''Spiral'' is a studio album by the Greek electronic composer

Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou ( el, Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; el, Βαγγέλης, links=no ), was a Greek composer and arranger of ...

, released in December 1977. It was the third album produced by Vangelis in

Nemo Studios Nemo Studios was a recording studio in London, planned, built and used by Greek composer Vangelis between 1975 and 1987.Richard Clews. ''Inside the Synth Lab'', in ''Sound on Sound'', November 1997 issueAvailable online./ref> Numerous highlights ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, which was his creative base until the late 1980s. For the track "To the Unknown Man" Vangelis received the

Midem Midem is the acronym for Marché International du Disque et de l'Édition Musicale, which is organised annually in and around the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France. The trade show, organized by Reed MIDEM, a subsidiary of Re ...

International Instrumental award in 1978.

Overview

It is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

, thematically inspired by ancient

Tao ''Tao'' or ''Dao'' is the natural order of the universe, whose character one's intuition must discern to realize the potential for individual wisdom, as conceived in the context of East Asian philosophy, East Asian religions, or any other phil ...

philosophy, exploring the nature of the universe moving in spirals. On the front cover is cited

Tao Te Ching The ''Tao Te Ching'' (, ; ) is a Chinese classic text written around 400 BC and traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship, date of composition and date of compilation are debated. The oldest excavated portion d ...

: "Going on means going far - Going far means returning", while the sleeve notes state that the track "Dervish D" is "inspired by the

Dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, ...

dancer who by his whirling realises the spiralling of the universe". It was a less known and acclaimed album than the two which preceded in the 1970s, '' Heaven and Hell'' (1975) and '' Albedo 0.39'' (1976).

Release

The album reached #38 on the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

album charts in 1978. In 2011, the album was included, along with ''Heaven and Hell'' and ''Albedo 0.39'', in a 3-CD box set series "Original Album Classics" by Sony, RCA and

Legacy Recordings Legacy Recordings is an American record label that is a division of Sony Music. Formed in 1990 after Sony's acquisition of CBS Records, Legacy originally handled the archives of Sony Music-owned labels Columbia Records and Epic Records. In 20 ...

. In 2013, the album was released in a remastered and reissued

digipak Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case A ...

edition by

Esoteric Recordings Esoteric Recordings is a UK independent record label specialising in 1970s progressive rock, folk, psychedelic, and jazz-rock reissues as part of Cherry Red Records. Its releases include both catalogue reissues and new works from artists who s ...

. It includes a bonus track, previously never issued on CD, "To the Unknown Man (II)", which was released as a B-side of the single "To the Unknown Man" in 1977.

Instrumentation

The album is entirely instrumental, apart from Vangelis' processed vocals on "Ballad". Vangelis plays

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

sequencer Sequencer may refer to: Technology * Drum sequencer (controller), an electromechanical system for controlling a sequence of events automatically * DNA sequencer, a machine used to automatically produce a sequence readout from a biological DNA sam ...

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

electronic organ An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has since developed ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

. It is the first album on which Vangelis used the

Yamaha CS-80 The Yamaha CS-80 is an analog synthesizer released in 1977. It supports true 8-voice polyphony, with two independent synthesizer layers per voice each with its own set of front panel controls, in addition to a number of hardwired preset voice set ...

synthesizer, on which he would come to rely heavily in subsequent work, and is the most sequencer-based album of his career.

Reception

Mike DeGagne of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

noted that the album lacks the "atmospheric" from the previous two albums. He goes on to say that "although the structures and the overall dynamics of the pieces are less complicated and less sophisticated, ''Spiral''s keyboard utilization is still extremely effectual", and "musical movement does seem to transgress toward full, complete soundscapes", especially in "To the Unknown Man". Henri Stirk from Background Magazine rated the 2013 edition by

4/5 stars.

Track listing

All songs composed and arranged by

Personnel

*Vangelis — synthesizers, keyboards and other instruments ;Production *Vangelis — producer, arranger, design *Keith Spencer-Allen — engineer *Marlis Duncklau — assistant Engineer *Michael Hudson — graphic design *Jack Wood — art direction *Michael Plomer, Veronique Skawinska — photography

Appearances in other media

* "To The Unknown Man" was used in the 1977 Royal Air Force Careers Information film "12 Sqn" along with other clips from the Spiral album, showing 12 Sqn Buccaneers partaking in NATO Exercise Opengate off Gibraltar. * "To The Unknown Man" was used in the BBC coverage of the 1979 World Snooker Championship at the

Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's m ...

, in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

References

{{Authority control 1977 albums Vangelis albums RCA Records albums