Rosetta

Good cd

Vangelis' career is stretching beyond half century mark. He has always been able to produce such a versatile array of genres, moods and soundscapes....from experimental, to pop, space, new-age, chamber, choral, and classical music. After 15 years, he finally released his first non-soundtrack recording. And what have we here? A refreshing, clear, cosmic, ambient and almost hypnotic sound that combines some of his best sounds he produced in the mid 70s, late 80s and early 90s. Enter Rosetta... My general opinion is that the second half of the album is where Vangelis truly shines, although the first half of the album is also very solid in scope and grandeur. The album opens bombastically with Origins (Arrival) track, that quickly descends into electronically charged space music. Starstuff and Infinitude are both elegant cosmic ballads about the grandeur and the vastness of the Universe. Both Exo Genesis and Albedo 0.06 are on the more experimental side, although with very fine polished synth symphonic sequences. Celestial Whispers and Sunlight have truly beautiful serene space/neoclassical feeling, while the title track is nothing else, but gorgeous, melancholic and almost mournful ballad (also is one of my personal favorites of the album). Philae's Descent is completely electronica track, probably reminding you to one of the earliest Vangelis space themed songs, Pulstar and Alpha, from his cult release Albedo 0.39. Rosetta's Waltz is truly a masterpiece and one of the best songs Vangelis has composed since the beginning of the millennium...the only downside is being too short. With Perihelion, Vangelis ventured some uncharted ground. This being the longest track, bears a striking resemblance to the best Berlin School music style, mixed skillfully with trademark Vangelis symphonic style. The background rhythm sounds sort of like 'Rubycon 2' from the album 'Rubycon' by the group Tangerine Dream, and also like 'Traveller' from the album 'Final Call' by Kitaro, only more 'muscular'. Elegy perhaps has the most classical sound on the record, and can easy be the bittersweet, and majestic farewell tribute to the mission itself. Returning to the Void closes the album with delicate, and ambient yet hypnotic sound, once more echoing the grandeur of the Universe.

The Internet has been alive with stories and rumours about this album for a long, long time. Three tracks [subsequently remixed] have been on You-Tube for at least two years. One story elaborated on the fact that this is his first non-soundtrack release CD in 18 years which is factually incorrect. 'A Tribute To El Grego' was initially released a long time before 'Oceanic' as an extremely expensive collectors' piece, and Vangelis subsequently released it in 1998 to fulfil his contract with Polydor. Time as come to show it is one of my favourite albums of all time, with its dark, brooding and celestial orchestrations, ending with Movement X - my favourite Vangelis track ever. Since then he's released 'Mythodea'; Alexander'; the 'Blade Runner Trilogy' with one CD of new material; the 'El Grego' film soundtrack and 'Chariots-The Play' with a few new tracks. So to all Vangelis fans, 'Rosetta' is the first taste of new material since 2007 - disc 1 of the Blade Runner trilogy. Jump forward to now and we're finally here with the new album. I've played the album a few times before giving an opinion, and have to say it's good but not brilliant. All the ingredients are there in abundance: synth orchestrations; rumbling percussion; twinkling harmonies etc, all played with fresh feeling of spontaneity and coupled with loads of electronic background effects. Vangelis has nothing to prove to anyone. He's basically released album that's instantly recognisable, especially the sublime 'Starstuff'.

Coinciding with the end of the fabulously successful and popular Rosette mission, Vangelis released this equally inspirational volume. It's unmistakably Vangelis, beautifully conveying the space environment. In several places, Vangelis sounds very similar indeed to 1990s work of the 'Cousteau' variety by Jean- Michelle Jarre, which is perhaps inevitable given the parallels between both harsh, mysterious environments. Also interesting to note strong hints of old Vangelis music; I'm sure can hear echoes from the 'Cosmos' themes at times. The penultimate track, entitled 'Elegy', has a very definite and unexpected english church organ flavour. Very interesting and relaxing music, well worth the money.

Vangelis is back! and I love this album. Atmospheric music that depicts, in his mind, the voyage of the Rosetta probe. Like much of his work this is a sonic landscape of sounds with gentle beautiful melodies. Pure genius and a joy to listen to. Not commercial so sample a few tracks first.

Not his best, a little too orchestral for my taste. Although i worship the grand master. I prefer his electronica such as Albedo, China, etc; these were more inventive. I think vangelis has got stuck in cliche sounds for films with too much pcm based synths from Korgs. He needs to get a modular synth and go back to his roots with making new off the cuff sounds which he did up until recently. i dont think he is using the CS80 anymore and uses his rack rig with many expression pedals. Also this is poorly recorded with too much reverb and does not strike a balance. It is washed down likely because he wanted a space feel but Albedo was about space phenomina and that had less reverb and more delay so it did not get washy.

