Vangelis is to electronic music what Pink Floyd is to psychedelic rock. He has secured his place in the Valhalla of 20th century of legendary composers with his deeply influential body of musical work. That he received only one Academy Award is such a shame for his talent and his contributions. For those who cite his most popular works, please listen to his earlier compositions in 666 (with Aphrodite's Child, hailed as avante-garde), Heaven & Hell, Spiral, 12'oclock, Antarctica to name a few. His works are not easily assimilated by some of us - those who are bred with western classical. His instrumentals need to be listened and cherished with a open and experimental musical leaning. Even for those who value tune and harmony over the actual sound (like me), he has a huge stock of mesmerizing pieces. Listen to Antarctica theme carefully, strip off the instrumentals and for an expert, it can be easily recycled to a modern day soft-rock hit.
Sometimes, I feel he has not been bestowed with the popularity and stardom that he deserves. This is partly due to his own public reticence - the stark contrast of Hans Zimmerman.
That being said, he music is soothing, elevated and in some cases soul-stirring. Very few of amongst his contemporaries can claim to achieve that
