JON & VANGELIS

Review Nº 892

"Chronicles" is the second compilation of Jon & Vangelis that was released in 1994. It was released ten years after the release of their debut compilation "The Best Of Jon & Vangelis". As many of we know, Jon & Vangelis was a musical project formed by vocalist of the band Yes, Jon Anderson, and the Greek musician Vangelis Papathanassiou in the 80's.

The first meeting of both has happened in London in the 70's. Vangelis would be the replacement of Rick Wakeman on keyboards after the departure of him from the band after the release of the sixth studio album of Yes "Tales From Topographic Oceans". That would never happened, because Rick Wakeman was substituted by the Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz, the keyboardist of Refugee. Still, Anderson participated as a vocalist on some solo albums of Vangelis like "Heaven And Hell" released in 1975, "Opera Sauvage" released in 1979 and "See You Later" released in 1980.

The duo worked together from 1980 to 1991 and recorded four albums "Short Stories" released in 1980, "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo" released in 1981, "Private Collection" released in 1983 and "Page Of Life" released in 1991. The music was written by both and Anderson was the author of the lyrics. Jon sang all the songs and Vangelis played all instruments.

"Chronicles" has fourteen tracks. The tracks were taken from their first three studio albums. "I Hear You Now" is from "Short Stories". It's a love song, beautiful, melodic, delicate and vibrant at the same time. This is a song that represents the perfect harmony between the two musicians, the main hallmark on "Short Stories". "He Is Sailing" is from "Private Collection". It's a good song with nice rhythm, more in the vein of their album "Short Stories". Here we can see some effort and some complexity on the structure of the composition of the song. "Thunder" is from "Short Stories". It's the shortest song on "Short Stories" but it has some beautiful and interesting musical moments. It's very short but very nice . "Beside" is from "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo". It's a very good and beautiful love song with some fantastic classical musical arrangements and where the voice of Anderson and the music of Vangelis marry beautifully. "Birdsong" is from "Short Stories". It's more a coda of "Each And Everyday" than a filler. This is a short beautiful love song with the music of Vangelis providing the ambient to Anderson's voice. "A Play Within A Play" is from "Short Stories". It's a sublime dreamy song that is, for me, with "Curious Electric" and "Far Away In Baagad" one of the three best moments on "Short Stories". It starts slow and grows up until reaches the climax and in the end it returns and dissipates slowly again. "And When The Night Comes" is from "Private Collection". It's a nice and pleasant song clearly focused on Anderson. It's an electronic melodic song typical of the 80's but it has unfortunately bad lyrics. The lyrics are awful, lame, trivial and almost laughable. "Deborah" is from "Private Collection". It's a song in the same vein of "And When The Night Comes". It's dedicated to Anderson's eldest daughter and fortunately the lyrics are better than on "And When The Night Comes". It's a nice and mellow song where once more we can hear a good orchestral arrangement. "Curious Electric" is from "Short Stories". It's a superb and brilliant song that begins to create the perfect atmosphere along the entire "Short Stories". On this track Vangelis is simply brilliant. In my opinion, this is one of the best compositions ever written by him. "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo" is from "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo". It's a funny fine piece, worthy of being part of a soundtrack for a "B" class American film noir of the 30's and 40's. Despite be a bit a commercial song it has enough to be considered a good piece. "Back To School" is from "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo". It's a funny rock'n'roll song played with keyboards, a nice and pure synth pop song of the 80's with good rhythm and nothing boring. Still, this is a vulgar song without anything of special on it to offer. "Italian Song" is from "Private Collection". It's a beautiful and celestial song with an absolutely perfect and majestic combination between Anderson's magical voice and the beautiful and floating Vangelis' keyboard sound. "Polonaise" is from "Private Collection". This is an intense, catchy, mellow and beautiful love song with plenty of sugar. Beware with your CD player. If Jon & Vangelis would have competed on the European Song Contest, they probably would win it. "Love Is" is from "Short Stories". It's a nice and mellow love song but is at the same time too much sentimental and bore. This song represents for me the lower point on "Short Stories".

