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Topic ClosedVangelis was progressive!
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Poll Question: Pick your favorite Vangelis album 69-79
Poll Choice Votes Poll Statistics
0 [0.00%]
0 [0.00%]
2 [4.76%]
0 [0.00%]
3 [7.14%]
5 [11.90%]
16 [38.10%]
7 [16.67%]
0 [0.00%]
0 [0.00%]
3 [7.14%]
1 [2.38%]
4 [9.52%]
0 [0.00%]
1 [2.38%]
This topic is closed, no new votes accepted

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soundsweird View Drop Down
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Points: 408 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 17 2008 at 00:07
I was just happy to see Vangelis' albums added to PA (no matter what the category), and wrote the first review for several of his albums.  I won't try to choose a favorite from the list, because there are too many favorites (some favorites aren't listed). I guess I have a total of about 15 Vangelis CD's, plus a couple of Jon & Vangelis CD's, plus an LP (the second album he did with Irene Papas, "Rhapsodies"), plus Aphrodite's Child ("666" &  "Best Of")....  Don't think that I love everything he's done; I've bought a lot of his albums that I sooner or later sold, and I haven't heard anything new I liked in years.
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Points: 29630 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 17 2008 at 01:09
Originally posted by Dean Dean wrote:

you are free to disagree Iván, (as I knew you would Wink), but there is more than one camp of New Age music, and it is not all listened to by the narrow demographic you highlighted, nor (as I pointed out) is it all cheese, whales and wind-chimes - labels like Windham Hill, ECM and Coda did not release albums of relaxation music for psuedo-pagan yuppies, they were pushing the boudaries of jazz, folk and world music and happened to get lumped into the New Age section of the record shops by default.
 


Yes, judge not the music by the record bin it's dumped into.  Guess, I'm going to have to go and check out Coda.  Very well familiar with Windham Hill and ECM though.  By the way I hadn't checked, but has there been any movement towards adding Shadowfax for doing Watercourse Way (I turned Iván on to that one) and Dreams Of Children?  For me there is a healthy intersection between prog and new age.  Of course there's a lot of stuff under the new age umbrella I wouldn't touch with somebody else's ten-foot pole.  Too much more worthy music out there for your listening enjoyment even if you want something mild and relaxing.


Edited by Slartibartfast - September 17 2008 at 01:11
Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Points: 32181 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 17 2008 at 07:31
Originally posted by Rocktopus Rocktopus wrote:

Originally posted by MovingPictures07 MovingPictures07 wrote:

Originally posted by Rocktopus Rocktopus wrote:

You all gotta check out his pre-Heaven and Hell albums. You're missing out on some exceptional stuff.


I actually have Earth and L' Apocalypse, so I'll have to re-hear those. I wasn't able to find/acquire any other pre-Heaven and Hell ones years back when I was collecting his material. What are your evaluations of them?


The energetic Earth sounds like a natural follow up to 666 by Aphrodite's Child. L'Apocalypse is mellow and very beautiful. Both the drone-and the light piano pieces are to tasteful and too interesting to be new age. Ambient, maybe.

But the best kept secrets are Hypothesis, The Dragon and Sex Power. Sex Power is one of my favorite soundtracks.Like the atmospheric parts of 666 with strong melodies. If the two first were released by a band more associated with driving avantjazzrock (Hypothesis) and groovy, easternsounding, folky drone-progock (The Dragon), I'm certain that these albums would have more fans and a lot higher ratings.

These albums seems to be regarded as unsuccessful transitional albums, but I think they are perfect in the genres they belong. Since these were the first Vangelis I got, I listened to the music without any real expectations. I believe they are musically stronger than all his signaturesounding albums (although some of them are really great too)


Oh, awesome. It sounds like I should definitely try to find those then. Thanks! Big%20smile

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Points: 3577 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 17 2008 at 11:10
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Points: 29630 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 17 2008 at 13:02
It's kind of weird being a fan since the late '70's and having had and heard some of his more obscure stuff, that people are recommending more stuff I need to check out.  Not complaining, of course.
Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Points: 32181 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 17 2008 at 18:01
Originally posted by Slartibartfast Slartibartfast wrote:

It's kind of weird being a fan since the late '70's and having had and heard some of his more obscure stuff, that people are recommending more stuff I need to check out.  Not complaining, of course.


That's what I love about PA. No matter how much you know about music, there's some guy with no life that knows more. LOL
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Points: 29630 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 17 2008 at 18:43
Hey!  Often times that guy is me.Tongue
Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Points: 934 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 17 2008 at 21:28
      some albums are missing in this poll , specially four of the best , Mask , and the City  , Direct and El Grecco . But never mind , for those listed above , China have more progressive elements then any other Vangelis works , except  Heaven & Hell , but more satisfying to my taste as prog .
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Points: 4202 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 18 2008 at 02:37
Originally posted by trackstoni trackstoni wrote:

      some albums are missing in this poll , specially four of the best , Mask , and the City  , Direct and El Grecco . But never mind , for those listed above , China have more progressive elements then any other Vangelis works , except  Heaven & Hell , but more satisfying to my taste as prog .


No, no albums are missing. Not from 69-79, which is the period I'm asking what your favorite is (its the poll question), and the period I'm interested in looking at. 

