Beaubourg

Vangelis | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 29, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Windham Hill Records
• ASIN: B000000NN5
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #603,247 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Beaubourg, Pt. 1

2. Beaubourg, Pt. 2

Editorial Reviews

Japanese only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD - playable on all CD players) pressing. BMG. 2008. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Vangelis At His Most Experimental., November 20, 2003

By 

Louie Bourland (Garden Grove CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beaubourg (Audio CD)

"Beaubourg" is an album that is often misunderstood by avid Vangelis listeners. The album is either hailed as a masterpiece in one corner while in another corner, there's a barrage of booing and hissing. In all fairness, an album like "Beaubourg" had to be done. It's quite a unique album and is one of the few nonmelodic works in Vangelis's large catalog of music.
Essentially, "Beaubourg" is a single 38-minute work divided into two parts. If you listen to the album, you'll discover that the piece is divided into even shorter sub-movements. The piece consists mostly of random blips and bleeps along with some harsh metallic-like tones and the occasional singable melody. Musically, it's along the same lines as some of the early electronic music composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, Morton Subotnick and Pauline Olivieros. "Beaubourg" can even be comparable to Beatle George Harrison's Moog opus "Electronic Sound". It's quite possible that Vangelis used the above influences as a blueprint for this piece.
When the album was released in 1978, opinions were obivously divided however, "Beaubourg" has become somewhat of a cult classic over the years. I first heard the album in 1990 and still enjoy when I play it. While it's not Vangelis's greatest achievement, it still is one of his most daring pieces of music and is quite an earful to listen to. It's worth checking out but use extreme caution when doing so.
So far, Vangelis has only released one other album that can be comparable to "Beaubourg". That album is "Invisible Connection" released in 1985 on the German Classical label, Deutch Grammaphon.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warning to Die-hard fans!!!!, April 9, 2004

By 

J. Brook "(N)" (Colorado United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beaubourg (Audio CD)

In my opinion this album is fantastic, however I want to warn those of you who are die-hard fans of Vangelis, looking to purchase this album.

DO NOT purchase the newer CD's released on Wyhdham Hill records, the master used to make the CD was messed up and there are subtle errors in the speed of the recording (kinda like when your answering machine tape gets messed up and has a section or two where it speeds up really fast or slows down).
If quality is important to you, I strongly suggest that you purchase only the vynyl or the earlier CD's with the RCA label on them. Sure, the album may have a lot of random surrealness to it, but if you are switching from vynyl/tape to CD, it can be a bit jarring when you hear the errors. For those who have never heard the album, it may not be noticable.
Beyond that it is one of my favorite Vangelis albums. It's randomness and unregulated "noise" has earned it top position in my collection for relaxation music/sounds

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very impressive., June 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Beaubourg (Audio CD)

I bought it eleven years ago as a teenager and I still listen to it today. It's true that this album is more sound than music, but it's difficult to imagine anyone experimenting with sound and still making it this melodic. The mood of the album moves between the sinister and the melancholic - some passages in it are creepily brilliant, others achingly lonely and evocative. It's very unpredictable, as some people have hinted, but there's no justification for dismissing this album as a disorganised throwaway - it has way too much class for that. It's an acquired taste, but you should give it a listen.