THE BEST OF JON AND VANGELIS

	The Best of Jon and Vangelis
	Arranged and Produced by Vangelis
	Released on August 1984
	UK CHART POSITION #42
	Find it at GEMM
821 929-4 Y-1 cover

T his is as compelling an argument for the existence of Jon & Vangelis as you’ll find, and given the sometimes uneven nature of their recordings together it was a point that needed making. The collection eases into the pair’s ethereal world with “Italian Song” and follows with two of their most swift and succinct tracks, “I’ll Find My Way Home” and “State of Independence.” What The Best of Jon & Vangelis does is create a self-sustaining world where the pair’s idiosyncratic sounds make sense; no heavy music that might poke holes in their gossamer-light arrangements, no directionless exercises that obscure the line between shapeless and pointless. Not that the selection here will draw in anyone not already attuned to the pair’s shared muse, but it does distill their music to its sweetest essence. In fact, I can’t think of any essential moment that’s missing, since “Horizons” would be too long for inclusion and “Love Is/One More Time” is best left for owners of Short Stories to discover. It would have been nice if somebody thought outside the box and slipped “So Long Ago, So Clear” in here, or made the bold suggestion that maybe (just maybe) the single edit version of “The Friends of Mr. Cairo” would suffice, but that a compilation was issued at all is a minor miracle (since we’re still waiting for one from Jon). If you need to buy an album of Jon & Vangelis music, here it is; beyond these comfy confines, you’re on your own.

TRACK LISTING

ITALIAN SONG
I'LL FIND MY WAY HOME
STATE OF INDEPENDENCE
ONE MORE TIME
A PLAY WITHIN A PLAY
THE FRIENDS OF MR. CAIRO
OUTSIDE OF THIS (INSIDE OF THAT)
HE IS SAILING
I HEAR YOU NOW

Music and lyrics by Jon and Vangelis

CREDITS

JON ANDERSON -- vocals
VANGELIS -- all instruments, sleeve
Carol Kenyon -- backing vocals (3)
Dick Morrisey -- saxophone (3)
Raine Shine -- engineer
Raphael Preston -- engineer (4,5,9)
Alwyn Clayden -- sleeve
Greein Ink -- creative assistance

return to JON AND VANGELIS discography

REGION	RELEASE DATE	LABEL	MEDIA	ID NUMBER	FEATURES
UK	August 1984	Polydor	LP/CD/CS	6
US	August 1984	Polydor	LP/CD/CS	821 929

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