Yanni finds a Voice

Last month I posted about Yanni's return to the forefront of the music scene with his new cd Yanni Voices, and 2009 tour Yanni Voices Live in Concert. Thanks to the One2One Network, I also received a copy of the cd and had the opportunity to listen to Yanni's new music myself. We've got his Nightbird cd somewhere in our collection but I haven't listened to it in a long time. When I saw the cover of his album I was immediately curious because of his great new look (no more 70's Village People mustache or long, 80's style hair, yay!). It suggested to me that Yanni wasn't trying to get back into the music scene by riding on his past look or his past success. I love this Middle-Aged-Yanni-with-Stubble-Look much more than Young Yanni; had his music matured along with him?

After listening to Yanni Voices, I'd have to say YES. The cd still has Yanni's great instrumentals, but now that he has added the voices of Nathan Pacheco, Chloe, Ender Thomas and Leslie Mills, I feel like his music, which has always been a pleasant kind of background music for me, has come into the foreground. The pure, clear voices of these tenors and sopranos are the perfect complement to the music; the instrumentals, in turn, are the perfect way to highlight the most marvelous instrument of all, the human voice.

My absolute favorite voice belongs to Nathan Pacheco, who sounds he could hold his own alongside Il Divo, Josh Groban and even Andrea Bocelli. With his voice and the classical-inspired songs Yanni has written for him, I think he could introduce a whole new generation of music lovers to classical music. I could listen to him singing Omaggio -- my favorite song, which manages to be soothing and inspiring at the same time -- again and again! I'm not too sold on the English language pop songs (The Keeper, Set Me Free), but all of the songs in Italian (and it's not a coincidence that Pacheco's vocals are in most of them) are a pleasure to listen to.

Yanni Voices is certainly a fresh twist on Yanni's music. if you think you've made your mind up about Yanni and his music, give this cd a try and be prepared to think again!