Beaubourg

by

Vangelis

Edit

"Beaubourg" is an album that is often misunderstood by avid Vangelis listeners. The album is either hailed as a masterpiece in one corner while in another corner, there's a barrage of booing and hissing. In all fairness, an album like "Beaubourg" had to be done. It's quite a unique album and is one of the few nonmelodic works in Vangelis's large catalog of music.

Essentially, "Beaubourg" is a single 38-minute work divided into two parts. If you listen to the album, you'll discover that the piece is divided into even shorter sub-movements. The piece consists mostly of random blips and bleeps along with some harsh metallic-like tones and the occasional singable melody. Musically, it's along the same lines as some of the early electronic music composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, Morton Subotnick and Pauline Olivieros. "Beaubourg" can even be comparable to Beatle George Harrison's Moog opus "Electronic Sound". It's quite possible that Vangelis used the above influences as a blueprint for this piece.

When the album was released in 1978, opinions were obivously divided however, "Beaubourg" has become somewhat of a cult classic over the years. I first heard the album in 1990 and still enjoy when I play it. While it's not Vangelis's greatest achievement, it still is one of his most daring pieces of music and is quite an earful to listen to. It's worth checking out but use extreme caution when doing so.

So far, Vangelis has only released one other album that can be comparable to "Beaubourg". That album is "Invisible Connection" released in 1985 on the German Classical label, Deutch Grammaphon.

...is the musical equivalent of 'Finnegans Wake'. Beauborg is long, frustrating and largely incomprehensible. If you want to sit through it, try to visualize an underwater setting. Whalesong, perhaps, unstructured, uncomplicated and arrythmic. There are times when a hint of structure can be dimly perceived, only to remain just out of reach, like a half-remembered name.

All in all, this CD is recommended only for those die-hard fans who need it to complete their collections. If you are looking for a good introduction to Vangelis, try some of his more accessible works. 'Themes' or 'Bladerunner' are good places to begin.