Yanni Discography (1984 2016) (41cd)

When singer Sade and her band of the same name were establishing themselves, their record company, Epic, made a point of printing "Pronounced Shar-day" on the record labels of their releases. Soon enough, the music had no problem with the correct pronunciation. With the breakthrough Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten single "Smooth Operator" propelling the debut Sade album, Diamond Life, to the same spot on the Billboard 200 chart in 1985, the band fast came to epitomize soulful, adult-oriented, sophisti-pop…

Best known for his stint fronting art pop hitmakers Supertramp, Roger Hodgson was born in Portsmouth, England, on March 21, 1950. While growing up in Oxford, Hodgson started playing guitar before he was a teenager, and was soon writing songs while at boarding school…

Metallica formed in 1981 by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich. The duo first met through an ad in a Los Angeles-based music newspaper. At the time, Ulrich had little musical experience and no band but managed to secure a slot on an upcoming compilation record called “Metal Massacre”. Metallica’s contribution, “Hit The Lights”, featured Hetfield, Ulrich and lead guitarist Lloyd Grant. Afterwards, Ron McGovney became the band's bassist and Dave Mustaine joined the band as lead guitarist…

As Yanni's first album of original material in five years - he revisited the past on 2014's Inspirato and recast Mexicanísimo as My Passion for Mexico in 2012 - Sensuous Chill doesn't feel rushed, nor does it feel lazy. At nearly 70 minutes, it does feel a little bit long but Yanni doesn't keep the 17 tracks treading water. Occasionally, he trades in placid surfaces, letting a slight Middle Eastern flair drift into view, but he often ratchets up the R&B beats while threading in spectral soul vocals straight out of Pink Floyd, letting things glide into a full song and then slide away back to a realm that can only be identified by the title's claim. If the production and aesthetic of the record feel slightly out of date - it feels like it could've been cut in the '90s - there's also a charm to its traditionalism: Yanni knows what he does well and he does it proudly here.

As Yanni's first album of original material in five years - he revisited the past on 2014's Inspirato and recast Mexicanísimo as My Passion for Mexico in 2012 - Sensuous Chill doesn't feel rushed, nor does it feel lazy. At nearly 70 minutes, it does feel a little bit long but Yanni doesn't keep the 17 tracks treading water. Occasionally, he trades in placid surfaces, letting a slight Middle Eastern flair drift into view, but he often ratchets up the R&B beats while threading in spectral soul vocals straight out of Pink Floyd, letting things glide into a full song and then slide away back to a realm that can only be identified by the title's claim. If the production and aesthetic of the record feel slightly out of date - it feels like it could've been cut in the '90s - there's also a charm to its traditionalism: Yanni knows what he does well and he does it proudly here.

As Yanni's first album of original material in five years - he revisited the past on 2014's Inspirato and recast Mexicanísimo as My Passion for Mexico in 2012 - Sensuous Chill doesn't feel rushed, nor does it feel lazy. At nearly 70 minutes, it does feel a little bit long but Yanni doesn't keep the 17 tracks treading water. Occasionally, he trades in placid surfaces, letting a slight Middle Eastern flair drift into view, but he often ratchets up the R&B beats while threading in spectral soul vocals straight out of Pink Floyd, letting things glide into a full song and then slide away back to a realm that can only be identified by the title's claim. If the production and aesthetic of the record feel slightly out of date - it feels like it could've been cut in the '90s - there's also a charm to its traditionalism: Yanni knows what he does well and he does it proudly here.

Bon Jovi is an American rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald. Original bassist Alec John Such quit the band in 1994, and longtime guitarist and co-songwriter Richie Sambora left in 2013. The band have been credited with "[bridging] the gap between heavy metal and pop with style and ease".

Death Angel was formed in 1982 by cousins, guitarists Rob Cavestany and Gus Pepa, bassist Dennis Pepa and drummer Andy Galeon. Mark Osegueda, who is second cousin to the founding members and was their roadie, joined as the vocalist in 1984…

Together with their countrymen Kreator and Sodom, Germany's Destruction constituted the dominating triumvirate of Teutonic thrash metal during the 1980s. And even though they ultimately failed to match these peers in terms of commercial success and longevity, at least two of their albums still qualify among the crème de la crème of the decade's speed metal. Heavy metal underwent a worldwide revolution in the early '80s, when the lingering lessons from '70s giants like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest crashed head-on with the D.I.Y. ethos of punk rock and the sheer velocity of Motörhead to spawn the much ballyhooed New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which, in turn sparked a far more powerful and lasting bastard offspring: thrash metal. Of all the nations contaminated by this musical virus as it proliferated unchecked, Germany was second only to the U.S. in terms of widespread infection…