# What's the deal with this Yanni character? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 28, 2003, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-yanni-character/164820 "2003-03-28T17:18:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WIGGUM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WIGGUM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WIGGUM)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-yanni-character/164820/1 "2003-03-28T17:18:56Z")
Admittedly I have never knowingly listened to Yanni. I’m pretty sure he’s like the “New Age Elvis”, but I could be wrong. I know that he’s wildly popular, but with who I have no idea. I have yet to meet a single person who admits to liking him. So are there any “Yanni Heads” out there that care to shed light on the mystery that is Yanni? ---
**Author:** ![GraceTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@GraceTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraceTX)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-yanni-character/164820/2 "2003-03-28T17:33:19Z")
I bought a Yanni cd (Live at the Acropolis?) a few years ago after seeing his show on PBC. I enjoyed it and played it often. I must’ve loaned it to someone because I haven’t seen in a loooong time. I guess I’m not too big a big a fan since I haven’t tried tracking it down. ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-yanni-character/164820/3 "2003-03-28T18:22:35Z")
He’s the next Zamphir ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-yanni-character/164820/4 "2003-03-28T18:22:41Z")
I’m going to see Yanni next week, sitting in the boss’s wife’s company executive box. As far as I know I’ve never even heard Yanni’s music, so I don’t know if I’ll like it or not, but it should be a fun night anyway. ---
**Author:** ![dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorkusmalorkusmafia/32/7266_2.png) [@dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorkusmalorkusmafia)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-yanni-character/164820/5 "2003-03-28T18:49:34Z")
I don’t get his appeal. His music is ok but nothing of it is memorable. I can imagine going to see a concert by him would like being at an overly long dinner party with music that is just soft enough to be audible. In other words, you know it is there but you don’t pay attention to it. ---
**Author:** ![Ravi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Ravi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravi)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-yanni-character/164820/6 "2003-03-28T18:59:18Z")
It might be an age thing. I’m fifty and rock and roll long ago stopping having any meaning to me. I like Yanni. Nice piano music that the lady of my life also likes. Lights down low, glass of wine, arms around each other. That doesn’t work with Devo. lol Rande… ---
**Author:** ![WIGGUM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WIGGUM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WIGGUM)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-yanni-character/164820/7 "2003-03-28T19:18:08Z")
> [@](#): > > Lights down low, glass of wine, arms around each other. I called him the “New Age Elvis”, but it’s starting to sound like he’s the “New Age Barry White”. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-yanni-character/164820/8 "2003-03-28T19:53:49Z")
Didn’t Chandler on Friends break up with a girl because she “didn’t hate Yanni?” His stuff is classical synth stuff that sounds very much like some of Vangelis’s work. Gee…they’re both Greek…is there some sort of connection? Oh, and he dated Linda Evans for a while. I hope this information helps you. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-yanni-character/164820/9 "2003-03-28T20:57:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lost4life \* > **Oh, and he dated Linda Evans for a while.** Okay, that would explain the big hair. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2003, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-yanni-character/164820/10 "2003-03-29T16:20:33Z")
I _love_ Yanni. I’ve even seen him in concert! He basically has three kinds of music. One kind is the heavy-on-the-synth new-agey music that reminds **lost4life** of Vangelis. A second kind is the soft piano-and-violin stuff that is good for a romantic dinner and whatnot (his album _In My Time_ is all piano-and-violin). The third kind, and my favorite, is the stuff that relies on orchestras and psuedo-classical themes. Some of it is thunderous overtures (like the live version of _Santorini_ on _Live at the Acropolis_) and some of it is soft and sweet. When I saw Yanni in concert lo these many years ago what struck me the most was the mix of people there. I saw hippies, Republicans in Polo shirts, teenagers, old people, people my age- basically people from all walks of life. I guess you could say his music has a pretty wide appeal. If you want a Yanni 101 intro course, I’d recommend that you go to your local library and borrow these CD’s: _In Celebration of Life, In My Time, Live at the Acropolis_ and _Tribute_ and listen to these tracks: On **In Celebration of Life** : Track 3: _Marching Season_, Track 8: _Within Attraction_, and Track 10: _Sand Dance_. On **In My Time** : Track 1: _In the Morning Light_, Track 3: _Before I Go_, and Track 8: _Felitsa_ (He wrote it in honor of his mother 🙂 ). On **Live at the Acropolis** : Track 1: _Santorini_ (He wrote it for his father 🙂 ), Track 5: _Acroyali/Standing in Motion_ (it takes a few minutes to pick up, so be patient), Track 9: _Swept Away_, and Track 10: _Reflections of Passion_. On **Tribute** : Track 2: _Adagio in D Minor_ and Track 5: _Tribute_. Also, there’s a song called _Aria_ that is on the CD _Dare to Dream_ (I think) that you’ll either love or hate. Hope this helps! ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2003, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-yanni-character/164820/11 "2003-03-29T21:22:24Z")
I’ve seen part of the Acropolis show, and what struck me is how self-important the music was. It was grandiloquent, kind of like some of the heavy metal got in the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-yanni-character/164820/12 "2003-03-29T22:35:10Z")
An [amusing review](http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1035779765588) of Yanni’s recent Toronto concert. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2003, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-yanni-character/164820/13 "2003-03-29T23:01:11Z")
i don’t hate him, but much of his stuff is new age tepid. i love one of his tunes, tho. “to the one who knows”. i have it recorded multiple times on a cassette and listen to it continuously on my drive across town. couldn’t tell you the name of any of his others, tho. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2003, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-yanni-character/164820/14 "2003-03-29T23:17:24Z")
The deal is he sucks. Obligatory _Onion_[link](http://www.theonion.com/onion3525/todays_new_age.html). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-yanni-character/164820/15 "2003-03-30T03:59:34Z")
How can I put this… Yanni is to Beethoven as Rod McKuen is to Walt Whitman. Oh, and he sucks.