Vangelis - The Dragon

I threw this record on last night as I was cooking spaghetti. Much like spaghetti, this record is a delicious mess. It was apparently recorded in 1971 with a couple members from Vangelis' earlier band, Aphrodite's Child, but didn't see release until 1978 on Charly Records, unbeknownst to Vangelis. He successfully sued the label and got the record pulled from stores. I don't know if it was ever released lawfully again or reissued on CD, but it's absolutely worth checking out. This isn't the uplifting Chariots of Fire Vangelis or the new age stylings of Jon & Vangelis. In short, this is not your mother's Vangelis.

The real winner on this album is the first track. Side-long "The Dragon" is a psych burn-out, complete with squalling guitars and electric violin. That dragon on the cover does a good job of portraying the impending apocalypse that is this song. The other two tracks are decent in their own right, but it's hard to follow such a magnificent jam with anything better (though "Stuffed Tomatoe" does get pretty scatter-brained after a few minutes). So good.

Vangelis - The Dragon

1) The Dragon
2) Stuffed Aubergine
3) Stuffed Tomatoe

-Cole