Jon & Vangelis: synth-pop dreams, prog shadows, and luminous melodies

Jon & Vangelis

Musical Group

Forfans of progressive pop, electronic/ambient music, and listeners of yes and vangelis.
3 Reviews 1 Definitions 2 Charts

The Profile

Jon & Vangelis is the collaboration between Jon Anderson (lead singer of Yes) and Greek composer Vangelis. Active primarily from 1979 to 1991, they blended Anderson’s ethereal vocals with Vangelis’s electronic compositions across four studio albums, yielding notable singles like I Hear You Now, I’ll Find My Way Home, and State of Independence.

Duo formed by Jon Anderson (Yes) and Vangelis; studio albums: Short Stories (1980), The Friends of Mr. Cairo (1981), Private Collection (1983), Page of Life (1991). Notable tracks include I Hear You Now, I’ll Find My Way Home, and State of Independence (later covered by Donna Summer).

The reviews portray Jon & Vangelis as a refined duo blending Vangelis’s elegant electronics with Jon Anderson’s ethereal vocals. Short Stories (1980) is praised for its variety and hooks, The Friends of Mr. Cairo (1981) for ambition and standout cuts, and Private Collection (1983) for pure, mournful melody and atmosphere. Key songs like State of Independence, I’ll Find My Way Home, Horizon, and And When the Night Comes anchor the acclaim.

Notable Quotes

❝ Pure melody. So rich and engaging, so mournful and ethereal, solemn in its chord progressions.

❝ Well, after the promising debut with "Short Stories," in 1981 comes the album that affirms their collaboration, their masterpiece that crowns the new union with success.

❝ The debut "Short Stories" was released in 1980 and was immediately a commercial success, thanks to the perfect fusion between Vangelis's sweet yet captivating music and Anderson's angelic vocal abilities;