See You Later

Last updated

See You Later
Vangelis See You Later.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 1980
RecordedNemo Studios, London
Genre Electronica
Length39:32
Label Polydor
Producer Vangelis
Vangelis chronology
Opera Sauvage
(1979)
See You Later
(1980)
Chariots of Fire
(1981)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

See You Later is an album by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in November 1980. [2] 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 (in many respects) to his early 1970s work like Earth or 666 . [3] It was never released in the United States, [4] until it was remastered in 2016 as part of the Delectus boxset.

Contents

Overview

See You Later is Vangelis' most wide-ranging work of the 1980s, with more radical musical and lyrical themes than are found in his other albums. The concept album is bleaker than most of his records, incorporating negative and satirical intonations of a dystopian future. Subjects touched on include funerals, masks, and ready-to-wear and ready-to-eat things. [5]

The lyrics are written by Vangelis in English, French and Italian; they use electronic terminology and incorporate references to lost love, and the downfall of humanity due to the influence of technology. The title track lyrics say "See you later then... alive or dead". [5] Track "Suffocation" was inspired by the Seveso disaster in Italy. [6]

The album's sleeve shows an ice-covered ocean with a young woman wearing sunglasses to protect her eyes; the image uses optical compression in the horizontal axis. The inner sleeve is also disturbing, displaying a character seated in a greenhouse holding a lifeless child in its hands, both wearing eerie-looking gas masks. [5]

Instruments and style

Vangelis plays all instruments: synthesizers, electric piano, grand piano and drums. [4] The Korg KR-55 drum machine is used extensively. Michel Ripoche plays the violin on #4. Vocals featured are by Jon Anderson (tracks #5 and #6), Peter Marsh (track #1), Christina and Maurizio Arcieri from the group Krisma (track #5) and Cherry Vanilla (track #4 narrative). [4]

Composition

"I Can't Take It Anymore" is sung by Peter Marsh through a vocoder over a deep synthesizer glissando bass, a synthesizer choir and KR-55 hihats. "Multitrack Suggestion" is Kraftwerk-style and Eurodisco, which builds on a polysynth and upbeat KR-55 pulse; the choir sings some terms associated with analog synthesizer technology (VCO, VCF).

"Memories of Green" is a slow piano-based piece with a backdrop of synthesizer sounds and bleeps from the 1978 Bambino electronic game "UFO Master Blaster Station". The piano used on this piece was a Steinway Grand piano. Its distinctive "drunk" sound was achieved with the use of an Electroharmonix Electric Mistress flanger pedal. [7] This song was used in Vangelis' subsequent soundtrack to the 1982 film Blade Runner . [4]

"Not A Bit – All Of It" has vocals by Cherry Vanilla. "Suffocation" employs the KR-55 and a saw wave synthesizer melody, followed by an eerie brass and megaphone emergency announcements in Italian. The second (slower) half of the piece features vocals by Jon Anderson and a narrative in Italian, by Krisma (Maurizio Arcieri and Christina Moser). "See You Later" has Vangelis on electric piano and staccato male atonal choir. About halfway through, there is a child narrative in French, with Anderson's vocals used in the finale.

Track listing

All songs composed and written by Vangelis.

No.TitleLength
1."I Can't Take It Anymore"5:42
2."Multi-Track Suggestion"5:36
3."Memories of Green"5:48
4."Not a Bit – All of It"3:00
5."Suffocation"9:26
6."See You Later"10:22
Delectus bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
7."Neighbours Above"4:53
8."My Love"4:11
9."Domestic Logic 1"3:19

A test 8-track test pressing (never officially released) has also surfaced without the title track, but includes the track "My Love" which was featured on a previous single "My Love/Domestic Logic 1", along with two additional tracks "Neighbours Above" and "Fertilization". [4]

Side One:

  1. "My Love" – 4:02
  2. "Not A Bit – All Of It" – 2:55
  3. "Neighbours Above" – 4:48
  4. "I Can't Take It Anymore" – 5:38
  5. "Memories of Green" – 5:42

Side Two:

  1. "Fertilization" – 7:28
  2. "Suffocation" – 9:22
  3. "Multi-Track Suggestion" – 5:25

The track "Memories of Green" was later used by Vangelis in his soundtrack for the 1982 film Blade Runner . [8]

Personnel

Production

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vangelis</span> Greek composer and musician (1943–2022)

Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, known professionally as Vangelis, was a Greek keyboardist, composer, and producer of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music. He was best known for his Academy Award-winning score to Chariots of Fire (1981), as well as for composing scores to the films Blade Runner (1982), Missing (1982), Antarctica (1983), The Bounty (1984), 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), and Alexander (2004), and for the use of his music in the 1980 PBS documentary series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage by Carl Sagan.

<i>Heaven and Hell</i> (Vangelis album) 1975 studio album by Vangelis

Heaven and Hell is a studio album by Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in November 1975 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.

<i>Direct</i> (Vangelis album) 1988 studio album by Vangelis

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon and Vangelis</span> Musical duo

Jon and Vangelis was a music collaboration between British rock singer Jon Anderson and Greek synthesiser musician Vangelis. The duo released four albums between 1980 and 1991.

<i>Mask</i> (Vangelis album) 1985 studio album by Vangelis

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.

