Yet another gut punch. We recently lost Klaus Schulze, and now this. I came to Vangelis' music in 1976. I came across a single at an outdoor market, it was Alpha/Pulstar. Hearing that was revelatory. I bought the album soon after, and Albedo 0.39 became part of my history. Since then I've bought it several times, always striving to hear that sound once again. It remains my favorite Vangelis album. He'll always be known for Chariots of Fire, and a lot of musicians would love to have something so universally loved. But for me, it's the least of what he did. The theme from Chariots first appeared on the excellent Opera Sauvage in a slightly different performance, it didn't feel "new' to me. Since then I've fallen in love with several albums. See You Later is something I play to this day (it includes the original version of a track used later for Bladerunner). His album The City is simply incredible. The aforementioned Opera Sauvage is nothing short of essential. Heck, his more experimental works such as Beauborg and Invisible Connections are fine releases. I've seen mention of Aphrodites Child and the album, 666. This gave us a different view of Vangelis. I'll give a special mention to two releases: Hypothesis and The Dragon. The former is a jazz album with the great Tony Oxley on drums! The latter is a psychedelic journey. Vangelis was never happy about these two, but they're a real change of pace and show that there were many more strings to his bow. And all of this misses classics such as Heaven and Hell, Mask, Soil Festivities, and so on. Vangelis recorded an absolute avalanche of classic albums. His music will be with me, and part of me, till the day it's my turn to take the train off this planet. Thanks for the wonderful talent, Vangelis!
Really sad news. A wonderfully talented composer and musician. First heard him with the Heaven and Hell album which still remains my favourite Vangelis album amongst the many I now own. RIP.
Very sad to hear this. Seeing Blade Runner didn't move me originally, as it was too far removed from the book for my liking. But the music pierced me, it was ripped straight from the pages of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. In years since, I've been able to divorce the movie from the book and it became one of my all time favourite films, and the soundtrack has a massive part in that. It's one of those rare albums that "speaks" to you. There is a live performance of the score from the film in Dublin on Sunday, which I am delighted to have had tickets for since 2019. This will be a very very special and emotional event so see this gorgeous score performed live as we watch the film so soon after his passing. I feel lucky that he shared his gifts with us. RIP
some amazing works over the years, first learned about him when Anderson did vox on 'So Long Ago So Clear' and followed his output from there. In an area where music isn't normally heard (sorry no footage available to link up, but I have it on VHS) in 1984 at a Shotokan Karate Tournament, an amazing Kata was performed using music (never seen this done before or since) but as best I can do is watch this turn sound off whilst listening to this https://youtu.be/PXVUBW3XGpo?t=107
Edgar, Klaus, Vangelis ... all gone R.I.P. to the great composer with a unique sound. My first memory was Chariots Of Fire, then Cosmos, then the Jon & Vangelis albums. Of the solo albums I think I have probably played either Soil Festivities or Spiral the most. All will be played today. --Geoff
I wonder, how many times he had reconsidered the best way to present his soundtrack to Blade Runner. Like the film itself, so many alternative soundtrack collections exist - a few very desirable ones that are not, to put it politely, "legitimate". There is of course, an Audio Fidelity version of the official release, done by Kevin Gray. When a man's life work is ongoing and some projects unrealized and others with more material yet to offer...the unbalanced focus on just one soundtrack work seems a bit distracting, particularly decades after the fact. So I wonder, if he was glad he got the best of it out, or if there will be more attempts to reassess the work in a broader scope down the road. Not that this is relevant to today's news, that he's "found his way home". So, I'll stick a pin in this, and just concentrate on the blessings we've been given, for the time he jacked-in with us.
I've always loved his work, ever since I was a kid and borrowed the cassette of the Chariots Of Fire soundtrack from my local library - the 20-minute suite on side 2 is so beautiful, it feels like time stands still while it's playing. Shortly thereafter his music for Blade Runner was officially released for the first time, and still to this day it's probably my favourite film score of all time. And only about a decade ago I finally heard 666 by Aphrodite's Child, which absolutely blew my mind away - it was like Greek Pink Floyd, or something. Like nothing I'd heard from him before. Even now, just a month ago, I picked up a stack of Vangelis vinyl from my local record store's $1 bin - Heaven And Hell, Mask, Spiral, Short Stories and See You Later. His music has definitely been a big part of my life and there's still so much of it I haven't heard. He's gone but he's left us with a lifetime of sounds to be treasured. Vale Vangelis, the king of the synthesizers. Aphrodite's Child circa 1968, L-R: Vangelis, Demis Roussos, Loukas Sideras.
Sex Power is my favorite work that Vangelis has ever done. The Blader Runner soundtrack is my next favorite. He was truly inspired and so much more than the Chariots of Fire theme.
