Short Stories

Evidently, Jon Anderson spent little time mourning his divorce from Yes, as he quickly started up both a solo career and a highly successful collaboration with Vangelis. The pair initially recorded together for the Greek musician's 1975 album, Heaven & Hell; and from there, their relationship grew, first with Anderson adding harp and vocals to a couple of records in Vangelis's prolific catalog of albums. Short Stories is the debut album by the duo, now billed as Jon & Vangelis. The reason for the album's success is simple: Mix Vangelis's easy-on-the-ears music with the ethereal voice of Anderson, and you have new age goodness all around. That's not to say everything here is total fluff. Vangelis is a master of electronic texture, and the album is a veritable palette for his style of composition and brand of sound: Just check out the opening bars of "Curious Electric" or "Far Away in Baagad." When the synthesizers are percolating and the energy is high, it's top shelf music. Of course, when Anderson's featured, as on "Each and Everyday," "Love Is" and "One More Time," his syrupy earnestness remains an acquired taste, but a potent one at that. Nevertheless, the album thrived upon release, reaching No. 4 on the UK charts. A single, the curiously lilting "I Hear You Now" b/w "Thunder," also reached the UK Top 10, and later entered the US Top 100. Meanwhile, 1981 would see Vangelis reach his commercial zenith with the soundtrack to the film Chariots of Fire. A second collaboration with Anderson, The Friends of Mr Cairo, was released in July 1981 and found similar commercial and artistic success; but their third album, Private Collection, stalled, both musically and on the charts, effectively ending their partnership.