One record at a time: 443. Vangelis - Soil Festivities

1984's "Soil Festivities" marked Vangelis's return to recording albums rather than the film soundtracks that had preoccupied him during the early eighties. My copy of this record is a repressing of unspecified date but it is in very good condition. I have to admit, until I acquired this record nine or ten years ago, I hadn't heard any of the music from this album. "Soil Festivities" belongs to a trilogy of less well known albums that Vangelis recorded before he relocated from his famous Nemo studio in London. Like "Mask" and "Invisible Connections", "Festivities" doesn't contain any grandiose themes or the pop sensibilities of his work with Jon Anderson. This period finds Vangelis in the mood for exploration, much like when he was signed to RCA Records ten years earlier. 

The first movement of this album uses a sample of a flute that is played on a simple repeating pattern. Whilst all manner of Yamaha CS-80 melodies and electric piano flourishes are thrown at us, the flute sound remains steadfast for the full eighteen minutes of the piece. Whilst listening to the same flute sample repeat for nearly twenty minutes might not sound like fun, it does help Vangelis realise his concept of celebrating the natural elements. The incessant drops of rain and the activity stimulated by a thunderstorm all seem to be perfectly illustrated by the notes we hear.

"Movement 2" follows a similar pattern to the first with the Emulator samples and Roland VP-330 strings creating a rather magical piece based on a repeating sequence. Things become a little more abstract on "Movement 3" in which Vangelis indulges his penchant for jazz tinged improvisation with mixed results. "Movement 4" has a distinctive bass arpeggio that underpins proceedings but it is a bit too long for my taste. Things round out with "Movement 5" which is another loose improvisation made using the characteristic combination of Rhodes piano and Yamaha CS-80. 

Whilst there is a lot to like in this album, it is inconsistent. Some of the pieces evoke clear images and fit within the concept. However, tracks like "Movement 3" and "Movement 5" sound like album filler that were phoned in. Everything is just a little self indulgent and the album would benefit from the odd edit here and there. 2/5

One record at a time: 442. Vangelis - Antarctica

"Antarctica" is the score for the Japanese film of the same name that was released in 1983. For a long time I was only familiar with the main theme from this album as it was featured on 'sound-alike' compilations such as "Synthesizer Greatest" or Project D's "Synthesizer 2". When I did finally hear the original I found it very impressive and understood why it would be considered amongst Vangelis's best work. 

As we drop the needle I am immediately struck by fact that Vangelis seems to be using a sampler for the first time. From what I have read, Vangelis bought his EMU Emulator with the intention of replacing his drum machine with samples played from the keyboard. However the rather primitive sampling technology of the time meant that the Emulator wasn't responsive enough for Vangelis and was demoted to providing percussion sounds alone. 

The sampled timpani on the opening theme are used alongside a conventional string machine and burbling analogue bass. As for the distinctive melody, there are various theories relating to how the sound was created. Some believe it is a sample of a guzheng, others think it is derived from the Yamaha CS-80 synthesizer and some theorise it is a combination of the two. Personally, I have no clue. I just know it isn't the "Koto" preset from a Roland D-10 that I used to try to play along with when I was younger.

Having just listened to the full seven and a half minute version of the theme I am struck by how much better it sounds in its unedited form. If you’ve only ever heard the version on the compilations "Themes", "Odyssey" or "Portraits" then I encourage you to seek out the original as it is a truly wondrous composition in its longer form.  

Another standout piece is "Antarctic Echoes" in which Vangelis uses the distinctive electric piano preset of the Yamaha CS-80 and the choir sound from the Roland VP-330 to reimagine the main theme. This song seems to hang in the air as if suspended by invisible threads - it is very impressive indeed. I also like "Life or Antarctica" which is a highly atmospheric track with a strong melody and the distinctive timpani samples that seem to be the hallmark of this album. 

