Jon Anderson - Voce
Johnny Dyer - Grafica
Vangelis - Aranjamente, producator, claviaturiTaking eight of
Vangelis' most ambient and electronically melodic tracks from his
mid-'70s albums, The Best of Vangelis may be somewhat of a misleading
title, but it's still a justifiable excursion into his sweeping use of
the synthesizer and his more elegant type of keyboard journeys. With
cuts from 1976's Albedo.39, 1977's
Spiral, and 1978's
Beaubourg, among
others, this period of Vangelis' music represents his bare and
simplistic utilization of the synthesizer. "Spiral," "Aries," and "To
the Unknown Man" are time-tunnel voyages of softened keyboard washes and
rhythm-absent clouds of uncluttered synth. It was during this period
that Vangelis crossed the border into new age territory, emerging from
his roots with the progressively doused Aphrodite's Child six or seven
years before. The last track, entitled "So Long Ago, So Clear," features
Yes' Jon Anderson on vocals, ending the album on a high note. Brief, but
to the point, The Best of Vangelis carries out its task of grouping some
of Evangelos Papathanassiou's most extravagant keyboard pieces. |
