Heaven and Hell | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 1975 [1] | |||
Recorded | September 1975 | |||
Studio | Nemo Studios, London | |||
Genre | Electronica, classical | |||
Length | 43:14 | |||
Label | RCA (Original) Windham Hill (Reissue) Esoteric Recordings (2013) | |||
Producer | Vangelis | |||
Vangelis chronology | ||||
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Heaven and Hell is a studio album by Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in November 1975 [1] on RCA Records. It is the first album recorded at his Nemo Studios in London that he used until 1987. It is a concept album based on duality. [2]
The album marks Vangelis' departure from the progressive rock sound on his previous album Earth (1973), with adoption of a more classical synthesized sound, as well his UK chart debut. [3]
In 1975, Vangelis moved to London where he set up his own Nemo Studios. The album was his first record made at the studio. He recalls that "I was trying to put together the studio while recording my first album, Heaven and Hell, at the same time. In fact, the studio was Hell because there was unmixed concrete everywhere, builders all over the place making a lot of noise, and next to all that, there I was, trying to finish my album. There was no limit as to how much time I could spend working on the album, but I felt I just had to do it, and in any case, the only way you can complete the construction of a studio quickly is to start working in it before it's actually finished". [4]
Vangelis recalls "I don't like to prepare for a long, long, long time an album. It's more exciting for me to sit down and to play whatever comes. So this is the way that Heaven and Hell happens. I spent six weeks to make this album but I spent maybe two weeks to put down the first tracks". Vangelis played all the instruments except the choir. [3]
The album marked Vangelis' first collaboration with singer Jon Anderson, who sings on "So Long Ago, So Clear", the closing section of Part One. [5] Vangelis recalls how they "sat down one day and I start to play the melody and he felt so comfortable that immediately he started to write the words". [3]
Heaven and Hell entered the UK Albums Chart on January 10, 1976 and reached #31. [6] The album gained further recognition when "Movement 3" became the theme for the American television documentary series, Cosmos: A Personal Voyage by Carl Sagan. [3] In 1981 it was released as a single titled "Heaven and Hell (Theme from 'The Cosmos')", and reached #48 in the UK Singles Chart on 18 July 1981. [6]
In 2011 the album was included along with Albedo 0.39 and Spiral in a 3-CD box set series "Original Album Classics" by Sony, RCA and Legacy Recordings. [7] In 2013 the album was released as a remastered and reissued digipak edition by Esoteric Recordings. [8] The same label in September 2014 released a remastered gatefold vinyl limited edition. [9]
It is one of the most important works by Vangelis as it demonstrated for the first time his combination of synthesizer, percussion and a chorus in a rich orchestral style of electronic music. It is one of many thematic albums by Vangelis, contrasting images of Heaven, expressed with a more tranquil sound, and Hell, which sounds more avant-garde. [10]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Steven McDonald of AllMusic described it as a "dark, thundering album" which "massed Gothic choirs and a musical depiction of all the tortures of the damned, with an impressive amount of string-driven shrieking", concluding "... it's a brilliant piece of work that should not be absent from any Vangelis collection". [11] Henri Stirk from Background Magazine rated the 2013 edition by Esoteric Recordings 3/5 stars. [12]
Note: Early pressings of the LP include a more detailed track listing. "So Long Ago, So Clear" is listed separately on the sleeve in all editions, as opposed to the other listed tracks.
Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, known professionally as Vangelis, was a Greek musician, composer, and producer of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music. He composed the Academy Award-winning score to Chariots of Fire (1981), as well as for the films Blade Runner (1982), Missing (1982), Antarctica (1983), The Bounty (1984), 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), and Alexander (2004), and the 1980 PBS documentary series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage by Carl Sagan.
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage is a thirteen-part, 1980–81 television series written by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter, with Sagan as presenter. It was executive-produced by Adrian Malone, produced by David Kennard, Geoffrey Haines-Stiles, and Gregory Andorfer, and directed by the producers, David Oyster, Richard Wells, Tom Weidlinger, and others. It covers a wide range of scientific subjects, including the origin of life and a perspective of our place in the universe. Owing to its bestselling companion book and soundtrack album using the title, Cosmos, the series is widely known by this title, with the subtitle omitted from home video packaging. The subtitle began to be used more frequently in the 2010s to differentiate it from the sequel series that followed.
A Passion Play is the sixth studio album by British progressive rock band Jethro Tull, released in July 1973 in both the UK and US. Following in the same style as the band's previous album Thick as a Brick (1972), A Passion Play is a concept album comprising individual songs arranged into a single continuous piece of music. The album's concept follows the spiritual journey of a recently deceased man in the afterlife, exploring themes of morality, religion and good and evil. The album's accompanying tour was considered the high water mark of Jethro Tull's elaborate stage productions, involving a full performance of the album accompanied by physical props, sketches and projected video.
Relayer is the seventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released in November 1974 by Atlantic Records. After keyboardist Rick Wakeman left the group in May 1974 over disagreements with the band's direction following their double concept album Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973), Yes entered rehearsals as a four-piece in Buckinghamshire. They auditioned several musicians, including Greek keyboardist and composer Vangelis, before settling with Swiss musician Patrick Moraz of Refugee who incorporated elements of funk and jazz fusion to the album. Relayer is formed of three tracks, with "The Gates of Delirium" on side one and "Sound Chaser" and "To Be Over" on side two.
