THE DRAGON

If you're only familiar with Vangelis' synthesizer-based albums, The Dragon may be a shock to you. Even on the keyboard-y "Stuffed Aubergine (Stuffed Penguin)", the keyboards sound much older (not to mention quieter), and the song is a lot closer in nature to early experimental ambient music than his later work. It's very pleasant, though, and the soft shape and volume of the keys on this song recalls the feeling of gazing at a blanket of mauve colored dust from a distance. The title track is radically different than his more commonly known music, being a long, improvised drone of guitar, bass, drums, keys, and violin that actually sustains itself well given how repetitive it is. The other piece, "Stuffed Tomato", is also very different, even from the rest of the album, having more of a jazz feel, but not a traditional one - still experimental. It might not comapre with his later masterpieces, but it's a very unique album, not just in Vangelis' catalouge, but within the world of music in general.