Vangelis
Some composers’ roots reach deep into the soil, drawing from it the essence of a culture so that the fruits of their labor become a form of national identity. For Finland, it was Jean Sibelius. For Greece, it is Vangelis. From his beginnings as a member of Aphrodite’s Child, Evangelos Papathanassiou has served as a musical oracle, scrying visions of the apocalypse at one moment, strange new worlds the next. This is the language of the Gods, or so it seemed in the ‘70s when the composer released ambitious works like Heaven And Hell, Albedo 0.39 and Beaubourg. His facility for haunting melodies soon weaved their spell on the world; at first in the “Cosmos” television series featuring Carl Sagan, then in a popular television commercial for Gallo wine, and culminating in the Academy-Award winning score to Chariots of Fire. It was during this period that Vangelis teamed up with Yes vocalist Jon Anderson to bring their talents to bear on songwriting; the stars aligned, and Vangelis was elevated from marginalized magician to international star. When the stars shifted elsewhere, the public’s fascination with Vangelis spent, the composer wisely continued to evolve and follow his own muse, cultivating a committed core of fans in the process. The journey has taken him down many roads: idiosyncratic soundtracks (Bladerunner, 1492: The Conquest of Paradise), modern classical works (Invisible Connections), new age albums (Direct, Oceanic) and presumably personal works that celebrate Greece (Rapsodies, El Greco). Still a vital musician/composer (Mythodea was released in 2001), Vangelis is a national treasure, his place in the pantheon of music secure for many ages to come.
| Date | ALBUMS / Singles |
|---|---|
| 1973 | L'APOCALYPSE DES ANIMAUX |
| 1974 | EARTH |
| 1975 | Heaven and Hell, 3rd Movement (Theme from "Cosmos") |
| 1975 November | HEAVEN AND HELL |
| 1976 August | So Long Ago, So Clear |
| 1976 September | ALBEDO 0.39 |
| 1976 October | Pulstar |
| 1976 | Alpha |
| 1976 | LA FETE SAUVAGE |
| 1977 December | SPIRAL |
| 1978 January | To The Unknown Man (Part 1) |
| 1978 July | BEAUBOURG |
| 1978 | THE BEST OF VANGELIS |
| 1978 | HYPOTHESIS |
| 1979 April | CHINA |
| 1979 May | The Long March (Part 1) |
| 1979 | ODES |
| 1979 | OPERA SAUVAGE |
| 1979 | Hymne |
| 1979 | THE DRAGON |
| 1980 June | My Love |
| 1980 November | SEE YOU LATER |
| 1981 March | CHARIOTS OF FIRE |
| 1981 April | Chariots of Fire - Titles |
| 1981 | ZIJN GROOTSTE SUCCESSEN (GREATEST HITS) |
| 1982 November | TO THE UNKNOWN MAN VOLUMES 1 & 2 |
| 1982 | BLADE RUNNER |
| 1983 | ANTARCTICA |
| 1984 June | MAGIC MOMENTS |
| 1984 October | SOIL FESTIVITIES |
| 1985 March 19 | MASK |
| 1985 March | INVISIBLE CONNECTIONS |
| 1985 | IGNACIO |
| 1986 | RAPSODIES |
| 1988 September | The Will of the Wind |
| 1988 October 18 | DIRECT |
| 1989 July | THEMES |
| 1989 | Missing |
| 1990 November | THE CITY |
| 1992 October 20 | THE CONQUEST OF PARADISE |
| 1992 October | 1492: The Conquest of Paradise |
| 1993 March | Twenty-Eighth Parallel |
| 1993 April | ENTENDS-TU LES CHIENS? |
| 1994 December | BEST IN SPACE |
| 1995 October | Voices |
| 1995 October | VOICES |
| 1995 | Ask The Mountains |
| 1995 | SPACE THEMES |
| 1995 | THEMES II: THE VERY BEST OF |
| 1995 | FOROS TIMIS STON GRECO |
| 1996 April | PORTRAITS (SO LONG AGO, SO CLEAR) |
| 1996 | A Separate Affair |
| 1997 January 28 | OCEANIC |
| 1997 March | THE COLLECTION |
| 1997 April | Spiral |
| 1997 | GIFT... GREATEST HITS |
| 1998 | EL GRECO |
| 2000 March 7 | REPRISE 1990-1999 |
| 2001 October 23 | MYTHODEA |
| 2002 | THE BEST OF VANGELIS (BMG) |
| 2003 November 4 | ODYSSEY |
SEE ALSO...
JON AND VANGELIS discography
The Music of Cosmos
Polar Shift: A Benefit for Antarctica
I Successi di Claudio Baglioni
Claudio Baglioni: E Tu
Suzanne Ciani: Velocity of Love
Dalida: Temps des Fleurs
Locanda delle Fate: Forse Le Lucciole No Si Amano Piu
Monsterrat Cabale: Friends for Life
Socrates: Phos
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