VoicesFrontIntroduction

“Voices” is a studio album by Vangelis, his fourth album released on the EastWest-label after “The City” (1990), “1492 Conquest Of Paradise” (1992) and “Blade Runner” (1994). Released on the 24th of October 1995, the album title suggests a special role for human vocals, which is expressed by contributions of other EastWest-artists Caroline Lavelle, Stina Nordenstam and Paul Young, as well as the voices of the Athens Opera Company. On the album the songs are interspersed with several instrumental pieces.

“Voices” was the first album after the huge success of ‘Conquest Of Paradise’ earlier in 1995, and the similarities between this epic theme and the ‘Voices’ title track did not go unnoticed. At least In Germany the album was marketed to link to the matches of boxer Henry Maske, as before with ‘Conquest Of Paradise’. To promote the album a single with the same name was released on the 6th of October 1995. The ‘Voices’ track on the single is a shorter edit compared to the album version, but this is compensated by including the complete version of ‘Echoes’. Not one. but even two promotional videoclips were made to support the single release, the first playing the theme over images of sport events and a running athlete, the second dedicated to boxer Henry Maske.

A second single followed on the 4th of March 1996, the ethereal ‘Ask The Mountains’ sung by Swedish singer Stina Nordenstam. This single is recommended for completists, as apart from a shorter edit and full version of the song it also includes the otherwise unreleased ‘Slow Piece’. This single was supported by a dreamy and colorful videoclip.

Caroline Lavelle is an English singer-songwriter who has released several solo and collaborative albums. She is a regular member of Loreena McKennitt’s band and can often be seen on stage with her during tours. In an interview Lavelle confirmed that she recorded multiple songs with Vangelis, several of which remain unreleased.

Paul Young is a popular English singer and musician who enjoyed a string of hits in the first half of the 1980s with songs like ‘Love Of The Common People’, ‘Wherever I Lay My Hat’, ‘Come Back And Stay’, ‘Every Time You Go Away’ and ‘Everything Must Change’. Young was one of the singers in the charity group “Band Aid” and their initiative to raise funds with the song ‘Do They Know It's Christmas?’ in 1984. In an interview Paul Young reflected on his work with Vangelis: ‘Vangelis is a bit of an idol of mine, his music is stunning. So when I got a call from my manager asking if I'd like to do some songwriting for him I couldn't believe it. The vocal that I do on ‘Losing Sleep’ is not typical Paul Young at all, and that’s why I like it. I really enjoyed working with Vangelis’.

 

VoicesInsideTracklist and credits

  1. Voices1 (7:00)
  2. Echoes (8:20)
  3. Come To Me2 (4:40)
  4. P.S. (2:05)
  5. Ask The Mountains3 (7:55)
  6. Prelude (4:24)
  7. Losing Sleep (Still, My Heart)4 (6:41)
  8. Messages (7:30)
  9. Dream In An Open Place (5:50)

1 vocals by the Athens Opera Company.
2 vocals, cello and lyrics by Caroline Lavelle.
3 vocals and lyrics by Stina Nordenstam.
4 vocals and lyrics by Paul Young.

  • Composed, arranged, produced and performed by Vangelis.
  • Recorded and mixed by Philippe Colonna.
  • Assistant producer: Frederick Rousseau.
  • Special thanks to Frederick Rousseau, Philippe Colonnna, John Martin, Andrew Hoy, Ian Lane, Caroline Lavelle, Stina Nordenstam and Paul Young.

 

VoicesSingleFrontDiscography

CD

  • 1995 EastWest, released worldwide.
  • 1995 Atlantic 82853-2 US
  • 1995 EastWest AMCE-915 Japan
  • 2015 EastWest WPCR-16317 Japan (SHM-CD)

CD single

 

AskTheMountainsRecording studio

The album notes do not specify where the music of “Voices” was recorded. Caroline Lavelle reported however that she flew to Athens to record her song with Vangelis, making it plausible that the album was recorded in one of Vangelis' home studios in Athens.

 

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