Heaven and Hell - Vangelis (1975)
Vangelis was famous for his film music, especially Chariots Of Fire and Blade Runner. But he was not just a “film guy.”
He had a very peculiar vision of choral music that also involved layers and layers of electronics and synths. This is an early outing for him, recorded as he was building the London studio he’d use for the rest of his career.
For reasons I don’t understand, the record’s two sides exist as 2 extended digital tracks that don’t have individual song titles listed. You’ll have to go to the end of part 1 to get a striking track with Yes’ Jon Anderson, So Long Ago So Clear.
Early in the second half, you get a great piece of percussion weirdness with the metal AF title Intestinal Bat.
The whole thing has classical ambitions and gets closer to that ambition than a lot of prog rock because of Vangelis’ grand vision and skilled world-building.
