Vangelis - Heaven and Hell

Hellish harmonies & malefick melodies...

The magical hands of the composer emerge from the whirling hellfires, touching upon the 'sin-thesizer' to entertain the infernal hordes with rippling and dancing notes, manifesting the mesmerizing Fates from the misty flames...

Bombastic soundscapes from the genius of this one-man band, sonically describing the mythological battle between 'good' and 'evil', making for a great hypothetical soundtrack. But more than that, it is repleat with glorious choral rises, militant permutations, eerie interludes, and inspirational Ur sound bliss cascades upon the senses like a sonic waterfall, both placid and torrential.

In the last six minutes of "Heaven And Hell Part I", one can perceive the faint origins of "Chariots of Fire" right before gracefully floating into the melancholy "So Long Ago, So Clear", sung by the enchanting vocal talents of Yes' Jon Anderson, reminiscient of Bryan Ferry's style of singing, with Tangerine Dream-like orchestration. Quite moving.

'Heaven And Hell Part II' begins darkly brooding, until we are treated to a haunting aria slowly blending into a choral duet, then on to further arcane adventures of the mind...

A musical journey into the multi-dimensional subconscious where the imagination may project into the darkness, and otherwise can serve as ritual musick for victory and compassion. June 21, 2007

A good Vangelis album that features a choir

This is a wonderful Vangelis album and is fairly energetic, with enough experimental flourishes to keep the listener fully engaged. Released in 1975, Heaven and Hell incorporates a full choir into the Vangelis sound.

Vangelis played all of the instruments on this album including synthesizers, electric piano, acoustic piano, a full drum kit, and percussion. Vangelis is joined by the English Chamber Choir (conducted by Guy Protheroe) with Vana Veroutis as the lead female vocal, in addition to Jon Anderson (vocals/lyrics on Heaven and Hell (Part 1 So Long Ago, So Clear). Vangelis is quite a good musician and really shines on the acoustic piano. As a huge Yes fan, I was delighted to hear Jon's excellent voice and cosmic lyrics. As far as the inclusion of the choir goes, I did not mind it that much and felt that it added a very interesting textural element to the recording.

The Heaven and Hell suite is divided into two lengthy movements including Part I (21'58") and Part II (21'16"). In general, the first part is more orchestral in nature and features the choir and excellent acoustic piano playing by Vangelis. Another general observation is that the first movement mixes vigorous sections that feature drums with spacey and haunting synth-dominated passages. Of course, my favorite part comes at the end of Part I, which is the 4'58" section with Jon on vocals. This short "song" is quite moving and uplifting. Movement II is a little darker and more experimental than the first movement and is my favorite of the two. The choir is featured on the second movement, along with a beautiful wordless vocal by the very talented Vana Veroutis. Part II closes with a very spacey and quiet synthesizer section, which provides excellent contrast with the preceding thunderous percussion section.

All in all, this is a good Vangelis album and is recommended along with Albedo 0.39 (1976); Spiral (1977); and the excellent Opera Sauvage (1979). August 20, 2006

Minor Ups and Downs

I suppose that with a title like HEAVEN AND HELL, one should expect some ups and down. I did in terms of enjoyment and in terms of interest.

I am not a stranger to long pieces. I like classical music. I got turned on to Mike Oldfield in 1979. I even remember having a Vangelis 8 track back then but I don't remember what it was called. Vangelis too, seems to specialize in long, symphonic type compositions. With any such long work, though, the artist is bound to hit ups and downs in terms of interest. This one certainly does but the ups are not very far up.

Criticism aside, the artist is effective at capturing his "theme". He manages to portray, musically, the tension between good and evil. There are even a few delightful tidbits in which they might be confused for a few brief moments.

This will appeal mostly to those who like electronica. I do, sometimes. I am willing to give him another try sometime but he is not at the top of my list.
May 12, 2006

Classic Vangelis

Before Vangelis became known in the Western music world-- helped along by the motion picture soundtracks for Chariots of Fire and Bladerunner--he helped create the genre of electronic music. He was a pioneer in the true sense of the word.

First Released in 1975, Heaven and Hell is a masterpiece. It is at times operatic--with the appearance of the English Chamber Choir--and at times lyrically soothing--encompassing the angelic voices of Jon Anderson and Vana Veroutis. Instrumentally, Heaven and Hell delves into the the psyche of the human spirit and hearkens to our very beginings. Appropriately, sections of this release were used for Carl Sagan's 1970s television series "Cosmos."

I first discovered this album in 1982 and recently replaced the vinyl with the CD and am now rediscovering it. Any true fan of Vangelis--or electronic music--must include this in his collection. It is perhaps Vangelis' true begining in popular electronic music, and is a journey unto itself. March 9, 2006

AFTER CENTURIES

or at least decades, that Greek guy that was
slated for Wakeman's section of the stage did an
RCA records soloist-gig. Then, this recording was
released.
Then, not selling as much as RUMOURS or BOSTON,
it got shoved back into the cut-racks. THEN, it
was reworked into THE OMEN soundtrack.
And it literally took ' CHARIOTS... ' to regenerate
this delightful piano-dude into the top forty.

In time, it was upgraded to classic-status; this
disc is worth 75 'Wish You Were Here'(s). August 20, 2005

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