Albedo 0.39 is a studio album by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in 1976. It was the second album produced by Vangelis in Nemo Studios, London, which was his creative base until the late 1980s. It contrasts with his previous album, Heaven and Hell, which was classically inspired and choral, while Albedo 0.39 has blues and jazz overtones. It was his first Top 20 UK album.
Direct is a studio album by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in 1988. The album marks a new development in Vangelis' music, during which Vangelis moved his creative base from London to Athens in Greece, and it was his first album recorded in Athens after relocation from London.
Mask is an album by the Greek electronic music composer Vangelis released in March 1985. It was the last he produced for the Polydor label. It is dramatic work in six movements, with somewhat dark mood and classical style which branches into ethnic styles. The album reached #69 position in the UK album charts.
Spiral is a studio album by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in December 1977. It was the third album produced by Vangelis in Nemo Studios, London, which was his creative base until the late 1980s. For the track "To the Unknown Man" Vangelis received the Midem International Instrumental award in 1978.
See You Later is an album by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in November 1980. It breaks quite violently with the style he employed in the late 1970s and later, relying much more on vocals and being more experimental and returning to his early 1970s work like Earth or 666. It was never released in the United States, until it was remastered in 2016 as part of the Delectus boxset.
Heaven and Hell is the ninth studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, released on 18 April 1980. It is the first Black Sabbath album to feature vocalist Ronnie James Dio, who replaced original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne in 1979.
Script for a Jester's Tear is the debut studio album by British neo-prog band Marillion, released in the United Kingdom on 14 March 1983 by EMI Records. The album reached number seven and spent 31 weeks in the UK Albums Chart, eventually achieving a platinum certificate, and produced the top 40 single "He Knows You Know" and the top 20 single "Garden Party".
Earth is the first official solo album by the Greek artist Vangelis, released in 1973. In contrast to Heaven and Hell (1975) and some soundtracks by Vangelis from this period, Earth was not released on compact disc in the 1980s — it was not until 1996 that a CD version was made available, and then only in Greece.
Who Came First is the debut studio album by the English musician Pete Townshend, released in 1972 on Track Records in the UK and Track/Decca in the US.
Beaubourg is a studio album by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in July 1978. It was the fourth album produced by Vangelis in Nemo Studios, London, and his final album for RCA Records. It is an avant-garde-experimental album.
Blade Runner: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack for Ridley Scott's 1982 science-fiction noir film Blade Runner, composed by Greek electronic musician Vangelis. It has received acclaim as an influential work in the history of electronic music and one of Vangelis's best works. It was nominated in 1983 for a BAFTA and Golden Globe for best original score. The score evokes the film's bleak futurism with an emotive synthesizer-based sound, drawing on the jazz scores of classic film noir as well as Middle Eastern texture and neo-classical elements.
Olias of Sunhillow is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Jon Anderson, released on 9 July 1976 by Atlantic Records. When the progressive rock band Yes took a break in activity in August 1975 for each member to record a solo album, Anderson, having established himself as their frontman, decided upon a concept album that tells the story of four tribes of an alien race and their journey to a new planet after their home is threatened by a volcanic eruption. Olias, a magician, builds a spacecraft named the Moorglade Mover and is helped by fellow magicians Ranyart and Qoquaq to gather and carry the population to their new home.
Mythodea — Music for the NASA Mission: 2001 Mars Odyssey is a choral symphony by Greek electronic composer and artist Vangelis. It premiered as a single concert in Athens, Greece, in 1993 but a recording was only released in 2001 by Vangelis' then new record label Sony Classical, which also set up the NASA connection and promoted a new concert, this time with a worldwide audience.
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 musical score by Greek electronic composer Vangelis for the British film Chariots of Fire, which won four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Original Music Score.
Vangelis was a Greek musician, composer, and producer. He began his music career in the 1960s with the Greek progressive rock band Aphrodite's Child and in the 1970s began composing electronic music. He gained wide mainstream popularity after composing soundtracks to film Chariots of Fire (1981) and Blade Runner (1982). His solo career discography consists of 23 studio albums, 26 compilation albums, 12 soundtrack albums, and roughly 29 singles. The majority of his film, documentary, theatre, and ballet & dance scores weren't released or officially released. He also collaborated with Jon Anderson and as a duo Jon and Vangelis released 4 studio albums, 2 compilations, and 13 singles, and with Irene Papas released two studio albums.
Short Stories is the debut album by Jon and Vangelis, the collaboration between Jon Anderson of the progressive rock band Yes and electronic music pioneer Vangelis. This was not the first time that the two had worked together: Vangelis had auditioned to be Rick Wakeman's replacement in Yes in 1974, but the role was given to Patrick Moraz. In 1975, Jon Anderson sang on "So Long Ago So Clear" from Heaven and Hell.
The first studio album to emerge from Nemo Studios was entitled 'Heaven and Hell', which was released in November 1975.