Yanni
Once Upon A Time
Face In The Photograph
In The Mirror
Yanni tacitly announced he was becoming a kinder, gentler, more thoughtful musician with the release of this 1992 studio recording. The triumphant surges and tympani-powered sonic eruptions that often distinguished his ear.
more »lier works are replaced here by greater emphasis on billowy clouds of stardust. Yet even on its own subdued terms, Dare to Dream is largely an attractive package designed for Yanni s legions of newer fans who discovered him on Oprah or PBS. If you remember to program your CD-player to skip Aria, a shrill, operatic oddity, you ll discover the album s strengths lie in its more energetic compositions particularly Desire and You Only Live Once. On the quiet side, the affecting To the One Who Knows is a soul-searching gem that bears repeated listening. Terry Wood
Yanni
North Shore of Matsushima
Forbidden Dreams
Yanni s 1986 debut release for Private Music remains one of his most striking works. Created in the vinyl era and thus clocking in at a modest 39 minutes, Keys to Imagination nevertheless captures some of Yanni s most expa.
more »nsive, chest-thumping efforts. While some of the electronic voicings used here are beginning to sound faintly dated, Yanni brings his own brand of propulsive, classical-edged thunder to the familiar prog-rock tactic of tension followed by release. The slow-building, Middle Eastern-flavored title track, for instance, circles overhead like a mysterious raven while you explore a deep, narrow desert canyon. In a flash, a torrent of sound roars through the chasm and sweeps you away in a flood of sonic fury. It may not be a perfect record, but it is an entertaining one. Terry Wood
Yanni
Swept Away
A Word In Private
Chameleon Days is an attractive studio recording that features some of Yanni s better-known compositions: the romantic longing of Reflections of Passion, the classically gassed Marching Season, the stately progression .
more »of The Rain Must Fall (which elicits comparisons to the outro of Supertramp s Crime of the Century ), and the delicate A Word in Private. At times, though, you wish Yanni had eased up just a bit on the synthesized harmonica voice. Terry Wood