The band's first two albums, End of the World and It's Five O'Clock, combined a very '60s sounding Euro-pop-rock with Greek folk music elements. The former album featured the song "Rain and Tears", a reworking of Pachelbel's Canon in D major. The song was a minor hit in the United Kingdom, but did far better in France, where the band was based, as well as the rest of Europe. Other European hits included "Marie Jolie", "I Want to Live", and "Spring, Summer, Winter, and Fall" from 1969 and 1970 respectively.
The band began to record their crowning achievement in 1970: a musical adaptation of the biblical Book of Revelations, entitled 666 - The Apocalypse of St. John. Relations between Roussos, Vangelis and Sideras were not good at the time, and continued to worsen before the album's creation. However, the group was contractually obligated to release a third album, and went into the studio in 1970 to create 666.
Essentially, 666 was Vangelis' concept, created with an outside lyricist, Costas Ferris. The music that Vangelis was creating for 666 was much more psychedelic and progressive rock oriented than anything the band had done before. This did not sit well with the other band members, who wished to continue in the pop direction that had brought them success. Further, Roussos was being groomed for a solo career, and pressure from the record company for the band to produce another hit single did not help. In essence, the band broke up during the completion of 666. Vangelis finished the album primarily on his own with assistance from studio musicians.
Immediately afterwards, Vangelis engaged in a long fight with Mercury over the content of the album. The record company, in particular, objected to the song "∞" (infinity), which consisted of actress Irene Papas chanting the words "I was, I am, I am to come" in various stages of orgiastic ecstasy, while Vangelis accompanied her on percussion. However, the double-album length of 666 and the musical experimentation, as well as the subject matter, also exacerbated Mercury's ire. After Roussos and Sideras had already embarked on solo careers, Mercury finally agreed to release 666 two years after its completion, and it came out in 1972.
Strangely enough, 666 was the only Aphrodite's Child album to make any impact in America. The blood-red cover with the letters 666 prominently displayed in black and white was striking, and brought immediate accusations of occultism from various quarters. Any suspicions of occultism could be dispersed by simply reading the lyrics, which were fairly faithfully based around the Book of Revelations, but the accusations undoubtedly helped sell the album in the United States. The album met with less controversy overseas and sold reasonably well on its own merits.
The music itself was an impressive display of Vangelis' abilities, combining psychedelic and progressive rock with ethnic instruments, choral chanting, recitations, and very advanced use of synthesizers and keyboards for the time. In time the album became recognized as one of the most important early progressive rock works, and a defining example of the concept album. 666 also made Vangelis an underground name to watch, and earned him an offer from Jon Anderson to join Yes. Vangelis turned down the offer in order to concentrate on a solo career. However, he and Anderson later created several duet albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
After the band split, both Vangelis and Demis Roussos pursued successful solo careers, Roussos as a pop singer and Vangelis as one of the pioneers in progressive electronic music. Kolouris worked with both on occasion. Lucas Sideras pursued a less successful solo career, releasing the single "Rising Sun" after the break-up.
Discography
End of the World (1968)
It's Five O'Clock (1969)
666 (The Apocalypse Of John,13/18) (1971)
Best Of Aphrodite's Child (1980)
Aphrodite's Child's Greatest Hits (1995)
The Complete Collection (Aphrodite's Child) (1996)
Babylon the Great (2002)
Song Highlights:
"Four Horsemen", from the album 666, was a minor hit on FM radio in the United States, receiving AOR airplay to this day. "Babylon", from the same album, was released as a single, and found similar acceptance on AOR radio in the 1970's. "Hic and Nunc" and "Break", from the same album, were also tried out as singles but did not chart well at the time.
"Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall" - the final single before the release of 666 and the last of the band's singles to chart significantly in their European home base.
"Rain and Tears" - based on Pachelbel's Canon in D major, this song was probably their biggest hit as a single release.
