over; but it's still one of my best songs 2 Freefall follows, Japanese sound, typical little melody for traveling 3 Mare Tranquillitatis does the same with a more important space air than that you can't; we have just landed on the moon, we think of Mars, what can make us dream is put there; the voices of NASA astronauts during an Apollo memory mission 4 Main Sequence smacks of 'Beaubourg', an electronic musical search made of keyboards that jump, howl and a melody that sticks to it; you want some tablecloths, here you go; the side that I still don't like, too empirical, expressive, too crazy and lacking the melodic framework; the finale changes completely, an air of 'So Long Ago, So Clear', a bit of 'L'homme à la mer' to end with sensitivity, gifted Vangelis

5 Sword Of Orion for the musical sweetness, the unstoppable melody; delicacy, awakening of Nature, a musical bath at the time when we took our time and another varied piece 6 Alpha... speaking of melody, here's another unstoppable one; the rise, the roll of thunder pad, its symphonic explosion which rolls even louder, the head which moves suddenly, yes we are indeed ... at the head of a troop, of an army which inevitably goes to victory; a great symphonic musical fresco which shows that prog is everywhere; the finale at the majestic summit that does things to your back 7 Nucleogenesis, Parts 1 And 2 with an organ setting, Hey, Rick and Richard are there? Well a second title pure electronic research with variations, packets, notes which diffuse in the room going in all directions, a tad electro psyche, hold a new drawer; the finale on OLDFIELD, then the distinctive sound quickly returns with rolling drums; ah that phone call, what would he do these days instead? There I saw the telephone without a brand, just the one used to make calls, in short the decreasing end already 8 Albedo 0.39 to close this album in another space; Keith's voice to amplify the drift of our ship towards its destruction... no, I'm joking though; Albedo answer, answer; no, we're really reaching the end of the album.

 Heaven and Hell by VANGELIS album cover Studio Album, 1975
3.90 | 265 ratings

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Heaven and Hell
Vangelis Prog Related

Review by alainPP

4 stars Heaven And Hell, Part 1 starts... finally begins; a majestic intro that you immediately recognize, then swirling and screaming choruses of madness, that's it, you are in the world of VANGELIS; it shines everywhere, the layers of synths have a blast; this subtitle is called 'Bacchanale' yes we understood everything; the suite, a droning melody on Moog, Fender Rhodes and other Bösendorfer grand piano keyboards, keyboards for a 20th century symphony; choirs with The English Chamber Choir and you have the ingredients for this magical moment; a grandiose fusion of classical, religious, Oldfield bells and a musical fresco is created, shown before you, musical magic. The 3rd movement at the piano comes to set down this phonic deluge a little by offering a gripping religio-solemn ballad, a slow rise with the synth which imprints the Vangelis sound the first opus after the fantastic 'L'Apocalypse Des Animaux'

2 So Long Ago, So Clear sound coming from the stars... and a star yes Jon himself who comes to chat; memory of that time when his voice made the radio vibrate, yes he had passed over it... imagine the happiness of that time; good solemn title with the voice which responds to the synths, the Olympian choirs which respond to the flights of notes and this syrupy melody which remains attached to your memory, yes it was just sublimely Dantesque 3 Heaven And Hell, Part two and five movements on this side... did you change it by the way? A sinister, distressing beginning with these metal claws, these wanderings at the piano, these musical flames emerging from a cemetery; 'Needles and Bones' on OLDFIELD for sure, well it then evolves into its own space but still; it's difficult to access, I found fortunately that I had plunged into it; '12 O'Clock' for the major moment, the choirs, the drums, everything is done to upset us, to torture our ears; the finale with Vana as lead vocal and her murmured vocalizations melts the indelicate progue who thought it was simplistic electronics; hold the bell and the Gregorian atmosphere to bring him down; 'Aries' storms in and in the space of two minutes creates mayhem; sonorous, phonic rolling, dithyrambic explosions to bring the finale very gently; an 'A Way' which plays out gently, melodically perfectly, just to rest the ear which has suffered pleasantly from this long journey of 3/4 hours.

