Vangelis 'Heaven & Hell" Speaker's Corner 2018

Happy Hella-days, and this is apropos since Vangelis "Heaven & Hell" from 1975 is one of my favorite of his works and a fantastic seasonal soundtrack as well. This album also contains the theme later used in the iconic series "Cosmos." I have a US first pressing that I always thought did not sound as good as it should, though I imagine the Japanese release probably sounds cleaner. So I was thrilled when i just saw that Speaker's Corner was releasing "H&H" in a new vinyl version from the original analog tapes.

The LP just arrived and I had to throw it on for a spin and to my ears it's majestic and the way it was meant to sound: heavenly and hellish. I'm surprised some of these tracks aren't played at Christmas because of the beautiful atmospheric choirs. I'm even a fan of the Jon Anderson song here (Vangelis's keyboard work here is some of his best), not being a fan of their other collaborations. So hopefully some other Van fans can chime in with their thoughts...

 

I have this album on CD. I always liked the theme that was used in Cosmos. Good stuff.

 

Encouraged by your comments, I picked up this release. I compared it my 1981 Japanese pressing (RPL-8005) and used my 1995 Japanese CD reissue (BVCP-7371) as a reference for comparing the two LPs.

Playback was on a VPI Aries 2 equipped with a Lyra Titan cartridge. My phono amp is a PS Audio NPC. My regular preamp is in the shop, so I used my Grace M902 headphone amp and my Focal Elex headphones with the NPC's DSD signal routed through my PS Audio DS DAC. The CD was played on my PS Audio DMP, again routed through the DS DAC and the analog inputs on the Grace. The DSD out from the NPC isn't as good, IMO, as the analog outs, but I haven't bothered to hook those up to the Grace.

Comparing the RPL-8005 to the CD, I found the two to be very similar with the CD having a slightly wider soundstage and a bit better bass response. At this point I was experiencing a bit of buyer's remorse as I figured that the Speakers Corner LP would sound the same and I had just bought another more-or-less identical sounding copy of the same album. I was in for a surprise.

Swapping out the Japanese LP for the new Speakers Corner pressing and adjusting the Aries' VTA to compensate for the significantly thicker slab of vinyl, I slipped the headphones back on for a listen. Unlike the two Japanese versions of this album, the Speakers Corner LP has a rich, fat, lush tone with deep bass. It makes the '81 pressing sound shrill, harsh, and devoid of body. I found it much more engaging and enjoyable. This does come at a cost: the soundstage is constrained and much of the higher frequency details of the Japanese pressing are rolled-off and somewhat buried in the mix. The harp, for instance, looses a bit of its sparkle.

I have no idea which version is 'right.' Clearly, neither match Vangelis' current ideal as portrayed in the recent reverb-drenched revisionist CD remaster.

Heaven and Hell has a beautiful cover and it deserves as much attention paid to its reproduction as the LP it houses. Sadly, the same effort wasn't put into this part of the release. Like other recent Speakers Corner LPs, this one uses blurry artwork. It's not bad and there are many, many other worse examples out there, but a premium release demands premium attention to detail throughout.

I bought this from DeepDiscount using a 15% coupon. It arrived well packed and free of damage. The LP is flat and has no trace of no-fill, scratches, fingerprints, or flash.

 

Thanks for that in-depth review. Glad you hear the same lush tone as me. And absolutely agree about the blurry cover. Unforgivable in this day and age.

 

Oh man, if only 'L'Apocalypse des Animaux' would get this treatment (with the beautiful white-label sleeve of the 1st-issue as well)...

 

I have a Japanese pressing that's pretty great. And a beautiful package as usual.

 

I think the poor cover reproductions on some reissues are due to the original artwork being lost. They then have to scan a copy, and it just doesn't come out very well. I've noticed it on Bureau B reissues I've bought.

This is my speculation. I could be wrong.