Vangelis - Oceanic (1996)

In the tradition of John Tesh, Kitaro, Yanni, and others in the field of lush, synthesizer-driven mood music, Vangelis cranks out another collection of tunes heavy on hooks and light on substance. A few too many sweeps up and down the harp litter this recording with continual fading into environmental ocean sounds. Chords are simple, progressions are simple, melodies are simple (if they exist). Things get more upbeat toward the last half of the disc, which features a fat bass sound and a classic 4/4 rock backbeat. There is little to sustain the music here beyond your basic background music. The cover featuring out-of-focus smiling synchronized swimmers does not help.