Jon And Vangelis-The Friends Of Mr. Cairo (1981)

The second collaboration between British singer Jon Anderson and keyboardist and composer Vangelis resulted in "The Friends of Mr. Cairo", released in 1981, which achieved its greatest commercial success with a number one single and a top ten hit in the UK charts. In this second release, the duo largely moved away from the experimental style of their first album, "Short Stories", crafting a more accessible work without sacrificing the quality or the immense creativity that this masterpiece possesses. Based on the concept of cinema from the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, both musicians incorporated numerous fragments of contemporary film classics into the main theme, an unforgettable 12-minute piece divided into different sections, ranging from poignant passages to atmospheric and subtly romantic interludes. "I'll Find My Way Home" is another memorable composition where the dynamic progressive duo simply shines with a simple yet highly effective melody. Meanwhile, "Outside of This", despite sharing many similarities with the final section of the main theme, boasts a more sophisticated and complex treatment. The magnificent rhythms of the keyboards, percussion, and wind instruments, under Anderson's sensational vocals, lead "State of Independence" to another sublime moment, unfairly overshadowing the crescendoing symphonic "Beside", framed by a breathtaking and unforgettable melody. Finally, the ethereal "The Mayflower" arrives, a perfect blend of Anderson's voice and Vangelis's subtle synthesizers a majestic, intense, and moving piece that concludes yet another stellar work from this iconic duo.

Jon and Vangelis-Private Collection (1983)

After the departure of Rick Wakeman after the album Tales from topographics Oceans Jon Anderson thought to invite Vangelis to one of Yes's concerts that was going to take place in Paris with the excuse of chatting a while later and probing the possibility of incorporating the keyboardist Greek as a substitute for Wakeman himself.

But Vangelis never wanted to participate as a member of the group, he had already belonged to Aphrodite's Child and when he dissolved the group he dedicated himself to his solo career.

But between Anderson and Vangelis there was a good friendship that was reflected in different albums under the name of Jon and Vangelis.

Private Collection was published in 1983 and would be the second collaboration between both musicians, a work that was composed by the Greek musician in its entirety and written by Anderson.

Private collection is perhaps the best work of the duo, for many it even touches the status of masterpiece, among the themes of the album is an impressive suite (by way of the classic Awaken of Yes) titled Horizons, with a start is spectacular, and with a repeated note as a sequence and a very personal rhythmic pattern on which a simple but powerful melody unfolds, all of which emerged from Vangelis synthesizers. After a couple of minutes of introduction, the voice of Anderson enters singing a letter of a certain spiritual draft, in the line of those who wrote for Yes ... a delight and a true.

Jon and Vangelis-Short Stories (1980)

Short Stories (1980) is the first collaboration as a stable duo between the vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes, Jon Anderson, and the keyboardist, percussionist and composer Vangelis Papathanassiou. The proposal of this first work of both is much riskier than it might seem, coming from two artists perfectly consecrated at the time of their recording and that, instead of staying on the surface (ballads with beautiful sound effects, for example) , explore the inventiveness of both quite well. The result is an album that, although it includes some quite bearable and accessible themes, at times it seems more like a poetic recital with accompanying music (Jon Anderson's texts are in some cases indecipherable).

An album that has something special that gives it a unique, enormously elegant and very sophisticated character.