Customer Reviews

Yanni Voices [CD/DVD]

5 star:		(138)
4 star:		(89)
3 star:		(36)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

About 2 months ago I happened to catch a PBS broadcast of this concert performance, and I was instantly mesmerized by it. This experience led me to buy the CD and then ultimately see Yanni in concert at Radio City Music Hall on May 2. It was an absolutely amazing event, both musically and visually.

Previously, I only owned Yanni's "Live at the Acropolis" CD. I recently bought three more of his CDs, and all are nothing short of excellent. As far as I know, all of Yanni's previous works are almost entirely instrumental, so "Voices" represents a departure from his usual work in that regard. There is still a connection, however, to these other works because several of the tracks on "Voices" are previous Yanni songs with lyrics added. The lyrics were either written entirely by the singers themselves or in collaboration with Yanni (and a few others).

I can understand that some reviewers may be unaccustomed to hearing a substantial vocal content to Yanni's music, but this in no way detracts from the album. Quite the contrary, the vocals are profoundly moving and make this album a phenomenal piece of artistry. If I had to characterize the vocal quality of each of the four singers I would say:

Chloe: sultry, sensual
Leslie Mills: angelic, velvety
Nathan Pacheco: majestic, emotive
Ender Thomas: impassioned, exotic

The album has 17 tracks which represent a rather eclectic mix of music:

1) Omaggio (Tribute): performance by Nathan with Chloe on a few background vocals in the beginning; Italian lyrics
2) The Keeper: solo performance by Leslie
3) Our Days: a mostly instrumental piece (Middle-Eastern flavor) with some vocals by Leslie
4) Never Leave the Sun: solo performance by Leslie
5) Before the Night Ends: solo performance by Leslie
6) 1001: instrumental
7) Más Allá: solo performance by Ender; Spanish lyrics
8) Unico Amore (Enchantment): solo performance by Nathan; Italian lyrics
9) Vivi Il Tuo Sogno (Almost a Whisper): solo performance by Nathan; Italian lyrics
10) Orchid: instrumental (Asian flavor)
11) Set Me Free: solo performance by Chloe
12) Kill Me With Your Love: solo performance by Chloe
13) Mi Todo Eres Tú (Until the Last Moment): duet by Chloe and Ender; lyrics in Spanish (mostly) and English
14) Rituál de Amor (Desire): solo performance by Ender; Spanish lyrics
15) Moments Without Time: instrumental (piano and guitar)
16) Nei Tuoi Occhi (In the Mirror): duet by Chloe and Nathan; Italian and English lyrics
17) Amare di Nuovo (Adagio in C Minor): solo performance by Nathan; Italian lyrics

I would also add that the musicians on this album, especially those who play violin, cello, and harp, are incredibly talented. (Each of them was spotlighted in a solo performance at the Radio City Music Hall concert.)

I would heartily recommend this album. I have not stopped listening to it since I bought it. In my estimation, it not only represents the amazing musical talent that Yanni possesses, it also is a forum to introduce four very gifted singers to the music/performance world.

Other Considerations:
This CD comes packaged with a bonus DVD that includes the following tracks (some of which are not on the CD): Unico Amore (Enchantment), Kill Me With Your Love, Change, Ritual de Amor (Desire), Before the Night Ends, Amare di Nuovo (Adagio in C Minor), Mi Todo Eres Tu (Until the Last Moment), The Keeper, Nei Tuoi Occhi (In the Mirror), Bajo el Cielo de Noviembre (November Sky), Omaggio (Tribute), and Tour Highlights. These tracks are *not* taped from tour performances; they are studio versions, either with Yanni sitting at the piano playing while one of the four singers performs a song or tapings of studio recordings (the duets). The tracks also include some commentary by Yanni and the album's producer, Rick Wake.

The CD comes with a menu of choices that include links to (a) get the lyrics to the album's songs; (b) join Yanni's fan club; (c) get information about this album's tour; and (d) tell Disney records what you think about the CD.

I typically don't bother writing a review for products like this one... there are usually plenty of other people that do so. But after reading the 20+ reviews for "Voces", I was compelled to write one because no one really documented any type of comparison between "Voices" and "Voces", which are SIGNIFICANTLY different releases!

