Vangelis: Heaven and Hell

Heaven and Hell may be Vangelis' most conceptual and least pleasant music album. It is very irreverent in nature, beginning with a portrait of the human being ploughing through life like a boar ploughs through a field in the search of food, and whenever the human being has found something worthwhile, it rejoices in an inkling of heaven.

After close to 5 minutes of this another interpretation sets in, the lecturing of the obstinate and his charmedness, when in a free moment he discovers its potential in his play.

More then 8 minutes of that and then a moment of self conceptualisation and with it Heaven and Hell Part 1 ends.

So Long Ago, So Clear is a nostalgic look back at the time, when it was enough to be and be together. A little reminiscent of the Symposion in its juxtaposition of being and striving.

Heaven and Hell Part 2 then begins with some eerily Blade Runner-ish noises, portraying an abyss out of which some impish thoughts fly, followed by a sigh.

After good 3 minutes of this orderly work sets in.

Close to 4 minutes later comforting and discomforting orders clash.

A little over 4 minutes later the comfort loses its rootedness in order and becomes a mere indulgence.

After close to 4 minutes of this indulgence shows its face without restraint.

And only a little over 2 minutes later a sense of the aesthetic arises, finally placing heaven and hell outside of man as measures he lives up to rather than identifying them with the mood swings of his nature.