"It's Five o Clock" and "Such a Funny Night" also charted in Europe. All of the above songs can be found on various compilation/greatest hits discs. The band's singles were aimed squarely at the pop market, and do not bear any significant resemblance to the music on 666.
Rain and Tears
Aphrodite's Child Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But in the sun you've got to play the game
When you cry
In winter time
You can pretend
It's nothing but the rain
Tears coming from your blue eyes
Rain and tears, are the same
But in the sun
You've got to play the game
Give me an answer, love (oh)
I need an answer, love (oh)
Rain and tears in the sun
But in your heart
You feel the rainbow waves
Rain and tears
Both I shun
For in my heart there 'll never be a sun
Rain and tears, are the same
But in the sun
You've got to play the game
Game
The lyrics of Aphrodite's Child's song Rain and Tears describe the commonality of feelings, both happy and sad. Rain and tears are both symbols of sadness, but in the sun, where things are looking up, one needs to play along with life's natural game. The song suggests that we have to learn to show off our happy faces in good times and put up a brave front when the cards are down.
The lyrics go on to talk about the persona's blue-eyed lover; they've seen her cry multiple times, and even in the winter, they can barely tell tears from rain. In the last stanza, the persona expresses their constant sadness, how both rain and tears are things they avoid intentionally for there might never be a sun in their heart.
Overall, Rain and Tears lyrics suggest the need to feel our emotions and be authentic, in the spirit of the manifestation of the expression of life's emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
Rain and tears are the same
Both rain and tears bring about sadness and sorrow
But in the sun you've got to play the game
In happier times, you need to put on a façade and pretend everything is fine
When you cry
When you experience sadness and pain
In winter time
During times of hardship and difficulty
You can pretend
You can hide your true emotions
It's nothing but the rain
You can tell yourself it's just a passing struggle
How many times I've seen
I have witnessed numerous occasions
Tears coming from your blue eyes
You have cried many tears of sadness
Give me an answer, love (oh)
I need to know the truth from you
I need an answer, love (oh)
I am desperate for honesty from you
Rain and tears in the sun
Even in good times, there can be moments of sadness
But in your heart
Deep down inside you
You feel the rainbow waves
You feel the ups and downs of life
Rain and tears, both I shun
I hate both sadness and sorrow
For in my heart there 'll never be a sun
I will never truly be happy
But in the sun, you've got to play the game
But in good times, you still have to pretend everything is fine
Game
Life is a game with many ups and downs
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: EVANGELOS PAPATHANASSIOU, GERARD BERGMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
elena curà
Rain and tears, are the same
But in the sun
You've got to play the game
When you cry
In winter time
You can pretend
It's nothing but the rain
How many times I've seen
Tears coming from your blue eyes
Rain and tears, are the same
But in the sun
You've got to play the game
Give me an answer of love
(O----ooohhh)
I need an answer of love
(O----ooohhh)
Rain and tears, in the sun
But in your heart
You feel the rainbow waves
Rain and tears
Both I shun
For in my heart there 'll never be a sun
Rain and tears, are the same
But in the sun
You've got to play the game
Game ... I was so little...
Robbie
RIP, Vangelis. Thank you for so many magical moments. One of the most talented musicians of our era.
Annarita Mrn
❤️
Nasreddine Gritli
<3
Daniella de groote
@Annarita Mrn apffjrditis child and dmis roussos..........jon vangelis??
Miki van Duyn
@Armin Hardcore none of your bussiness...
its about the song..
Ελένη Καλλιγέρου
Don't forget Demis Roussos!
Lurdes Andreu
Banda maravilhosa ,música simplesmente belíssima,.Quem concorda da um joinha kkk🥰🥰🥰
Zetty Lima
Concordo. Uma das minhas músicas preferidas.😍🥰
Vlad Rio
Existem canções memoráveis e marcantes. E essa, ficará para a eternidade!
José Silva
Entre as cinco musicas mais belas de todos os tempos em minha opiniao .. Quem concorda comigo dá um like.