I have never seen the film this soundtrack is taken from so I have absolutely no idea if the music is appropriate for the visuals, but it has never really summed up images of desolate snowy landscapes in my mind. Still this is impressive music and a record I should revisit more often than I do. 4/5

One record at a time: 441. Vangelis - Chariots of Fire

My copy of "Chariots of Fire" is a reissue that was pressed after the film won numerous Academy Awards; including that for best score. This is actually one of few Vangelis albums that I never bought on CD and I hadn't heard it in its entirety until I acquired this LP from eBay in 2016. Whilst visually this record is in pretty good nick, there are a few pieces of sticky debris that cause the needle to jump now and again - I will have to put it through my record cleaner at some stage.

Unless you have been living in a cave for forty years you will have heard the main theme from "Chariots of Fire" a thousand times. The music is so overused it has become a cliche. Yet if you can transcend above the cliche, you will find a fascinating piece of music that has to be considered amongst the composers best work. What I didn't realise about this record is that all the music is re-recorded especially for this release and does not feature the actual cues used in the film. I am told the original music is somewhat less embellished and everything seems to have been enhanced for the commercial release of the soundtrack.

"Five Circles" is a stirring theme played on the famous Yamaha CS-80 brass presets and we hear the familiar Rhodes piano on "Abraham's Theme". So far, so Vangelis. Then, rather strangely, we are presented with the traditional English hymn "Jerusalem" - but this performance has nothing to do with Vangelis. 

The second side of the disc features the title track that is twenty minutes in length. In this piece Vangelis takes the main theme and offers variations that have classical overtones. This music is driven by the sound of the grand piano and electronic instruments are only used to add embellishments here and there. There's nothing on this second side to get excited about and the music tends to melt into the background as your mind wanders away. 2/5

One record at a time: 440. Vangelis - See You Later

With the advent of eighties, Vangelis sought to change the sound of his music. Not only does "See You Later" feature vocals, but it also uses drum machines and collaborations with numerous other artists. Loosely based around the concept of a decaying planet, this album is fairly experimental with little concession to its commercial fortunes. Having said that, this is no "Beaubourg".

The first track, "I Can't Take It Anymore" features a Korg drum machine and a vocoder drenched vocal with occasional embellishment from the grand piano. The drum machine then gets a new pattern for "Multi-track Suggestion" where the vocalist Peter Marsh seems to sing about the various settings available on the studio equipment. Neither of these tracks get much love in online reviews, but I like them both and think they deserve more respect.

"Memories of Green" will be well known to many as it features on the soundtrack of "Blade Runner". The dreamlike lament of this piece is quite haunting but it is a bit too long. Side one finishes off with "Not a Bit-All of it" which descends into a twee bossa-nova riff with a spoken vocal by an artist called Cherry Vanilla. Whilst this track is undoubtedly tongue in cheek, it seems completely superfluous. At least it is less than three minutes in length. 

For the second side Vangelis ropes in his old mate Jon Anderson. The first track "Suffocation" sees the drum machine return and the trusty Yamaha CS-80 is wheeled out to provide the bass. This track moves through a few different phases before we hear Anderson's distinctive contra tenor followed by a languid coda. The title track that brings proceedings to an end features a sequenced bassline and jazzy Rhodes piano along with some spoken word vocals. Unfortunately this song just rattles along like an incoherent studio jam. Anderson returns at the end of the piece in a slightly more structured coda, but it is too late to rescue things. It's a shame the last track is so disappointing and what had gone before was much more entertaining. 3/5

P.S. I have since discovered that this album is not what Vangelis originally intended it to be. A test pressing of the album reveals there were three other songs included in the original tracklisting. "Fertilization" featured an unknown vocalist describing conception and gestation in humans. However, as the author of the text would not allow their work to be used, the track had to be removed from the album.

Whilst "My Love" was released as a non-album single, it is not clear why it and another song called "Neighbors Above" were removed from the LP. The track "See You Later" wasn't part of the original running order and I suspect this was just a studio jam that was tacked on the end to generate a decent runtime. 

Ridiculous vinyl colour names

Back in the day, coloured vinyl and picture discs were synonymous with inferior sound quality and I always avoided them because of this. Today however, most pressing plants seem able to create decent sounding discs no matter what colours they add (glow in the dark, splatter or glittery discs aside).

