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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The crowning achievement of "Cosmic music"., August 5, 2000
My credentials: Countless hours of listening to electronic music since I was a child. My favourites: Klaus Schulze (the 70's analog albums), Tangerine Dream (the 70's analog albums), Jarre (the first 3 albums), Vangelis (the 70's analog albums). The favourite of my favourites(of the lighter tone space music): Albedo 0.39 and Spiral by Vangelis Because a review is not helpful if you dont know the taste of the reviewer. I think that the above comments will give you a hint. This album is a recording that belongs to the highest achievements of music as a whole. It is a treasure and I am glad that I was fortunate enough to grow up in an environment that appreciated this kind of music. Vangelis explores the universe with this music and all listeners around the world follow him in a journey through creation, evolution and nucleogenesis. Carl Sagan used this music for his popular TV series "Cosmos", a great influence for my point of view of the world and probably one of the reasons that I became a particle physicist! As I have written in another review for Tangerine Dream, Vangelis is not only a musician. He is a researcher. His studio is not only a music studio but an experimental lab. It is not far from the accelerators that physicist use to unveil the laws of the universe. They do it with mathematics, Vangelis does it with analog synthesizers. It is the same thing. Another thing that adds up to the brilliance of the album and to the musical genius of Vangelis is that he was among the first to explore this kind of technology. He was at the forefront of this "research". Not only he mastered it well but he became the world leader in space music. I really dont have words to describe this brilliant, inspiring, captivating music. No one deserves to be called a music lover if he or she has not listened to this album (a rather strong statement but its true). P.S. This review applies to both Albedo 0.39 and Spiral because these 2 albums comprise a musical entity of Vangelis work.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Spiral" spirals!, June 5, 2000
I must heartily disagree with the below reviewer, who claims that this album does not have a central theme. On the contrary, "Spiral's" theme is the realization of the infinite spiraling of the universe and everything within it. All of the songs reflect this in some very profound fashion. "Spiral" is amongst my favorite Vangelis albums -- it is highly listenable while maintaining an eerie and ominous persona that infiltrates the depths of one's mind. The title track "Spiral" is first on the album, and it is perfectly named. I heard somewhere that the spiraling sound you hear throughout the piece was brand new technology when this was released, and that Vangelis was first to implement it. This track is haunting and powerful, and after its initial introduction it really begins to satisfy. The next track, "Ballad" is extremely eerie and bizarre, and its slow paced progression is incorporated with the moaning/singing of a strange (very strange, yet very cool) voice, that is possibly synthesized, although I'm not positive. "Dervish D" is certainly the most "pop-like" song on the album, and with its high-paced beat and infectious melody, its possibly the most widely appealing song that the master composer has written. "To the Unknown Man", has the below reader has noticed, seems to be a precursor to the main theme of "Chariots of Fire" with its moving chorus and march-like beat. I personally like "Unknown Man" better. "3 + 3" is yet another tune that realizes the spiral theme, and has some incredible sequences and chord progressions. As I complete this album, I am always thoroughly satisfied with it, and feel enriched and intrigued with the splendor of the universe. An incredible album.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting release from Vangelis., February 6, 1999
By A Customer
'Spiral' is a good album, following similarly in the genre of predecessors 'Albedo 0.39' and 'Heaven and Hell'. There really isn't a central theme behind 'Spiral', which contrasts it with both of those prior albums. Rather, we are given five tracks representing the wide range of creativity from this Greek composer. There is a fast-paced song in 'Dervish D' - which is dedicated to the 'dervish who recognizes the truth through his whirling', according to the liner notes. 'Ballad' has a vocal accompaniment in the backgroud, in a tongue I couldn't distinguish. The best track on the album has to be 'To The Unknown Man'. It has the structure which is eerily reminiscent of Vangelis' later hit 'Chariots of the Fire'. 'To The Unknown Man' takes more time to develop thematically, it would certainly have been well suited for use in a climatic scene in the cinema. I would recommend 'Spiral' for those who are familiar with the genre of Vangelis' work in the nineteen seventies or early eighties. It is hardly a 'pop' album, but will strike a chord with those who enjoy the musical journies composed by the Greek maestro.
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