Conclusion: As I wrote when I reviewed "The Best Of Jon & Vangelis", "Chronicles" is a better compilation album than "The Best Of Jon & Vangelis" is. It has more five songs and it's probably most representative of the musical career of Jon & Vangelis. All tracks are in general good and it has also some great tracks like "Beside", "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo" and "He Is Sailing". By the other hand, all six tracks chosen from "Short Stories" are great but I left out them purposely. As I mentioned on my review about "The Best Of Jon & Vangelis", "Short Stories" always was my favourite part of the project. And, it displeases me a little bit that "Short Stories" was separated into several parts. I always saw "Short Stories" as a whole and solid piece of music. However, "Chronicles" remains for me a good compilation album.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Review Nº 884

"The Best Of Jon & Vangelis" is the debut compilation album of Jon & Vangelis and was released in 1984. As we know, Jon & Vangelis was a musical project between the front man and the founder member of Yes, Jon Anderson and the ex-member of Aphrodite's Child, Vangelis Papathanassiou, in the 80's. They had already collaborated with Anderson's vocals on Vangelis "Heaven And Hell", harp on "Opera Sauvage" and vocals on "See You Later". This compilation has songs from Jon & Vangelis first three albums, "Short Stories", "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo" and "Private Collection".

As we all know, Jon Anderson left Yes in 1979 and was absent of the band between 1979 and 1983. During this hiatus of time, the musical collaboration between him and Vangelis reached its maximum peak. Both recorded together three studio albums between 1980 and 1983, "Short Stories" released in 1980, "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo" released in 1981 and "Private Collection" released in 1983. In 1991 the duo released another third and last studio album, "Page Of Life".

"The Best Of Jon & Vangelis" has nine tracks. The first track "Italian Song" is a song originally released on their third studio album "Private Collection". "Italian Song" is a beautiful and celestial song, and represents an absolutely perfect and majestic combination, between Jon Anderson's magical voice and the beautiful and floating Vangelis' keyboard sound. This is really a good and relaxing song. The second track "I'll Find My Way Home" is a song originally released on their second studio album "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo". "I'll Find My Way Home" is clearly a commercial song, but however, it's a great song, melodic and beautiful and it has also fantastic musical performances by both artists. This is, in my opinion, one of the highest points on "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo". The third track "State Of Independence" is also a song originally released on their second studio album "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo". "State Of Independence" contains good digital rhythms and percussions and a nice saxophone work. It's a song influenced by the World Music and has a nice but short jazz rhythm introduction. The song ends to be a little bit repetitive and vulgar and it hasn't anything more than that to show to us. The song on this compilation is the single edited version. The fourth track "One More Time" is a song originally released on their debut studio album "Short Stories". "One More Time" is a simple song with beautiful and charming atmosphere created by Jon Anderson's voice. It's the type of the song that in the future would be adopted by the duo. The fifth track "A Play Within A Play" is also a song originally released on their debut studio album "Short Stories". "A Play Within A Play" is a sublime and dreamy song that represents with "Curious Electric" and "Far Away In Baagad" the three highest moments on "Short Stories". It's a song that starts slowly, it grows until reaches the climax and in the end it returns and dissipate slowly again. The sixth track "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo" is the title track song that was originally released on their second studio album "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo". "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo" represents a great moment on "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo". It's a funny and fine piece of music too, worthy of being part of a soundtrack for a "B" class American film noir of the 30's and 40's. Despite be a commercial song and surely isn't a masterpiece, it has enough to can be considered a good musical piece. The seventh track "Outside Of This (Inside Of That)" is also another song originally released on their second studio album "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo". "Outside Of This (Inside Of That)" has soft vocals and calm music. It's a bit repetitive and vulgar song that doesn't represents one the best moments on "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo". The eighth track "He Is Sailing" is also a song originally released on their third studio album "Private Collection". "He Is Sailing" is a good song with good rhythm, more in the vein of their album "Short Stories". Here we can see some effort and some complexity on the structure of the composition of this song, made by Vangelis. The song on this compilation album it's the single edited version. The ninth and last track "I Hear You Now" is also another song originally released on their debut studio album "Short Stories". "I Hear You Now" is a love song, beautiful and melodic and it's also delicate and vibrant at the same time. This is a song that represents the perfect harmony between the two musicians which is, in my point of view, the main hallmark of all "Short Stories".