I chose to stick to his (classic) period because its a ten years run of pretty consistent and strong progressive albums. More than enough to be considered more than than just related to prog. I wanted to avoid the whole new age/cheese thing (The thread still ended up being mostly about that. I really don't mind, but it was the opposite of my intention), and that's not really present until the 80's starts.
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Points: 14256 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 19 2009 at 09:37
A composer unable to write on a pentagram. He never studied. He's titally self-instructed and for this reason totally passionate. I remember him during a TV studio session with Aphrodite child. There was a piano in the studio and while the interviewer was tryong to ask something to Demis, he couldn't stop playing piano....Why should Vangelis wonder about being prog or new age or anything else?
He's just passionate for music.
For me, there's nothing that can't be defined progressive in Heaven or in Albedo. Keep the soundtracks out of the discussion. Flash Gordon and A kind of magic are not the same as A night at the opera. Obscured by clouds is not Wish you were here.  Looking at more recent years, isn't The city pure prog?
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Points: 19557 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 19 2009 at 09:46
Welll, I have to stay with Heaven & Hell, IMO the best and at the same time onl Symphonic album.
 
When I got this masterpiece, asked my parents who were in USA, (in th eld LP days no Prog album could be found in Lima, except some Yes, ELP, Pink Floyd and a couple more) to bring me all the availlable albums, and all were a disappointment for me.
 
They even brought me the Jon & Vangelis albums, which I found cheesy (specially "The friends of Mr Cairo").
 
Iván
 
 
 
 
            
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Points: 37575 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 19 2009 at 11:33
Cheesy?!?!?!?!? Angry 
 
 
Mr Cairo is a magnificent album, The Mayflower is probably my favourite Anderson lyric after Time and A Word Approve
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Points: 19557 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 19 2009 at 11:40
Originally posted by Dean Dean wrote:

Cheesy?!?!?!?!? Angry 
 
 
Mr Cairo is a magnificent album, The Mayflower is probably my favourite Anderson lyric after Time and A Word Approve
 
It's a matter of taste Dean.
 
Maybe because I can't stand Anderson lyrics neither vocal range.
 
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Points: 37575 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 19 2009 at 11:45
Originally posted by Ivan_Melgar_M Ivan_Melgar_M wrote:

Originally posted by Dean Dean wrote:

Cheesy?!?!?!?!? Angry 
 
 
Mr Cairo is a magnificent album, The Mayflower is probably my favourite Anderson lyric after Time and A Word Approve
 
It's a matter of taste Dean.
 
Maybe because I can't stand Anderson lyrics neither vocal range.
 
Iván
I accept taste and Anderson doesn't appeal to everyone, but "cheesy" ... I can't get that Confused And Vangelis's music isn't cheesy by any stretch - the middle section of the title track is sublime.
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Points: 14256 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 19 2009 at 11:46
Being the post about Vangelis, let's forget Ian and Mr Cairo. What do you think about Nucleogenesis part 1 and 2 ? Not very Cheesy isn't it?
And the 1st movement of "the Mask? The whole Ignacio?
For me Vangelis is prog. And even if he's not, I like it (including Mr Anderson and his new-age-Castaneda-flower-power lyrics)
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Points: 19557 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 19 2009 at 12:07
Since this started, I got my old LP's and turntable and started to listen some of Vangelis stuff.
 
1.- Had forgotten what a delicate work  Albedo 0.39 is, simply outstanding, Pulstar and both parts of Nucleogenesis are simply brilliant.
 
2.- China still bores me
 
3.- Now, heard again Friends of Mr Cairo and still the title song sounds like a soundtrack for a B class detective movie and also listened Short Stories, really too acute for my taste, sorry but it's still cheddar for me, starting with The Bird Song . 
 
Iván


Edited by Ivan_Melgar_M - December 19 2009 at 12:15
            
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Points: 6898 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 19 2009 at 12:31
Originally posted by Easy Livin Easy Livin wrote:

I'm afraid my review was rather predictable!Embarrassed http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=124609
Beaubourg  is the album that I  put on during long 6 hour drives tothe cottage with too many women talking in the car ( I think I gave it a three ). 

The resurgence of this thread inspired me throw one of  my favourite space records on my record player.I think my review was very nice as well. 
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Points: 29630 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 19 2009 at 16:05
I'm going to have to side with Iván about Cairo being cheesy in parts.  Short Stories is a different matter for me.  I remember when it first came out.  Jon and Vangelis doing a whole album togethere!!!  Blew me away.  I was of course a total Yes fan at the time and loves the Vangelis stuff that got used on Cosmos.
Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Points: 14256 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 19 2009 at 16:54

Mr Cairo sounds like a Bclas gangster movie because this is what the two wanted to represent. Go to the end of the album and listen to Mayflower, instead. There's absolutely no cheese there. I don't want to say that everything he did is outstanding. I have rated 1 star "see you later". But also on that album there's  the original version of "Memories of green". However, all this cheese is giving me the opportunity to remind an author that I have loved a lot in my 20s. Thanks for that. I've seen Yanni mentioned. Please don't. He's totally new age. Not bad, but not prog.
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Points: 28057 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 20 2009 at 02:21
Originally posted by Ricochet Ricochet wrote:

I doubt Vangelis will be moved back to Prog Electronic, the lead Specialist of the genre thinks his music was too commercial.

Somehow, contrary to J.M.Jarre, I believe a couple of albums in the mid 70s are Prog Electronic, even (sometimes) Electronic Rock.

As for the poll, my heart is with Heaven And Hell, Vangelis's most fantastic work for me.
 
1) Phillipe? I want a name, mister! Wink
 
2) Jarre not prog in the 70s!?!
 
3) I have Heaven and Hell, and it's progressive. I have Soil Festivities and it's progressive. I have Blade Runner and it's kinda progressive and totally excellent. He's prog to me.
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