Albedo 0.39
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''Albedo 0.39'' 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 1976. It was the second 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. It contrasts with his previous album, '' Heaven and Hell'', which was classically inspired and choral, while ''Albedo 0.39'' has
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
and
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
overtones. It was his first Top 20 UK album.


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 ...
themed around
space physics Space physics, also known as solar-terrestrial physics or space-plasma physics, is the study of plasmas as they occur naturally in the Earth's upper atmosphere (aeronomy) and within the Solar System. As such, it encompasses a far-ranging number of ...
. Its title is inspired by the idea of a planet's
albedo Albedo (; ) is the measure of the diffuse reflection of sunlight, solar radiation out of the total solar radiation and measured on a scale from 0, corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation, to 1, corresponding to a body ...
, the proportion of the light it receives that is reflected back into space. The album title refers to the average albedo value of the planet Earth as it was calculated in 1976 (the current value is 0.30). From the explanation on the back of the LP cover : "The reflecting power of a planet or other non-luminous body. A perfect reflector would have an Albedo of 100%. The Earth's Albedo is 39%, or 0.39". As with '' Heaven and Hell'', it was performed at the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
in 1977.


Release

The album reached #18 on the
UK Album Charts The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
. In 2011 the album was included along with '' Heaven and Hell'' and ''
Spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point. Helices Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are: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 ...
.


Instruments

Vangelis plays all instruments. As well as synthesizers, other instruments include acoustic drums, bass, percussion, a xylophone, a
gamelan Gamelan () ( jv, ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, su, ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, ban, ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. T ...
(track 2), and recordings of the
speaking clock A speaking clock or talking clock is a live or recorded human voice service, usually accessed by telephone, that gives the correct time. The first telephone speaking clock service was introduced in France, in association with the Paris Observato ...
and the Apollo moon landing. The only vocal is the narrative on the closing title track by Vangelis' sound engineer, Keith Spencer-Allen.


Composition

"Pulstar" builds on a
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 ...
pulse sequence, a main line and various other synthesizer brass lines. It ends with a recording of the
speaking clock A speaking clock or talking clock is a live or recorded human voice service, usually accessed by telephone, that gives the correct time. The first telephone speaking clock service was introduced in France, in association with the Paris Observato ...
. "Freefall" builds on a
gamelan Gamelan () ( jv, ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, su, ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, ban, ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. T ...
sequence and a synthesizer line. "
Mare Tranquillitatis Mare Tranquillitatis (Latin ''tranquillitātis'', the Sea of Tranquillity or Sea of Tranquility; see spelling differences) is a lunar mare that sits within the Tranquillitatis basin on the Moon. It is the first location on another world to be ...
" is a quiet synthesizer piece featuring recordings of several
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
moon landings. "
Main Sequence In astronomy, the main sequence is a continuous and distinctive band of stars that appears on plots of stellar color versus brightness. These color-magnitude plots are known as Hertzsprung–Russell diagrams after their co-developers, Ejnar Her ...
" is propelled by a pulsed synthesizer sequence, along which a drums-based jazz track develops. It calms down and flows into the next song, "Sword of Orion", built on an arpeggio chord, melody, and percussion. On "Alpha", Vangelis employs a composing technique he would use extensively on later albums (e.g. ''
Direct Direct may refer to: Mathematics * Directed set, in order theory * Direct limit of (pre), sheaves * Direct sum of modules, a construction in abstract algebra which combines several vector spaces Computing * Direct access (disambiguation), a ...
''): a simple theme of a few bars is developed through increasingly complex instrumentation. Instruments include a slow synthesizer arpeggio, synthesizer mallet melody line, xylophone, percussion and (later) acoustic drums. The "
Nucleogenesis Nucleosynthesis is the process that creates new atomic nuclei from pre-existing nucleons (protons and neutrons) and nuclei. According to current theories, the first nuclei were formed a few minutes after the Big Bang, through nuclear reactions in ...
" suite is a collage that conveys a somewhat darker mood, employing a church organ, an organ synthesizer pulse, various lines of Vangelis' patent synthesizer brass, acoustic drums and basses. The title track, "Albedo 0.39" builds on waxing and waning synthesizer chords and arpeggios, while a voice, reputedly the album's engineer Keith Spencer-Allen, narrates various physical properties of the Earth, such as its mass, length of the year in various measurements, and, finally, its albedo.


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 ...
described the tracks as "mesmerizing trips of assorted rhythms that include elements of
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
and mild rock", that along with "Albedo 0.39", "the two parts of "Nucleogenesis" are among the strongest cuts that keep his cosmic theme from deviating, while the livelier "Pulstar" involves some impressive instrumental range and electronic buoyancy". He concluded that "the stretches of notes and rhythms don't become weary or monotonous at any point of the album", and that "intention of conjuring up the vastness and immensity of space is soundly accomplished". Henri Stirk from Background Magazine rated the 2013 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 ...
4/5 stars.