- "Voces" includes 17 tracks on the CD, 12 of which do NOT appear on "Voices";
- "Voces" features a portfolio of singers, many of them well known (Jose Feliciano, Lucero, José José, etc.) while "Voices" concentrates on only 4, all of them "new" talent (except for Leslie Mills);
- the content of the "bonus" DVD is almost entirely different

"Voces" is targeting the spanish-speaking market, which is unfortunate for the DVD as many of the singers make comments in spanish during the "behind-the-scenes" segment that the producers did not "bother" to sub-title in english (while Yanni's comments, which are in english, are sub-titled in spanish).

The "Voces" DVD also features 5 tracks from the concert in Acapulco.

I must admit that I prefer the "Voices" version: Chloe, Ender and Nathan are very distinctive talents, while the majority of the singers on "Voces" are good, but not truly as exceptional.

What is obvious on BOTH releases is the chemistry between the participants: the joy, mutual respect and true talent transpires throughout, and is obvious on each release's DVD.

Yanni has of course created high-quality production for his concerts, though this tour has a bit too much of a Las Vegas flavour for my taste; I tend to prefer numbers which showcase the singer and the music, without the need for choreography.

People will either love or hate these twin releases: it has the Yanni magic sprinkled all over it, but the (mostly) latin vocals, even when delivered with passion, sometimes distract from the charm of the melody.

Here are my personal scores:
- CD: "Voices" 4/5 "Voces" 3/5
- DVD:"Voices" 3/5 "Voces" 4/5
(even though I don't understand spanish!)

If you're considering buying 1 (or both) releases, I would suggest watching the DVD first: it minimizes the "shock" of hearing vocals, and gives good insight to what you'll be hearing on the CD.

I really hope this is only a temporary state for Yanni or else he will blend in with the rest of the glitzy commercial entertainment and be completely gone from the new age scene. Any fan who followed Yanni from his early years and loved his music must be terribly disappointed with this latest development. I bought the CD and went to the concert and it was heart breaking. Many of the old band members were gone and not much of the old music was played either. Instead I had to listen to these singers for hours. Yanni did have vocals in the past, but they were quite classy. These girls gave it a dose of sexy commercial display (the dance on the piano quite disgusting)- something you can see all over cheap TV - thus completely destroying Yanni's spiritual message that he expressed so well with his music. As for the guys, one would be better off in the opera and the other one on some Latino stage. While both talented, I did not care to listen to them singing Yanni's music that is so great because there were no voices to begin with. Voices are all over the TV and radio, but finding good instrumental music is really hard.

Although the concert was technically very well executed, it will not touch your soul like in the past. I will not listen to this CD and will not buy the DVD either. My only hope is that Yanni will eventually drop the voices and return to what made him so unique and loved.

I love listening to Yanni instrumentals and thought I would enjoy the Yanni Voices CD. The male voices on the CD are very overpowering. I found myself distracted by the foreign lanquages and I really was disappointed. For me, I like his instrumental works better.

I thought I would like it better than I did. The voices are all quite good trained voices, you can tell that however, the results sort of underwhelm. It is soothing music in places and then it veers off into less soothing.
Interesting pacing.
Not bad in the end but not a favorite

Yanni introduces some fantastic young singers in this new CD. The music is an eclectic mix of styles and languages, with Yanni's familiar melodies as the base to all of the songs. There were no bad songs on this CD! The following are my absolute favorites:

The Keeper - Leslie Mills. Mills' etherial voice adds to Yannis' haunting melody.

Our Days - Leslie Mills. This time, Leslie Mills song adds power to song with a decidedly Middle Eastern flair.

1001 - Yanni. This solo piece by Yanni is powerful and emotional. Yanni at his best!

Vivi Il Tuo Sogno - Nathan Pacheco. Pacheco's operatic voice adds new layers to this romantic, soulful melody.

Set Me Free - Chloe. Chloe's passionate vocals are edgy and powerful.