 Spiral by VANGELIS album cover Studio Album, 1977
3.76 | 209 ratings

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Spiral
Vangelis Prog Related

Review by alainPP

4 stars 1.Spiral ah this spatial intro, the synths that come and go, back and forth, from left to right, ah this sound that comes from the center, from your head, it swells, what else can I say, it's very linear, yes but before there was nothing; so these redundant sounds, these sounds coming from the universe, amplified by this microphone elsewhere, what a cover that everyone remembers; the air that comes, dancing, symphonic and catchy; a sound that returns like a wave and that we would listen to for more 2 Ballad which takes me back to the album 'China' for its Japanese connections, the entry is symphonic, Chinese, grandiloquent; then with the voice-overs it deviates to an airy air, of the turbosphere I think; a synthetic violin which juggles with the folklore of the land of the rising sun, a musical image of plenitude, bells, percussion which amplifies and the return of this sampled sound, trademark of the master VANGELIS; a magnificent bucolic stroll 3 Dervish D with the trademark of electronic music, a tune on a rhythmic base, all one on top of the other, like a black hole absorbing a galaxy; it seems so outdated these days, so beautiful when it came out 4 To The Unknown Man and one of my first musical excitements with electronic music; yes there was TANGERINE DREAM, SCHULZE, JM JARRE; yes there was VANGELIS with this very significant title; a solemn tune, the perfect anthem, here before hearing the drum roll I imagined it; in short, stereo to brighten up, the sound that plays on the speakers, or that stirs your air in your headphones, more on the left side it is true; 3'50 and it arrives after this wave of muffled synths; the roll, yes you have to follow, makes the hairs on your back stand up, it was the fashion, yes the anthem becomes beautiful, tall, you can't be more... 6'20 and that's messy; boom, boom boom and the finale arrives... a little pink noise to bring that last musical, symphonic and airy touch, in short a simplistic and wonderful title at the same time 5 3 + 3 at the end for the final title which leaves me cold; too much synth kills the synth; it's too easy, too bland, I don't like it and listening again confirms my initial feeling; perhaps also that the other titles took all my emotion.
 Vangelis & Irene Papas: Odes by VANGELIS album cover Studio Album, 1979
3.67 | 73 ratings

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Vangelis & Irene Papas: Odes
Vangelis Prog Related

Review by Gallifrey

4 stars 13th January, 2023: Irene Papas - Odes (electronic dimotika, 1979)

An incredibly pretty album, with Vangelis just approaching his Blade Runner era mixing incredibly well with some traditional Greek singing. The mix of synths, ambience and folk music can give this a kind of hokey new age atmosphere at times, but when it locks in, it's quite captivating. There are elements of both traditional classical and folk music in it and it does manage to have a solid amount of variation - the synths occasionally locking into Vangelis' characteristic proto-synthwave sound, but at other times sounding more like a Tangerine Dream Berlin School record. A unique mix of sounds and definitely one of my favourite Vangelis related projects.

6.6 (3rd listen)

Part of my listening diary from my facebook blog: www.facebook.com/TheExoskeletalJunction

 Delectus - The Polydor & Vertigo Recordings 1973-1985 by VANGELIS album cover Boxset/Compilation, 2017
3.61 | 14 ratings

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Delectus - The Polydor & Vertigo Recordings 1973-1985
Vangelis Prog Related

Review by Matti
Prog Reviewer

3 stars This 13-disc box set contains 13 remastered studio albums of Vangelis, three of them actually by JON + VANGELIS. The only Vertigo release is "Earth" (1973), which happened to be the only one I hadn't listened to before. Actually a group effort with vocals of Robert Fitoussi, it has some faint resemblence with the Aphrodite's Child classic 666 (released in 1972), although obviously a minor and less exciting work in comparison. All the other albums in this set were originally released by Polydor, thus it won't include some classic albums from the 70's, ie. Heaven & Hell, Albedo 0.39 and Spiral, from the RCA label. Several of the albums here are music composed for films: L'Apocalypse des Animaux, Opera Sauvage, Chariots of Fire and Antarctica. These are among the best known Vangelis albums except perhaps Antarctica (1983), which is a very fine work. The rest of the Vangelis albums are: China, See You Later, Soil Festivities, Mask and Invisible Connections. The set is finished with the three JON + VANGELIS albums from the early 80's: Short Stories, The Friends of Mr. Cairo and Private Collection.

I'm surprised by the numerous five-star ratings without reviews, because I have major complaints about the box and the representation. The physical size of the box is massive, big enough for vinyls. The discs are plainly placed in two gatefold sleeves. All the album information and other textual contents are in the large hard-cover book of 96 pages, and judged against the size the actual contents are rather disappointing. I expected much more of the liner notes when I borrowed the box from library. For the most part, it's a picture book. It's not handy at all that you have to hold that clumsy big book open to see the albums' track lists while listening. I truly prefer smaller and thus more user-friendly sizes for CD box sets. That said, I'd be satisfied with the rather brief liner notes too, if the box and the book/booklet had been smaller: come on, almost a hundred vinyl size pages for contents that would nicely fit into a 40-page CD size booklet!

