Heaven & Hell

It's a magnificent work, both bombastic and serene, part Carl Orff, part Bach, but rich with that indefinable, spatial moodiness that's trademark Vangelis. The choir calls out to the heavens, synthesizers spin in counterpoint to tuned percussion, and timpani and cymbals crash on the shores of Vangelis's electronic orchestra. The second movement begins in pure abstraction before leaping into a joyous Asian-inspired section of rippling koto and plucked synth timbres and chimes. While the title suite makes up more than 40 minutes, the album's still best known for Vangelis's delicate if overly sentimental duet with Yes singer Jon Anderson on "So Long Ago, So Clear." Twenty years on, Vangelis can still move heaven, hell, earth, and your stereo system. --John Diliberto