Conclusion: "The Best Of Jon & Vangelis" is a good compilation album with songs from their three albums released in the 80's. It's representative enough with three songs from "Short Stories", four songs from "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo" and two songs from "Private Collection". About those albums, "Short Stories" is definitely in another dimension. While "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo" and "Private Collection" are two albums with some nice and fine moments with few great moments. But, with "Short Stories" it's another story. "Short Stories" is the only album where the communion between the incredible voice of Jon Anderson and the beautiful music of Vangelis is almost perfect. So, returning to "The Best Of Jon & Vangelis", I can say that it's a nice introduction for those who aren't familiar with Jon & Vangelis music. However, I really think that their second compilation album "Chronicles" is better and more complete than this one is.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Review Nº 848

Jon & Vangelis was a musical project formed by the lead singer of Yes Jon Anderson and the famous Greek electronic pioneer musician Vangelis, in the 80's. But this wasn't the first time the two had worked together. The first meeting between them took place in London, in the 70's. Vangelis was to be the natural replacement for Rick Wakeman on keyboards, on Yes, when Rick left the band after the release of their sixth studio album "Tales From Topographic Oceans". It would never happen especially due to personal reasons of Vangelis. However, the role went to the second choice, the Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz. Still, Jon Anderson has participated already, in the role of vocalist, on albums of Vangelis like "Heaven And Hell", "See You Latter", and played harp on the album "Opera Sauvage", too.

The pair worked together from 1979 to 1991, producing four original studio albums, "Short Stories" in 1980, "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo" in 1981, "Private Collection" in 1983 and "Page Of Life" in 1991.

So, "Short Stories" is the debut studio album by Jon & Vangelis and that was released in 1980. Jon Anderson was the author of the lyrics and performed all vocals and the music was all composed by Vangelis which performed all instruments, keyboards, synthesizers, piano and electronics. Beyond them, "Short Stories" had also the participation of Raphael Preston on acoustic guitars with some small contributions as a guest musician.

Originally, the vinyl version had ten tracks, but the CD version has only eight tracks. I have both versions but I'll review the eight tracks version. The first track comprises the first song "Curious Electric". It's a superb and brilliant opener for the album. This song begins to create the perfect musical atmosphere along the entire album created by Jon and Vangelis. On this track Vangelis is simply brilliant and this song is, in my humble opinion, one of the best compositions ever written by him. The second track comprises the second and third songs, "Each And Everyday" and "Bird Song". These are two beautiful love songs which are performed together such as a single one. These are two completely different songs from the previous one because here we have the music of Vangelis providing the musical ambient to Jon Anderson's voice, while on "Curious Electric" is the opposite. In other words, Jon Anderson provides the vocal ambient to Vangelis' music. The third track comprises the fourth song "I Hear You Now" which was also released as a single. It's another love song, very beautiful and melodic and it's also very delicate and vibrant at the same time. This song represents the perfect harmony between the two musicians which is, in my point of view, the main hallmark of this album. The fourth track comprises the fifth song "The Road" which is the only track to feature an additional musician Raphael Preston, who contributes with acoustic guitars. The song is very pleasant and contributes for one of the best and most beautiful musical moments on the album. The fifth track comprises the sixth song "Far Away In Baagad" and the seventh song "Love Is". Despite being performed together, these are two completely different songs. "Far Away In Baagad" always reminded me strongly the debut solo studio album Of Jon Anderson "Olias Of Sunhillow". It's an incredible song with beautiful and mysterious melodies and also with a great keyboard work. "Love Is" is the opposite. It's a nice and mellow love song but it's also at the same time to much sentimental and bore. This song represents for me the lower point on the album. The sixth track comprises the eighth song "One More Time". It's a very simple song with very beautiful and charming atmosphere created by Jon Anderson's voice. It's the type of the song that in the future would be adopted by the duo. The seventh track comprises the ninth song "Thunder". Despite be the shortest song on the album it has some beautiful and interesting musical moments. It's very short but very nice. The eighth and last track comprises the tenth song "A Play Within A Play". This is a sublime and dreamy song that represents with "Curious Electric" and "Far Away In Baagad" the three highest moments on the album. It's a song that starts slowly, it grows until reaches the climax and in the end it returns and dissipate slowly again. This is a great ending for the album.

