- Included among the Record Descriptions of Favorite Albums (Part 1).
- Hosted by celebrity astronomer Carl Sagan, Cosmos: A Personal Journey remains the most popular series in the history of public television.
The Music of Cosmos (Various Artists) (1980): Can it really be 40 years ago that the landmark PBS series encompassing our understanding of science and the universe was originally televised? Hosted by celebrity astronomer Carl Sagan, Cosmos: A Personal Journey remains the most popular series in the history of public television, having been seen by an estimated 500 million people in 60 countries. Companion book and record releases were inevitable, and all are quite good. The series was revived in 2014 as Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, also in 13 episodes and also hosted by a rock-star astronomer, Neil deGrasse Tyson. The Music of Cosmos album opens with the Cosmos theme music and ends with a reprise; the selections are entitled “Heaven and Hell”, as written and performed by Greek electronic music genius Vangelis. The LP contains three other Vangelis songs, with all four originally coming from different Vangelis albums. The remainder of the album has mostly other electronic and classical-music performances, including the well-known “Canon in D” by Johann Pachelbel.