ShortStoriesFrontIntroduction

Vangelis and Jon Anderson first met in 1974, when Jon, who was the singer of the British band "Yes" at the time, decided to visit Vangelis at his Parisian apartment. Jon had been impressed with Vangelis' music for "L'Apocalypse Des Animaux" (1973), and was looking for a new keyboard player for his band, to replace Rick Wakeman who was leaving. And while Vangelis traveled to London to meet and rehearse with the other band members, that effort did not turn out fruitful, among others as Vangelis refused to tour. Still Jon and Vangelis became friends, and a year later Jon sang ‘So Long Ago, So Clear’ on Vangelis’ album “Heaven And Hell” (1975). 

By the end of 1979 the two spontaneously recorded a number of songs in only four day days, which ultimately resulted in their debut album “Short Stories”. Released in January 1980, the album consists entirely of one-take instrumental recordings, to which Jon then added a vocal track of his finalised lyrics. In total the music took only some three weeks to produce, and marked the start of a very successful collaboration as “Jon and Vangelis”.

In advance of the album the 7” single ‘I Hear You Now’ b/w ‘Thunder’ was released in December 1979, and a videoclip of ‘I Hear You Now’ was played on television to promote its release. The version of ‘I Hear You Now’ on the single is a shorter edit compared to the album version, and in 1980 the single reached a top 10 position in many European charts. 

In 2017 Short Stories received a re-release which was personally remastered by Vangelis. Due to some added reverb on several tracks this version is a different listening experience compared to the original release, and opinions may vary on which version is the best master. Later Jon and Vangelis released several other albums, i.e. “The Friends Of Mr. Cairo" (1981), “Private Collection" (1983) and "Page Of Life" (1991).

 

ShortStoriesPhotoTracklist and Credits

  1. Curious Electric
  2. Each And Everyday
  3. Bird Song
  4. I Hear You Now
  5. The Road*
  6. Far Away In Baagad
  7. Love Is
  8. One More Time
  9. Thunder
  10. A Play Within A Play

* acoustic guitar by Raphael Preston.

  • Composed by Jon Anderson and Vangelis.
  • Arranged and produced by Vangelis.
  • Vangelis: all instruments, except (*)
  • Jon Anderson: vocals
  • Studio engineer:  Raphael Preston 
  • Photography by Veronique Skawinska.
  • Sleeve design: Vangelis
  • Graphics by Alwyn Clayden.

 

IHearYouNowFrontDiscography

LP

  • 1980 Polydor, released worldwide.

CD

  • 1983 Polydor 800 027-2 West-Germany
  • 1992 Polydor POCP-2111 Japan
  • 1994 Polydor 800 027-2 Canada, United States
  • 2003 Polydor BUDCD 1189 South Africa
  • 2004 Polydor UICY-9375 Japan (Limited mini-LP replica paper sleeve edition)
  • 2017 UMC 478 940-9 UK & Europe (Remastered by Vangelis)

7” single

 

ShortStoriesCDRecording studio

The album was recorded in 1979 at Nemo Studios, London, by engineer Raphael Preston.

 

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