Conclusion: I know this album since it was released and I always loved it. Of the four albums of them, this is the best, the most progressive and the only one where the communion between the incredible voice of Jon Anderson and the beautiful music of Vangelis is almost perfect. I'm one of those who think that the voice of Jon Anderson and the music of Vangelis make a perfect wedding. I don't share the idea that Anderson doesn't seem an integral part of the duo because on this album he only sings about the rules of Vangelis. I don't care if the music was composed by Vangelis and Anderson only sings his lyrics. In my humble opinion, here we can clearly see the both worlds and the perfection between them. "Short Stories" is a very beautiful album, well balanced, uniform and cohesive. In the end we may say this is almost a perfect music work. So, I've no doubt in saying this is a great addition to any progressive collection.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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*)

The title song of the second JON & VANGELIS album The Friends of Mr. Cairo is an impressive prog epic in its entire 12- minute length. The single edition (4:20) is basically the first third of it and functions as a catchy, melodic pop song. On the other hand, in my opinion the complete version gets more interesting when the tempo comes down and the duo finds a more sensual approach to the piece inspired by the golden era of Hollywood in the 30's and the 40's. Especially the serene final third of the album version where Jon Anderson sings of "Clark Gable, Fairbanks, Maureen O'Sullivan" is among the definitive highlights of this partnership.

The more straightforward song section nevertheless deserved to be edited into the single format. The main melody has an old-fashioned adventure spirit, and there are sound effects such as bullets flying and car brakes screaming, and voice impressions from the movies -- some of them a bit irritating, to be honest --, while the lyrics are filled with movie references. Mr. Cairo (Joel Cairo) is the character played by Peter Lorre in the film noir classic The Maltese Falcon (1941).

As a side note, the first time I heard any version of 'The Friends of Mr. Cairo' was an instrumental version of the song section, on a Vangelis tribute compilation performed by Ed Starink. Yes, I'm guilty of having bought that sort of a cheap supermarket CD in the early days of my Vangelis listening.

The single's B side song 'Beside' was also taken from the album. It's a romantic, peaceful song. The piano is the main instrument but all kinds of synths join along the way and give the piece a bit of a kitchy feel. Perhaps the song would have functioned better with a simpler piano-centred arrangement.

Vangelis' discography in the early 80's revolved less around his solo albums and more around some of his most iconic soundtracks along with projects with other artists. Three of the albums released during this time was this collaboration between Jon Anderson and himself (named simply as Jon & Vangelis) and this also allowed vocals/lyrics to be better brought into Vangelis' distinctive style. The third album of this particular collaborative effort is called "Private Collection". This one has six shorter tracks and one very long epic track, most of which is very beautiful music that quite effectively spotlight the talents of the two artists. Where "Mr. Cairo", the previous album had a more concept driven affair, this one seems to be more about the individual tracks.

Italian Song - A simple song consisting of Jon singing in Italian and Vangelis providing minimal synths and choral effects.

And When the Night Comes - A staccato and rhythmic background is established before Jon begins singing. This time the song is much more accessible with a chorus/verse structure and with the lyrical subject about love along with the clichés we've come to associate with popular music. The only guest on the album comes along in the second half of the track: Dick Morrissey on saxophone, and this gives the track a warm and Kenny G-like atmosphere. A little too sappy at that point, but at least Vangelis' contributions make it listenable.

Deborah - Probably the duo's most well known track. It's a beautiful and appealing melody, simple, yet lovely. At first, the vocals are accompanied by a piano with reverb, something we have grown accustomed to with Vangelis' style. Symphonic effects are added in as the song progresses along with the passion. In the end, it becomes like a lullaby with a heart-rending melody added to Vangelis' coda to the tune.

Polonaise - This track remains quite peaceful and simple with Jon's vocals being the centerpoint of the track, but after the halfway mark, it suddenly becomes more regal with the dramatic use of percussion for a short section before calming again at the end. The melody here sounds classical-European-inspired. Vangelis adds another coda on this one which simply repeats the main melody with his synths.

He is Sailing - A nice, floating and steady rhythm brings this in immediately with staccato synth riffs and a mostly one note verse and a chorus with a nice hook that meshes quite well with the persistent rhythm. Soaring synth melodies add in the patches between the vocal sections. Excellent track that gives a very positive vibe and Vangelis' contribution stands out quite well making things extremely appealing to listen to. It's music like this that constantly draws me to both artists as it elevates my spirit (in a good way, not a religious way at all).

Horizon - This makes up the entirety of Side 2 as it is nearly 23 minutes long. It starts off with a repeating synth/percussive pattern with a distinctive moderate rhythm that follows a descending chord pattern. It draws you in quite well and this repeats for a few minutes before Anderson's vocals start. The melody here is a bit more complex than the previous tracks, but it is still quite accessible. The vocal melody soon gets more repetitive later as the voice and synths throw in little improvised embellishments as it floats along for several minutes. About halfway through, the chordal and rhythmic pattern breaks down in a somewhat climactic way as the song changes direction. Now it becomes quite ambient and peaceful as the track seeks to develop (or at least make a variation) of the original theme. This quieter section relies more on the treated piano to provide melody while synth effects flow around it. Eventually, more vocals come in with a new melody, some washes of sudden dynamic outbursts flood over the ambience, but are only short dramatic waves as the ambient section continues, but it does eventually build to quite a cinematic ending.