Another brilliant album from the master exquisite music which will take you to far away places It’s a album that makes easy listening a pleasure to listen to absolutely fantastic.

More magic from the genius Vangelis, over 50 albums released to date and this latest release has all the latest Vangelis Trademarks with some very nice pieces present here. A must for the fans of this Electronic Pioneer over the last 45 years or so I would highly recommend it..

excellent product, well packaged, fast delivery

静かで深く神秘的な音世界。 瞑目して聴くべし。

Parece que escuchas la trayectoria de la sonda Rosetta en cada una de las composiciones. Solo le hace falta incluir al escucha leer las últimas publicaciones del proyecto.

It's been interesting reading about ESA's Rosetta mission to study the comet Churyumov–Gerasimenko, also known as 67P. I happened to be looking at a news website the other day and read that the mission had come to an end with the observing satellite, Rosetta, making a controlled descent to the surface of the comet. You might remember that the landing craft, Philae, separated from Rosetta back in November 2014 to land on the surface of the comet but ended up bouncing twice and landing on it's side in a crevice. It's fascinating to read about the details of the mission, but in doing so, I stumbled upon this release by Vangelis. It's been quite some time since Vangelis has put out a studio album so I was very interested in hearing what the syth master has been working on. He did something very similar for NASA back in 2001 with the release of "Mythodea: Music for the NASA Mission: 2001 Mars Journey". I've only ever listened to samples of that particular release but remember feeling not so enthusiastic due to it's combination of orchestra and the more traditional Vangelis sound. Maybe I should go check it out again. At any rate, this particular release celebrating the Rosetta mission sounds like classic Vangelis for sure. Vangelis's immortal score for "Bladerunner" (1982) is really what helped me to begin to appreciate electronic film scores when I was first getting into soundtrack music. I also enjoyed his music for "Antarctica" (1983) as well. The last album that I picked up of his would be the compilation entitled "Themes" (1997). So it's been a while since I've sat down and relaxed with something new from the composer. It certainly is a good time for him to release some new material as well. There seems to be a resurgence in the interest of electronically produced scores using the sounds and equipment from yesteryear. Scores from series like "Stranger Things" and "Mr. Robot" seem to confirm this, as well as, bands like Gunship and SURVIVE. The sounds Vangelis is able to pull out of his electronic gizmos is pure fuel for the imagination when daydreaming about space. In the liner notes included with the CD, a story is shared about Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers who was on the international space station in 2012. Apparently Kuipers was a big fan of Vangelis and wanted to arrange a "phone call" with the composer while he was in space. The astronaut basically took Vangelis on a virtual tour of the space station and told him how he had been enjoying the composer's music during is six month mission on the station. The story continues with the end result being the ESA approaching Vangelis about developing music that would be used by the organization to accompany videos/images of the mission. In essence, Vangelis would be creating a real life score that would celebrate these monumental achievements. The composer has stayed true to the sound that made him popular and the end result is a score that needs to accompany you on all your future stargazing events. The album begins with "Origins" (track 1) and it acts as an introductory soundscape to the mystery and magnitude of space...and the colossal size of the comet GP7. The electronics twinkle and chatter as the big booming lower portions belt out the immense vastness of space itself. "Starstuff" (track 2) is a more relaxed look of the surroundings and the appreciation of the shear beauty of it all. It's a piece that seems to reflect a pause while we take it all in for the first time. Vangelis's music continues to successfully take you along on this journey with each piece revealing another moment in the story. The music drifts right along with mesmerizing effect like in "Celestial Whispers" (track 5) and becomes more dynamic and exciting with landmark events like "Philae's Descent" (track 9). The album ends with "Return to the Void" (track 13) as both Rosetta and Philae ride on GP7 off into the great unknown of space. The last notes of the piece seem to indicate a fading signal as contact of the probes are lost forever. Vangelis tells an amazing story through the music and I think fans of the composer will enjoy this latest work of his immensely. The CD is released through Decca Records and comes in a cardboard bifold containing a slip sleeve for the liner notes and one for the disc. I always hate it when they put CDs in these things because I'm so scared I'm going to scratch them up. The liner notes are done very well and include a 16 page booklet with photos of GP7, Rosetta, Philae, and Vangelis. Notes concerning the album creation are provided by Tim Cooper. There is also some notes concerning the ESA (European Space Agency) and specifics concerning Rosetta's mission to GP7. Production notes and a personal dedication from Vangelis is also included. There is also a really cool time line on the inside cover of the CD which goes through the dates and important events concerning Rosetta's mission. There are 13 tracks with a running time of 54 minutes.

This is an ecopack disc - a plain paper envelope, unworthy of an album by such a master. A shame, because the music is as beautiful as ever.