L'Apocalypse des Animaux (album)

Infobox Album |
Name = L'Apocalypse des Animaux
Type = Album
Artist = Vangelis
Released = 1973
Recorded = Studio Europa Sonor
Paris, 1970
Genre = Electronic
Film score
Length = 35:00
Label = Polydor
Producer = Vangelis
Reviews =
Last album = "Fais que Ton Rêve Soit Plus Long que la Nuit"
(1972)
This album = "L'Apocalypse des Animaux"
(1973)
Next album = "Earth"
(1973)

"L'Apocalypse des Animaux" is a soundtrack album by Greek composer Vangelis which accompanied a documentary series about the animal kingdom, directed by Frédéric Rossif, and first broadcast on French TV in 1970.

Track listing

All tracks composed and arranged by Vangelis

#"Apocalypse des Animaux – Générique" – 1:25
#"La Petite Fille de la Mer" – 5:53
#"Le Singe Bleu" – 7:30
#"La Mort du Loup" – 3:00
#"L'Ours Musicien" – 1:00
#"Création du Monde" – 9:51
#"La Mer Recommencée" – 5:55

Overview

This album is one of Vangelis' very earliest works, recorded whilst still a member of progressive rock band Aphrodite's Child. It also marks the first time that he collaborated with French director Frédéric Rossif on soundtracks relating to his TV documentary programmes.

Though the album itself was released in 1973, the music was recorded in 1970. In oppostion to the way he later recorded soundtrack music - watching the filmed material, then composing to it - in this instance he simply recorded a suite of generic tunes (based on the wildlife theme of the project, but not having access to it) and left it to the film editors to splice-in whatever they needed.

The documentary contains much more music than is available on the album, a common theme with Vangelis soundtracks.

The music belongs to a period in which Vangelis was very prolific, and willing to experiment with technology and styles. Not only was he still part of a band, and collaborating with a variety of artists, but he had also created a soundtrack to the "adult" movie [http://www.vangelismovements.com/sexpoweralbum.htm "Sex power"] and completed two solo albums, "Hypothesis" and [http://www.vangelismovements.com/thedragon.htm "The Dragon] .

Musically, the album is extremely melodic, with a minimum of rhythm-based compositions. The long, flowing lines of the major pieces are a precursor of ambient, and feature a style that became known as "cosmic", a variant of drone music. Most of the Krautrock artists also dabbled in this musical style.

Personnel

*Vangelis - keyboards
*Didier Pitois - sound engineer
*Tony Kent - photography

Trivia

*Jon Anderson, lead vocalist of progressive rock group Yes was so intrigued by the album that he decided to visit Vangelis, which began their fruitful working relationship [http://www.elsew.com/data/trivia.htm 1] .
*The album is called "El Apocalipsis de los Animales" in Argentina.
*Some LP pressings show "Création du Monde" as having a track-time of 17:45, which is incorrect.
* "La Petite Fille de la Mer" appeared on the soundtrack of Stranger than Fiction, and although it was heard in episodes of the Japanese drama "Watashitachi no Kyokasho" (Our Textbook), the song was not included on its soundtrack.

The TV Documentary

The series consisted of six episodes, each lasting 50 minutes:
#De l'Abeille au Gorille (From Bee to Gorilla)
#Les Animaux et les Hommes (Animals and Humans)
#Une Mémoire d'Elephant (Elephant's Memory)
#Traquer le Chasseur (Chasing the Hunter)
#La Peur du Loup (Fear of the Wolf)
#L'Enfant et la Mer (The Child and the Sea)

Album Versions

Polydor, LP, 2393-058
Polydor, CD, 831503-2
Telewestel, CD, EUCD0004 (Hungary)
Polydor, CD, P22P20303 (Japan)

External links

* [http://www.vangelismovements.com/apocalypsedesanimauxalbum.htm 'Vangelis Movements' album entry]
* [http://www.vangelismovements.com/apocalypsedesanimauxmovie.htm 'Vangelis Movements' documentary entry]
* [http://vangeliscollector.com/vangelis_lapocalypse.htm 'Vangelis Collector' album entry]
* [http://vangeliscollector.com/movies_ladfr.htm 'Vangelis Collector' documentary entry]
* [http://www.koert.com/data/albums3.htm 'Elsewhere' entry]
* [http://www.progarchives.com/Progressive_rock_discography_CD.asp?cd_id=7566 'ProgArchives' review - Rating|4|5]