<i>Spiral</i> (Vangelis album) 1977 studio album by Vangelis

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.

<i>Opéra sauvage</i> 1979 soundtrack album by Vangelis

Opéra Sauvage is a soundtrack album by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in 1979. It is the score for the nature documentary of the same title by French filmmaker Frédéric Rossif. It is considered one of Vangelis' best albums, and is his second most successful album in the USA, reaching #42 in the album charts.

<i>China</i> (Vangelis album) 1979 studio album by Vangelis

China is a studio album by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in April 1979. Although he had never been to China, he employed Chinese instruments and compositional styles on this concept album. It was thematically ahead of its time as the eastern cultural concepts were mostly unknown to the western audiences. The album received some critical praise. It was certified silver (1985) for sales of over 60,000 copies by BPI.

<i>The City</i> (Vangelis album) 1990 studio album by Vangelis

The City is a 1990 album by the Greek artist Vangelis. Reportedly, it was produced entirely in a Rome hotel room, where Vangelis was staying to witness the filming of the Roman Polanski film Bitter Moon. It can be seen as a concept album, citing concepts from urban life and alluding to the big city atmosphere. The album peaked at #3 on the Billboard New Age Albums chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casiotone</span> Series of home electronic keyboards

Casiotone was a series of home electronic keyboards made by Casio in the early 1980s. Casio promoted the Casiotone 201 (CT-201) as "the first electronic keyboard with full-size keys that anyone could afford". The name "Casiotone" disappeared from Casio's keyboard catalog when more accurate synthesis technologies became prevalent, but the brand was reused for new models launched in 2019.

<i>666</i> (Aphrodites Child album) 1972 studio album by Aphrodites Child

666 is the third and final studio album and only double album by Greek progressive rock band Aphrodite's Child, released in June 1972 by Vertigo Records. Ostensibly an adaptation of Biblical passages from the Book of Revelation, it is the group's most critically acclaimed project. Due to internal tensions during the recording process and conflict with the record company, by the time it was released the band had already disbanded and its members had begun work on solo projects.

<i>Olias of Sunhillow</i> 1976 studio album by Jon Anderson

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krisma</span> Italian band

Krisma, originally known as Chrisma, was an Italian new wave/electronic music duo founded by Maurizio Arcieri (1942–2015) and Christina Moser (1952–2022) in 1976.

Cherry Vanilla is an American singer-songwriter, publicist, and actress. After working as an actress in Andy Warhol's Pork, she worked as a publicist for David Bowie, before becoming a rock singer. She subsequently became a publicist for Vangelis.

<i>Suspiria</i> (1977 soundtrack) 1977 album by Goblin

The soundtrack to the film Suspiria was composed and performed by the Italian band Goblin. A single version of the title track, "Suspiria", was released with the B-side "Blind Concert".

New Dada was an Italian beat band active between 1962 and 1966.

<i>Kyrie</i> (album) 1980 studio album by Mina

Kyrie is a double studio album by Italian singer Mina released on 27 November 1980 by PDU and distributed by EMI Italiana. Later the album was released in separate parts with subtitles "Vol. 1" and "Vol. 2". On this album Mina experiments with various genres, especially rock. The cover of the album features Mina's son Massimiliano Pani dressed as a hockey player.

<i>Tommy</i> (soundtrack) 1975 soundtrack album by The Who

Tommy is a soundtrack album by The Who with contributions from numerous artists. The soundtrack was used in the 1975 Tommy film that was based on the original album that was released by The Who in 1969. Pete Townshend oversaw the production of this double-LP recording that returned the music to its rock roots, and on which the unrecorded orchestral arrangements he had envisaged for the original Tommy LP were realised by the extensive use of synthesiser.

<i>Page of Life</i> 1991 studio album by Jon and Vangelis

Page of Life is the fourth and final studio album by Jon and Vangelis. It was recorded in 1986 in Athens and Rome and released in 1991 by Arista Records, and is their last studio collaboration as a duo. It was initially unavailable in the United States but was later re-released by Higher Octave with the bonus track "Change We Must", but missing four other tracks and other differences.

<i>The Best of Jon and Vangelis</i> 1984 greatest hits album by Jon and Vangelis

The Best of Jon and Vangelis is a compilation album by the Jon and Vangelis duo, the musical collaboration between Yes frontman Jon Anderson and Greek synthesizer musician, Vangelis. Released in 1984 by Polydor Records, the album features songs from their first three studio albums: Short Stories, The Friends of Mr Cairo and Private Collection.

References

  1. "See You Later". Allmusic. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  2. Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 865. ISBN   9780862415419.
  3. "Vangelis – See You Later". Synthtopia. 3 January 2004. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "ReDiscover Vangelis' 'See You Later'". uDiscover. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Jean-Michel Reusser (1980). "An interview with Vangelis". L'Autre Monde. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  6. "Album Review: Vangelis – See You Later". uDiscover. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  7. Clews, Richard. "VANGELIS: Recording At Nemo Studios". Sound On Sound. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  8. Nick Soulsby (4 October 2017). "The Myth and Majesty of Vangelis' Timeless Blade Runner Soundtrack". The Vinyl Factory. Retrieved 25 May 2022.