Bring Me To Meet Your Sound And I Will Bring You To My Heart

Vangelis aka Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου, 29 March 1943 to 17 May 2022.

 

Sad news about the passing of another musical genius. I haven't trawled the blogosphere, but the main musical focus in the news reports - understandably - has been his ground-breaking film soundtracks for the likes of Blade Runner and Chariots Of Fire.

However, his 'pop' (or at least as close to 'pop' as Vangelis got) excursions with Jon Anderson are equally worth a mention, especially the majestic State Of Independence, which I first heard as an 11-year old in 1982 when Donna Summer's cover version was a UK Top 20 hit.

Fingers crossed that you also like the song, for here's a 40 minute Dubhed selection of choice versions, opening with Jon Anderson's "this one goes up to 11" live performance with Todmobile, full-on orchestral and in incredibly good voice. Along the way you get Moodswings' dance rework (twice) featuring Martin Luther King and Chrissie Hynde, the Donna Summer 'original' (& best), a bootleg remix of Jon & Vangelis and closing with the 1981 album version, complete with cheeky calypso outro.

Vangelis' music will endure.

 

1) State Of Independence (Live @ Eldborg Concert Hall, Reykjavik, Iceland, 15 November 2013): Todmobile & Jon Anderson (2013)

2) Spiritual High (The Moodfood Megamix): Moodswings ft. Martin Luther King (1991)

3) State Of Independence (DSD Balearic Mix By Sparky Deep Sound Design): Jon & Vangelis (2013)

4) State Of Independence (Long Version By Quincy Jones): Donna Summer (1982)

5) Spiritual High (State Of Independence) (Radio Edit): Moodswings ft. Chrissie Hynde & Martin Luther King (1992) 

6) State Of Independence (Album Version): Jon & Vangelis (1981) 

Forty Minutes Of State Of Independence (40:36)

A Pool Of Calm In A Sea Of Chaos

Side 1 of a mixtape, recorded sometime around 1997, featuring the music of Mark Pritchard & Tom Middleton aka Global Communication and Reload. Their remix of In Mind by Slowdive is memerising and a precursor to their similarly radical overhaul of Chapterhouse's Blood Music album the same year. The selection closes with the transformative Ob-Selon Mi-Nos By Mystic Institute aka Mark Pritchard & Paul Kent, which itself transformed into 14:31 by Global Communication on their seminal 1994 album, 76:14. This remix originally had a couple of minutes lopped off to squeeze the tracks onto one side of a cassette; this recreation features the full 15-minute version.

1) Amor Real (Remix By Global Communication): Jon Anderson ft. Milton Nascimento (1995)

2) In Mind (Reload Remix (The 147 Take)): Slowdive (1993)

3) Maiden Voyage (Original 8'07>5'23 Version): Global Communication (1994)

4) Le Soleil Et La Mer (Original Mix): Reload (1993)

5) Ob-Selon Mi-Nos (Re-Painted By Global Communication): Mystic Institute (1993)

1993: 5 EP: 2

1993: Auto Reload EP / A Collection Of Short Stories: 4

1993: The Cyberdon EP (Reload Remixes): 5

1994: Maiden Voyage EP: 3

1995: The Deseo Remixes: 1

Side One (47:14) (Box) (Mega)

Fragmentary Glimpses Of Eternity

A cosmic excursion, showcasing songs reconstructed by Brian Dougans and Gary Cobain aka The Amorphous Androgynous and The Future Sound Of London.

 

1) FSOL Deseo Reconstruction (Remix By The Future Sound Of London): Jon Anderson (1995)

2) AKA... What A Life! (The Amorphous Androgynous Remix): Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds (2012)

3) Edge Of The Universe (A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Remix By The Amorphous Androgynous): Syd Arthur (2014)

4) I Put A Spell On You (Yage Mix Long Version By The Future Sound Of London) (Cover of Screamin' Jay Hawkins): Bryan Ferry (1993)

5) Murdered & Downer (A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Remix By The Amorphous Androgynous) (Part II): The Kooks (2015)

6) Re:Evolution / Re-iteration (FSOL Mix By The Future Sound Of London): The Shamen ft. Terence McKenna (1993) 

 

Fragmentary Glimpses Of Eternity (55:55) (Box) (Mega)