Apat from the fact that meditation is not equal to relaxation but it's inner search, the relaxing effect comes from concentration to me. Trying and following very mindfully any detail and event in Beaubourg has a mind cleansing effect. But that is true for me of a great bunch of atonal or abstract music, as far as it hasn't many violent events (like abrupt metal percussions). Interestingly, the added reverb smoothes some of the hard edges in Beaubourg making it a tad more "relaxed" than the original dryier version.
Is the remaster you refer to the Esoteric CD? I still haven’t got hold of the reissued Esoterics yet.
There can be a thousand or more reasons why something would remain unreleased. It's not always the artist's choosing. For example, labels only allow a contracted amount of material to be released per year. A label also can turn material down and/or choose what they want to release or promote. For artists like Vangelis (another great example is Prince), they recorded so often that not everything clicked into timeframes for contracted releases. In my honest opinion, if an artist is unhappy with any of their works, they should destroy it. Anything that gets held onto or put into a vault is a clear indication that it's worth revisiting.
Loved his collaborations with Jon Anderson. His movie scores were fantastic as well. The Bounty, Blade Runner, and of course Chariots of Fire to name a few. RIP.
I will definitely buy releases from the vault of Vangelis, I have always enjoyed his music immensely. The same goes with Klaus Schulze, these artist have had a great impact on me. I remember in early years how disappointed I was when first hearing Beaubourg, it sounded so random and uninteresting. Now I play it and I greatly enjoy it, it sounds like a classical piece to me now, makes complete sense, and is greatly enjoyed!
That album ("Ich hab' keine Angst") contains Vangelis compositions (old and new), but the production and musicians are German studio guys. The album "Geheimnisse" is all exclusive Vangelis compositions, produced and performed by Vangelis: Milva - Geheimnisse
Are there any news about archive releases from Vangelis estate? I dream of a Blade Runner box set with the full soundtrack, plus all the recordings that were not used on the film (One Alone, etc) Similar releases could happen for L'Apocalypse Des Animaux, Opera Sauvage, etc. He recorded much more music than what was officially released.
Finally ordered five remastered titles (I already have Direct) reissued recently by Cherry Red from Cherry Red themselves as they have a promo code for prog at the moment which results in 20% off so long as you enter it at check out. The code is PROGMETAL20
Just revisited Page of Life, had most of it on twice. Absolutely sublime, can’t believe I missed this first time round.
I’m sure that plans must have been made well in advance of any illness with regards to his recorded legacy. I don’t think we need to worry that any official releases will be due to any circling vulture type of situation. I can just imagine that Vangelis’ closest allies have been aware for quite some time about the projects that he deemed worthy of release. As these projects become available, we will learn why (and for how long) they have been in the vault. I’m sure all kinds of interesting information and anecdotes will eventually be revealed. Now, we can be sure that there are recordings that he never intended for release and we can assume that those who are now in charge will respect those wishes. As much as some of us want to hear every single note committed to tape, this will surely not happen. I do believe that there are enough unreleased and forthcoming projects to keep the fans quite satisfied. There are several completed albums that were slated for release over the years, only to end up being shelved for whatever reason. Hopefully we will also see wider availability of one-off special projects like Silent Portraits. I’m guessing and hoping some of these will end up in some kind of spectacular box set, or series of anthology type compilations. I’m getting my wallet ready.
My wallet is ready and money in hand for these. Do you have any info on what we might see, or is this just wishful thinking?
Oh damn. I didn't know this. How could I not know it? I don't know. But it saddens me. His movie soundtracks (Antarctica, Blade Runner) and other wonderful albums will forever live with me. He made my life better and will continue to do so till I die. RIP
I recently found a rather cheap copy of the album Odes, by Irene Papas and Vangelis. On a whim, I bought it and I'm playing it now. Apart from the fact that it's sung in (modern) Greek, and therefore impossible to understand for me (I studied ancient Greek but I was always pretty terrible at it, and I think that that wouldn't help me much with modern Greek anyway), I am very pleasantly surprised by the melodies (and Irene's voice). Well worth a listen, in my opinion.
I wonder why Vangelis never allowed The Bounty to be released, when he considered it one of his best works.
Did he? Maybe it was some licencing limbo. Or maybe he thought it didn't translate well enough as an album, considering he would have heavily reworked it and remixed it. Probably the same reasoning behind Bitter Moon. Lots of moody music but hard to squeeze into a flowing musical presentation that stands up as a full album. and doesn't get repetitive. But then, he could have sneaked in some unreleased track like he did with other scores to balance it out. So maybe more than he didn't want, he could not. I think that he considered his score work primarily as that, a service to the movie. The eventual album was an afterthought and only if there was the commercial opportunity for it.
Exactly my feelings on how he handled his Blade Runner soundtrack which was released in 1994. Vital tracks were missing and replaced by newer stuff and dialog bits. It was then that I decided that the best way to hear his score to Blade Runner is the watch the movie. That way you don't break up a perfect marriage and Vangelis agreed.
The best way to listen to Vangelis' score. In fact, I watched the film last night. Vangelis - The Bounty COMPLETE Isolated Score - YouTube
There are a lot of great photos at Vangelis | Nemo Studios, London | fan museum website | Vangelis Papathanassiou
