Aphrodite's Child - 666

it's a pretentious, noodly mess, lots of boring overextension. but so many points just for existing. fun review at HIPPY.COM, I've been meaning to buy the Babylon the Great comp

I think Vangelis' first solo Earth was more successful, transitional where he's still punctuating with vocal pop & rock tunes, but increasingly getting into bliss out rhodes delay, greek string tunings & drum machines...

"Earth" wasn't his first solo record - the first, if I remember, was a soundtrack called "Sex Power" that's impossibly expensive and the second was something in french that was like a dream being longer than the night - I can't remember the title, but I've never seen a copy of that, either. The earliest ones I have (both recorded in '71), "Dragon" and "Hypothesis", are apparently both less than legitimate - I once heard something about a guy excusing himself in a restaurant only to make off with the tapes. The third, or fifth, I guess, is "Apocalypse des Animaux", which might be my favourite after "Beaubourg". "Earth" came after all those. That purple "Demis Roussos Magic" album has a couple of versions of songs that appeared on "Earth", with Vangelis's participation, if you're interested.

I sure would love to hear this:

Fais Que Ton Rêve Soit Plus Long Que La Nuit (1972)

This extraordinary album ("May your dreams last longer than the night") handles the left winged student-riots in Paris, 1968. The music sounds like a collage of newsrecordings, soundrecordings, folk songs, pianothemes, and indeed: a few early synthesizers used in quit a progressive way for the era. Some lyrics were taken from inscriptions on the walls at the riots.

I also highly recommend Beaubourg and Hypothesis, the latter with the amazing drummer Tony Oxley.

searching turned up this site, looks nice: http://www.vangelismovements.com/70.htm

then I put on Doctor Faustus and Hathor and made a promise to listen to Wakhevich a lot more often

Wow, I'm amazed I never posted to this thread. Bought this cd in about 1995ish after Richard Ashcroft kept going on about it. Love it. My parents had Demi Roussos lps when i was a kid and my dad bought a greatest hits cd this week and I put 666 on his Ipod. I wonder what he will think of it...

In case you'll get to know wot he thinks, please do report back. I'm seriously curious.
My dad (who's ipod-less, and in general not that keen on pop music per se) is a bit of a Roussos fan also, inna mild sorta way, but he's never suspected there's ever existed anything like Aphrodite's Child.

I don't think mine does either. My dad is total middle of the road or 60s chart pop etc. At the same time he ordered the demis, he got nana mouskouri cds, Foreigner(he likes one of their songs I bet you can guess which), he also ordered a couple of dire straits cds and the Boston greatest hits(guess who recommended that one to him).
At least it makes a change from him listening to Celine Dion,Katie Melua, Norah Jones or Robbie Williams.
He does like some Dylan though and he did once buy Donovan and Woody Guthrie cds, he also used to go to edinburgh folk clubs with his mates in the early 60s and saw the likes of The Corries, Hamish Imlach, Humblebums etc.

i was just listening to 666 last night. weird. i think it's "aegeian sea" that sounds like labradford twenty+ years before they existed. wait, that is the "they'll no longer suffer from hunger, they'll no longer suffer from thirst" song, right?

(not good with song titles.)

Play "All the Seats Were Occupied" off 666 while tripping and understand the immortal power of Vangelis.
no shit. one of the best 20 or so minute epics there is. the neglect by people ever to mention them is almost racist against greek people

great revive, long road trip to play a show in LA on sunday and needed at least one epic 2 CD set to bring and it's obviously got to be this

this album is a lot easier to listen to than a lot of people are making it sound. i've heard all three AC albums and they're all worth getting though this is the best. Vangelis solo I don't really know about

Vangelis' first album Earth is still very much in AC mode. And See You Later is a late 70's return to vague AC-esque concept-album form with lyrics, only more influenced by Sparks & Moroder, and it is just bizarre. Of the other ones, the ones I truly love are Heaven and Hell, side 2 of L'Apocalypse Des Animaux, Beauborg, Blade Runner (Espers Edition). Other albums also have beautiful moments placed right next to some truly silly ones and if you're not careful you can get them mixed up.

shhh

no, really

Wow, I couldn't disagree more with what some of the people were saying 6 years ago. This album is a total classic, and while the 4 Horsemen is nice, it's one of the less interesting tracks to me. I don't get how you could consider it a "mess". My favorites are The Lamb, The Battle of the Locusts/Do It, The Wedding of the Lamb, and Hic and Nunc.

i love the album but it is a "mess". a good mess though

what's messy about it?

