Devotion: The Best of Yanni

by Yanni

Overview

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

Product Details

Release Date:	04/29/2008
Label:	Sbme Special Mkts.
UPC:	0886972664828
Rank:	3746

Tracks

1. Once Upon a Time
2. Within Attraction
3. Song for Antarctica
4. Aria
5. A Love for Life
6. Reflections of Passion
7. To Take... to Hold
8. Only a Memory
9. Flight of Fantasy
10. To the One Who Knows
11. The End of August
12. Marching Season
13. Santorini
14. Nice to Meet You
15. A Night to Remember

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Yanni   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Jackie Salway   Design
Lynn Goldsmith   Photography
Sonny Mediana   Art Direction
Yanni   Composer,Concept,Producer
Malcolm McLaren   Concept
Peter Baumann   Producer