"As most know who have followed Yanni over the years will recall, his early works were keyboards only recorded in his home studio (except for drums performed by Charlie Adams). He created some wonderful music with those keyboards. Gradually Yanni began adding other instruments besides keyboards and eventually progressed to a full orchestra. As with all great composers it is only natural that they compose for voice or their works have lyrics added by others and "Voices" is the perfect evolutional process
With "Voices" Yanni is sure to lose some old fans wanting to hear the instrumental Yanni they admire, but; at the same time he will win a large number of new fans who prefer lyrics to instrumentals. Beethoven said "Music is the mediator between the spiritual and sensual life" and I believe music is The Voice! All music comes from the creator's inner voice which means it must be sung on some level. The voice is the oldest and most versatile and passionate musical instrument known to man.
"Ethnicity" gave us a preview of what can happen when a Yanni song is set to lyrics. "The Promise" from "Ethnicity" was originally the song "Secret Vows" from the "Out of Silence "CD. Both the instrumental and vocal versions are great but personally I feel the lyric version is more passionate and the vocal really brings out the gospel flavor of the melody.
There are two versions of "Voices", the English version and "Voces" the Latin version. "Voces" features famous Latin vocalist and they lyrics are all in Spanish and Italian. "Voices" is mostly English with a little less than half of the selections in Spanish and Italian. This makes "Voices/Voces" an immediate international sensation on the level of Josh Groban and phenomenal producer David Foster. I purchased both versions because they are very different products. Yanni being the romantic that he is it is no surprise that Spanish and Italian are used in the lyrics and those are two extremely romantic languages.
You can preview some full length songs and see videos at Yanni's official website. Watching the videos gave me goose bumps because the singers are so powerful and passionate sparing nothing in their performance. Of the songs that you can preview I can tell that there are going to be many tracks that my wife and I will be dancing to at our Saturday night ballroom dance parties. "Kill me with Your Love" is a great danceable bolero that that will be a sure file hit. I hate to compare Yanni to Delirium but with a little electronic ambience this track would fit right into that sound.
Yanni's earlier compositions and were probably not written with the goal of being specifically Latin rhythmically they do work quite well. "Desire" has a samba flavor. "The Keeper" is a nice slow rumba again with that Delirium feel. "Vivire Por Ti" also a nice rumba. "Nican" sounds like something from "Ethnicity" with the childrens choir and chanting; this is a great track that conjures up some ancient spirit. "Unico Amore/Enchantment" is a Yanni classic set to Italian lyrics translated to "only love." "Nei Tuoi Occhi/In the Mirror" (in Italian meaning "in your eyes") is an awesome duet with Chloe and Nathan Pacheco. "Amare di Nuovo/Adagio in C Minor" in Italian means "to love of new."
There are some new songs on "Voices" that help the collection out by giving your ears a break for the reinterpreted songs and your mind trying to decide which you like better, the original or the lyric version. "Voices" is adult alternative music at its best and if you keep an open mind, you are going to love it.
Sunrise.
"
VERY different from companion "Voices"
eveoflove | North York, Ontario Canada | 05/10/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Made in USA in 2009, Serial# 8869-747213-2, Playing Time 130:23
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 distincting 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!)"
YANNI VOICES
Virginia R. Fretwell | 04/02/2009
(1 out of 5 stars)
"I was most disappointed with this DVD/CD...actually the CD was fine, but the DVD was disappointing because I had thought it was the concert that occurred in Acapulco, but all that was on the DVD was rehearsals and talk...not the concert at all. It was certainly not worth the price of the DVD. The voices were all spectacular, and the CD was fine, but that's not at all what I expected in the DVD."
Nice Change For Yanni
M. L. Therese | Lincolnwood, IL USA | 04/12/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The New Yanni CD/DVD is very enjoyable. Now that being said, I was anticipating the Yanni album I knew of the past. But this is quite different and the change is good. A little new, old and in between shows the growth of Yanni's music. I think this has a broader appeal and takes Yanni beyond New Age into a Newer Age. Bravo!"
Great CD & DVD
Maria Moch | New Jersey USA | 04/08/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I really like this CD/DVD. The CD only has about 3 of the songs that appeared on the PBS Yanni with Voices broadcast. The others songs are different, but just as good. There is a greater variety of performers on the CD also. The DVD provides background information on the performers and making of the show. Toward the end of the DVD they show scenes from the Acapulco show, again with different performances that were not aired on the PBS Show. It is definitely worth buying this. The DVD is mostly in Spanish. When Yanni speaks in English, there are Spanish subtitles."
Track Listings (17) - Disc #1