Track listing

All songs written and arranged by
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 ...
.


Personnel

*Vangelis — synthesizers, keyboards, drums, bass, and all other sounds ;Production *Vangelis — producer, arranger *Keith Spencer-Allen — engineer, vocals on "Albedo 0.39" *Graves/Aslett Assoc. — sleeve design *Ray Massey — cover photograph *David Ellis — Vangelis photograph


Appearances in other media

*"Pulstar" was used as the theme music for a children's
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
television programme, ''
Horses Galore ''Horses Galore'' is a BBC1 children's TV programme broadcast between 1977 and 1979. Susan King presented the show, and David Turnbull was its producer. The show spawned a book with the same title that was authored by King. It was followed by the ...
''. It was also used as an early theme tune for
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
's ''
SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...
'' and
ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...
's news programs ''
TV Patrol ''TV Patrol'' is a Philippine television newscast produced by ABS-CBN News. It premiered on March 2, 1987, at the former ABS-CBN television network, replacing ''Balita Ngayon''. ''TV Patrol'' is the flagship national newscast of the network an ...
'' (until November 1994) and ''
The World Tonight ''The World Tonight'' is a British current affairs radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4, every weekday evening, which started out as an extension of the 10 pm news. It is produced by BBC News and features news, analysis and comment on dome ...
'' (until 1996) in the Philippines. Some local newscasts used Pulstar as theme music, including WNEV in Boston,
CBLT CBLT-DT (channel 5) is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the English-language service of CBC Television. It is part of a twinstick with Ici Radio-Canada Télé outlet CBLFT-DT (channel 25). B ...
in Toronto and CBMT NewswatchNewswatch Montreal propmo accessed August 12th, 2013: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ype0Bq-1mXo in Montreal. In Brazil it appeared on a TV ad for the cigarette brand Advance, in a high-tech styled, three-minute long clip by director involving several cigarettes rolling and moving to make geometric shapes. It was an instantaneous success due to its vanguard look for the time. *Excerpts from "Pulstar" and "Alpha" can be heard on episodes of
Carl Sagan Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on ext ...
's documentary series ''
Cosmos The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...
'', along with several other Vangelis themes. "Alpha" was used over animation illustrating evolutionary theory, with the music's climax timed to coincide with the appearance and achievements of humans. *An excerpt from "Pulstar" was used as the title track in the 2009
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
drama series ''
Micro Men ''Micro Men'' is a 2009 one-off BBC drama television programme set in the late 1970s and the early-mid 1980s, about the rise of the British home computer market. It focuses on the rivalry between Sir Clive Sinclair (played by Alexander Armstr ...
''. *Excerpts from "Pulstar" and "Alpha" were used in the 1980 film ''
Death of a Princess ''Death of a Princess'' is a British 1980 drama-documentary produced by ATV in cooperation with WGBH in the United States. The drama is based on the true story of Princess Mishaal, a young Saudi Arabian princess and her lover who had been pu ...
''. Despite the controversy over the film that outraged the government of Saudi Arabia, both pieces were used for a long time as background music for interludes on Saudi national TV. * "Alpha" was used in the 1981 XXX movie American Desire. * In Spain, "Pulstar" was used by
Cadena COPE COPE, an acronym for Cadena de Ondas Populares Españolas ("People's Radiowaves of Spain Network") formerly called Radio Popular, is a Spanish language radio station. It is the second most listened to in Spain's generalist radio. Owned by the Spa ...
radio station as an ident of their news services. * In Brazil, excerpts from "Nucleogenesis (Part One)" were used during journalistic reports in the
Domingo Legal Domingo may refer to: People *Domingo (name), a Spanish name and list of people with that name *Domingo (producer) (born 1970), American hip-hop producer *Saint Dominic (1170–1221), Castilian Catholic priest, founder of the Friars popularly cal ...
TV show, from
SBT sbt is an open-source build tool for Scala and Java projects, similar to Apache's Maven and Gradle. Its main features are: *Native support for compiling Scala code and integrating with many Scala test frameworks *Continuous compilation, t ...
, during the 1990s and 2000s. It was revived in 2014 in
Band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran *Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...
's show, Tá Na Tela, again, serving as the background music for journalistic reports. * In Israel, "Alpha" was heard on the first Empire of Cinema logo in the early 1980s. In the United States, it can also be heard on a local station id for Los Angeles, California-based public television station KCET when it was a PBS member station in the early 1980s. * A remixed version of "Alpha" is heard on seasons 1 and 2 in travel documentary television series Madventures.


References


Album lyrics
{{Authority control 1976 albums Vangelis albums Concept albums Windham Hill Records albums RCA Records albums Space music albums by Greek artists