Introduction
By the time Vangelis starts working on the third Aphrodite's Child
album his friend Argyris Koulouris joins the band after fulfilling his army
duty in Greece. At the end of 1970 a conceptual album, based on the a part of
the New Testament, The Apocalypse of St. John is conceived by Vangelis and
Costas Ferris. The entire album takes over a year to complete, and when it is finally ready for release, the band
has already split up, with all members
working on solo albums...
Production problems for the album are numerous, as the band members were not on very good
terms during the recording sessions. Then Mercury, the band's record label adds
to the troubles by objecting to the specific content of the album, and although Vangelis
refuses to remove offending tracks (such as 'oo' Infinity), the album is
brought back to the released issue of 80 minutes.
One single makes it off the album, "Break/Babylon" is released in
November 1972, but that can not turn the album into a commercial success at the
time. Today however the experimental "666" has received widespread
acknowledgement and is regarded as a classic work and milestone in progressive
rock!
Tracklist
Credits
All music composed, arranged and produced by Vangelis Papathanassiou.
Text written by Costas Ferris.
Played by Aphrodite's Child.
Additional credits, as printed on the cd
Discography
LP
1972 Vertigo 6673001 West-Germany/France/Greece/Israel/South Korea
Vertigo Canada/Italy/Japan/USA
Vertigo RJ-5038 Japan (re-issue with different cover)
Vertigo 6641581 UK (re-issue with different cover)
2002 Vertigo Europe (re-issue)
CD
Vertigo 838 430-2 West-Germany
Vertigo Japan, 1st and 2nd issue
One way records OW31375 USA
Telewestel EUCD 0061 Hungary
2004 Vertigo UICY-9373/4 Japan
EP
1972 The System / Babylon / Hic et Nunc / Break / The Beast / Ofis Vertigo
6234100 Chile
1972 Hic et Nunc / Break / Babylon / The Lamb VEPL-1 USA
Single
1972 Break / Babylon Vertigo 6032900 France/Holland/Holland/Spain/UK/Portugal/Brazil
1972 Break / The seventh seal Vertigo 2-004 Venezuela
1972 Babylon / Break Mercury 6033011 Greece
Both the LP and CD are still easily found these days.
Recording Studio
The music for this album is recorded in the Europa-Sonor Studio in
Paris.
Miscellania
 | The actual album "666" is merely an 'edited down' version of
what Vangelis and Costas really must
have had in mind. It is rumoured the original recordings contained
sufficient material to fill up
a four-record album, instead of just two.... |
| Apparently the full recording of 'oo' Infinity, which is sung by Irene
Papas, is nothing less than 39 minutes! |
| The album created quite some controversy, due to the remark on the inside
sleeve that it had been created under the influence of "Sahlep". In
the days of the early seventies this was interpreted as a drug, while in
reality it is nothing more than a hot and healthy drink :-) |
| In 1968 Aphrodite's Child released their first
album "End of the world". |
| In 1969 Aphrodite's Child released their second album "It's five o'clock". |
| To read more about the history of Aphrodite's Child click here. |
| To read more about the interesting non-album releases by Aphrodite's
Child, click here. |
| To see more Aphrodite's Child photos click here. |
