FEATURED CD - Jon And Vangelis : Page Of Life

[Duncan Glenday]

Per Allmusic :

Vocalist Jon Anderson and master synthesist/composer Vangelis draw upon their legendary individual histories and more than two decades of classic collaborations to create this very spiritual and musical synergy, which combines elements of rock, classical, symphonic, jazz, soul, electronic new age, and worldbeat. Best known, respectively, as the lead singer of Yes and the Oscar-winning composer of "Chariots of Fire," the duo has released several extraordinary tandem recordings over the years, beginning with the 1976 album Olias of Sunhillow. This is the sixth of the series, and was originally released in 1991, though until Omtown's release, it was only available as an import. Page of Life offers clever social commentary and messages for world harmony in musical landscapes that allow amazing showcases for both Anderson's angelic vocals and Vangelis' multifaceted synth textures. Ballads like the hypnotic "Garden of Senses," the whimsical and elegant "Is It Love," and sweeping piano/vocal duet "Anyone Can Light a Candle" find Anderson at his most passionate and romantic. The one previously unreleased track is "Change We Must," a march-like number that functions as a statement of purpose.

http://www.allmusic.com/album/page-of-life-mw0000033794

[Progtopia]

A good release, although I wouldn't put it on the same level as their earlier work.

[bob_32_116]

Haven't heard this release. I really liked the first two J&V albums, but I kind of lost interest after Private Collection. Not that that didn't have some fine songs, but I thought it was all starting to get a bit samey.

[Oreb]

I think each J & V album has been a significant step-down from the one preceding it. Short Stories is just splendid - strange, quirky and often grand without being pompous: a real achievement.

None of the others did much for me (although I do think 'The Mayflower' on Mr. Cairo is the single most beautiful thing they did together) and this is probably the weakest of the lot.

[yesstiles]

I like this album, but hate the track "Money."

[happytheman]

Someone fill me in on "which" release is the better.. I've read over the years that Jon and Vangelis had a parting of ways over this release.. I've seen two separate offerings.. is one better? Import vs. U.S release..?
Page of life 1.jpgPage of life 2.jpg

[battema]

Technically, I believe Vangelis only ever approved of the original one (the one with the white-ish cover)...the other was released by Mr. Anderson sans input from Vangelis.

Both have tracks that the other doesn't...personally, I prefer the original.

Neither one would qualify as their finest hour though. Very pretty in places, but also very mellow and not terribly adventurous.

Just my $0.02.

[Brian Griffin]

Both have tracks that the other doesn't...personally, I prefer the original.

I have three titles in my collection on my music server:

Page of Life
Page of Life (Omtown)
Another Page of Life

No idea on the "genesis" of the later two, and they are buried "in too deep" to dig the CD's themselves out - they've been ripped, filed, and boxed

BG

[battema]

I have three titles in my collection on my music server:

Page of Life
Page of Life (Omtown)
Another Page of Life

No idea on the "genesis" of the later two, and they are buried "in too deep" to dig the CD's themselves out - they've been ripped, filed, and boxed

BG

My guess is the first is the original, the OMTown I believe was the one Mr. Anderson did without cooperating with Vangelis (if memory serves, OMTown was the label)...the last might be something else? A boot or maybe something from one of those Anderson solo box things?

[chalkpie]

Never heard it. Quite not possibly my favorite album of all time.

[battema]

Never heard it. Quite not possibly my favorite album of all time.

Aaaand we're done here

[Staun]

Haven't heard this release. I really liked the first two J&V albums, but I kind of lost interest after Private Collection. Not that that didn't have some fine songs, but I thought it was all starting to get a bit samey.

Same here. I like movie sound tracks and have always wanted to hear all of The Bounty. Some parts of it sound really interesting.

[2steves]

Jon and Vangelis were a good combination--not all great but good---too bad Vangelis hates Jon and hasn't spoken to him for many years ---would be a perfect time to revisit this material live once the Ponty thing falls apart.

[battema]

Jon and Vangelis were a good combination--not all great but good---too bad Vangelis hates Jon and hasn't spoken to him for many years ---would be a perfect time to revisit this material live once the Ponty thing falls apart.

Just a personal ask...plenty of threads already covering the APB thing. Maybe we can dodge that black hole in this one?

Vangelis rarely performs anymore...and I think he prefers more symphonic works nowadays. It would be interesting to hear the two of them tackle one of those more orchestral-type works.

A shame they had a falling out; the early albums in particular were quite enjoyable to me.

[Scott Bails]

Technically, I believe Vangelis only ever approved of the original one (the one with the white-ish cover)...the other was released by Mr. Anderson sans input from Vangelis.

Both have tracks that the other doesn't...personally, I prefer the original.

Neither one would qualify as their finest hour though. Very pretty in places, but also very mellow and not terribly adventurous.

Just my $0.02.

Can't argue with any of this.

Interesting that the AllMusic entry calls Olias a Jon & Vangelis "tandem recording."

[TheLongshot]

I own a copy of this (The green cover). I got it on the cheap years ago, but I haven't listened to it much. Should probably revisit it and see if it still deserves to be in my collection.

