The Friends Of Mr Cairo

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-02-15 rating:
an exceptional collaboration
Since this album first came out well over 25 years ago - I was in Hong Kong at the time and remember buying the cassette in a little record shop in Wanchai - it has always been right at the top of my all-time favourites list, which for me is saying something considering my enjoyment of a number of different genres. br / br /The first track, I'll Find My Way Home, is full of positivity about the search for meaning and the benevolence of life, and slides effortlessly into the epiphanic and extremely dynamic State of Independence. These two tracks have been included in a number of Vangelis compilations and as a result have tended to overshadow the next two equally hypnotic songs, Beside and The Mayflower, the last of which features the mimicry talents of one David Coker, as does the title track, the extraordinarily creative and original Friends of Mr Cairo, with its changing melodies and sublime lyrics that weave between mystical experience and the appreciation of old films. Here's a sample from towards the end of the 12 minute track: br / br /Did you see in the morning light? br /I really talked, yes I did, to that early dawning light, br /And I was privileged to be as I am to this day, br /To be with you, to be with you, to be with you, to be with you... br / br /After that comes what for me is the low point of the album, the rocky and rather out of place Back to School. Perhaps the lads felt a ballast was needed after what had come before. But the last song, Outside of This (Inside of That) brings back the sublime and hopeful mystical feeling that characterises the bulk of the album. br / br /Of the four Jon and Vangelis albums this is probably the most impressive, though others might disagree - certainly it is the most consistently excellent and shows both the highly original Jon Anderson and the magnificently gifted Vangelis Papathanassiou at their brilliant best. br /

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review by: date: 2007-05-15 rating:
A Life-Long Friend of Mr Cairo
If I was still young enough to worry about things such as a list of my top 10 favourite Albums, this would be on it. br / br /Anderson's voice is perfect for Vangelis music - neither seem as good without the other - both having a quality that allows you to drift off while at the same time being led in a certain direction. I played this to death when it came out 20 years ago and now the CD stays in the car, played over and over on long journeys. br / br /The only bad thing is the cover artwork - never was an album so let down by the image portrayed. br /

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review by: duncanmatty date: 2006-11-04 rating:
Sublime oddness
This has long been one of my favourite albums - it's odd that it's so unknown, but then I guess the lead singer of hippy group Yes and a beardy Greek keyboard wizard don't make the most fashionable team-up. The album sounds like nothing else - ambient, futuristic, new age, but strangely old-fashioned. If you are more interested in what you are listening to than the fashion implications, then I thoroughly recommend you check it out.

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review by: date: 2004-07-24 rating:
Accept no imations
The original and by far the superior version of State of Indepedence, if anybody says didnt Donna Summer do that, you have my permission to slap them sensless.pCheers TabrJap


review by: date: 2000-10-07 rating:
The classic Jon and Vangelis album.
At the time when this LP was first released, Jon and Vangelis were regarded as desperately unfashionable by the knowing music press. However, despite their dislike of the duo, many music journalists (working on, for example, Smash Hits) reluctantly conceded that here was an album of instantaneous classics which also had the likelihood of real staying power. And so it has proved. Two decades on, and The Friends of Mr Cairo enjoys potent longevity, continuing to mesmerise with its imaginative song writing, its seductive and luscious instrumentation, care of Vangelis, and the extraordinary vocal athleticism of Jon Anderson. All the songs are lyrical and evocative. Some, particularly the title track, aspire to moments of real audial beauty and purity. Few albums are consistently moving and transporting. This one, in its affirmatory celebration of love, memory, and identity, is a glorious exception.

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