I will start by saying I have had no previous experience with Yanni's music, I've always known him as some new Age instrumental guy, but never really followed him. So, this CD was really a happy surprise.
I liked knowing that the artists were asked to write their own lyrics to Yanni's instrumentals, a nice collaberative effort. Right off, the first track Omaggio grabbed my attention because it was so uplifting. Nathan Pacheco's voice really blends well with the instrumentals. I also liked the 2nd track with Leslie Mills, The Keeper. It's really upbeat and snappy and kept my attention. I found Chloe's song Set Me Free to be a nice ballad that was both relaxing and a bit haunting. It is definitely one of the more contemporary songs on the CD. While I love Ender Thomas' voice, I was sad that both of his songs were sung in Spanish. I would have liked to hear him sing something more contemporary in English.
All in all the CD is a nice, relaxed listen that I would enjoy in an adult setting, like at a casual dinner party or as background music in a nice restaurant. There was a point halfway through when I thought the songs kind of started to sound the same, but I will definitely keep this CD around for moments when I need to bring the stress level down.
I liked knowing that the artists were asked to write their own lyrics to Yanni's instrumentals, a nice collaberative effort. Right off, the first track Omaggio grabbed my attention because it was so uplifting. Nathan Pacheco's voice really blends well with the instrumentals. I also liked the 2nd track with Leslie Mills, The Keeper. It's really upbeat and snappy and kept my attention. I found Chloe's song Set Me Free to be a nice ballad that was both relaxing and a bit haunting. It is definitely one of the more contemporary songs on the CD. While I love Ender Thomas' voice, I was sad that both of his songs were sung in Spanish. I would have liked to hear him sing something more contemporary in English.
All in all the CD is a nice, relaxed listen that I would enjoy in an adult setting, like at a casual dinner party or as background music in a nice restaurant. There was a point halfway through when I thought the songs kind of started to sound the same, but I will definitely keep this CD around for moments when I need to bring the stress level down.
