Friday 4 September 2015

The Friends of Mr. Cairo (Jon & Vangelis, 1981)

Back to the so called progressive pop. If ever such a genre exists, it surely includes the whole discography of Jon & Vangelis, that's to say Jon Anderson and Vangelis famous joint venture. This track, in particular, is a lushing and captivating epic, not so far from a proper suite, spanning over 12 minutes and a series of sung themes, instrumental passages and soundtrack effects. This song is a tribute to the gangster movies, so that you should expect shooting guns, old car noises and dramatic dialogues. All these actually are there and with them, here you are Jon's splendid voice, Vangelis' electronic keys and, of course, a lot of good music.

It's the first album credited to Jon & Vangelis. Maybe the best one.

The strongest point, however, is the structure of the track, exploiting a very well found main theme gradually fading into a melodic final section, also featuring a beautiful melody and a rainy mood. The tempo changes and the cunning overdubbing are definitely prog, while the pulsing programmed rythms are there to remember we're in the '80s, after all!

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