Earth

a look at the music of Vangelis Papathanassiou

Introduction
1973 saw Vangelis working on all kinds of different projects, the most important one in the end leading up to the album "Earth". It was to be Vangelis' last album made in Paris, the year after he moved to London. "Earth" is said to be inspired by ancient (pre-Christian) Greek or Dorian music. The title is a reference to the primitive roots of the album.

It also appears that the album is the final result of a concept project that was initially titled "Charge". The project generated so much music that didn't make it into the final album. Songs such as "Friends", "The river", "Sunday in Central Park", "The witches are out " and "Passer by" which are included on the Spheric-list, for some reason didn't make the final cut and were never heard of again...

Working with Vangelis on his Earth-project are familiar names such as Argyris Koulouris, Robert Fitoussi and Richelle Dassin, who all worked with Vangelis on other projects that same year (see Miscellania-section below.

Tracklist

  1. Come on (Vangelis O. Papathanassiou)
  2. We were all uprooted (Vangelis O. Papathanassiou / Richelle Dassin)
  3. Sunny earth (Vangelis O. Papathanassiou)
  4. He-o (Argiris Koulouris / Richelle Dassin)
  5. Ritual (Vangelis O. Papathanassiou)
  6. Let it happen (Vangelis O. Papathanassiou / Richelle Dassin)
  7. The city (Vangelis O. Papathanassiou)
  8. My face in the rain (Vangelis O. Papathanassiou / Richelle Dassin)
  9. Watch out (Vangelis O. Papathanassiou)
  10. A song (Vangelis O. Papathanassiou / Richelle Dassin)

 

Credits
Arranged and produced by Vangelis O. Papathanassiou.
Lead and background vocals by Robert Fitoussi.
Background vocals by Vangelis O. Papathanassiou and Argiris Koulouris.
Narration on 'We were all uprooted' and 'Let it happen' by Warren Shapovitch.
Engineers: Roger Roche, Didier Pitois, Didier Périer

 

Discography

LP

1973 Vertigo 6499 693 France/Canada/Greece/Italy/Chile
1974 Vertigo VEL1019 (as "Vangelis O.")
1979 Vertigo BT-8109 Japan
1982 Mercury VAN 01 Canada (re-issue)
1982 Armando Curcio Editor SU-1031 Italy (re-issue)
 

CD
1996 Vertigo 532 783-2 Greece

Single
1973 Come on / He-o Vertigo 6032904 France

The German and Hungarian issued cd's are not official releases. The 7" single is a tough one to find!

Recording Studio
The music of this album is recorded at Europa Sonor Studio in Paris, France. This is the same studio where also "666" (Aphrodite's Child) and "Fais que ton reve soit plus long que la nuit" are recorded.

Miscelliania

bulletArgyris Koulouris is mostly known as the "fourth" member of Aphrodite's Child, who only made it just
in time to France to work on their last album "666". After that he also contributed to an obscure single
by "Alpha Beta" (1971), Vangelis' albums "The Dragon" (1971) and "See you later" (1980), as well as
Demis Roussos' album "Reflection" in 1984...
bulletRobert Fitoussi is mostly known for his contribution to this album, but in the same year he also wrote
the song "Who", which was first released in 1974 under the pseudonym "Odyssey"...
Robert and Vangelis met shortly after Vangelis broke up with Aphrodite's Child, in a record company
named "La Compagnie", where Vangelis had stocked all his equipment. Vangelis played something
and Robert sang to it, they started working together and became friends.
bulletRobert Fitoussi is more widely known as "F.R. David" who made fame with his hit single "Words" in 1981.
bulletRichelle Dassin as a lyricist also worked with Vangelis for the songs that Vangelis recorded with Melina Mercouri that same year.

Lyrics
For all the lyrics of this album, go to : Vangelis lyrics: Earth

 

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