SPIRAL

"Spiral" is for me Vangelis most accomplished work, due in no small part due to the inclusion of the excellent "To the unknown man". The album; which is entirely composed, arranged and performed by Vangelis; consists of just five extended pieces. These are largely predictable, falling at the more commercial end of the territory occupied by bands such as TANGERINE DREAM and their various solo offspring.

The synthesiser sound used by Vangelis is relatively unadventurous, the opening title track indicating exactly what to expect from most of the album. The piece is however an inspired composition, which builds well to a pleasing climax. "Ballad" is indeed a softer piece, but even disregarding the lack of vocals it is not a ballad in the traditional sense. The track has a trance like repeating vocal like synth motif with occasional louder bursts of symphonic synth. Ironically (given the title), this is the most avant-garde of the tracks.

"Dervish D" takes us back to the Spiral theme (illustrated on the sleeve by a snake like image of a headphones jack lead in the sky) the track taking its inspiration from a Dervish dancer. The simple main theme will sound frustratingly familiar, possibly due in part to similarities with parts of RICK WAKEMAN's "White rock" album. There's no suggestion of one copying the other though.

Side two of the LP is split about 50/50 between two tracks. "To the unknown man" is essentially a simple repeated theme, but it stands for me as Vangelis best work. This ("Abadon's") Bolero like piece is structured around a five note call and six note response which builds through the nine minutes of the track to a climax and subsequent peaceful conclusion. At one point, snare drum is used to great effect to build the tension while symphonic synths drift behind the main theme. This is Vangelis' "Trilogy" or "Fanfare for the common man"; a wonderful piece.

"3+3" which closes the album is based around a sequencer theme. Such sounds were relatively new at the time, suddenly becoming familiar through the work of artists like Georgio Marauder (Donna Summer's producer). Instead of vocals though, Vangelis sticks to the familiar synth sound for the main theme. The piece has a slightly more symphonic structure, with occasional fanfares.

In all, an excellent example of the electronic prog genre. For those looking to dip a toe in this type of music, this is an excellent, largely accessible place to start.

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