Oceanic is a collection of tone poems with Ocean themes. On this 1996 release, Vangelis creates a soothing 50 minute journey through deep oceanic spaces, sounding a bit like a Hearts of Space show. The new age music showcases his wonderful ear for melodies and lush synthetic orchestration, but does not have the edge or sense of experimentation that marks his best work. If you listen closely, you’ll also hear a variety of synthesized ambient effects that evoke the ocean woven into the music. Some of his effects sound like whales, ships horns, porpoises, seagulls and even chimes at a beach house. His use of ambient effects is as masterful as his orchestration. Oceanic is not Vangelis’ most challenging album, but will instead reward listeners with a relaxing sonic portrait of an abstract ocean voyage.
As far as Vangelis' early work is concerned (pertaining to the five years of his solo career), Spiral stands up quite well, although it's almost always regarded as an inessential effort. Although the structures and the overall dynamics of the pieces are less complicated and less sophisticated, Spiral's keyboard utilization is still extremely effectual, even if it does take awhile to get off the ground. The five tracks that make up the album aren't as atmospheric or as elaborately shifting as 1975's Heaven and Hell or 1976's Albedo 0.39, but his musical movement does seem to transgress toward full, complete soundscapes, especially in "To the Unknown Man," the album's best example of Vangelis' artistry. The album is based on a dancer's appreciation of the universe and how it spirals into infinity, a concept which came to him through his own pirouettes…
The ‘Gift’ is a 76+ minutes ‘greatest hits’ starting in 1975 with ‘Heaven and Hell’, featuring Vangelis‘ first collaboration with Jon Anderson, the transcendent ballad “So Long Ago, So Clear”, and also adds an excerpt from the lengthy original “Heaven and Hell Part II”. Music from ‘Albedo 0.39’ (1976) was featured extensively in the TV series “Cosmos”, and the ‘Gift’ presents the theme from the series, plus the outstanding tracks “Pulstar” and “Alpha”. Having had a career in music spanning over 50 years and having composed and performed more than 50 albums, Vangelis is considered to be one of the most important figures in the history of progressive music, electronic music and soundtracks.
If you like your contemporary jazz crooners smooth and sweet, then likely John Pizzarelli is your main man above today's many post-Sinatra posers. This recording is as solid an effort as he has offered musically, or in terms of his stance and intelligent selection of material. While his guitar playing is subsumed, it is nonetheless precious, and when occasionally paired alongside his father, Bucky Pizzarelli, priceless. The surrounding cast is outstanding, with bassists Milt Hinton, Ron Carter, or Michael Moore; drummers Butch Miles or Connie Kay; and especially the great pianist Dave McKenna – along with cameos from trumpeter Clark Terry and violinist Johnny Frigo.