Jon & Vangelis - Short Stories Review by Dave Connolly Jon Anderson's first… Read Full Bio ↴Jon & Vangelis - Short Stories
Review by Dave Connolly
Jon Anderson's first project following his departure from Yes was to reunite with the equally airy Vangelis for a collaborative effort as Jon and Vangelis. Short Stories actually marks their second collaboration -- the first took place on Vangelis' 1975 album, Heaven and Hell, with the track "So Long Ago, So Clear." The pair returns to that song's successful formula of combining Anderson's otherworldly voice with Vangelis' pithy melodies in a few spots on their debut together, notably for the popular single "I Hear You Now" (which recalls Vangelis' "To the Unknown Man") and the middle section of "Far Away in Bagaad." Otherwise, Short Stories favors amorphous arrangements that feature wisps of melody and little more (a style that has its precedent on Yes' Tormato rather than their own solo work to date). The effect can be, frankly, underwhelming -- "Curious Electric" and "Each and Everyday," for example, seem content to settle for the happy accidents of collaboration rather than fusing their individual sounds into a cohesive whole. Despite a handful of nearly memorable moments, including the playful "Thunder" and the charming "Love Is/One More Time," the pair would have had more success sticking to their established idioms -- after all, China and Olias of Sunhillow were good albums -- rather than trying to meet in some equidistant, ethereal plane. Given the record's paper-thin arrangements, an appreciation for the music of Vangelis and Jon Anderson is no guarantee that Short Stories will please.
Credits
Jon Anderson - Vocals
Alwyn Clayden - Artwork, Graphic Design
Minoru Harada - Product Manager
Raphael Preston - Guitar (Acoustic), Engineer
Veronique Skawinska - Photography
Hitoshi Takiguchi - Mastering Engineer
Kiyoshi Tokiwa - Artwork
Vangelis - Synthesizer, Arranger, Keyboards, Multi Instruments, Producer, Design, Cover Design, Instrumentation
Chart & Awards
1980 - I Hear You Now - The Billboard Hot 100 - Peak 58
1980 - Short Stories - The Billboard 200 - Peak 125
Chart information courtesy of Billboard.com © 2006 VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.
Review by Dave Connolly
Jon Anderson's first project following his departure from Yes was to reunite with the equally airy Vangelis for a collaborative effort as Jon and Vangelis. Short Stories actually marks their second collaboration -- the first took place on Vangelis' 1975 album, Heaven and Hell, with the track "So Long Ago, So Clear." The pair returns to that song's successful formula of combining Anderson's otherworldly voice with Vangelis' pithy melodies in a few spots on their debut together, notably for the popular single "I Hear You Now" (which recalls Vangelis' "To the Unknown Man") and the middle section of "Far Away in Bagaad." Otherwise, Short Stories favors amorphous arrangements that feature wisps of melody and little more (a style that has its precedent on Yes' Tormato rather than their own solo work to date). The effect can be, frankly, underwhelming -- "Curious Electric" and "Each and Everyday," for example, seem content to settle for the happy accidents of collaboration rather than fusing their individual sounds into a cohesive whole. Despite a handful of nearly memorable moments, including the playful "Thunder" and the charming "Love Is/One More Time," the pair would have had more success sticking to their established idioms -- after all, China and Olias of Sunhillow were good albums -- rather than trying to meet in some equidistant, ethereal plane. Given the record's paper-thin arrangements, an appreciation for the music of Vangelis and Jon Anderson is no guarantee that Short Stories will please.
Credits
Jon Anderson - Vocals
Alwyn Clayden - Artwork, Graphic Design
Minoru Harada - Product Manager
Raphael Preston - Guitar (Acoustic), Engineer
Veronique Skawinska - Photography
Hitoshi Takiguchi - Mastering Engineer
Kiyoshi Tokiwa - Artwork
Vangelis - Synthesizer, Arranger, Keyboards, Multi Instruments, Producer, Design, Cover Design, Instrumentation
Chart & Awards
1980 - I Hear You Now - The Billboard Hot 100 - Peak 58
1980 - Short Stories - The Billboard 200 - Peak 125
Chart information courtesy of Billboard.com © 2006 VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Short Stories
Jon & Vangelis Lyrics
A Play Within a Play You me, me you, when will we be, Love goes on,…
bird song Took a little love, walked through a garden Who can I…
Curious Electric Sitting here in the television Looking at the tube Sitting n…
Each and Everyday Each and everyday I time the waiting wind All the stars…
Far Away In Baagad T'was the dawn creation of the underworld Caves were born wi…
I Hear You Now After the first embrace from you my senses knew The look…
Love Is I will be here with you To find love is For your…
One More Time Out in the woods we play our songs And travel through…
The Road There's a road that takes me back There the light has…
Thunder Oh, sevens worth a say, like a lie, five and…
We also have lyrics for these tracks by Vangelis:
I Hear You Now After the first embrace from you my senses knew The look…
One More Time Out in the woods we play our songs And travel through…