Vangelis is an artist who always does a great job of working within electronic elements to create something unique and rather symphonic. This album is no exception. Vangelis plays all instruments here except on the last song. On that piece Jon Anderson (of Yes fame) provides harp. This is a cool album.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2017 Volume 1 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Hymne
This comes in rather gentle and delicate, but gets more bombastic later in the piece. It's quite classical, but also well rooted in the electronic elements one expects from Vangelis.
Rêve This comes in very mellow and pretty. It grows ever so gradually, eventually bringing the melodies upward as it carries forward. This doesn't change or shift dramatically or quickly. It does turn toward some jazzy stuff later, though. Overall, this is pretty constant and consistent.
L'Enfant A bit like some of the mellower stuff from the Jon and Vangelis catalog, this is quite electronic and rather delicate.
Mouettes This piece is quite short and quite mellow. It's also very pretty and satisfying.
Chromatique There is a real psychedelia vibe to this cut. It's mellow and trippy.
Irlande There is a lot of world music here. It's another mellow and fairly short tune.
Flamants roses Jon Anderson's harp is heard at the beginning of this. The cut has a slow moving, mellow tone to it as it grows. The piece has a powered up movement mid-track, but reverts back down the mellower stuff. Then it rises up from there into some of the most rocking sounds of the whole album. It's more bombastic and energized. Eventually this segment works through, and the cut drops back to mellower stuff to continue. It's quite electronic, but there are definitely classical elements at play, too.
