“Juno to Jupiter” is the third album inspired by space missions from prolific Greek musician and composer, Vangelis. He has released a staggering 23 studio albums and 12 soundtracks in total, the best known being his Academy Award-winning score to “Chariots of Fire”, together with the soundtrack for the highly acclaimed sci-fi film “Blade Runner”. This latest album was inspired by NASA's successful Juno mission to the Jovian system and the associated classical mythology. It is the final studio album he produced before he died in 2022.

Typical of Vangelis’ later solo work, this is a rich genre-defying mix of new age synth, classical music and space ambience. A few tracks feature the striking vocals of Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu, a dear friend of Vangelis who has previously worked with him on the 2011 opening of the Katara Amphitheatre in Doha. On this album, she plays “Juno”, Jupiter’s wife and the queen of the Roman gods. Her singing is impressive, with a clean and powerful voice that cuts through the music and will certainly test your speakers with her loudest notes.

The album is pretty long, with 18 tracks flowing into each other to give a continuous listening experience. It has a strong start with the NASA-related spoken elements of “Atlas' Push” leading into the attention-grabbing new age synth patterns of “Inside Our Perspectives”. This is a very catchy tune, and it is understandable why it was released as a single, although it is not necessarily representative of the album as a whole, which is generally more orchestral in nature.

This album has plenty of atmosphere, evocative space ambience and layered sounds, all illustrated perfectly by the echoing blips, chimes and Fairlight CMI-like choral voices in “Juno's Quiet Determination”. The album is also dynamic and varied with strongly contrasting passages. A good example is how the orchestral, urgent “col legno” strings and harsh horns of “Juno's Power” are immediately cooled down by the laid-back lilting bass, slow-plodding beat and relaxed jazzy piano of the following track “Space's Mystery Road”.

Gheorghiu’s vocals feature on three tracks, including another single from the album, “Hera/Juno Queen of the Gods”. These all provide epic and emotional melodies which will tug at the heartstrings. I find the sparing use of her voice is more successful than the constantly present soprano singers who saturate his “Mythodea” album. Things are made more special when used in moderation.

I find that the quality of “Juno to Jupiter” does dip slightly in the last third, starting with the track “Zeus Almighty”. This is a protracted and meandering, 11-minute orchestral track. It undoubtedly sounds grand, but it doesn’t lead anywhere, remaining short of a strong melody and distinctive elements for the mind to latch on to.

Finally, the peaceful mix of synth pad, choral voices and bell tolling in “In Serenitatem” provides a calm finish. Some formats, such as the double-disk vinyl version reviewed here, come with the bonus track, “Cosmos Autopator”, tagged on the end.

There was a positive reaction from reviewers when this album was accidentally released early in digital format due to an e-shop error in August 2021, well before the official release date. Fans generally consider it an improvement over his previous album, “Rosetta”. Although not as groundbreaking as his famous works, such as the “Blade Runner” soundtrack, and quite different to that album’s film-noir jazz style, “Juno to Jupiter” is quality space-themed music that provides a dynamic and varied listen.