Devotion: The Best of Yanni

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Devotion: The Best of Yanni
File:Yannidevotioncover.jpg
Compilation album by Yanni
Released August 26, 1997
Recorded 1986 - 1993
Genre Instrumental
Length 66:25
Label Private Music
Producer Yanni
Yanni chronology
Port of Mystery
(1997)Port of Mystery1997		 Devotion: The Best of Yanni
(1997)		 Nightbird
(1997)Nightbird1997

Devotion: The Best of Yanni is the fifth compilation album by Keyboardist Yanni, released on the Private Music label in 1997 (see 1997 in music). The album peaked at #1 on Billboard's "Top New Age Albums" chart and at #42 on the "Billboard 200" chart in the same year.[1]

Background

Nine of this compilation's fifteen tracks are from two of Yanni's quieter recordings, Dare to Dream in 1992 and delicate In My Time in 1993. Those selections, intermingled with an assortment of the keyboard player's more dynamic works ("Santorini" and "Within Attraction") create a generally satisfying survey of Yanni's first seven albums (Niki Nana and Optimystique are not represented here). The CD's packaging claims that this is the best of Yanni and the album does offer a decent overview of his work, with a tilt toward his gentler side. "The End of August" and "Marching Season" are presented as performed in concert on the album Live at the Acropolis.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4/5 stars[2]

In a review by Jonathan Widran of AllMusic, "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."[3]

Track listing

No. Title Length
1. "Once Upon a Time"   3:49
2. "Within Attraction"   4:14
3. "Song for Antarctica"   4:25
4. "Aria"   4:01
5. "A Love for Life"   5:12
6. "Reflections of Passion"   4:37
7. "To Take... To Hold"   4:06
8. "Only a Memory"   4:18
9. "Flight of Fantasy"   5:44
10. "To the One Who Knows"   5:39
11. "The End of August"   3:48
12. "Marching Season"   2:42
13. "Santorini"   4:39
14. "Nice to Meet You (Special Radio Edit)"   3:25
15. "A Night to Remember"   5:46

Production

  • Art Direction: Sonny Mediana
  • Design: Jackie Salway
  • Photography: Lynn Goldsmith

(Production as described on the CD liner notes.)[4]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ AllMusic
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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