Chariots of Fire Soundtrack Artist: Vangelis Papathanassiou

Greek composer Vangelis has made a lot of music for films including 1987's Blade Runner and The Conquest Of Paradise (1992).But this is the score that cemented his reputation in the world of synthesizer music. In 1981 was comissioned to write a score for the 1924 Olympics.Written by Colin Welland and directed by Hugh Hudson, the film was nominated for seven academy awards and won four ,one of them for Best Picture.The movie is based on real life British runners Harold Abrams(Ben Cross) and Eric Liddell (Ian Chaleson). 


  The album opens with the soaring Titles .Made into a single , it entered the american Billboard singles and spent many weeks at number 1 .Other tracks are as follows: Five Circles, Abraham's Theme, Eric's Theme,100 Meters, Jerusalem which is set for a William Blake poem, and Chariots of Fire. Vangelis has subtlety and has love for haunting often eerie melodies opposed to Yanni's penchance for saccharine melodies and major chords.Vangelis uses his favorite instrument, the Yamaha CS80 which gives the melodies their ethereal texture but also has a strong sound especially on lower registers.


  This album can be best appreciate if you have the original 1981 vinyl edition (Polydor records). If you are an audiophile like me and appreciates the warmth of analog recordings then I suggest you go for it.. I got my audio cassette edition while walking on the streets of Quiapo and hanging out into this store that sells old records. It's still in good condition and made in the US. I got it for 80 bucks which is not bad for a collector's item.