A Review of the Album "Dare to Dream" by Greek Musician Yanni Released in 1992

1. Once Upon a Time
2. A Love for Life
3. Nice to Meet You
4. So Long My Friend
5. You Only Live Once
6. To the One Who Knows
7. Face in the Photograph
8. Felitsa (Yanni wrote this one for his mother)
9. Desire
10. Aria
11. A Night to Remember
12. In the Mirror

(Note: The strongest songs in the album are in bold).

Yanni explained the reason for the album title, saying that many people dare to have dreams in their life and that they often don’t dream at all. If we do not dream, says Yanni, then we cannot shape our future. If we do not dream, then we will not have plans and goals for our life.

Dare to Dream is the 8^th album by Greek new age musician, songwriter, and composer Yanni and it was released in 1992. This is one of those albums that I decided to purchase after hearing it at my cousin’s house so many years ago. The song titles are about things that we do and experience in real life.

"A Love for Life" is a song that is just about what it says: you should have a love for life because it is so rewarding and exciting. "Nice to Meet You" is the third song in the album and this is something that we would say when we meet someone for the first time. Dare to Dream reached #32 on the Billboard 200 music chart and was certified gold 2 months after it was released. The album was even nominated for a Grammy. That’s quite a list of accomplishments for Yanni to achieve in a short time span. "So Long My Friend" is a nice song that has the use of piano in it as well as some keyboard orchestration. It is one of the slower, and softer songs on the album.

“You Only Live Once” is another great song on the album that once again features Yanni’s use of the piano. They say that we only live once so we might as well try to enjoy the life that we have right? It is a joy for me to write about Yanni because he is a really awesome talent that has inspired me as well. I really would like people to see a side of Greece that is usually not talked about very much these days. This first Grammy nominated album was the beginning of his rise to superstar status. “To the One Who Knows” sees Yanni really slow things down as the piano play in this song can create quite a pleasant atmosphere. “Aria” is the only song in this album that was not composed exclusively by Yanni. The song is based around a short part of the 19^th century French opera called Lakme. “Desire” has the bass guitar accompanying all the other instruments. Desire is a word that actually means “of the father.” It is a word that is part of human nature. All of us have certain desires so we have to focus on not being afraid to dream big. “In the Mirror” is one of those songs that is described as a “weepy ballad” and that kind of a description is accurate as it can sometimes bring you to tears. It also shows the variety of songs that Yanni wrote in this album.

I actually never thought that I would write a review for this album but it was just one of those motivations that I got while sitting at my desk at home. Felitsa is the 8^th song on the album and it is the greatest one as well. It is just so terrific that you cannot even put it into words. Yanni ended up writing this one for his mother. That’s a wonderful thing to do. Our family is important and it was nice of Yanni to do this. With the passage of another Mother’s Day, this may be a song for us to listen to and remember the value that mothers provide to the world at large. Dare to Dream is a solid easy listening type of album that can get you through a stressful day. I would also recommend CD’s such as Café Ibiza released in 2006 for a very enjoyable easy listening experience.