Search - Yanni :: The Private Years

Yanni: The Private Years is more of an instant library than a retrospective boxed set, the kind stuffed with biographical booklets, B-side collections, and assorted minutiae. Instead, it is a basic but very nice package that surveys Yanni's output from the mid-1980s through 1994, the year his career hit a crescendo with the audio/video release of Live at the Acropolis. Housed in a slipcase, The Private Years includes five audio disks plus a DVD of his Acropolis performance, one of the most beautifully presented pop concerts ever committed to film. The audio assortment includes Reflections of Passion and In Celebration of Life, two terrific compilations that capture all the highlights from his memorable first three albums, plus two of his softer works, Dare to Dream and In My Time. The commanding Live at the Acropolis completes the audio package. The DVD's bonus elements (forgettable backstage chatter, a few between-song soliloquies) are ho-hum, but the concert, with Yanni as its heartthrob centerpiece, looks great on disc. Good stuff. --Terry Wood