About 2 months ago I happened to catch a PBS broadcast of this concert performance, and I was instantly mesmerized by it. This experience led me to buy the CD and then ultimately see Yanni in concert at Radio City Music Hall on May 2. It was an absolutely amazing event, both musically and visually.

Previously, I only owned Yanni's "Live at the Acropolis" CD. I recently bought three more of his CDs, and all are nothing short of excellent. As far as I know, all of Yanni's previous works are almost entirely instrumental, so "Voices" represents a departure from his usual work in that regard. There is still a connection, however, to these other works because several of the tracks on "Voices" are previous Yanni songs with lyrics added. The lyrics were either written entirely by the singers themselves or in collaboration with Yanni (and a few others).

I can understand that some reviewers may be unaccustomed to hearing a substantial vocal content to Yanni's music, but this in no way detracts from the album. Quite the contrary, the vocals are profoundly moving and make this album a phenomenal piece of artistry. If I had to characterize the vocal quality of each of the four singers I would say:

Chloe: sultry, sensual

Leslie Mills: angelic, velvety

Nathan Pacheco: majestic, emotive

Ender Thomas: impassioned, exotic

The album has 17 tracks which represent a rather eclectic mix of music:

1) Omaggio (Tribute): performance by Nathan with Chloe on a few background vocals in the beginning; Italian lyrics

2) The Keeper: solo performance by Leslie

3) Our Days: a mostly instrumental piece (Middle-Eastern flavor) with some vocals by Leslie

4) Never Leave the Sun: solo performance by Leslie

5) Before the Night Ends: solo performance by Leslie

6) 1001: instrumental

7) Más Allá: solo performance by Ender; Spanish lyrics

8) Unico Amore (Enchantment): solo performance by Nathan; Italian lyrics

9) Vivi Il Tuo Sogno (Almost a Whisper): solo performance by Nathan; Italian lyrics

10) Orchid: instrumental (Asian flavor)

11) Set Me Free: solo performance by Chloe

12) Kill Me With Your Love: solo performance by Chloe

13) Mi Todo Eres Tú (Until the Last Moment): duet by Chloe and Ender; lyrics in Spanish (mostly) and English

14) Rituál de Amor (Desire): solo performance by Ender; Spanish lyrics

15) Moments Without Time: instrumental (piano and guitar)

16) Nei Tuoi Occhi (In the Mirror): duet by Chloe and Nathan; Italian and English lyrics

17) Amare di Nuovo (Adagio in C Minor): solo performance by Nathan; Italian lyrics

I would also add that the musicians on this album, especially those who play violin, cello, and harp, are incredibly talented. (Each of them was spotlighted in a solo performance at the Radio City Music Hall concert.)

I would heartily recommend this album. I have not stopped listening to it since I bought it. In my estimation, it not only represents the amazing musical talent that Yanni possesses, it also is a forum to introduce four very gifted singers to the music/performance world.

Other Considerations:

This CD comes packaged with a bonus DVD that includes the following tracks (some of which are not on the CD): Unico Amore (Enchantment), Kill Me With Your Love, Change, Ritual de Amor (Desire), Before the Night Ends, Amare di Nuovo (Adagio in C Minor), Mi Todo Eres Tu (Until the Last Moment), The Keeper, Nei Tuoi Occhi (In the Mirror), Bajo el Cielo de Noviembre (November Sky), Omaggio (Tribute), and Tour Highlights. These tracks are *not* taped from tour performances; they are studio versions, either with Yanni sitting at the piano playing while one of the four singers performs a song or tapings of studio recordings (the duets). The tracks also include some commentary by Yanni and the album's producer, Rick Wake.

The CD comes with a menu of choices that include links to (a) get the lyrics to the album's songs; (b) join Yanni's fan club; (c) get information about this album's tour; and (d) tell Disney records what you think about the CD.

I thought I would like it better than I did. The voices are all quite good trained voices, you can tell that however, the results sort of underwhelm. It is soothing music in places and then it veers off into less soothing.

Interesting pacing.

Not bad in the end but not a favorite

I really hope this is only a temporary state for Yanni or else he will blend in with the rest of the glitzy commercial entertainment and be completely gone from the new age scene. Any fan who followed Yanni from his early years and loved his music must be terribly disappointed with this latest development. I bought the CD and went to the concert and it was heart breaking. Many of the old band members were gone and not much of the old music was played either. Instead I had to listen to these singers for hours. Yanni did have vocals in the past, but they were quite classy. These girls gave it a dose of sexy commercial display (the dance on the piano quite disgusting)- something you can see all over cheap TV - thus completely destroying Yanni's spiritual message that he expressed so well with his music. As for the guys, one would be better off in the opera and the other one on some Latino stage. While both talented, I did not care to listen to them singing Yanni's music that is so great because there were no voices to begin with. Voices are all over the TV and radio, but finding good instrumental music is really hard.

Although the concert was technically very well executed, it will not touch your soul like in the past. I will not listen to this CD and will not buy the DVD either. My only hope is that Yanni will eventually drop the voices and return to what made him so unique and loved.

If you're a fan of the big 'ethereal' Yanni sounds of the 80s and 90s, you will probably be disappointed by this CD. With 'Voices', Yanni has officially jumped the shark. He made the same mistake Enya did with her latest CD---selling out the soul of their core musical style to pander to something thats supposed to be more pop and more commercial, but ending up not really being much of either. This CD was obviously a desperate attempt to appeal to the vast Spanish-speaking market in Latin America and parts of Europe. But it doesn't sound like Yanni at all.

People love Yanni because he was simply the best at creating beautiful 'New Age' music. He's used singers on his previous albums but their voices were used to support the theme of the music, not to sing lyrics. The lyrics to these songs are clumsy, and thats because they were written to fit the music after the music had already been written. Usually, composers do this the other way around; and it works better that way. Yanni also made the mistake of assembling an unfortunate group of singers to try to pull of the act. The female vocalists on this album are average at best. The male vocalists are talented, but their talent is misplaced because their singing styles don't suit Yanni's music. Nathan is an opera singer who would be best suited for the classical stuff a la Pavarotti, Ender should be recording contemporary Latin pop a la Marc Anthony, and the two ladies should just give up because neither of them is talented enough to have a successful singing career without Yanni's name behind them.

The album is also being promoted in a very tacky way on the tour with a trashy combination of Spanish flamenco and salsa dancing. Its bad enough that Yanni is doing this, but these singers can NOT dance and the act just ends up looking cheap and sleazy---man on top of woman on top of a piano, people singing passionate romantic duets while feeling each other up...

This CD marks the end of Yanni's career as a credible composer/entertainer in my book. I will not buy any more of his music if its this type of garbage. I give this CD an 'F'.

Arrived promptly and in perfect condition. I would definitely order from here again. This was a gift and the person receiving it enjoys this as it was a replacement for one that he owned which was ruined.