For a time in the mid-'90s,
Private Music
was issuing
Yanni
samplers on a regular basis, prompting the casual fan to wonder if the love-him-or-hate-him
new age
phenomenon had ever indeed released a real studio album before. This collection is pretty much the definitive one with 15 tracks, including his most recognizable hits: the lush, percussive
"Once Upon a Time,"
the sweeping, global-minded
"Song for Antartica,"
the exotic, chant-enhanced
"Aria,"
and the impossibly melodic
"A Love for Life."
Most of the tunes follow a similar pattern of pretty melody over just slightly bombastic electronic percussion and orchestra, but others, like
"Reflections of Passion,"
have a softer
classical
mood focused more on the acoustic piano.
"The End of August"
from
Live at the Acropolis
adds to that flavor a beautiful violin line, to which
's piano serves as a harmonic accompaniment.
"Marching Season"
from that same release displays an aggressive musicianship that
's other material rarely approaches. A lot of the anti-
sentiment comes not from people who've heard the bulk of his material, but those who simply reject the idea of simply stated, pretty, top-down music as bad for some reason. It never gets too deep, but the same could be said of a lot of
pop
music. For those new to the
experience, this disc is a good place to start. ~ Jonathan Widran