If you're a fan of the big 'ethereal' Yanni sounds of the 80s and 90s, you will probably be disappointed by this CD. With 'Voices', Yanni has officially jumped the shark. He made the same mistake Enya did with her latest CD---selling out the soul of their core musical style to pander to something thats supposed to be more pop and more commercial, but ending up not really being much of either. This CD was obviously a desperate attempt to appeal to the vast Spanish-speaking market in Latin America and parts of Europe. But it doesn't sound like Yanni at all.

People love Yanni because he was simply the best at creating beautiful 'New Age' music. He's used singers on his previous albums but their voices were used to support the theme of the music, not to sing lyrics. The lyrics to these songs are clumsy, and thats because they were written to fit the music after the music had already been written. Usually, composers do this the other way around; and it works better that way. Yanni also made the mistake of assembling an unfortunate group of singers to try to pull of the act. The female vocalists on this album are average at best. The male vocalists are talented, but their talent is misplaced because their singing styles don't suit Yanni's music. Nathan is an opera singer who would be best suited for the classical stuff a la Pavarotti, Ender should be recording contemporary Latin pop a la Marc Anthony, and the two ladies should just give up because neither of them is talented enough to have a successful singing career without Yanni's name behind them.

The album is also being promoted in a very tacky way on the tour with a trashy combination of Spanish flamenco and salsa dancing. Its bad enough that Yanni is doing this, but these singers can NOT dance and the act just ends up looking cheap and sleazy---man on top of woman on top of a piano, people singing passionate romantic duets while feeling each other up...

This CD marks the end of Yanni's career as a credible composer/entertainer in my book. I will not buy any more of his music if its this type of garbage. I give this CD an 'F'.

I am Yanni's fan from his early days. He is one of the few New Age artist that made it. Before this CD came out I heard 2 songs on his website and loved it! I could not wait for the new release to come out. When I received it... oh boy, was I disappointed. I thought it was just me. But when my wife (she loves Yanni) and I had dinner and I played Yanny's CD for the second time, she asked me to stop the CD or lower the volume, because of monotonous music and overpowering male voices. Then I replaced the Voices CD with one of Yanni's older CD's and it was great. I am not saying that using vocals are bad, he has used female singers before, but it was done with a great taste and a great music. For example the album "Tribute", what a great CD! I am sure that this CD will do well, because it was well promoted. The CD is packaged well, with a bonus DVD. The new singers will benefit out of this as well.

Its great to try new experiments. In my opinion Yanni should go back where he was at his best, instrumental music with some vocals.

Okay, I got hooked on Yanni back in the 80s when a friend let me borrow her Out of Silence cassette tape. Having been a listener of country music (and Kiss, the only rock band I liked) from 1975 to 1983, then pop from 1983 to 1987 after discovering Duran Duran, finding out about Yanni and John Tesh in 1987 was glorious change to my ears. What I liked most about Yanni was the lack of vocals. I enjoyed hearing just the music, not the vocals. All the attempts to put some kind of accentuated emotion into vocals nauseated me so that it was painful to listen to.

I remember reading a question in a magazine interview. Asked of Yanni, would he ever consider putting out songs with vocals. I think at the time it was something he had considered, but had not done. And I thanked him for that, in my own thinking. He had mentioned something about reworking the Optimystique material, but then decided it was an important milestone from his past and wished to leave it as it was. Well, nowadays, Yanni seems to prefer going with the vocals. I'm not a big fan of his nowadays /because/ of the vocals. I would have rather heard Optimystique done all over again with today's electronic music technology. But that's not what he wanted to do, obviously. Now he seems to take songs that used to be instrumental, and he adds vocals. I'm not /mad/ about his decision. I just don't buy the stuff anymore.

That said, there are a couple of works on here I like. I'd probably buy the MP3 versions of those songs.

I don't understand why people are disappointed in this album. Yanni is an amazing artist who is spreading his wings and trying something new and I feel he has been very successful in doing so. The voices are amazing and the music is very beautiful. I have listened to this CD pretty much every day since I bought it. I can't get enough!

If you want classical Yanni, don't buy this album and quit complaining. If you have an appreciation for music and want to hear something new, buy this album. It will make you cry it is so beautiful.

My only one complaint: "Change" by Chloe was left out of this CD. I am thinking they did that on purpose so when Chloe's album comes out, they can put it on there.