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For a time in the mid-'90s, Private Music was issuing Yanni samplers on a regular basis, prompting the casual fan to wonder if the love-him-or-hate-him new age phenomenon had ever indeed released a real studio album before. This collection is pretty much the definitive one with 15 tracks, including his most recognizable hits: the lush, percussive "Once Upon a Time," the sweeping, global-minded "Song for Antartica," the exotic, chant-enhanced "Aria," and the impossibly melodic "A Love for Life." Most of the tunes follow a similar pattern of pretty melody over just slightly bombastic electronic percussion and orchestra, but others, like "Reflections of Passion," have a softer classical mood focused more on the acoustic piano. "The End of August" from Live at the Acropolis adds to that flavor a beautiful violin line, to which Yanni's piano serves as a harmonic accompaniment. "Marching Season" from that same release displays an aggressive musicianship that Yanni's other material rarely approaches. A lot of the anti-Yanni sentiment comes not from people who've heard the bulk of his material, but those who simply reject the idea of simply stated, pretty, top-down music as bad for some reason. It never gets too deep, but the same could be said of a lot of pop music. For those new to the Yanni experience, this disc is a good place to start. ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide
Gnarls' Cee-Lo gets best-of set
With "Crazy" the smash hit of the year, Gnarls Barkley frontman, Goodie Mob rapper, and solo artist releases hits package.
Long before the runaway success of Gnarls Barkley catapulted Cee-Lo Green into a whole new stratosphere, the round mound of soul was a solo singer and rapper and frontman for Atlanta hip-hop group Goodie Mob.
Cee-Lo at Coachella in April.
Now that the Gnarls song "Crazy" has has gone through the roof, Aristra/Legacy is looking to capitalize.
The record label is prepping Closet Freak: The Best of Cee-Lo Green the Soul Machine, a compilation of music from Cee-Lo's two solo albums and his first album with Goodie Mob, as well as one track from Outkast's 1994 debut album, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik.
The 19-track best-of set will hit stores October 31 and includes collaborations with Timbaland ("I'll Be Around"), Pharrell ("The Art of Noise"), Ludacris ("Childz Play"), and Jazze Pha and T.I. ("The One"). Goodie Mob tracks "Free" and "Soul Food" are included, as is "Get Up, Git Out," the Outkast and Cee-Lo song that Macy Gray sample to great success on 1999's "Do Something."
Gnarls Barkley is at the tail end of its lengthy world tour in support of its Downtown/Atlantic debut, St. Elsewhere, which has sold 920,000 copies in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The group plays at the V Festival in Baltimore on Saturday.
The tracklisting for Closet Freak:
Goodie Mob, "Free"
Cee-Lo, "Closet Freak"
Cee-Lo featuring Timbaland, "I'll Be Around"
Cee-Lo featuring Pharrell, "The Art of Noise"
Cee-Lo, "Bad Mutha"
Cee-Lo, "Gettin' Grown"
Cee-Lo featuring Big Gipp & Backbone, "Suga Baby"
Cee-Lo, "I Am Selling Soul"
Cee-Lo, "Living Again"
Cee-Lo, "A Thug's Concern"
Cee-Lo, "One for the Road"
Cee-Lo, "Bass Head Jazz"
Cee-Lo featuring Ludacris, "Childz Play"
Cee-Lo, "Sometimes"
Cee-Lo, "Under Tha Influence (Follow Me)"
Cee-Lo featuring Jazze Pha & T.I., "The One"
Goodie Mob, "Soul Food"
Goodie Mob, "Cell Therapy"
Outkast featuring Cee-Lo, "Git Up, Git Out"
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