Vangelis at his most experimental.
R. Recchia | blodgett mills, ny | 11/05/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"The Dragon and Hypothesis were both recorded at Marquee Studios in London back in 1971 around the time that Aphrodites Child were breaking up. Charly Records released both of these albums in the late 70's/early 80's without the permission of Vangelis himself, who went to court to get the albums removed from the shelves.
So what do they sound like?
Well, Hypothesis, which was recorded in May of '71, consists of two extended music jams, which are both very jazz influenced, and to my ears, not very listenable. Maybe it's impressive if you are a serious musician (I'm a SILLY musician), but not for everyone else. It's not HORRIBLE, but it is also not very melodic, or song oriented. Atonal jazz fusion, I guess. It sounds like nothing that Vangelis has done, before or since. (I listened to this again, about four to six hours after writing my first draft of this review, and found that I enjoyed Hypothesis a bit more than I have in the past).
I like The Dragon, which was recorded a month later, much better, however! Tis a shame Vangelis never approved the release of this album, which is more in line with the progressive rock of Aphrodites Child's 666 album. The title track is a very repetitive and hypnotic, but tuneful 15 minute piece, with a very heavy middle Eastern, belly dance music feel to it. Strong violin line, some good bass playing. Maybe a bit too long, but still highly enjoyable. Stuffed Aubergine is a relaxing piece, with some pleasant acoustic guitar and electric piano playing and is more in line with Vangelis' soundtrack music. My favorite song is Stuffed Tomato, which starts off with a long banjo solo (sounding a bit like Duelling Banjos at one point), then the rest of the song is a bit progressive, with some catchy melodies, and a somewhat jazzy keyboard solo. Quite good!
It must be noted that this isn't really a Vangelis solo album; it is more like a Vangelis project. No single instrument really dominates...this is truly a group effort. And....NO SYNTHESIZERS!
So...Hypothesis gets two stars, and The Dragon gets four, hence my three star rating!"
