An expanded Rossif Boxset would have been majestic, by itself. But he didn't seem that interested in revisiting the past or the milking cows tendencies of the recent, slowly dying music industry. In his later interviews in fact he seemed pretty disillusioned, at times bitter with the industry as a whole. He said he was composing every day but with no intent to release; or that he had been pigeonholed and somewhat limited in his artistic freedom, or again that he hadn't the right mindset to be successful on the industry's terms. I'd guess he was more interested in the "now", in what music meant for him in the present, than in speculating on his back catalogue. And it seems the feeling was mutual. Delectus came out at a time where other artists were at the third round of remastering already! And who gets the idea of speculating on catalogue item remasters? The record company usually, more than the artist. And not even from your average company, but one specialized in "limited" reissues. A "normal" company couldn't possibly care less. If it wasn't for his ongoing, even diluted, soundtrack work, I guess his name would have disappeared already by the end of the Nineties, safe a bunch of hardcore fans*. That kept him visible, surely more than the occasional studio album. *Or maybe not, it seems he had more than it appeared but again, how many of those are there because of soundtracks?
Bolding mine. Exactly the point I was trying to make. many of these movies have more than a CD full of music; just lift the cues directly, hardly any work is needed, just sift through the tapes. I'm sure there are producers out there simpatico with Vangelis' mindset and could do him justice.
True. How much Vangelis material was remastered before Delectus? I remember just two: Chariots of Fire and the Portraits compilation. Maybe the 1996 cd of Earth?
There were some Japanese remasters of the classic RCA albums but they were not great. Added compression or noise reduction (or both?) Beaubourg has been secretly remastered more times, one to correct the wrong transfer of the first cd release, another one in Japan that was basically "improved" with some extra compression. The Earth CD was the first time in that format IIRC, so more than a remaster it qualifies for a reissue, commercially speaking. Ant there was La Fête Sauvage remastered for the CAM CD, even though I don't remember if it was advertised as such (I guess not).
Vangelis - The Tegos Tapes (1998) : Annum Integrum : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
I'll have to check this at home. I have downloaded some of this in the past but some of it was lumped into one gigantic mp3.
Regarding the Vangelis “hands-on” remasters, I feel the need to own them since he was involved, and also because they offer a slightly different perspective than the other versions. As far as the early RCA albums, my go-to versions will be the Japan UHQCD editions. The Albedo 0.39 in this series is the only release without the HF muffled at the start of Nucleogenesis part 2. Beaubourg is one of probably two existing versions without the random tape speed drag. I do actually enjoy his remaster of Heaven and Hell, even with the oddly omitted 30 or so seconds. For most of the Polydor years, I could go with either the original or remasters. Once again, some of the Japan remasters of these sound very nice. I would definitely go with the Vangelis remaster of See You Later, which is much improved over the German CD. The bonus “lost” tracks particularly shine, although the mix on Neighbors Above seems a bit different than the version that has been floating around for years.
Is there a reason why the RCA CDs sound so mediocre? I have totally no issues with the Polydor years.
The original vinyl wasn't that different. Vangelis setup his own studio in '75 or so and began recording his own stuff. It wasn't exactly state of the art IIRC and he favored a sound there for several years that was kinda pinched and flat without a lot of low-end. Beaubourg right at the end of his RCA years was his first real move away from that. His pre-RCA stuff doesn't sound great, either. I do agree the RCA CDs could have been handled better and the material probably merited a more carefully-transferred and equalized master, but it was never Dark Side Of The Moon-quality material.
I have the RCA releases on vinyl and they sound noticeably better than the original CDs, IMO. It's like someone or something removed the gloss.
Nemo studios and Vangelis' sound engineer Keith Spencer-Allen were great. But, indeed, in 1975 their recording gear was not up to scratch and so they updated it in 1978. It was a major upgrade in sound.
It was alright for the era but nothing special. His '70s albums don't sound bad, they just aren't remarkable. Even Opera Sauvage is kinda muted. I think China is really his first album that sounded really good, with strong bass, a rich midrange and extended highs. His best-sounding record is probably Soil Festivities.
I feel like it's hard to compare vinyl and CD directly, because vinyl is typically throwing off gobs of high harmonics and will virtually always have a hotter, "airy" high end. The surface noise and hiss also add some high end ambience.
Yes, it's that airy top high (the gloss) that I'm missing. Opera Sauvage was a huge step upwards in sound quality. China is perfect (hey, it's my favorite Vangelis album). And while well-recorded, Soil Festivities has a bit too much 8-bit samples, which I don't think sounds very good, especially the sampled bell trees and wind chimes sound too harsh. Movement 1 sounds very good though ... Love to play that one very loud. I wish Vangelis never left Nemo Studios and the working method of that period (working with sound engineers, synth programmers (!), a blend of acoustic instruments and real analogue synths, a vast array of real (orchestral) percussion, Vangelis playing drums, etc.)
Well, it's difficult to say what of that is real and what's just artifacts of the format. Does it have 8-bit samples? I thought everything on it was synthesized, not sampled, apart from some of the environmental noises like rain and thunder. Yeah, that was really his golden age.
Vangelis makes extensive use of the E-mu Emulator, especially in Movements 2, 3, 4, 5. The blue one, with floppy disk drive. On the right, you can also see the LinnDrum drum computer, which he used on The Friends Of Mr. Cairo.
Oh interesting. Did not know that. Jarre used them too, although he also used the Fairlight on Zoolook.
I waited until yesterday but ... what was the first album you played after Vangelis' passing? BTW, does anyone know what the metal percussion rhythm is on the first track (Spiral)? I think it sounds incredible but I haven't got the faintest idea what it is. Don't tell me it's spoons!
Listening to Opera Sauvage right now and it definitely sounds better than Albedo. I think all late seventies Vangelis albums sound wonderful, including Odes.
I went to a track, La Petite Fille De La Mer, from L'Apocalypse des animaux. And then I think I listened to my post-2000 go to Vangelis album, Soil Festivities.