Down to Earth Space Music (3.5)

Turning his eyes from the starry heavens (for which he is rightly acclaimed), Vangelis undertook to portray the phenomenon that is China on this celebrated 1979 album. There are a lot of exponents for this album, undeservedly so I think. Certainly, if you are expecting anything like world music, or even Chinese music, look elsewhere--what there is here is almost totally cliche. And as music in and of itself, except for the final 15 minutes, it seems largely unspired.

"Chung Kuo" has a six-star opening however--helicopter noises, panned hissing, gongs and a vocal swell suggesting an immense crowd immediately grab your attention, then fade to an eerie, textured section that is almost as compelling as the first few seconds. The originality of the first minute is not sustained, however, as sequenced, slow arpeggios give way to well-orchestrated but rather bland melodies. People like to remark on the orientalisms of this album--they'd best not be referring to this song; there's nothing Chinese about the main melody at all.

A fact which is perfectly apparent when Vangelis begins the next song ("The Long March"), which is nothing but a piano restatement of the main theme from the first song. After this, a rush of broken chords to the top of the piano brings the piece to an end. The fact that "The Long March" is only 2 minutes long makes it seem all the more inept.

"The Dragon", which opens with an Ennio Morricone-type gunshot and a scattershot assembly of keyboard noise-flourishes, then settles into a main theme that sounds more appropriate to a lion-dance (at best) than a dragon. The keyboards here sound too dated, especially the bass line. There's something of a bridge of gratuitous orchestral splashes before the uninspired main theme returns again.

"Plum Blossom" opens with a piano-fiddle duet that has probably caused people to say "aha, orientalisms", but really, it sounds more Mediterranean than Chinese. Whatever limited charm this duet possesses is shortly thrown out the window by an ill-conceived mess of orchestra hits. Fortunately, this gives way fairly quickly to the opening theme again, fortified with various reed voices this time around. The relation of this music to a Plum Blossom is hard to visualize.

"The Tao of Love" actually can boast of some orientalisms, both instrumentally and melodically, and the orchestration is not without elegance. The most "Chinese" sounding piece on the disc, it is a very simple, mildly pretentious, thankfully short thing.

"The Little Fete" opens with a melody on Chinese flute that is suspiciously similar to the "Tao of Love", but not without interest. The flute then gives way to electronic piano and background fills while a spoken monologue is delivered, replete with portentous overdub.

"Yin & Yang" ... I think there's supposed to be an east meets west conceit here. A thematic chunk sounds like bouzouki music played on koto, with a number of random keyboard and instrumental flourishes. After an "oriental" cadenza, a throbbing keyboard note sets the foundation for an orchestra blast section that manages to fight up some musical momentum finally. This gives way to some "orchestrated" noodling that really doesn't go anywhere. so the piece seems to kind of die before it gets where it aims to go.

"Himalaya", at nearly eleven minutes, is the big piece on the album, and thankfully its good (and illustrates why Vangelis is best suited for "sublime" subjects, like space, Antarctica and the Himalayas). There is not much melody, mostly atmosphere--moody, thick bass with washes of blowing wind, keyboard swells. From time to time, vertical knives of music cut through the atmospherics very effectively.

"Summit" naturally caps Himalaya (pun intended) and follows it by design. It begins with an effective pastiche of sounds, then gives way to quivering, high strings and chords that seem to be straining toward resolution. Largely a decompression piece after the last, it serves as an appropriate sparse, shimmering coda, leaving at least a good impression for an album that started brilliantly (for 60 seconds), then lagged for nearly half an hour before getting down to business properly.

I realize much of my review gripes about how musically wide of its subject matter Vangelis' music seems to be, but darn it if you are going to have an artistic conceit for an album, then you ought to follow through on it. It really sounds like Vangelis had an inspiration for the opening of "Chung Kuo" and for the "Himalaya-Summit" sequence, and then slapped "Chinese" titles and some cliche Chinese orchestrations onto other music he had lying around to make the album. Or cobbled some stuff together filler to make up the difference. In any case, China deserves better than this.

One of my favourites

This album ties with Spiral as my second favourite Vangelis album after Albedo 0.39. It has a good range of moods from stirring to contemplative. Obviously it offends one music snob round here but I think that judgement is far too harsh. Just because an album is called China it doesn't mean it has to be an authentic rendition of Chinese music!

For those that like their Vangelis exciting - Buy It!! For those who like his boring stuff - don't!

One of the Best From the Godfather of New Age Music

I have been a long time Vangelis fan largely due to the fact he has never succumbed to producing music for the pop masses...He is an artistic genius that truly listens to his own creative mind, heart, and spirit.Hooray for a musical artist who creates music for artistic sake and not top 40 commercial appeal.

That said, for 1979, China is a work of art to behold with all it's sonic and synthesized orchestral beauty ! Atmospheric doesn't even begin to describe the "other worldly" yet familiar earthly sounds that captivate the listener...China, if found on used vinyl, is worth the late night spin or listen on a turntable to calm the nerves and soothe the soul after a hectic day at the office or factory !