CAN YOU HEAR THE DOGS BARKING? [AKA: IGNACIO] (OST)

Yet another soundtrack album, Ignacio covers ground similar to its predecessor, La Fete Sauvage, but in reverse order. Here, the first side/half is the slow and sonorous one, while the second part is the lively one. The music enters like a cathedral emerging out of the fog - tentative at first, then inexhorable in its presence, haunting and hinting at a reality just beyond perception, dark and beautiful. It builds to a crescendo, still slow, and the returns to the original theme. Then there is a vibrant organ break and we return to the slow sonorous section. The sound fades away, as the pilgrim steps back out of the cathedral and resumes walking. The second part could not be more different. On lp, this transition was softened by having to flip the record over, but on CD, it is jarring. The listener' soul is soothed, the mind calmed, and then the skies rip open and we are right in the middle of an absolutely rippin' free form jam; the beat is in overdrive and Vangelis screams on the keys. This fades out after several minutes, just long enough to get used to it, and then a section of irregular percussion and sharp chords begins, a style that descends from the most ancient Greek music. We get a variation on the first section and then the album ends with a melodic instrumental that is unlike anything else on the recording. I think the whole thing was designed to convey an evening mood - the gentle atavism of twilight followed by revels, followed by struggle, and then reflection. I am continually amazed by Vangelis' eclecticism and the way he ties together disparate musical styles, styles that should not (in the mind of many) be combined. In this way, Vangelis is one of the innovators of world music. My normal standards dictates I give this one three stars, being the album is uneven, but so moving is the first part, I will give it four. If it were split into two tracks rather than one, that would work much better for me.