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Sphinx
Judas Iscariot - Simon Peter (US LP)
Casablanca Records and Filmworks (US) / 1977 / NBLP 7077
LP-album 33 ⅓ rpm Vinyl record
Producer: Alec R. Costandinos
Arranged and conducted by: Don Ray (Raymond Donnez)
Side A
1. Judas Iscariot 19:16 (Alec R. Costandinos)
Side B
1. Simon Peter 17:06 (Alec R. Costandinos)
Sphinx was a one-off project by Alec R. Costandinos based on the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. Very similar in sound to "Romeo and Juliet" and "Hunchback of Notre Dame."
Featured here is the US pressing on Casablanca Records, which originally appeared in Europe on Raal with the same cover art.
Thanks to Bill Maldonado of New York City for the record jacket scans.
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Feb 10, 2005 | 7:05 pmThe rather Egyptian sounding Sphinx produced just one album, in April 1977. The Egyptian theme of this studio group was no doubt inspired by Alec's half-Egyptian blood.
Of the two tracks on the LP, the track of choice is Simon Peter, almost the archetypal Alec Costandinos penned track, which paved the way for Romeo and Juliet. Musicians include Slim Pezin, Rick Hitchcock, Chris Rae and Alan Hawkshaw. Again, Don Ray directs the orchestra.
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Jul 27, 2004 | 2:31 pm
This is one of my favorite albums from Alec R. Costandinos - each side represents one of the two individuals who betrayed/denied Jesus. The orchestral and vocal arrangements are phenomenal - the violins never better (other than on Romeo and Juliet). The addition of middle-eastern instruments suits each song perfectly and shows how much work actually went into producing them. An excellent album!
After Cerrone's "Love In C Minor", Alec produced the first Love And Kisses LP which was huge of course because of "I've Found Love". "Sphinx" is even better with its movie-style intros on both sides, the music is - as another reader says - phenomenal, the frenzy rhythm, the dramatic strings, the vocals (also including The Ambrosian Singers), the percussion, both "Simon Peter" and "Judas Iscariot" are highly recommended.