SHORT STORIES

As I left clear in a previous review, I don't like most JON & VANGELIS albums, but listening again all the albums I have, found that the problem is Jon not Vangelis. Most people complain about "Short Stories" because Jon doesn't seem an integral part in the duo, sounds as if the YES vocalist was playing a game with the rules of the Greek composer......That's exactly why I like more this album, Jon wasn't able to ruin it with his mystical delusions.

If "Friends of Mr Cairo" is boring and predictable with a soft romantic atmosphere, "Short Stories" is far more strong with Jon being more a singer than a co-writer, and that's good, at least for me.

The album starts with the mysterious and powerful "Curious Electric", Vangelis is simply brilliant with the keyboards, he creates that Space Rock/Electronic trademark sound that always reminds me of "Blade Runner".

Around the middle of the track, Jon appears in a short vocal passage that is quite interesting compared with other albums of this pair of musicians, but the strength and vibrant keyboard oriented music starts again until the end. excellent song.

"Each and Every Day" and "Bird Song" are two tracks that I rather avoid, in both Jon takes the lead with his boring and extra sweet voice not suitable for diabetics, and Vangelis limits himself to orchestrate it with apparently little interest, thanks God for the skip button.

"I Hear You Now" is another track in which Jon enters to Vangelis territory, the music is delicate and vibrant at the same time and the vocals don't ruin it, way more than I can say about most of the collaboration between the two artists.

I don't know why "The Road" always sounded so familiar to me with it's Celtic atmosphere, even when Jon takes the lead, the music is much more solid than in the Anderson dominated tracks.

Despite the cheesy vocal introduction of "Far Away in Baagad", Vangelis and his skills with the keyboards save the song with beautiful and mysterious melodies with a Greek flavour, in this track the virtuoso keyboardist adds the best from his ancestral ethnic inheritance and rescues the track from an horrendous start. On the other hand, "Love Is" follows the opposite path, starts promising with an interesting synth introduction but as soon as Jon Anderson and his annoying voice joins, the song is ruined, no matter how hard Vangelis tries to add solos, the vocals are absolutely tedious.

"One more Time" is a simple naive song with some cute moments, nothing special, but neither as boring as the previous track, at least for the first couple of minutes until Jon takes the lead and destroys the charming atmosphere. I can't understand the fascination many people has with Anderson's voice, extremely acute, with little (if any) technique and absolutely boring, in YES the incredible skills of Wakeman, Howe and Squire hide the obvious defects, but Vangelis alone is not able to do it.

"Thunder" is another of this moments in which I thank God for the skip button, something I would also say about the closer "A Play Within a Play" if it wasn't for the excellent section between the third and four minutes, the rest again dominated by Jon is forgettable.

I believe that "Short Stories" is the best release by JON & VANGELIS, something that doesn't mean much for me, but at least we find a couple of good tracks that save the album, so three stars for an average album.