BEST OF APHRODITE'S CHILD

Demis Roussos on Progarchives!

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!

Nice compilation of early AC's pop hits of the 1960s, sprinkled with psychedelia spices. Paired with masterpiece "666", this might be all you need to have from this fine Greek band, since their first two albums are not really worth buying in their original form unless you are a collector. As more comprehensive compilations are also available, this one is sort of archival item as such.

PERSONAL RATING: 3/5

P.A. RATING: 2/5

I have mentioned in my review for "Houses Of The Holy" (Led Zeppelin) how I came in contact with this compilation album.

I have always liked their symphonic prog pop sounds more than their more "ethnic" or "avant-garde" music, so six pieces here can really be considered as "best of" IMHHO.

The childish and folky "Such A Funny Night" is very weak but "You Always Stand In My Way" although strongly psychedelic oriented is not a fave of mine either. But actually, it would have been hard to group great songs of this band and get a full and great album. Even if "Aphrodite's Child" belongs to my early youth (when I was eleven or so) I have to admit this.

So, yes I am found of those "Rain & Tears", "Spring, Summer, Winter & Fall", I Want To Live" and "End Of The World" but IMHHO, there is one masterpiece on this compilation. Their hit single "It's Five 'O Clock" and I walk to these empty streets. Oops.

This fully Fab Four oriented song is so closely related with my tender infancy that I can't help. Each time I listen to it, I remind those sweet souvenirs of this early period of my life. A perfect example of gorgeous keys combined with a superb melody. My all time fave of the band of course; but End Of The World is really close.

Three stars.

This is a good compilation of pre-666 material. It is a collection of many successful hits the greek band has graced us between 1968 and 1970, songs taken from the albums "End of the World" and "It's Five o' Clock" (and from other singles released in that period of time).

From what I know, it's the first ever Aphrodite's Child compilation and for a long time it was the only way to get most of Aphrodite's Child's hit songs (Rain and Tears, for example).

The tracks are a product of their times (the end of the sixties): there are beautiful melodies (with the beautiful vocals of Demi Roussos) and the superb symphonic-pop sound with which the band climbed up the charts of Europe, as in the excellent "Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall" and in the memorable "It's Five o' Clock".

A nice bunch of their early tunes!

This compilation album is pretty nice if you don't pre-judge and let your ears be fulfilled by the cool psych-pop tunes that Demis Roussos wrote long, long time ago. I am saying this, because here, as prog lovers, we fell in love with 666, the ultimate masterpiece of this band, but their earlier works don't really have much in common with the so acclaimed 666, which is why I'm warning you.

Once you have open ears and mind, you will really enjoy the sweet voice of Roussos, along with the cool arrangements Vangelis added in this compilation of nice short tracks, in which you will find some folk resemblances, actually Greek traditional folk can be found here, as well as that spicy psychedelia inherent in their music. The pop sound might be also evident in some songs, but believe me, this is a good pop.

Of course, I also prefer (by far) the proggy version of Aphrodite's Child, but I enjoy listening to beautiful songs such as "Rain and Tears", "It's Five o' Clock" or the amazing "Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall". If you would like to know a bit more about their early tunes, this compilation would be great, otherwise, please avoid it.

Enjoy it!