Vangelis Spiral

The magnificent ‘Spiral’ was Vangelis’ third album for RCA Records. Released in 1977, the album was recorded at Nemo, his personal studio in London and was a defining electronic album of the era, with Vangelis demonstrating his total mastery of the synthesizer technology of the period. Pieces such as the majestic ‘To The Unknown Man’ brought electronic music to new dimensions.

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…

Esoteric Recordings are proud to announce the release of newly remastered and sonically enhanced editions of the albums recorded for the RCA and Arista labels by Vangelis. All of these reissues come in deluxe digipak designs, with new masters personally supervised by Vangelis.
The magnificent "Heaven & Hell" was the first album by Vangelis to be released by RCA Records in 1975 and was also the first album to be recorded at his personal studio in London, Nemo. This epic work in two parts featured the English Chamber Choir (conducted by Guy Protheroe) and Vangelis' first collaboration with Jon Anderson, "So Long Ago, So Clear".
This Esoteric Recordings release (undertaken with the full approval and supervision of Vangelis himself) features a booklet that restores the original album artwork.

One of a series of remastered and sonically enhanced editions of the Vangelis albums recorded for the RCA and Arista labels. All of which come in deluxe digi-pack designs, with masters personally supervised by Vangelis in 2013.
The superb ‘Albedo 0.39’ was Vangelis’ second album to be released by RCA Records and was recorded at Nemo, his personal studio in London, in 1976. This conceptual work, inspired by space and galactic physics, took its name from the planet Earth’s albedo, (the proportion of the light a planet receives that is reflected back into outer space), as it was in 1976.
The album features the iconic ‘Pulstar’ and saw Vangelis push the perceived boundaries of the synthesizer as a musical instrument to new dimensions…

This portentous tribute to Domenikos Theotokopoulos (16th-century painter "El Greco") divides its ten tracks among as many separate movements (complete with a disc-closing "Epilogue") and explores them with all the excitement of a day at the art gallery (this concept was, in fact, inspired by the National Gallery of Greece's efforts to obtain El Greco's "St. Peter"). Which means it's very studious, very meticulous, and very good for you, but ultimately the (very few) thrills here are intrinsic at best and not really all that thrilling. Composer, arranger, producer, and performer Vangelis gooses up the action with occasional bombast, but the overall tone of El Greco's classical new age is as solemn and washed-out as a centuries-old painting.

Esoteric Recordings are proud to announce the repromotion of a remastered and sonically enhanced edition of Direct. It comes as a deluxe digi-pack design, with the master personally supervised by Vangelis.
Direct was released by Arista Records in October 1988 and was the first Vangelis to be recorded in Athens, following his relocation to the city from London. A fine body of work, the album title was inspired by Vangelis’ method of composing and recording, relying on spontaneity, with the compositional and recording process occurring simultaneously in the studio with few (if any) overdubs taking place.
This Esoteric Recordings release (undertaken with the full approval and supervision of Vangelis himself) features a booklet that restores the original album artwork.