Jon & Vangelis would not do another collaborative effort again until 1991, about 8 years later. In the meantime, Jon Anderson would continue his work with Yes while Vangelis resumed work on his own discography, producing soundtracks and also other collaborations. This album, however, is a shining jewel in the discographies of both artists and seems to be a little underrated. Yes, there are a couple of weak tracks ("And When the Night Comes" and "Polonaise"), but they are still okay and the other tracks outshine them enough to not affect the entire album that much in my opinion. This is a beautiful album that should be a part of the library of fans of either one of these artists and other music collectors.

Both Jon Anderson and Vangelis have discographies (as solo artists) that are sort of hit or miss, some are really great while others are weak. But when they teamed up, they had, for me at least, some very memorable albums, some of my favorites from both artists (minus the Yes albums of course).

"The Friends of Mr. Cairo" is their 2nd collaboration, released 2 years after their first one, in 1981. I have to say that as far as both artist's solo albums, this one has aged quite well. Being as both artists at the time were trying to fit into the new decade at the time, they did so without selling out. In this album, we tend to move away a bit from the experimental feel of the first album "Short Stories" and they work on making this one a bit more accessible, yet they don't compromise in the quality of their output and ingenuity.

The album, for the most part, is more of a homage to old classic cinema, especially evident in the title track, where snippets from films are edited into the music, and done so with class. Vangelis and Anderson both incorporate snippets of themes from a few of the classics along the way, yet they do it without making it feel like they are stealing from the soundtracks while they incorporate the music so that it flows well together. This track, which surpasses 12 minutes, never gets old or stale and, in fact, seems to be divided into two (or maybe more) sections. The talents of both artists really fit together quite well, better, in fact, than their 3rd collaboration "Private Collection". This also helps to elevate this track, and the entire album for that matter. The 2nd track "Back to School" ends up being a little corny and just a bit too happy, but the beat is nice and might even make you tap your foot, just a little bit. But "Outside of This (Inside of That)" comes off a bit more naturally to the pair making up for that somewhat childish track.

The 2nd side of the original version of the album starts with "State of Independence", which was later covered by Donna Summers and, a decade later, a band called "Moodswings" with Chrissie Hynde on vocals, which is where I first became familiar with it. I was a big fan of that version, and when I finally heard this earlier version, I was impressed that the song was written by Vangelis and Anderson. It's a beautiful song and both versions are quite acceptable, yet quite different from each other in their own ways with only the melody being the constant between the two. "Beside" is a shorter track, one that really doesn't stand out much for me. The final track is more cinematic and progressive sounding with complex melodies and lyrics from Anderson and with Vangelis' cinematic flair, both of which work very well together and close the album quite impressively.

Overall, this is a very good album. It's biggest fallback is that it isn't necessarily the most progressive work of either artist, but it is, in my opinion, one that I would still place among my progressive albums. I have always loved the sounds of Vangelis and own almost all of his albums. The same can be said of Yes and Jon Anderson, but many of Anderson and Vangelis' solo albums can be pretty bad, while others are stellar. I place this one in with the best of both artist's works. I can easily give it 4 stars, and about half of the album could be considered progressive, but mostly in a lighter sense of the style. It's definitely not deserving of 3 stars, so I don't feel bad rating at 4, even with the cringe- worthy "Back to School". It is the best of their collaborations.

`Short Stories' is the 1980 debut album that resulted from a collaboration between avant- garde keyboard player Vangelis and the lead singer of symphonic prog legends Yes, Jon Anderson. Although not even remotely as daring as the Seventies work of the Greek composer, nor as exciting as the classic Yes output from that same era, this first work still holds some moments of worthwhile music, with the two artists frequently blending together and complimenting each-other in interesting ways. On this album, the pair occasionally succeed in grafting Anderson's quasi cosmic/hippie enlightened words and Vangelis' spontaneous keyboard flair to mostly strong melodic compositions without truly aiming as low as obnoxious and vapid popular chart/top 40 music. Some moments get a bit drippy here and there (with Anderson involved, that's probably not all that surprising!), but there's a constant airy variety on display, and both the artists bring enough inspiration.

