BEST OF APHRODITE'S CHILD

Aphrodite's Child are as well known these days for their two famous former members as they are for their music. Both Vangelis and Demis Roussos of course went on to find fame and fortune as solo artists.

While Vangelis has retained his credibility through some ambient prog keyboards based albums and some lucrative tie ups with Jon Anderson, Roussos' fame came through reinventing himself as something of a crooner who appealed to those who liked a nice tune. (Any vestige of credibility he had retained was removed by the mention of him in the classic television play "Abigail's party". Abigail, a socialite played superbly by Alison Steadman, insisted on playing his music to impress her guests).

Great care needs to be taken when investigating compilations of Aphrodite's Child's music. There have been a plethora of such releases (I have another LP called "Greatest Hits" which has a very similar track listing to this album), as those listed on this site are the mere tip of the iceberg. What many of these early (LP) compilations have in common however is that they focus on the band's first two albums, and completely ignore their finest hour "666".

Those first two albums, "End of the world" and "It's five o'clock" are based in pop and Greek folk music, with little in the way of anything progressive. Apart from the tracks from the two albums, a couple of singles released as stop gaps are included here. "I want to live" is one of these. The song uses the traditional "Plaisir d'amour" for its melody, being delightfully sung by Roussos with angelic backing voices and complementary piano played by Vangelis. "Spring summer winter and fall", which was released between the second and third albums, is a more orthodox Roussos ballad.

Selected album tracks include "Such a funny night" which has a "Zorba's dance" feel at times, the high pop vocals being rather at odds with the instrumentation. "Rain and tears" uses Pachelbel's "Canon", one of those classical themes which everyone recognises, for its melody. Once again, a highly enjoyable song, but a million miles from the theme of this site.

In more recent times, more comprehensive compilations covering the band's entire career have appeared. At the end of the day though, the best way to obtain their "666" album is to buy their "666" album!

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