Jon Vangelis Page of Life

Vocalist Jon Anderson and master synthesist/composer Vangelis draw upon their legendary individual histories and more than two decades of classic collaborations to create this very spiritual and musical synergy, which combines elements of rock, classical, symphonic, jazz, soul, electronic new age, and worldbeat. Best known, respectively, as the lead singer of Yes and the Oscar-winning composer of "Chariots of Fire," the duo has released several extraordinary tandem recordings over the years, beginning with the 1976 album Olias of Sunhillow. This is the sixth of the series, and was originally released in 1991…

Inspired by the artwork of Roger Dean and the writings of Ver Stanley Alder, Jon Anderson developed an entire story around the idea of an interstellar exodus from Sunhillow, writing this album around the narrative (named for the spaceship's architect, Olias). The idea may seem overly ambitious, but Anderson fills the record with enough magical moments to delight fans of Yes' mystic side. The music is written and performed almost entirely by Anderson, who dubs vocals, plays guitar and harp, and adds percussion and the occasional synthesizer to flesh out his ideas so that at no point does the music lose its spellbinding effect for lack of sonic detail. Olias of Sunhillow is faithful to the spirit of Yes, though decidedly more airy than that band's visceral style - its closest comparison would be Fragile's "We Have Heaven" or Going for the One's "Wonderous Stories"…

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.

During Jon Anderson’s 39-year Rock and Roll Hall of Fame career as the lead vocalist of YES, he was seen as one of the leading proponents of the Progressive Rock movement. During his tenure with YES, he recorded 19 studio albums and multiple live albums, many of which have been certified gold and platinum. Albums such as The “YES” album, “Fragile”, “Close to the Edge”, “Tales of Topographic Oceans”, and “90125” remain classic albums to this day. Songs such as “Roundabout”, “Yours is No Disgrace”, “And You and I”, “Going for the One”, “Awaken”, and “Owner of a Lonely Heart” were staples on Active Rock radio throughout the 70’s and 80’s.
While still a member of YES, Jon released multiple solo records and collaborations, the most noteworthy being his 4 albums with Greek composer Vangelis Upon leaving YES in 2008, Jon continued releasing multiple solo records…

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.

Recorded live on the final night of the 1989 Anderson/Bruford/Wakeman/Howe tour, this two-CD set offers both oldies and improvements upon their new material. You'll probably find yourself listening only to the second CD, as the first CD largely consists of shaky solo medleys. Howe fares the best with delicate renditions of "Mood for a Day" and "The Clap." Anderson's guitar and vocal turn comes off like a coffeehouse gig - not bad, especially when he samples "Teakbois," but not riveting. Wakeman's "Merlin" and "Catherine Parr" solo trades speed for precision, and the crowd is unaccountably thrilled when he wrenches unimpressive blow-bottle sounds out of a keyboard. Bruford blows his solo yet again, just as in Yessongs; infatuated with electronic percussion, he produces a grating assortment of clanks and conks…

During Jon Anderson’s 39-year Rock and Roll Hall of Fame career as the lead vocalist of YES, he was seen as one of the leading proponents of the Progressive Rock movement. During his tenure with YES, he recorded 19 studio albums and multiple live albums, many of which have been certified gold and platinum. Albums such as The “YES” album, “Fragile”, “Close to the Edge”, “Tales of Topographic Oceans”, and “90125” remain classic albums to this day. Songs such as “Roundabout”, “Yours is No Disgrace”, “And You and I”, “Going for the One”, “Awaken”, and “Owner of a Lonely Heart” were staples on Active Rock radio throughout the 70’s and 80’s.
While still a member of YES, Jon released multiple solo records and collaborations, the most noteworthy being his 4 albums with Greek composer Vangelis Upon leaving YES in 2008, Jon continued releasing multiple solo records…