[happytheman]

A shame they had a falling out; the early albums in particular were quite enjoyable to me.

Agree.. remember well hearing Jon's voice on the radio and wondering if it was part of a new Yes release only to hear the DJ say it was Jon and Vangelis.. Needless to say I hurried myself to my local record store and bought it straight away.. enjoyed Mr. Cairo and Private Collection as well..

[thos]

Page of Life has some beautiful moments but I'd agree it's a bit uneven. Not crazy about that fake sax sound Vangelis uses too.. and some of the canned drums.

I've only heard the original version (which is I believe the version in the youtube in this thread).

(In the Allmusic review above, the writer erroneously credits Olias as the beginning fo their collaboration, when in fact Vangelis wasn't on Olias, and their first piece together was on Vangelis' "So Long Ago So Clear" in 1975.)

[Fracktured]

Can't argue with any of this.

Interesting that the AllMusic entry calls Olias a Jon & Vangelis "tandem recording."

I had never heard of Jon working with Vangelis on Olias before about a year or so ago when it was mentioned on here. On the album I believe it states that Jon played all the instruments. I think it was mentioned that Vangelis tutored him because at the time Jon wasn't much of a musician. One could argue that he's still not much of a musician, but much better today than in the mid seventies.

[pmrviana]

One could argue that he's still not much of a musician, but much better today than in the mid seventies.

I really don't think so. One of the things that strikes me about the Yes QPR concert is how Jon is actually playing well above his usual standards. Instead of just strumming a few chords on an acoustic guitar, he's actually playing some melodies on an electric guitar (for example on the intro of To be Over), as well as some percussion (including toms and cymbals, and not just a tambourine). Of course he's not playing any of those particuarly well, but it's not bad either, and very effective for the parts he needed to play.

I can't imagine he doing any of that nowadays. Since the 80s with Yes, he wasn't even playing a lot of acoustic guitar either. Last time I saw him with Yes on the Ladder tour, he had his acoustic guitar turned off in the mix, and wasn't even pretending to be playing most of the time. In one of the songs, I remember he was just holding a G chord throughout the entire song...

He said in interviews that he had spent several months locked in a garage learning all the instruments for recording the Olias album, and I think the QPR concert really shows how proficient he got at the time. Unfortunatelly, he seems to have forgoten everything right after that...

[rickm]

... when in fact Vangelis wasn't on Olias...

I remember seen Vangelis being credited on Olias on the old vinyl.

[Paulrus]

I remember seen Vangelis being credited on Olias on the old vinyl.

As with the APB brouhaha can we also not dredge up the whole "Vangelis played on Olias" debate here?

As to the topic at hand, I've always been fond of this album, though I can see how others may not care for it. It's a way more modern sounding collection and I think Vangelis outshines Jon in general (the opposite of Private Collection, IMO).

There are some absolute gems on Page of Life. I always felt "Be A Good Friend of Mine" would have been a killer Yes track. What a shame that Jon's greed sabotaged the relationship.

[Scott Bails]

He said in interviews that he had spent several months locked in a garage learning all the instruments for recording the Olias album, and I think the QPR concert really shows how proficient he got at the time. Unfortunatelly, he seems to have forgoten everything right after that...

Which is why I'll never believe that he played everything on Olias. It just doesn't make sense.

There are some absolute gems on Page of Life. I always felt "Be A Good Friend of Mine" would have been a killer Yes track. What a shame that Jon's greed sabotaged the relationship.

Am I the only one who notices a pattern?

[rojon]

I remember seen Vangelis being credited on Olias on the old vinyl.

Vangelis is credited under the category of "for their energy" along with Martin Dean, Phil Carson and Donald Lehmkuhl and no one thinks they played on it. But in the midst of these non musician names is the name Vangelis and so for years this rumor persists, and all parties have only ever denied. Roger Dean is credited also for planting the seed, but no one thinks he did the album art.

Admittedly this steps into what seems to be a mystery for fans, what role did Jon play in the creation of Yesmusic? In a well known, high profile Rolling Stone article of the 70's, Rick said, “Jon and I come from totally different musical backgrounds, you see. I had a thorough musical upbringing which began when I was an infant. Jon hasn’t had a day of musical training in his life, but he has this incredibly artistic brain. He’s got a lot of the artistic moods and ideas that I know there’s a lot of 20th century composers who’ve been thoroughly schooled would give their right arms for. It’s amazing.”

In discussing the making of Relayer, Patrick said, "We all participated in the compositions and the final arrangements, even if most of the “songs” were originally composed somewhat more by Jon..."


So back to Olias, the same "for their energy" category does include the names Steve, Alan, Chris, Patrick and Vangelis. Do they all play? Is this a superYes album with two keyboardists? Do you hear Steve sounding guitar? Or Chris sounding bass? So, obviously "energy" would refer to help and/or inspiration.

--


http://www.theuncool.com/journalism/rs136-yes/
http://dmme.net/interviews/moraz.html

[yesstiles]

Jon lived and breathed the Olias album for months in solitary mania. It consumed him, and except for his last gasp at creating something transcendent with Yes for "Awaken," Anderson seemed to be drained of his drive to shake the world forever after it.