Chariots Of Fire

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-09-02 rating:
Outstanding with the film alongside
This CD was excellent first-time round, but now digitally remastered, it is even better sounding. Vangelis is a genius - no argument. Chariots of Fire will always remain his most commercial output.

"Titles" is the main familiar theme. "Five Circles" is well known as well, having been added to compilation CDs. This CD is a soundtrack and nothing else but there are some ommissions from the film, for instance "Hymn" was used in the film but doesn't appear on the CD. "Hymn" can be found on a 1970s recording "Opera Sauvage" which is now available also on CD and is recommended. Watching the film recently, I chanced on hearing Vangelis calling on previous recordings and experiments. In "Abraham's Theme" I can hear "Reve" again from "Opera Sauvage". The main sequence track here is a 20mins "Chariots of Fire" and indeed there are influences from his previous recordings of "Heaven and Hell", "L'Apocalypse des Animaux", "Spiral" and "Beaubourg". Nonetheless, this 20min track is outstanding and often was not played when a vinyl - originally it was side two of the vinyl.

To really appreciate this CD, you really do need to see the film and understand the characters involved and each of their stories. The film is now available on a special 2-disk DVD. I believe the film is one of the greatest british films ever made and the soundtrack is a Vangelis masterpiece without question. It is timeless and certainly enhanced in this new CD 25th anniversary pressing.

Finally, I disagree that the main theme has become dated and over used. It can never be said as dated. There are other Vangelis recordings that perhaps sound far deeper and enlightening, but the main theme is exceptional and one can never grow tired of hearing it - I say PLAY IT LOUD and really hear Vangelis for all his worth. May I also suggest that you buy MYTHODEA on DVD and really see the great man in action - the MYTHODEA DVD has a live exclusive version of Vangelis playing the main theme from Chariots of Fire... simply brilliant!

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review by: date: 2008-08-15 rating:
Chariots of Fire is stunning and brilliant.
They don't call Vangelis the keyboard wizard for nothing. This album only emphasizes that he is. Baring in mind this 25th Special Edition of the 1981 Oscar winning soundtrack was digitally remastered by Vangelis himself.

There are some terrific tracks on this album. For example we kick off with "Titles" which is the theme everyone is familiar with. In between we have "Five Circles", "Eric's Theme" and the epic closing track "Chariots of Fire" which goes on for 20 minutes 41 seconds. In fact I found the whole album extremely enjoyable and an incredible edition to any CD collection.

I think that Vangelis is the master of the keyboards and the synthesizer. The sounds that he's able to produce on them is astonishing. For example, on this album he conjures up trumpets, piano, strings and the odd percussion. Also he creates sounds of wind noise and bell sounds on the closing track along with added percussion. What an album.


review by: date: 2007-07-31 rating:
An interesting soundtrack despite the overfamiliar main theme
With his album "Chariots of Fire", Vangelis hit the big time. The 1981 film for which the music was composed was enormously successful and exposed the composer to a large new audience. It also won him an Academy Award for Original Music Score.

The main theme, named "Titles" on the CD, has subsequently been used in many films and documentaries to the point of becoming a cliché. I must admit I don't get much pleasure from it these days. I think the main themes from soundtracks such as "Blade Runner" or "Antarctica" have lasted much better.

The second track, "Circles", is a very elegant piece with a hint of sadness about it. The next two tracks, "Abraham's Theme" and "Eric's Theme" represent the two British runners, the first theme sounding somewhat dreamy, the second more obviously aspiring, with a suggestion of "Amazing Grace" in the melody.

The track "100 Metres" harks back to the experimental side that Vangelis showed in albums such as "Beaubourg". A complete contrast is provided by the following track, an arrangement of Parry's "Jerusalem".

The final track, entitled "Chariots of Fire", is one Vangelis's most unusual compositions. Lasting 21 minutes, and sometimes sounding like a piano concerto, it is in turn wistful, dramatic and beautiful. In my opinion, it's the best reason for buying the album.

Altogether, the music for "Chariots of Fire" is variable in quality, but well worth exploring if you're predisposed to Vangelis's style.

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