Yanni Review and Giveaway

Yanni "Truth of Touch" CD

1954-1972 - "The Beginning - Greece" - In Kalamata, on the shores of the Mediterranean, Yanni was born and had a typical Greek life with one exception...Music.  He began to play the piano at age six, but he refused formal piano lessons.  As a child, Yanni heard music in his head and he wanted to hear it come out of the piano too, so he needed to learn how to play to make that happen. His childhood in Greece and his love for his native country gave Yanni his inspiration to compose such songs as "Santorini," "Nostalgia," and "Acroyali."
1973-1976 - "The Second Beginning - United States" - In 1972, Yanni left his homeland to attend the University of Minnesota. Between his studies, he played in local rock and roll bands and began to develop his personal musical style using both piano and electronic keyboards to create new sounds.
1977-1984 - "Rock and Roll - The Chameleon Days" - Yanni played keyboards for Chameleon, a rock and roll band that became well known in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. By now he began creating his own compositions. "Optimystique," his first solo album, was released in 1980.

1985-1990  - "Yanni - On His Own" - Yanni released 2 albums and worked on a third before moving to Hollywood, where he recorded 4 film scores and released 3 more albums. He also re-released "Optimystique." In 1990, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra accompanied Yanni in concert, adding a new dimension to his unique style.

1991-1993 - "L.A. Times" - The album "In Celebration of Life," was released in 1991, "Dare to Dream" in 1992, and "In My Time" in 1993. Yanni went on tour each of these three years. He received Grammy nominations for "Dare to Dream" and "In My Time" in which the collection sold more than a million copies. Yanni hand-picked the band members who would accompany him on his tours, and eventually added an entire symphony orchestra.

1993-1995 - "Full Circle - Yanni Live at the Acropolis" - Yanni toured internationally for the first time. The album has sold more than 7 million copies, while the video has sold 1 million copies, making it one of the best-selling videos of all time. Yanni has continued to provide a great deal of support for PBS and has also appeared on several PBS Pledge Specials.

1996-1998 - "A Global Journey - Tribute World Tour" - Yanni pursued the biggest challenge of his career - to become the first western artist to perform at both the Taj Mahal in India and the Forbidden City in China.  The "Tribute" album was released in the Fall of 1997. Yanni's third long format music video, also titled Tribute, was filmed during these two momentous events. In conjunction with his performance Yanni donated the proceeds from the show to help preserve the Taj Mahal.  With the release of "Tribute," Yanni embarked on his record-breaking 9-month, 100+ city tour. Beginning in Mexico City, Yanni became the first foreign artist to sell out five consecutive shows at the Auditorio Nacionale.  The momentum continued from there as Yanni moved on to play 10 consecutive sold out shows at Radio City Music Hall in New York; the first time this had happened since 1993.  The "Tribute" tour was the top selling tour during the first half of 1998, and was ranked #2 for the entire year. 

1998-2000 - "If I Could Tell You" - His first studio album in 7 years, "If I Could Tell You," followed in 2000 after a two year sabbatical.  

2000-2005 - "Ethnicity" - In February, 2003, Yanni released Ethnicity, his 13th album. The same year also saw the publication of his Miramax Books autobiography, "Yanni in Words," a New York Times best seller. Soon after the release of his book, Yanni undertook an unprecedented North American Tour in November, 2004.  The commanding performance was recorded and filmed for what was to be Yanni's first live CD since Tribute, 2006's  Yanni Live! The Concert Event.  The mammoth tour included nearly 150 shows, with total attendance of more than 1 million fans, making it, according to Billboard magazine, among the largest grossing for three years running.

2006-2009 - "Yanni Voices" -  Yanni Wake Entertainment has signed Nathan Pacheco, Chloe, Ender Thomas and Leslie Mills. His more recent tour, Yanni Voices: Live in Concert, in 2009 was a big success. Touring all over North America with sold out shows including Radio City Music Hall and full houses throughout Mexico.

I have never listened to Yanni before but I find his music very catchy!

• Truth of Touch - Uplifting Instrumental Piece
• Echo of a Dream - Very sensual music
• Seasons - Has a Moroccan beat to it. Real catchy!
• Voyage - Moody Instrumental Number.
• Flash of Color - Upbeat 
• Vertigo - Love the different variations in this number!
• Nine - Lots of different musical instruments can be heard.
• Can't Wait - Female Singer with beautiful music. 
• Guilty Pleasure - Instrumental Piece that is very relaxing.
• O Luce Che Brilla Nell' Oscurita - I have no clue what is being said in this song but it is a very beautiful one.
• I'm So - Love it! My Favorite! Have to sway my body when I listen to it.
• Long Way Home - Sounds like Elevator music - upbeat
• Yanni & Arturo - Lots of Instruments 
• Mist of a Kiss - Instrumental Piece
• Secret - Song with a female singing. 

Check out Yanni's  Concert Tour Dates. Truth of Touch is available on Amazon and you can also listen to samples of each of the songs.


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GIVEAWAY CLOSES on at noon CST on April 26th. The winner will be selected using random.org and announced by April 26th. You will have 24 hours to respond or another winner will be selected. Thank You to One2One Network for this opportunity.

***Please note that I received no form of monetary compensation for this review. I received the product(s) described above. This is a fair and honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own and were not influenced in any way. I am not responsible for delivery of this product.***