THE FRIENDS OF MR. CAIRO

The title song of the second JON & VANGELIS album The Friends of Mr. Cairo is an impressive prog epic in its entire 12- minute length. The single edition (4:20) is basically the first third of it and functions as a catchy, melodic pop song. On the other hand, in my opinion the complete version gets more interesting when the tempo comes down and the duo finds a more sensual approach to the piece inspired by the golden era of Hollywood in the 30's and the 40's. Especially the serene final third of the album version where Jon Anderson sings of "Clark Gable, Fairbanks, Maureen O'Sullivan" is among the definitive highlights of this partnership.

The more straightforward song section nevertheless deserved to be edited into the single format. The main melody has an old-fashioned adventure spirit, and there are sound effects such as bullets flying and car brakes screaming, and voice impressions from the movies -- some of them a bit irritating, to be honest --, while the lyrics are filled with movie references. Mr. Cairo (Joel Cairo) is the character played by Peter Lorre in the film noir classic The Maltese Falcon (1941).

As a side note, the first time I heard any version of 'The Friends of Mr. Cairo' was an instrumental version of the song section, on a Vangelis tribute compilation performed by Ed Starink. Yes, I'm guilty of having bought that sort of a cheap supermarket CD in the early days of my Vangelis listening.

The single's B side song 'Beside' was also taken from the album. It's a romantic, peaceful song. The piano is the main instrument but all kinds of synths join along the way and give the piece a bit of a kitchy feel. Perhaps the song would have functioned better with a simpler piano-centred arrangement.