Vangelis - Rosetta (2016)

It's been interesting reading about ESA's Rosetta mission to study the comet Churyumov–Gerasimenko, also known as 67P. I happened to be looking at a news website the other day and read that the mission had come to an end with the observing satellite, Rosetta, making a controlled descent to the surface of the comet. You might remember that the landing craft, Philae, separated from Rosetta back in November 2014 to land on the surface of the comet but ended up bouncing twice and landing on it's side in a crevice. It's fascinating to read about the details of the mission, but in doing so, I stumbled upon this release by Vangelis. It's been quite some time since Vangelis has put out a studio album so I was very interested in hearing what the syth master has been working on. He did something very similar for NASA back in 2001 with the release of "Mythodea: Music for the NASA Mission: 2001 Mars Journey". I've only ever listened to samples of that particular release but remember feeling not so enthusiastic due to it's combination of orchestra and the more traditional Vangelis sound. Maybe I should go check it out again. At any rate, this particular release celebrating the Rosetta mission sounds like classic Vangelis for sure.

Vangelis's immortal score for "Bladerunner" (1982) is really what helped me to begin to appreciate electronic film scores when I was first getting into soundtrack music. I also enjoyed his music for "Antarctica" (1983) as well. The last album that I picked up of his would be the compilation entitled "Themes" (1997). So it's been a while since I've sat down and relaxed with something new from the composer. It certainly is a good time for him to release some new material as well. There seems to be a resurgence in the interest of electronically produced scores using the sounds and equipment from yesteryear. Scores from series like "Stranger Things" and "Mr. Robot" seem to confirm this, as well as, bands like Gunship and SURVIVE.

The sounds Vangelis is able to pull out of his electronic gizmos is pure fuel for the imagination when daydreaming about space. In the liner notes included with the CD, a story is shared about Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers who was on the international space station in 2012. Apparently Kuipers was a big fan of Vangelis and wanted to arrange a "phone call" with the composer while he was in space. The astronaut basically took Vangelis on a virtual tour of the space station and told him how he had been enjoying the composer's music during is six month mission on the station. The story continues with the end result being the ESA approaching Vangelis about developing music that would be used by the organization to accompany videos/images of the mission. In essence, Vangelis would be creating a real life score that would celebrate these monumental achievements. The composer has stayed true to the sound that made him popular and the end result is a score that needs to accompany you on all your future stargazing events.

The album begins with "Origins" (track 1) and it acts as an introductory soundscape to the mystery and magnitude of space…and the colossal size of the comet GP7. The electronics twinkle and chatter as the big booming lower portions belt out the immense vastness of space itself. "Starstuff" (track 2) is a more relaxed look of the surroundings and the appreciation of the shear beauty of it all. It's a piece that seems to reflect a pause while we take it all in for the first time. Vangelis's music continues to successfully take you along on this journey with each piece revealing another moment in the story. The music drifts right along with mesmerizing effect like in "Celestial Whispers" (track 5) and becomes more dynamic and exciting with landmark events like "Philae's Descent" (track 9). The album ends with "Return to the Void" (track 13) as both Rosetta and Philae ride on GP7 off into the great unknown of space. The last notes of the piece seem to indicate a fading signal as contact of the probes are lost forever. Vangelis tells an amazing story through the music and I think fans of the composer will enjoy this latest work of his immensely.

The CD is released through Decca Records and comes in a cardboard bifold containing a slip sleeve for the liner notes and one for the disc. I always hate it when they put CDs in these things because I'm so scared I'm going to scratch them up. The liner notes are done very well and include a 16 page booklet with photos of GP7, Rosetta, Philae, and Vangelis. Notes concerning the album creation are provided by Tim Cooper. There is also some notes concerning the ESA (European Space Agency) and specifics concerning Rosetta's mission to GP7. Production notes and a personal dedication from Vangelis is also included. There is also a really cool time line on the inside cover of the CD which goes through the dates and important events concerning Rosetta's mission. There are 13 tracks with a running time of 54 minutes.

Review by Danny, Amazon.com

Exact Audio Copy V1.3 from 2. September 2016

EAC extraction logfile from 23. September 2016, 13:46

Vangelis / Rosetta

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Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
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TOC of the extracted CD

Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.00 | 4:22.40 | 0 | 19689
2 | 4:22.40 | 5:14.16 | 19690 | 43255
3 | 9:36.56 | 4:30.24 | 43256 | 63529
4 | 14:07.05 | 3:33.24 | 63530 | 79528
5 | 17:40.29 | 2:31.30 | 79529 | 90883
6 | 20:11.59 | 4:45.30 | 90884 | 112288
7 | 24:57.14 | 4:22.15 | 112289 | 131953
8 | 29:19.29 | 5:02.08 | 131954 | 154611
9 | 34:21.37 | 3:04.32 | 154612 | 168443
10 | 37:25.69 | 2:12.51 | 168444 | 178394
11 | 39:38.45 | 6:35.28 | 178395 | 208047
12 | 46:13.73 | 3:06.71 | 208048 | 222068
13 | 49:20.69 | 4:19.49 | 222069 | 241542


Range status and errors

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AccurateRip summary

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Track 2 not present in database
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Track 5 not present in database
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Track 7 not present in database
Track 8 not present in database
Track 9 not present in database
Track 10 not present in database
Track 11 not present in database
Track 12 not present in database
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None of the tracks are present in the AccurateRip database

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10 | (0/1) No match
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==== Log checksum F97C5B80061FA86CE5929BC783C97698F58E006CB869E109C19745311ADE7B83 ====

foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2016-09-30 22:43:23

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Vangelis / Rosetta
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR11 -0.98 dB -16.24 dB 4:23 01-Origins (Arrival)
DR13 -1.97 dB -20.86 dB 5:14 02-Starstuff
DR11 -5.00 dB -18.85 dB 4:30 03-Infinitude
DR12 -7.34 dB -22.34 dB 3:33 04-Exo Genesis
DR9 -8.08 dB -20.72 dB 2:31 05-Celestial Whispers
DR12 -1.28 dB -17.60 dB 4:45 06-Albedo 0.06
DR12 -0.62 dB -18.69 dB 4:22 07-Sunlight
DR12 0.00 dB -16.66 dB 5:02 08-Rosetta
DR13 0.00 dB -16.58 dB 3:04 09-Philae's Sescent
DR11 -2.52 dB -15.18 dB 2:13 10-Mission Accomplie (Rosetta's Waltz)
DR8 -0.50 dB -13.31 dB 6:35 11-Perihelion
DR9 -7.64 dB -19.24 dB 3:07 12-Elegy
DR11 -12.07 dB -27.05 dB 4:20 13-Return To The Void
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Number of tracks: 13
Official DR value: DR11

Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 710 kbps
Codec: FLAC
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