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
Yanni's piano serves as a harmonic accompaniment.
"Marching Season" from that same release displays an aggressive musicianship that
Yanni's other material rarely approaches. A lot of the anti-
Yanni 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
Yanni experience, this disc is a good place to start. ~ Jonathan Widran
