Audio CD review:
Vangelis - Alexander

Vangelis - Alexander

Band: Vangelis Title: Alexander Rating: Release Date: 09 November, 2004 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Introduction 2: Young Alexander 3: Titans 4: The Drums Of Gaugamela 5: One Morning At Pella 6: Roxane's Dance 7: Eastern Path 8: Gardens Of Delight 9: Roxane's Veil 10: Bagoa's Dance 11: The Charge 12: Preparation 13: Across The Mountains 14: Chant 15: Immortality 16: Dream Of Babylon 17: Eternal Alexander 18: Tender Memories

Editoral Review The soundtrack by Greek synth-score pioneer Vangelis Papathanassiou may be bookended by heroic orchestral/choral pomp of suitable scale and melodic dignity, but they buttress a far more compelling cocktail of primitive martial rhythms ("Drums of Gaugamela") and ancient ethnic-folk conceits ("Roxanne's Dance"). Put the saga of history's greatest overachiever -- Macedonian emperor Alexander the Great had conquered 90% of the pre-Christian world before his death at 32 -- in the hands of Hollywood's favorite over-reacher, Oliver Stone, and the result is three-hours of epic blood 'n' bathos. Though his film scores have become increasingly rare since the twin breakthroughs of his Oscar-winning Chariots of Fire and the sci-fi masterpiece Bladerunner, his work here argues that Vangelis' restless curiosity and musical range have only blossomed in the ensuing decades. With the exception of the final, club-targeted bonus cut, gone are his once overt electronics, replaced by a more organic, post-modern sense of fusion that evinces itself seductively on cues like "One Morning at Pella" and "Eastern Path. " Elsewhere, cuts like "Across the Mountains" and "Tender Memories" are powered by Vangelis' trademark graceful lyricism, a trait that helps set this score apart from sword 'n' sandal contemporaries like Gladiator and Troy. --Jerry McCulley .. You can see a complete list of all Vangelis discography, or go back to the Vangelis tabs