i just feel that way because it's really all over the place as an album and ends rather strangely with a collage piece. it reminds me a lot of some of Zappa's albums

hmm, it sounds very cohesive to me. for a progressive rock two-disc concept album, it's pretty damn tight. I like basically every track, can listen to it all the way through, and everything flows together well. The concept is pretty well exploited and even if it's a bit silly, it's not nearly as off-putting as when English bands got silly and pretentious. It gives the album a nice weirdo mysterious greek vibe. The writing, production, playing, and arrangements, are all top notch. Overall, I think they managed to keep the perfect balance between experimentation and a strong pop sensibility. You never get the impression that they're going off into weird time signatures or doing 20 minute drum solos just for the sake of it. I don't feel like there any freakout parts just inserted to fill out a side of the record. The stuff that might come across as filler on another album is used well here to add to the overall flow and atmosphere.

Maybe something is wrong with your version, because mine ends with the song "Break".

But then I don't really find Zappa's albums to be messes either. Or rather the ones that other people might consider messes are his best albums IMO.

"BREAK!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WTNFuF6qiA

Funny:
1) Song is by the drummer
2) there are no drums on it.

What are the solo Demis Roussos lps like. Trying to find reviews but having no luck. Looks like at least the first one and Forever and Ever retain some prog/psych influence from the couple of reviews I've seen.

The scene in Abigail's party always had me thinking they must be far straighter MOR stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-hXUehyRlE

and iirc he was thought of as a grannie's favourite on mainstream tv in the late 70s/early 80s. But received wisdom can be pretty distorted.

The "Roussos Phenom" documentary had a fair bit of "Rock" on tracks like "I dig you" which was an oldie by "Odyssey" (not the Native NY lot) previously called "Who"..

Looks like at least the first one and Forever and Ever retain some prog/psych influence from the couple of reviews I've seen.

I've got the first one, have been too scared to venture further than that, and it's pretty good! Not sure about the track where he's going on about the Greek side of his mind, it must be said.

But, yes, it's quite close to Aphrodite's Child - first 2 albums, not 666 - the schmaltz is encroaching however

here's a piece i wrote for FT last year that encompasses aphrodite's child

I've always loved Vangelis's synth albums, but I don't really care about prog rock. Is any of the AC stuff worth checking out for a Vangelis fan, or is it all prog?

It's all prog/psychedelia/pop

prog/psychedelia/pop/fusion/classical/folk/reggae/techno/punk/swing/juju

i.e. Tuomas won't like it

he will if he approaches it on a swingin eurotica tip

(ok no he probably won't)

I picked up the 'Break' single recently, it's the happiest 'sad' song ever.

Altamont is such a jam

Demis Roussos has died:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jan/26/demis-roussos-dies-aged-69-greek-singer-forever-and-ever

that pale horse sure has a sense of timing

Yeah, shame, 68 is too young. RIP Demis.

RIP Demis - Four Horsemen is my second favourite rock song of all time and a solid lock for a desert island disc.

I was DJing on Saturday night and played I Dig You and that was the moment the entire night kicked off. It still sounds like magic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7Q1HsPE5cQ

'The Four Horsemen' is a work of genius. RIP.

I've said here it till I'm blue in the face but I like his first solo album ... the later one with Vangelis is good too.

:(

Love his performance on this one :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwbr9EL0UJM

showing lewis baloue how to do it properly:

http://eil.com/images/main/Demis-Roussos-Man-Of-The-World-425651.jpg

I always considered "My Face in the Rain" to be one of the most beautiful vocal performances ever, rest in peace man :(

Oh man, this is a huge bummer. He basically had the voice of God.

And Forever and Ever is one of the most glorious, sun-soaked, harpsichorded, balilaka'd-out pop albums ever.

SUCH A BANGER:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a0XolnWKf4

Also, this gloriously schmaltzy Morricone collab:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnEH5gT0Mbc

From Andrew Male of Mojo on Twitter:

Yer @signifyingwolf points out that, in 2009, the late, great Demis Roussos recorded a song called Who Give A Fuck...Sorry, that should have read A NINE-MINUTE DEMIS ROUSSOS SONG called WHO GIVES A FUCK?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDJQy4vIwbY

RIP, what a legacy.

so if we add the vangelis album to the bayle piece that directly features recordings of the may 68 riots, what else is there? what is the ideal May 68 playlist?

Daevid Allen, "And His Adventures In the Land of Flip" (from the "Banana Moon" album (he plays guitar on the Francois Bayle piece mentioned in the original post too))

Also this...

https://continuo.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/nono-lp-front.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BUDrKiR49o