c o n r a d

Vangelis has always struck me as somebody whose music could be sublime and sophisticated one minute and banal and insipid the next. Fortunately, Heaven and Hell has more of the former and less of the latter. For this album, Vangelis follows the Mike Oldfield model of many pieces of music strung together to make two long tracks on either side of an album. Given the largely instrumental nature of his work comparisons with Oldfield are certainly a good starting point. Certainly, "Needles and Bones" has a distinct smell of Oldfield about it. Unlike Oldfield, though, Vangelis is not a virtuosic multi-instrumentalist, so aside from some time on percussion, he restricts himself to keyboards while using various vocalists and choirs when needed. That said, Vangelis is still more than capable of creating a wide variety of moods. He moves convincingly from the Orff-inspired frenetic pace of "To the Powers B" to the atmospheric foreshadowing of "Chariots of Fire" in "Movement 3". The only time he really falters is when he tries his hand at lush, romantic pieces, where he can verge on the melodramatic. Of course, the most famous collaboration on this album is with Jon Anderson on "So Long Ago, So Clear". This is an appropriate alliance, given that Anderson is another artist who walks the fine line between the sublime and the banal. The ballad is the sort of syrupy stuff of which both artists are a little overly fond, but for all that it's still listenable. Anybody familiar with their later ballads as Jon and Vangelis will know what to expect. Personally, I prefer the pieces in which Vana Veroutis sings. This is not an album which I am unreservedly enthusiastic about, but Vangelis manages to run through forty-three minutes of music without getting dull or repetitious. Fans of his work will undoubtedly love this album, others may wish to be a little more cautious. I'd choose the best works by Mike Oldfield or Rick Wakeman over this, but not by much. review by Conrad Leviston — 10-20-03 —

j o e

If you are someone who always thinks of Vangelis strictly in terms of banal, new age music, I think you are guaranteed for at least a semi-reappraisal here. I don't know if Heaven and Hell is meant to be a strictly side-for-side concept album. If it were, a more accurate title might be "Hell and Heaven and Hell and (Heaven or Maybe Hell) and Heaven." But in any case, let me give you the brief walk-through. "Bacchanale" shows a more aggressive side of Vangelis, and suggests a greater potential compatibility with Yes' sound (he auditioned with them just prior to Relayer, just a little bit before this release) than one might initially think. While he has always tended to downplay his virtuosity and stylistic range on the keyboard, "Bacchanale" nonetheless features some excellent fusion lines on Fender Rhodes that bounce against the foreground of Moog, choir, and drum blasts. "Symphony to the Powers B" also displays considerable classical technique on grand piano. By "Movement 3," things considerably calm down, and this segment contains a rudimentary version of the Chariots of Fire theme that would later become Vangelis' main claim to fame. The first side concludes with "So Long Ago, So Clear," with Jon Anderson guesting on vocals. While this ballad will be too sappy for some, I personally think it's unforgettable: Vangelis' delicate touches of Rhodes, Anderson's harmonies and echoes on the final verse, and that final glide of synths streaking across the song's horizon. Anderson's lyrics, while unsurprisingly positive and unabashedly romantic, are at the same time countered by a tender pull of sadness in the music and a dash of bittersweet resonance that more often than not the words are referring to the past than to the present. Of course, leave it to Vangelis to immediately follow up this ultra-romanticism on the next side with the amorphous recesses of "Intestinal Bat." "Needles and Bones" actually reminds me of Cluster's work of the same time period, with jagged, rhythmic keyboard matched with basic percussion. However, the cornerstone of the second side and in my view the soul of the entire album is "12 O'Clock," best remembered as the music for the Carl Sagan-hosted Cosmos. Led by the luminous vocals of Vana Veroutis, this mournful hymn is overpowering in its simple elegance and emotion. After a steady march somewhat reminiscent of ELP ("Aries"), the album concludes with the peaceful "A Way," where once again the soft sounds of the Rhodes help the listener drift away to a personal place of quietude. While I usually get on guard when I see choirs listed in the credits, I really can't think of Heaven and Hell without their inclusion. True, it is pretty much bombastic throughout ("12 O'Clock" being an exception), but Vangelis still manages to fit it creatively in a variety of contexts. While in "12 O'Clock" the choir's role is more or less traditional, in "Bacchanale" it seems largely out of its usual element. It's almost as if Vangelis really wanted a mellotron but couldn't find one, so why not use a real choir instead! Also, in "Symphony to then Powers B," the choir is more functional in providing a feel of Orffian menace through indistinctive phonemes, similar to Jerry Goldsmith's use of the choir in his soundtrack to The Omen. A personal favorite, Heaven and Hell musically covers a lot of territory, and though no themes are repeated across the tracks, the overall vision remains very coherent to the end. It is well in the upper echelon of Vangelis' discography, and I highly recommend it to those who are not familiar with his more adventurous recordings. review by Joe McGlinchey — 2-2-03 —