Bladerunner 2 ?
I agree that this album does have a somewhat strong resemblance to the soundtrack of Bladerunner; It could pass as a continuance to Bladerunner, if not, as an alternate soundtrack to the one already available. The music is very ethereal and dreamy that can put one in a sort of meditative floating state until you hit the tracks Nerve Centre and Procession ( equally inspiring and hypnotic).I remember going into used c.d. shops and seeing plenty of copies of this Vangelis album for sale. It made me wonder why so many copies. I bought it anyway and was not disappointed !After the first few plays I really grew fond of it. From the lush synthesized instrumentation to the guest vocals/dialogue of director Roman Polanski and his wife Emanuelle to the other choruses and vocals, this makes for one great atmospheric and ambient album. I often play this one along with the BladeRunner and Enigma MCMXC a.D. c.d.s. The City is not Vangelis' best work; However, it definitely is not his worst. The album as a whole is rather enjoyable for a casual listen or two for relaxing purposes.
An experimental work, pioneering the his later masterpieces.
The City is an experiment stirred by a strong inspiration during Vangelis' Rome trip. In this album, without any abstract atmosphere, it's easy to understand what he tries to imply through his music, or, we shall say, his "sound". It's rather "sound" than "music" in this album. For example, the Japanese festival chant is picked as an important mixture in the 7th track.
Vangelis tells a simple story about the daily routine of a city. A prototype of his later works, "1492: Conquest of Paradise" and "Blade Runner" is found in the scheme he arranges.(Though Blade Runner is composed earlier, the arranged album is released later, containing Vangelis' perspective. The same to 1492, the arrangement of tracks in this album tells a whole story of Blade Runner in Vangelis' own cognition)
I think this album is a must-have for Vangelis fans, because it has the rudimental essence of the great works Vangelis released later. Beside this, it's easy-to-understanding musical vocabularies doesn't make it worth buying one to reserve. It lacks in dramatical or philosphical depth to taste for many times; somewhat like Tchaikovsky's "Capriccio italien". Someone may find something intresting, but not everyone, I think. Better recommended to those who are familiar with, and intrested in Vangelis.
The City
The City~ Vangelis is a strange, amazing and astounding album from one of the masters of the 20th century. The City is not his most mainstream album and that is good since it shows a man that cares more for art for arts sake then to sell many albums. 5/5.
A Tour Of The City or the Future...
While there have been many comparisons and similarities to Vangelis' Blade Runner soundtrack, one essential ingredient to The City is it's dream-like musical realm. The first track Dawn can be an alternate take of the opening city sequence of the film BladeRunner. However, on careful listening it takes on a soothing dreamscape ambiance. The track Morning Papers is a repetitive yet smooth background jazz laden number that echoes both a casual stroll throughout the city and yet propels the listener into a futuristic night club or jazz lounge. This work by Vangelis is both moody and tame with underlying tones of melancholy machinations. With a song like Twilight you can almost feel the chill in the air and the different odors or scents associated with a city that is winding down for the night. The best track is Good To See You with its hypnotic sound and female dialogue...This is one mellow Vangelis title of the touring mind not to be missed !
Masterpiece
Vangelis is special, not for all those pioneering elentronic works he created over the years but because he expressed his character by rejecting the modern computerized way of composing, declining the soft-synths and putting his faith on his old Yamaha synth. He even, gave up electronic music and turned into classical - a pathetic way of expressing his emotions againist Cut&Paste%Timestrecthing on CD samples.
He likes to touch the keys, enjoys the moment of true hardware creation experiment..and 'The City', underrated by the time it was released, is I think the major album by which you can understand Vangelis' mood of patience and elite choice of ambient soundscapes.
I listened all of his work (except a few collector albums that's hard to find like 'Sex Power') through my childhood to help me in tutoring how to compose digitally, and I can easily say 'The City' is one of the best amongst them.
So how does 'The City' sound like? As a concept, 'The City' is like a short story narrating several instances of an ordinary city from morning to night time including simple conversations of a man (Roman Polanski) buying a sandwitch from a buffet, or a woman (about 30 years old) talking with his boyfriend on telephone..step voices, small motorcycle samples, coins etc.
Those samples provide a very imaginative atmosphere of an (alien) city, I use the word alien because the album was recorded in an hotel room in Rome, and I think Vangelis felt the charm of being in an unfamiliar surrounding, and even I dare to think that this album was recorded mainly in nighttime.
On the other hand, the music without samples is extraordinary too, we are here presented the sounds of digital synthesizers with some detailed midi aoutomation. For instance there are distortion guitar sounds coming from a digital synth but used like percussion for backing the melody. Also the song named 'Nerve Center' includes again the distortion guitar sound but more interestingly it uses a digital choir sound for leading and again digital emulation of an OBX like solo synth -- This kind of sound combination is very hard to find. Also in the begining tracks we are faced with solo cello and pipe sounds (I think a Shakuachi sample) which I've never seen used in such a way before.
Overall, the album is patient, and to fully understand the idea behind this record, you must also listen it, in a patient mood. Very extraordinary use of drums and electric basses (of course coming from digital synths) also gives the flavor of 'maturity' atmosphere flowing above.
I think Vangelis should go in this 'The City' direction of composing but he made the mistake of 'Conquest of Paradise' a commercial and the most invaluable record he has ever made..and lose his way..
I hope, he will one day, return making electronic music and should I wait for this day to come..
