“The Dragon is the second of the pair of illegally-released Vangelis LPs (Hypothesis is the other one) that came out in 1978 but was recorded in June 1971. This album includes Vangelis, Silver Koulouris on guitar, Michel Ripoche on violin, Brian Odger on bass guitar and Mick Waller on drums. It was produced by Giorgio Gromelsky and recorded at Marquee Studios in London. Unlike Hypothesis, The Dragon has a more Greek flavor to it, consisting of three tracks, the side long jam title track, the spaced-out “Stuffed Aubergine” and the upbeat “Stuffed Tomato”. This album was also subject of a lawsuit filed by Vangelis and fellow musicians against Charly Records Ltd. After they won, future manufacturing of the album stopped.”
The Dragon is a very interesting listen considering what I know of Vangelis (Chariots of Fire). Long percussion driven psych to start, jazzy casual psych in the middle and strummed intro into jazz-tinged classic 70s psych to close. Impressive and illuminating for this 80s Vangelis fan
Jam of the album: The Dragon