Earth (album)

Infobox Album |
Name = Earth
Type = Album
Artist = Vangelis


Released = 1973
Recorded = Europa-Sonor studios,Paris
Genre = Electronica
Length = 38:47
Label = Vertigo, # 6499 693 (LP)
Producer = Vangelis O. Papathanassiou
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:369fs38ya3xg link]
Last album = "L'Apocalypse des Animaux"
(1973)
This album = "Earth"
(1973)
Next album = "Heaven and Hell"
(1975)

"Earth" is the first solo album by the Greek artist Vangelis, released in 1973. It is a prime example of the progressive rock of the day. In contrast to "Heaven and Hell" (1975) and some soundtracks by Vangelis from this period, "Earth" was not released on compact disc in the 1980s — it was not until 1996 that a CD version was made available, and then only in Greece.

Richelle Dassin wrote the lyrics.

In 1974 two left-over tracks from the recording sessions for "Earth" were issued as a single, on the WWA label: "Who", written by Fitoussi and Dassin on the A-side and featuring vocals by the former, and the instrumental "Sad Face", by Vangelis himself, on the B-side.

Track listing

# "Come on" - 2:09
# "We were all uprooted" – 6:51
# "Sunny Earth" - 6:41
# "He-O" - 4:12
# "Ritual" - 2:45
# "Let it Happen" - 4:19
# "The City" - 4:16
# "My Face in the Rain" – 4:23
# "Watch Out" - 3:02
# "A Song" - 3:28

Instruments

Vangelis plays synthesizers, Mellotron, a drum machine, percussion, provides background vocals, and various ethnic instruments (flute, tabla). Collaborating artists are Anargyros Koulouris (guitars, background vocals, and lute), Robert Fitoussi (bass, and lead vocals on tracks 1, 4, 6, and 8). He became known in the 1980s as F.R. David, when he made the hit single "Words". Warren Shapovitch provided the narration on the tracks "We Were All Uprooted" and "A song".

tyle

The album is a prime example of early-1970s progressive rock but offers some flash-forwards into New Age music, such as "We were all uprooted", with extensive use of the Mellotron. Ethnic influences also abound, such as the plucked string accompaniment to "He-O" and the distinctly Indian-sounding "Ritual".

Lyrics are abstract ("Let it happen"), absurd ("He-O") or lyrical ("My face in the rain", "A song"). Various vocalists appear; the main vocal parts on "He-O" and "Let it happen" are sung by a small all-male choir, while "My face in the rain" and "A song" are both with a tenor male vocal (Fitoussi).

Some critics see the album as a direct progression from the material he was doing with his band Aphrodite's Child. It wasn't until his subsequent releases that his electronic, instrumental style became dominant.

External links

* [http://www.engelen.demon.nl/earth.htm Lyrics]
* [http://www.vangelismovements.com/earth.htm 'Vangelis Movements' webpage entry]
* [http://elsew.com/data/albums3.htm 'Elsewhere' webpage entry]