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From the Vault...
11/14/1999
#655 |
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info
Vangelis
"Chariots Of Fire"
© Polydor Records
Year of Release: 1981
Rating:
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track listing
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Titles
Five Circles
Abraham's Theme
Eric's Theme
100 Metres
Jerusalem
Chariots Of Fire
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Vangelis
"Chariots Of Fire"
When you think of the movie Chariots Of Fire, you always picture in
your mind the olympic runners in slow motion with the familiar instrumentation
of "Titles", a song that would become a important song for background
music in sports and also used for advertisements. The man who made it all
possible was Evangalos Odyssey Papathanassiou, better known as Vangelis.
His Chariots Of Fire album serves as the movie's soundtrack of the
same name, and is best described as an instrumental classical/smooth jazz music
album. Chariots Of Fire won an academy award for Best Original Score in
1981, and after hearing this album, I can easily see why: It is truly a
beautiful album, and highly recommended for those who wish to get away from the
common sounds of the past and present's high energy rock music.
The album's opening song is the well-known theme song, "Titles".
This song, (which reached #1 by the way), is a song that is never tiring.
With its classical music inspiration, the piano is the main instrument in this
song, making this tune one of the best instrumentation songs ever written.
"Five Circles" is a song that can easily be used for relaxation,
meditation, or great music for a romantic atmosphere. Close your eyes as you
listen to this one, your mind will definitely wander as far as you would want to.
Easily classified more of a smooth jazz than classical format, "Abraham's
Theme" is another beautiful piece of instrumentation. The electronic
piano and orchestral backdrop serves as another song for the hopeless romantics.
"Eric's Theme" has a beautiful orchestration, and definitely has the
Soundtrack name for it. It is powerful in sound and feeling.
"100 Metres" starts out very mysterious, then merges into a church
organ and choir orchestration ("Jerusalem"). Very impressive in how the mystery of one
particular sound turns into another whole different sound. The album's closing
theme, "Chariots Of Fire, is another different version of the opening
song, "Titles". This 20-minute song is very classical music oriented,
having different variations of the classical music sound, with piano and full
orchestra; and is very beautiful and powerful.
Very impressive work by a man who was rumoured to replace Rick Wakeman
in the band Yes. Both Vangelis and Wakeman have two things in common: They
are both incredible keyboardists, and they both have a love for
classical-inspired music. Like Wakeman's solo efforts, Vangelis' Chariots
Of Fire will get repeat performances in listening to, over and over.
This album is definitely beautiful, and for those who truly enjoy classical
and/or new age jazz, or even for the hopeless romantics, this album gets my
nod of approval to add to any person's music collection. It's a great get-away
from the common popular sounds in today's music. Classical music doesn't get
as much exposure as it once did, centuries ago. It should, because classical
music is so beautiful and relaxing, people who obviously put rock music as their
main interest in music, will look at classical and just maybe surprised in how
different it sounds, and how incredible it really is.
With the upcoming Christmas holiday approaching, this album is a great one
to listen to as you sit by the fireplace, with soft lights and/or candles. Of
course, there are great albums to listen to in this atmosphere, Vangelis'
Chariots Of Fire would be one of those. "Oh, the weather outside
is frightful, but the fire (and music) is so delightful..."
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Review or any portion may not be reproduced
without written permission. Cover art is the
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