This advancement in quality means that the marketing people at record labels feel emboldened to offer all manner of special coloured vinyl editions. Not satisfied with concocting these variations, record labels also seem compelled to add some marketing spin to the names of the colours. 

Alongside the conventional colours red, white, orange etc., I also see terms like ‘Electric blue’ and ‘oxblood’ being used. I don’t really have a problem with this as these feel quite conventional names and they even appear on a list of established colour names I found.

Where I take issue is when record companies invent descriptive colour names that are so contrived they either don’t tell us what colour the vinyl will actually be or they are painfully obvious. Today I have come across the colour ‘Belgian ale’ which seems like a rather unhelpful name. Personally, I like a nice blonde or Dubbel with an amber hue; but I’m not sure if the record will be this colour or that of a Trappist Brune. They’re both Belgian ale, but very different colours – why not just say brown?

An increasingly common description I see is ‘Bottle clear’ or ‘Coke bottle clear’ - which is essentially transparent vinyl that has a pale blue tinge. Another variation is ‘milky clear’, but I’m not entirely sure where the line is between this and ‘opaque white’. Other highlights encountered recently are ‘Silver Nugget Metallic’ (which is grey), ‘Edelweiss white’ (errr it’s white) and ‘Moonlight transparent clear’ (I have no idea, but I’m guessing it is ‘bottle clear’).

One record at a time: 439. Vangelis - Opera Sauvage

I originally bought this album on CD from HMV in early 1992. I was 'a little short of funds' at the time so my mother lent me the £14 I needed to buy it. I never paid her back. I miss my mum.

Whilst this album was originally released in 1979, my LP is a repress from 1981 that I bought from eBay in 2016. This record is the soundtrack to a TV series created by long term collaborator Frédéric Rossif, but the 43 minutes of music presented here represents only a tiny fraction of what was created for the 21 episodes of the show. 

This album finds Vangelis at the peak of his creative powers in a studio brimming with the latest technology. Curiously, copies of this record with a gatefold sleeve credit Vangelis's famous Nemo studio in London and say the recordings were made during 1978 and 1979. However, the sleeve of my record states it was recorded in Paris in 1976 - so somebody is wrong somewhere.

Whatever the studio, you can't deny the music here is brilliant. The theme "Hymne" (not to be confused with a later piece with the anglicised title "Hymn") is a concise track that features a soaring melody and deeply atmospheric styling. The combined sounds of the Rhodes piano and the Yamaha CS-80 would become a hallmark of Vangelis and the track "Rêve" is a great example of this classic combination. 

Another standout melody is featured on "L'Enfant" and this should be considered amongst the composers best work. "Chromatique" is tinged slightly with jazz influences, but I like it nonetheless. The other tracks on the record that are a little less strong in terms of melody, but they all retain the same atmosphere. Whilst it is far from perfect, there are no big holes in this record. This is peak Vangelis. 4/5 

One record at a time: 438. Vangelis - The Best Of

I originally bought this album on CD in 1992 and I have strong memories of loading the disc into my Sony D-33 Discman. However, as the disc played I felt a slight pang of disappointment. I had naively assumed this would be a career retrospective but I later realised it was drawn from the four albums Vangelis released with RCA between 1975 and 1978. 

This limited scope is obviously a drawback and this can never be considered a comprehensive collection. My copy of the vinyl is an original UK pressing that I acquired on my Vangelis splurge nine years ago.  

The four tracks on the first side cherry pick the best pieces from the "Albedo 0.39" and "Spiral" albums, but "Alpha" seems conspicuous by its absence. The flip side is a little more challenging as it tries to cut the albums "Heaven and Hell" and "Beaubourg" into bite-size pieces. I can see why the A&R men chose "Bacchanale" and "Aires", but they still aren't my favourites. Let's face it, it doesn't really matter how you edit "Beaubourg" it isn't going to make much difference. 2/5