Vangelis - Voices

The voices referred to in the title are, unusually for Vangelis, actual human singers singing songs with lyrics, none of whom are Jon Anderson. But in Vangelis's vision the human voice is just a small part of the environment, not the sole focus of attention. It's easy to not see these as songs, but instrumental works in which the voice is just another solo instrument. On the Clannad-ish "Come to Me", Caroline Lavelle's breathy lilt is smothered in a wash of orchestral gloop. Most characterful is "Ask the Mountains", featuring Stina Nordenstam's fragmented muttering through a chilly haze. Paul Young sings rather shyly with his androgynous voice on "Losing Sleep", a crooning ballad with a well-controlled pace.

Elsewhere Vangelis uses wordless choirs as part of his standard palette along with those familiar fat orchestral synths. The non-songs here are less remarkable, as they are all in his established style. The grandiose chanting-chorus title track is standard Vangelis epic-soundtrack stuff. There's a distinct air of Mike Oldfield here, not only because of the tubular bells and bagpipes, but in the shape of the tunes and its blandly inspirational feel. "Echoes" is built solidly over a fat, edgy synth sound. These instrumentals are soft easy-listening music of course, but it's made with care, sounding more genuine in its new-age sentiment than the relatively contrived "Oceanic". The pieces segue into each other with fluency, seeming to blend with the natural landscapes they evoke, rather than smothering them.

January 24, 2005

7 out of 10

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