Customer Reviews

Soil Festivities

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am a faithful Vangelis fan. I think he is a real genius.As a classical musician myself,I am used to analyse deeply composer's music and for years and years, this album brought me peace and recomfort in difficult moments. It allowed me to meditate, travel in big spaces without leaving my room, it helped me appreciate moments that I spent in fantastic places around the world (really leaving my room,this time)..I strongly recommand anyone to take the time to discover this masterpiece.

I have read all the reviews, and all I can add is that among the Vanglis CD releases, this is a special event. Vangelis, as I have mentioned elsewhere in reviews of his work, has developed a musical vocabulary and grammar, certain instruments and melodies that he tends to weave in and out of compositions throughout his career. These are really quite wonderful, and I am a confirmed fan, but Soil Festivities is deep, close to the level of Beaubourg and Invisible Connections, and yet somehow more accessible.

The jazzy calliope-like ambience that he creates, with a background of rain and storm, is wistful, gentle, insistent, loving, occasionally obtrusive, but mostly calming and delightful.

I can think of nothing that even begins to approach the originality and attractiveness of this musical accomplishment.

The cycle of nature could only really be represented musically by Vangelis. The whole piece invites you in to a journey through atmospheric conditions. You see insects, you see sky, you see heavy thunder clouds, you feel rain bouncing of leaves and soil. A completely mesmerising and hypnotic, sonic landscape. I give it 4 stars because I feel it isn't one of vangelis' most accessible works. It needs time and patience. You will be rewarded!

I first purchased this cd back in 90 unfortunately it was lost due to theft and I'll tell you I was not a happy camper. But I have to admit I was impressed back then and still am very much so today. It is the most powerful example of music that I can say I've heard in my life and I do miss it greatly. I first heard it one night and it reached every fiber of my being and then some. I am very choosey when it comes to the hugh assortment of music that is for the taking.

Soil Festivites is a rare jewel in the new age world of powerful music in my book, Venglis has shown his genious ahead of time and has continued to impress one very picky music listener.

As to the five stars rating well that's the max that has been set, I feel it's higher then five stars but it's this message that counts at this point.

This music ( cd ) is amazing and I look foreward to it's return to my collection.

I encourage anyone who is curious about this cd, get it you'll love it. and then some.

I originally owned this as an LP when it first came out in 1984. As a teenager I was in love with Vangelis' music and this quickly became one of my favorites & I still think it's one of his very best, and also most underrated albums (along with Mask, which was released one year later).

This album is very melodic, though there are also some very dramatic points too. This is not what you would call "new age" music. This is one of his most "symphonic" albums (the opposite end of the spectrum from say, "Albedo 0.39"). Great to listen to on a rainy day needless to say!

One peculiar flaw is the CD track listing: The original LP lists a total of six movements. The CD lists 5 movements, but you can visibly see that it is a typo: Movement 5 has a comma but no following movement! How that happened I don't know, but it led the CD manufacturer to take the fifth and sixth movements and place them onto one track. The listener can easily identify the division between the last two movements though. It's just odd.

If you really like Vangelis, this disc is a must. Vangelis has yet to top himself with this album!

You will find this music more serious and intense than some of his earlier works. The electronics are more sophisticated and so is the musical material. Its motifs, themes, rhythms and sound effects present the programatic theme of its title. Its themes and motifs explore a very wide range of rich textures of sound and rhythm. The layers conjur up images of soil, plant life, insect life and atmospherics. They explore the celebration, majesty and intensity of the teeming macroscopic life. Refer to the album artwork for visual examples.

This is one of my most often played CDs and if I had to liquidate my collection, this would be one the last to go.

I put this CD and followed by his Mask CD on while driving a motorhome with my family, mother-in-law and British family guests up Red Mountain Pass in Western Colorado in 1985. The visual images of land, mountains, trees, plants, animals, mist, fog, clouds, sky and the sonic experience from this and Mask was riveting for them.

If you like this recording and want to ... up the intensity about an order of magnitude, try Mask. It is of similar genre, but more serious and intense.

Quite simply, Vangelis' masterpiece. Opening to the sounds of a thunderstorm, often imitated and never bettered, this is, perhaps, the ultimate ambient album before even Eno got the idea. Painting a true soundscape, this can be enjoyed on any level - from background "fluff" to a deep, intense and rewarding experience. This album has it all.

First, let me say that I'm not a fan of Vangelis' more recent New Age fluff stuff. But this one is quite a rewarding listen -- very densely layered and orchestral. One is tempted to say "cinematic" but in an earthy, nature documentary film kind of way. Great music for tramping off on a walk in the rainforest, and that's meant in the best possible way.

By far Vangelis most crowning CD. Definitely his greatest effort to date. If you are dreaming of the ultimate CD to go to sleep to..... look no farther. Simply the most involving piece of music that I have ever heard!

I couldn't live without music and I most certainly could not live without this record !

I have bought a few records in my 30+ life. I have over 250 CDs, 80 LPs, 30 CD singles and about 200 45-rpm singles. If I had to pick out ONE of these records and not listen to ANY OTHER for the rest of my life - this would be the one !

Some tracks are perfect for relaxation and contemplation, while others are vivid and full of energy. It's a rich record that matures with age. The more you listen to it the more you'll learn to love it.

Vangelis is one of the great musicians of our times - and this is his masterpiece !