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 (US/UK):
One great place to do research is online at national library sites.
One day, I took a look at the British
Library Sound Archive to see what
information they might have regarding Vangelis, in hopes that I might
find some new discovery. I sifted through about 1000 results, and
came up with one odd entry. There was a listing for a song titled
"Nuits D'amour" with Vangelis noted as the composer, and
the performer being listed as The Swingle Singers. At first, I
thought that it just could not be. I figured it must be an erroneous
input from whomever compiled this information. But there it was, and
when something is found like this, I immediately start searching
other places. I went to the official
website for The Swingle Singers, but that
was not helpful at all, although I learned that the group is world-reknown
for its vocal arrangements. I could not find any additional
information about the song, so I just jotted down the note in my log
and forgot about it, at least, for a little while. Then about three
months ago, I decided that the only way I could solve this mystery
would be to spend the money and find this LP. Of course, it is out of
print, and there is no CD release for this 1986 LP (that I know of).
I headed off to the internet and located a copy for 10 pounds. The
dollar is so weak at the moment that it cost a bit for this record. I
waited anxiously for the package to arrive from England. Would I find
a new song that Vangelis had quietly released? Finally, the LP
arrived and I quickly learned that I would not have a discovery of a
new song, but the discovery of a cover version of the Jon and
Vangelis track "Italian Song", retitled "Nuits
D'Amour." Sometimes, when researching, mysteries come up that
need solving, and I was happy to have solved this mystery. |
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(Portugal/France):
Vasco Oliveira from Portugal reminds me that in order to do good
research, sometimes it is necessary to leave the computer and go to
the library! Vasco recently pulled out reference material from
France, titled Catalogue de la
Production Cinématographique
for the years 1975 and 1976. Basically, this catalogue is a registry
of all film works registered in France for those given years,
including shorts and commercials. Vasco discovered some very
interesting material, of which I am highlighting here. Just click on
the camera icons to view the sections of text, photocopied directly
from the catalogues. First of all, I am amazed to learn that Vangelis
music was used for a series titled Les
Maries du Bout du Monde. Unfortunately, we
do not know from this text whether or not it is music created
exclusively for the series, or if it is previously-released music. In
examining the text for these, however, it appears they may have
originally been filmed in 1969, making it unlikely that this is
previously-recorded music. If only we could find some more out about
this series. Perhaps as you read this, you will have some more
information! There is also a Frederic Rossif show titled "Semaine
de Cowes", from the series Le Mer
Cette Aventure and a notation of an episode
of L'Opera
Sauvage, titled "La Passion du
Souvenir." Finally, there are two commericals noted for Guerlain
and for Mercedes Benz. Click the icons and read the text yourself! |
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 Au
Royaume de Tsiam les Kalash |
Les
Kouchi Nomades du Toit du Monde |
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Mariage
de Maharadja au Palais des Vents |
Semaine
des Cowes |
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La
Passion du Souvenir |
L'Opera
Sauvage |
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Guerlain |
Mercedes
Benz |
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If
you have some information that you want to share in this forum,
please write to me!
I am always happy to talk with other collectors and expand on our
knowledge about Vangelis! |
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(Greece):
I have been having an ongoing discussion with Andreas Rallis from
Greece about Vangelis collectibles there. It is simply a wonderful
country for Vangelis collectibles. His career started there. His
earliest records are to be found there. It is his historical
beginning, his birthplace. So I am always happy to research there in
Greece, and I admit that just when I think I know something about
what is to be found there, I am contacted by somebody like Andreas
who has a few things to teach me. The first thing I learned from
Andreas has to do with the first Aphrodite's Child single released in
Greece, "Rain and Tears/Don't Try To Catch A River". It was
initially released in a picture sleeve, but what I did not know is
that there were two pressings of this single in '68 as evidenced by
the two above-left label images. I surmised that the one on the far
left is the first issue, as it uses the old-style Mercury logo, while
the second image uses the re-designed logo. (correction)
Andreas indicates that is correct. Andreas also talked about the
single by George Romanos, TO
ROLOI/MARINA,
which as you may or may not know, involves Aphrodite's Child before
they were known as Aphrodite's Child, performing as the band on this
single. I had known about the coloured vinyl version of this record.
You can tell that the copy (2nd image from right) has a clean large
center hole and does not have a built-in center insert (like the
Aphrodite's Child singles above). As far as I knew, that was the only
way this single was made available. Andreas informs me that there is
indeed a version of this single with the built-in center insert.
Sadly, the copy he owns has the center insert pushed out! But if you
examine the image on the far right, you will notice that there are
four indentations around the center hole, which is where the center
insert used to be attached. He will keep searching for a copy, and
now, so will I. Lastly, Andreas forwarded to me a rare mis-spelling
of the huge Greek hit by The Forminx for "Jeronimo Yanka",
but mis-spelled as "Yeronimo
Yanka", as noted below. Now that is a cool find! I am sure that
Andreas and I will continue to have these discussions about the old
Greek records and we will report back here next time around.
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And
now, my readers, I present a mystery to you to help me solve. One
day, a long time ago, I was researching Vangelis' name and I came
across a notation for a song titled "Time of Our Life" that
is composed by Vangelis and Tim Rice. Now, it would not be the first
time the two of them would be connected. Tim Rice provided lyrics for
Vangelis "Missing" (as performed by Nana Mouskouri, as well
as by Elaine Paige). He also co-wrote "All Things
Considered" with Vangelis and Elaine Paige, performed by Elaine
Paige. So the big question is simply this: WHERE IS "TIME OF OUR
LIFE"? Perhaps there is a Tim Rice fan that will stumble across
this page and can help us to answer it. If somebody is successful, I
will include that in the next issue. The only hint I have is that it
might only be something available as sheet music, which would seem
strange, but that's what I have in my notes. Who knows, maybe it will
help somebody discover this. Good luck! |
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