666

666 (The Apocalypse of John, 13/18)
Soundtrack album by Aphrodite's Child
Released	June 1972
Recorded	Late 1970 – Early 1971 (3 Months) Studio Europa-Sonor, Paris, France
Genre	Progressive rock Psychedelic rock
Length	77:58
Label	Vertigo
Producer	Vangelis Papathanassiou
Aphrodite's Child chronology
It's Five O'Clock (1969) 666 (1972)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Mojo	favorable[2]

666 (The Apocalypse of John, 13/18) is a double album by psychedelic/progressive art rock group Aphrodite's Child. It is one of the early cult albums in rock history, and is still popular among fans today. It was released in 1972, and was the primary vehicle/effort for the Vangelis project. It had a minor Album Oriented Radio hit in "The Four Horsemen", and a nearly pop hit with "Break". The album was ostensibly an adaptation of Biblical passages from the book of the same name, but was also very experimental in lyrics and composition, including a curious piece of performance art in which Greek actress Irene Papas performs a struggle to chant a mantra while in the throes of hysteria.

Conception

Essentially, 666 was Vangelis' concept, created with an outside lyricist, Costas Ferris. The music that Vangelis was creating for 666 was much more psychedelic and progressive rock oriented than anything the band had done before. The music itself was an impressive display of Vangelis' abilities, combining psychedelic and progressive rock with ethnic instruments, choral chanting, recitations, and very advanced use of synthesizers and keyboards for the time. In time the album became recognized as one of the most important early progressive rock works, and a defining example of the concept album. 666 also made Vangelis an underground name to watch, and in 1974 earned him an offer from Jon Anderson to join Yes following the departure of Rick Wakeman.

Release

Just before the release of the album Vangelis engaged in a long fight with Mercury Records over the content of the album. The record company, in particular, objected to the song "∞" (infinity), which they considered obscene. It consisted of Irene Papas chanting the words "I was, I am, I am to come" over and over again in various stages of hysteria, while Vangelis accompanied her on a maelstrom of percussion (the five-minute finished track was reportedly edited down from a 39-minute piece recorded in a single take). However, the double-album length of 666 and the musical experimentation, as well as the subject matter, also exacerbated Mercury's ire. Another bone of contention was the sleeve note stating "This album was recorded under the influence of Sahlep." This was at first suspected to be either a drug or some form of occult ritual; in fact it is a drink popular around the eastern Mediterranean and made from the dried powdered roots of a type of orchid. After Roussos and Sideras had already released their first solo albums, Mercury finally agreed to release 666 one year after completion and two years after Roussos, Sideras and Koulouris had finished their parts in it, on its progressive rock subsidiary Vertigo Records. The single "Break" also came out in 1972, as did a single vinyl edition of the album in Brazil, also titled Break.

Current fans and critics typically rate 666 as the group's finest effort; Allmusic gives it 4½ stars (although their review does say "the entire set eventually becomes too overwhelming to sit through"). IGN rated the album #3 on their top 25 list.^[3] of the best prog rock albums. In the Q & Mojo Classic Special Edition ‘’Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock’’, the album came #40 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums".^[4]

Track listing

Vinyl release

Brazilian vinyl release (released as Break)

CD release

Personnel

Band musicians

• Vangelis (Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou) : keyboards, organ, piano, vibraphone, bass, flute, percussions, backing vocals
• Demis Roussos (Artemiros Ventouris Roussos) : lead vocals (on "Babylon", "The Four Horsemen", "Hic et Nunc"), backing vocals, bass, guitar
• Lucas Sideras : lead vocals (on "The Beast", "Break"), backing vocals, drum kit, snare drums
• Silver Koulouris (Anargyros Koulouris) : guitar, baritone guitar, percussions

Guest musicians

• Harris Halkitis : bass, tenor saxophone, congas, percussions, drums, snare drums, background vocals
• Michel Ripoche : trombone, tenor saxophone (on "Babylon", "Hic et Nunc")
• Irene Papas : vocals (on "∞")
• John Forst : vocals (English text narration)
• Yannis Tsarouchis : vocals (Greek text narration)

Lyricist

• Costas Ferris

Production

• Hans Brethouwer : mastering
• Gerard Fallec : production coordination
• Minoru Harada : product manager
• Roger Roche : engineer
• Hitoshi Takiguchi : mastering engineer
• Kiyoshi Tokiwa : art coordinator
• Vangelis Papathanassiou : producer

References

External links

• 666 lyrics
• Aphrodite's Child – 666 at Discogs
• The Why People: Faith, False Prophets and End Times by Lincoln Swain]