SOIL FESTIVITIES

One of two albums released in the same year. With all the soundtracks and collaborations with Jon Anderson, it is good to hear some pure Vangelis. As usual, this one is very different from its predecessors, yet reminiscent of many of them. There is a greater sense of unity in this recording than in previous releases as each track is a movement. It's as if Vangelis had composed a symphony of sorts all around a set of motifs and themes. The main concept here is one of life. Movement One begins with a thunderclap, followed by a downpour of rain. This sets the mood for a loose 18 minutes of stream-of-consciousness (pun intended?) leads over a constant boop-boop-boop rhythm. At times the rhythm can overpower the other parts. I think the idea is that of water dripping, flowing down onto and into the earth, and nurturing the life dependent on the moisture. Movement Two follows this same concept, except here the water is dripping more slowly after the storm has passed. This piece is smaller in scope but more tightly composed. Movement Three is a dynamic, chaotic piece, similar to part of Ignacio, which moves from scattered percussive sounds to rising and falling runs. This style is apparently rooted in ancient Greece. Movement Four is a slow, soft, ponderous piece centered on another constant rhythm/beat. The sound here is muted, like life nurturing underneath the soil. Movement Five caps off the proceedings by combining rhythms and themes from the previous four movements and ending up on a beautiful haunting melody. Vangelis had developed this finishing technique to a high degree, and here he is progressing to a complete mastery of the form. As much as I like it, this is an album whose concept transcends the music. I would put it perhaps in the better half of his output. A casual listener would get some sense of what Vangelis is about from this album, but would not get to the core of the oeuvre.