The bonus material on the discs remains rather minimal. The fifth disc containing See You Later (1980) features three bonus tracks in the style of the album, hardly worth a second listening. The third and the best Jon + Vangelis album Private Collection is accompanied by a fairly good B-sider 'Song Is'. And that's more or less all. Considering the salty price of this box set, I frankly don't see it very recommendable. I'd rather spend the money on individual albums of your own choice.

One thing is sure. There's a wide musical variety among these thirteen albums. From the earthy art-rock of "Earth" to the avant-garde minimalism of Invisible Connections (1985 - originally released in the classical music label Deutsche Grammophon, so I'm wondering of its inclusion here), from the organic melancholy of L'Apocalypse des Animaux (1973) to the Oscar winning athletic themes of Chariots of Fire (1981), and from the fascinating microcosmos interpreted in Soil Festivities (1984) to the choral approach of the mythologically inspired Mask (1985). I personally also enjoyed the opportunity to (re)visit the Jon + Vangelis albums at the same time, despite a little reservation for them not being actual Vangelis solo albums.

 The Dragon by VANGELIS album cover Studio Album, 1978
3.74 | 111 ratings

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The Dragon
Vangelis Prog Related

Review by Mirakaze
Special Collaborator Eclectic Prog & JR/F/Canterbury Teams

4 stars Alongside its companion piece Hypothesis, The Dragon is one of the most controversial releases in Vangelis's discography. Of course it doesn't speak in their favour that both these albums were released nearly a decade after being recorded without authorization and against the wishes of the artist who subsequently disowned them, and the fact that they bear little resemblance to most of Vangelis's output presumably doesn't help for most people either. This album, containing a trio of extended krautrock and jazz fusion improvisations, indeed would be unlikely to please anyone expecting to hear the music that Vangelis had become known for by 1978, but personally, this makes me appreciate it all the more: it makes me feel like I'm getting a sneak peek into a completely different side to this clearly multi-talented musician.

But of course that would only be worth so much if the actual music wasn't also very good, although it's a bit slow to start, admittedly. Vangelis does not play keyboards (or if he does, they're unrecognizably distorted) on the lengthy title track that opens the album, an oppressive, 15-minute long psychedelic jam which is mostly a showcase for violinist Michel Ripoche and guitarist Anargyros Koulouris, Vangelis's bandmate in Aphrodite's Child who allows himself that get much more fuzzed-up and atonal than he could ever be in that band up until then.

The second side is where the album's beauty really comes to fruition, however: "Stuffed Aubergine" is probably the closest that this album comes to resembling Vangelis's more famous works, being a mellow, new age-ish minimalist sequence with plenty of keyboard soloing, but it sounds much more like Popol Vuh than Spiral. Vangelis only uses a synthesizer to add some background chords but for the most part relies on a clavinet, electric piano and even a mellotron, while Koulouris gets a chance to show off his more sensitive side near the end. "Stuffed Tomato" throws the album on its head again, starting out with an unaccompanied guitar improvisation before launching into a furious speedy jazz-rock jam. Vangelis is indeed playing jazz on his piano here and he does it excellently, all the while accompanied by some quality drum-pounding and bass-walking.

Vangelis fans aren't guaranteed to enjoy this album but they owe it to themselves to at least give it a chance.

 Blade Runner (OST) by VANGELIS album cover Studio Album, 1994
4.11 | 270 ratings

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Blade Runner (OST)
Vangelis Prog Related

Review by WJA-K

3 stars This music is iconic. Just as the movie is. The movie and the music are one. As a soundtrack, it is one of the best ever.

But does it hold up to its own? Frankly, I can't tell. Because I am a fan of the movie. So I will always have the movie in mind when listening to this album. Or reading the track titles. I'm spoiled by the movie when listening to this music.

As an experience of reliving the movie, I highly recommend this soundtrack. The music is of high quality and engaging to set the right scene. As a music piece, it is good. But nothing extraordinary in my book.

Reviewing this as a piece of music, I can't push it above 3 stars. It is good, but certainly not essential for prog fans. And this is a prog site after all.

 Heaven and Hell by VANGELIS album cover Studio Album, 1975
3.90 | 265 ratings

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Heaven and Hell
Vangelis Prog Related

Review by WJA-K

4 stars This is one of the earlier works of Vangelis before he became a superstar. It is an interesting album on many fronts.

It shows us a progression of Vangelis from his work with Aphrodites Child to his staple work. It has a palette of sounds, making it very varied. We hear some glimpses of where he eventually would go. It even has an appearance of Jon Anderson!

For me, this album marks the moment of the perfect storm. I believe this is the Vangelis that appeals to me most. It's not only dreamy musical landscapes. There's more, it's punchier.

Heaven and hell is a great album. I give it 4 stars.

Thanks to ProgLucky for the artist addition. and to NotAProghead for the last updates

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