A lengthy and dramatic instrumental build from Vangelis offering reverberating fan-like beats and energetic Hammond runs brings just a touch of unease and mystery throughout opener `Curious Electric'. Jon Anderson soon pops up to offer some matter of fact stream- of-consciousness musings over jagged discordant slicings, and I'm sure ever so briefly his melody drifts to the opening of Yes' `The Revealing Science of God'? `Each and Every Day' begins as a dreamy spacey drift of synths around a protective vocal from Jon that soon grows in power. `Bird Song' is a twinkling synth rumination with a grand chorus. The romantic `I Hear You Now' was a deserved hit single on it's release in the UK, and it's all pretty synths, a lovely melody and a sprightly Anderson vocal with swirling deep-space effects. `The Road' is an acoustic gospel piece with an unsurprisingly reflective lyric punctuated with big churning synth stabs.

`Far Away in Baagad' could be a distant relative to Anderson's `Olias of Sunhillow', droning chanting harmonies and frantic vocals weaving around building synth fanfares. Sadly, from here on the second side of the album takes a sharp dip in quality. `Love Is' has a swooning overwhelming loved-up vocal from Jon over New-Age ethereal synth washes, sweet but get's a little overwrought and definitely overstays it's welcome. `One More Time' is even more sickly-sweet, a late-night jazzy electric piano ballad with a syrupy vocal. A playful, almost theatrical vocal from Jon is seriously grating throughout the quirky `Thunder' too. Thankfully the closing track `A Play Within A Play' is much more interesting, with longer instrumental shimmering synth passages around a soothing vocal, before breaking into an up-tempo synth freak-out in the middle! If only more of the second side had been this inventive and promising!

One thing instantly noticeable is how confident and freed Jon Anderson's vocals are throughout `Short Stories'. Compare his performance on this album to his by-the-numbers going through the motions on the 1978 Yes album `Tormato'. Likewise, Vangelis seems up to the challenge of reigning in his more self -indulgent tendencies, and it's nice to hear him focused and a little more subdued after his schizophrenic mid to late 70's solo works! Although hardly a progressive blowout, and despite some of the later stretches getting a little too cute, `Short Stories is still an intelligent and often tasteful adult pop release. It's gentle, but there's still moments of artistic inventiveness and quirky flourishes to keep things interesting.

Three stars.

(Special thanks to Sam (Archives member Meltdowner) for mentioning this one to me, glad I gave it a chance!

A wonderful, magical album that came at just the right time. Jon was leaving Yes and found a nice place to express his more laid-back musical tendencies of the time. Apart from the weak opening track, this collection of songs is a delight for fans of Anderson the vocalist and melodist. The high points are the through-composed "Each And Everyday/Bird Song" and the absolutely mesmerizing "One More Time." These two display such a mastery of advanced melodic and vocal composition I get goose bumps. Just wonderful. Turn off the lights, put on the headphones and slip into this album!

The Friends of Mr Cairo is a much more accessible album than Jon & Vangelis' first album "Short Stories". I like this work very much. By this, the second album of thiers, there are fewer dreamlike quailities and more simple and evocative structures. Some may find the electronic arrangements dated. I never had a problem with that, there are some lovely spacious moods in this music that some listeners don't appreciate. Perhaps you could say it is of its time, but that is what is fragile and charming about it in many ways. I have the second edition of the ablum and it starts with "I'll Find My Way Home" which is simple, catchy and very laid back. One of my favourite Jon & Vangelis tracks follows, it's called "State of Independence". I would forgive a lot of people for appreciating the Donna Summer version of the song more. She covered it a year or so after this album's release, and her version was good, but if you get to hear this version first, and give it plenty of spins, it kind of gets under your skin. In a good way of course. It has a nice bouncy rhythm but still manages to stay on a mellow key. I like the sax in this song. It brought in some interesting textures to thier music. There are some different ideas and themes that run through the songs and I think some listeners complain it is inconsistent in that respect, but don't let that put you off, just enjoy the music. "The Mayflower" and the titile track are good pieces and quite interesting but my favourite of all on the whole album is the last song "Outside Of This (Inside Of That)". It is very much in the same spacey vein as most songs from the previous album. A very good album for your collection. Three and a half stars.