Pure Moods, Vol. II

Pure Moods (Series)

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 17, 1998)
• Original Release Date: November 17, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Virgin Records Us
• ASIN: B00000DMH7
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,158 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #7 in	Music > Jazz > Compilations > Fusion & World Fusion
  #45 in	Music > World Music > Celtic > Fusion
  #46 in	Music > Rock > Progressive > Electronic

• This is item 2 in The Pure Moods Series.

Track Listings

1. Mummers' Dance - Loreena McKennitt

2. Montezuma

3. The Cradlesong

4. Nightingale - Yanni

5. Life in a Northern Town - The Dream Academy

6. Zarabanda (Saraband) - Adiemus

7. Euphoria (Firefly) - Delerium

8. Weather Storm - Craig Armstrong

9. Teardrop [Edit] - Massive Attack

10. Theme from Harry's Game - Clannad

11. Chariots Of Fire

12. Breezin'

13. Emily - Dave Koz

14. 2 the Night - Ottmar Liebert

15. Beyond The Invisible

16. Mystic's Dream - Loreena McKennitt

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

For listeners with a sincere interest in the broad variety of music loosely aligned under the New Age banner, Pure Moods II will strike your ears as something less than a high-concept showcase for the genre and more as a mulligan stew of easy-listening favorites. This is not necessarily a bad thing; yet a recording marketed to the general public as a comprehensive, current, state-of-the-art overview of atmospheric music shouldn't include such ill-fitting oddities as George Benson's "Breezin'," a lite-funk relic from 1976, or "Emily" from jazz saxophonist Dave Koz. Happily, the 77-minute, 16-track sampler offers far more items of interest than irritation. It reaches back to 1983 to remind us of an ahead-of-its-time display of Celtic mysticism from Clannad ("Theme from Harry's Game"), and it both opens and closes with superb selections from one of the genre's most admired artists, Loreena McKennitt--very appropriate since, one could argue, discussions on the future of New Age should both begin and end with McKennitt's name. Despite its few warts, Pure Moods II is a good listen overall. --Terry Wood

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Worthy Follow-Up, April 16, 1999

By A Customer

It would be nearly impossible for Virgin to top the original Pure Moods. With this sequel album, they did not. Nevertheless, PM II is a very enjoyable album that features some of the best examples from the various musical styles that are generally lumped together as "New Age" music. This album is more eclectic than the first, and that leads to the weakness. Some of these songs just don't feel like they belong with the others. "Breezin'" is completely out of place and always makes me feel like I'm in the waiting room at the dentist. "Chariots of Fire" is a classic, and Vangelis one of the giants of this genre, but it doesn't really fit with the others, in my opinion. As in the original, this album features some songs you have probably heard before, like Loreena McKennitt's "The Mummer's Dance" and Clannad's "Theme from Harry's Game." The real joy of these albums, though, are the new finds that may have been below your radar before now. Thus we discover Yanni's "Nightingale," which I could listen to all day; "The Mystic's Dream," another gem from McKennitt; and the enthralling trip-hop masterpiece from Massive Attack, "Teardrop." For fans of Ambient music, this disc is a must, even if it is not the equal of its predecessor

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Most good, but some aren't so good., February 22, 2000

By A Customer

Most of this CD is pretty good, with some pretty good choices. Loreena McKennitt's music fit well on this CD. There was also very beautiful music by Yanni, Cusco, Clannad, and "Chariots of Fire" were also pretty good. There was also more great music by Adiemus, Enigma, and Sacred Spirit.

However, there were also some not so great songs. "Euphoria" and "Teardrop" sounded too much like rock to be on this New Age compilation. "Breezin'" was okay, but "Emily" was too jazzy. "Life In A Northern Town" wasn't that great. Well, it had interesting lyrics, but the music was weak.

In the end, I'd say this CD ismostly pretty good. There was beautiful music, but there was also pop, jazz, and rock that did not belong here. This CD is actually a pretty worthy buy, but this is by no means better than the first Pure Moods.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure For Your Enjoyment, September 21, 2001

By	Clarissa "MoonGoddess" (Ontario, California) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This is quite different from the first by adding such euro-popped/electronic bands as Massive Attack's "Teardrop" and Delerium's "Euphoria (Firefly)," but I am hardly complaining. This album has elements that the first had but also takes a new direction by leaping further into the threshold of reinvention. They still keep in the mix older classics in the genre such as the ethereal "Theme From Harry's Game" by Clannad, "Weather Storm" by Craig Armstrong, and "Zarabanda (Sarabanda)" by Adiemus, but these new, fresh faces give this album an extra push towards higher greatness. Still, though, the queen of celtic music, Loreena McKennitt, lends Pure Moods 2 its durability to stay strong with the commonplace of "The Mumurs Dance" and also "The Mystic's Dream."

Favorites to me include Enigma's "Beyond The Invisible," which for some reason reminds me of the movie Legend, and Yanni's offering of "Nightingale" which is quite possibly the loveliest song I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. It starts out slow and then quickly builds momentum as the music rises higher and the singing grows more intent. It then slows down again, and just as you think that it's going to perish into the next it starts up again. I even enjoyed the jazzy "Emily" by David Coz and the steaming Flamenco sounds of Ottmar Liebert's "2 The Night." This could, however, do without the image of slow running that the song "Chariots Of Fire" conjures... Anyhow, let me grant you lost without this.

This is a beautifully intricate album.

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