Chariots of Fire (album)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Chariots of Fire | ||
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| Studio album by Vangelis | ||
| Released | 1981 | |
| Recorded | 1981 | |
| Genre | Film score | |
| Length | 54:47 | |
| Label | Polydor | |
| Producer(s) | Vangelis | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
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4.5/5: Amazon.com |
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| Vangelis chronology | ||
| See You Later (1980) |
Chariots of Fire (1981) |
Antarctica (1983) |
Chariots of Fire is a British film released in 1981 with a music score by Greek electronic composer and artist Vangelis (credited as Vangelis Papathanassiou). The film, based on the true story of athletes preparing for and competing in the 1924 Summer Olympics, won four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Original Music Score.
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Though the electronic score might be considered, in hindsight, ill-suited to a period piece, it worked beyond anyone's expectations. The opening theme of the film (called "Titles" on the soundtrack) was released as a single in 1982, topping the charts in the U.S. for two weeks after climbing steadily for five months (it made #1 in its 21st week on the chart). "Titles" also reached a respectable No.12 in Britain, where its parent album peaked at No.5 and spent 107 weeks on the album chart.
[edit] A new style
It was the film's producer, David Puttnam, who invited Vangelis, impressed with his albums Opera Sauvage and China [1]. Vangelis played all the instruments, including synthesizers, acoustic piano, battery and percussion, and recorded the score in his Nemo studio in London, UK which he had set up in 1975 [2]. The music that he came up with, entirely electronic for a period film, initiated a new style in film scoring.
- "He [Vangelis] tells us about the way he set about producing the music for Chariots Of Fire. About the low budget it really had. About the way in which he endlessly exchanged thoughts with the author about the story. Only when the movie was completely finished did he actually start working on the music for it. Saw it only three times for that purpose and then started work." — Vangelis interview to Music Maker magazine, September 1982 [3]
- "I didn't want to do period music. I tried to compose a score which was contemporary and still compatible with the time of the film. But I also didn't want to go for a completely electronic sound." — Vangelis interview to American Film magazine, September 1982 [4]
The score album, however, is almost all re-recorded and sounds differently from the music heard on film, with often richer arrangements, namely in the "Titles" track. The second part of the album is a one-track suite including music from and inspired by the score [5]. On the other hand, some original themes from the film did not make it to the album.
- "A record is something other than a film. There have to be changes - not least of all for artistic reasons." — Vangelis interview to Neumusik magazine, issue 5, August 1981 [6]
Although Vangelis had already done a number of film scores, namely for the animal documentaries by Frédéric Rossif, Chariots of Fire was his first major film score, and it immediately gave him the big breakthrough as a film composer, as "Titles" was an international hit and changed the whole course of his career.
- "It occurs very rarely that a composer thinks of his most successful work as his best. I am no exception to that rule. I think of my soundtrack for [...] Mutiny on the Bounty as endlessly more interesting than Chariots of Fire." — Vangelis interview to De Telegraaf newspaper, June 15, 1991 [1]
[edit] Album
[edit] Track listing
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[edit] Album credits
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In addition to Vangelis' original music, the album includes a traditional piece, "Jerusalem", sung by the Ambrosian Choir, as was performed at the 1978 funeral of Harold Abrahams, the event which bookends and presumably inspired the making of the film.
The album reached #1 in the sales charts of various countries, including the U.S. In total, the album stayed 97 weeks in the sales charts, selling 3 million copies in the first year alone [1].
The single, featuring "Titles", was also #1 in a number of countries. In Japan, it was the biggest-selling single of 1981.[7] In the U.S., the single stayed at the top for two weeks in May before being dethroned by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder's "Ebony and Ivory". [8] It was Polydor's first-ever #1 single in the U.S.[9] Only one other instrumental track, 1985's "Miami Vice Theme", by Czech musician Jan Hammer, had also topped the U.S. chart as of 2006. A video clip of "Titles" has Vangelis playing acoustic piano in front of a projection of the film.
Despite Vangelis public performances being rare, he played Chariots of Fire live in Los Angeles, U.S. (November 7, 1986), Rome, Italy (July 17, 1989, as encore), Rotterdam, Netherlands (June 18, 1991), and Athens, Greece (Mythodea concerts of July 13, 1993 and June 28, 2001, as encore, and August 1, 1997)[10]
Uncountable cover versions of "Titles" have been recorded in all styles by all manners of artists, like John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra, the electric guitars of The Shadows or the acoustic guitar of Bronn Journey, the 150-BPM house by Trance Opera, the popular piano of Richard Clayderman, the pan flute of Zamfir, or the jazz of Doc Powell. "Titles" has even been sung more than once: by Italian female soprano Gioaria, by Mireille Mathieu, and by Demis Roussos, with lyrics by Jon Anderson.[11][12]
In 2000, and again in 2006, the album was relaunched on CD, on both occasions remastered by Vangelis.[5]
Tracks from the album have been included in the following official Vangelis compilations: Themes (1989), Best Of Vangelis (1992), Portraits {So Long Ago, So Clear} (1996), and Odyssey - The Definitive Collection (2003).[13]
[edit] Miscellanea
- Vangelis was accused of plagiarising the main theme from a song by fellow Greek composer Stavros Logarides called "City of Violets". Vangelis won in court.[5]. Vangelis convinced the judge by taking his setup to the court and demonstrating his method of composing by improvising new music [14]
- Vangelis' father, himself a sprinter, died just before Chariots of Fire was released; the album is dedicated to him. [1]
- Vangelis did not travel to Los Angeles in 1992 to attend the Academy Awards ceremony where he eventually won an Oscar. He was sleeping when he received a phone call at 4 a.m. informing him he had won. [15]
- "Titles" was used as the theme for the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo.[2]
- Commercials that have used music from Chariots of Fire include: a newly recorded version by Vangelis himself in Ridley Scott's "Citroen Xantia" commercial in 1993 [2], and a Nike commercial in 2005 [16].
- "Titles" is often used for slow-motion sequences and parodies of the sports genre. It is used in the soundtrack of National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), Good Burger (1997) (uncredited), Bruce Almighty (2003), and Madagascar (2005), in all cases in parodic slow-motion sequences.
- Other films released in theaters crediting Chariots of Fire are: How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (2000), Old School (2003), and Kicking & Screaming (2005).
- On TV, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode "Dead Ringer" uses music from Chariots of Fire.
- In March 2006, U.S. magazine Variety put Chariots of Fire at #18 in the "The Gorgeous 100, the best moments in film music". Vangelis' score for Blade Runner fared even better at #16, making Vangelis the only composer to appear twice in the top 20. [17]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d Daily Telegraph newspaper, November 21, 1982
- ^ a b c Dennis Lodewijks' Elsewhere
- ^ Vangelis interview to Music Maker magazine, September 1982
- ^ Vangelis interview to American Film magazine, September 1982
- ^ a b c Dennis Lodewijks' Elsewhere
- ^ Vangelis interview to Neumusik magazine, issue 5, August 1981
- ^ BBC Top of the Pops 2, January 1982
- ^ Cashbox magazine top singles charts - 1982
- ^ Vangelis interview to Keyboard magazine, December 1992
- ^ Dennis Lodewijks' Elsewhere
- ^ Dennis Lodewijks' Elsewhere
- ^ Dennis Lodewijks' Elsewhere
- ^ Dennis Lodewijks' Elsewhere
- ^ Dennis Lodewijks' Elsewhere
- ^ Vangelis interview to Rolling Stone magazine, May 13, 1982
- ^ Dennis Lodewijks' Elsewhere
- ^ Dennis Lodewijks' Elsewhere
