Dare to Dream (Yanni album)
Dare to Dream (stylised as DARE to dream) is the eighth studio album by Greek keyboardist and composer Yanni, released in March 1992 on Private Music. The album peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's Top New Age Albums chart and at No. 32 on the Billboard 200 chart in the same year.[1] It went gold within two months of its release and was nominated for a Grammy.
| Dare to Dream | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 17, 1992 | |||
| Genre | Instrumental | |||
| Length | 59:05 | |||
| Label | Private Music | |||
| Producer | Yanni | |||
| Yanni chronology | ||||
| ||||
The album was followed by the sell-out, 65-city Dare to Dream concert tour which challenged audiences "not to be afraid to dream".[2]
Yanni says that the title of the album, Dare to Dream, "comes from the realization that, people not only don't go after their dreams but they're actually afraid to dream at all. If you're afraid to dream, nothing will ever come to you".[3][4]
Album
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
In a review by Johnny Loftus, "Dare to Dream is Yanni's first new material in three years and finds the new age composer fitting his unflinchingly romantic arrangements into tighter song structures. The surging synth backgrounds, insistent piano lines and general grandiosity that mark Yanni's sound are still intact. But tracks like "A Love for Life" or "Nice to Meet You" harness that famously epic energy in smaller stables. This tactic works especially well on the latter track, which is led by the wail of an electric fiddle. Elsewhere, Yanni plucks the heartstrings with "In the Mirror" and "So Long My Friend" – two weepy ballads that cascade like sheets of rain on a lonely city street. The seven-minute "You Only Live Once" becomes the only really epic piece on Dare to Dream, and it's pleasant enough. However, it illustrates the main drawback to Dream, which is Yanni's reliance on the shifting sands of synthesizers to do his bidding."[6]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Once Upon a Time" | 3:51 |
| 2. | "A Love for Life" | 5:07 |
| 3. | "Nice to Meet You" | 5:35 |
| 4. | "So Long My Friend" | 3:47 |
| 5. | "You Only Live Once" | 7:19 |
| 6. | "To the One Who Knows" | 5:37 |
| 7. | "Face in the Photograph" | 3:47 |
| 8. | "Felitsa" | 4:45 |
| 9. | "Desire" | 5:00 |
| 10. | "Aria" | 3:58 |
| 11. | "A Night to Remember" | 5:47 |
| 12. | "In the Mirror" | 4:07 |
Personnel
- All music composed by Yanni except "Aria" [Note: "Aria" is based around a short part of the 19th century French opera, Lakmé, by Léo Delibes. Concept for "Aria" by Malcolm McLaren and Yanni.]
- Recorded at Yanni's private studios
- Mastered by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering, Los Angeles
- Acoustic, electronic drums and percussion by Charlie Adams
- Acoustic violin on "So Long My Friend" and "Nice to Meet You" by Charlie Bisharat
- Vocals on "Aria" by Mona Lisa
- Engineered and produced by Yanni
(Personnel as described in CD liner notes.)[7]
The Dare to Dream concert tour
Dates
April 4 – June 20, 1992
Cities
65 cities
Set list
Selections from Reflections of Passion, In Celebration of Life and Dare to Dream
The band
This 2 hour and 15 minute concert is performed completely live and showcases the broad range of Yanni's music through a unique marriage of acoustic and electronic sound. Yanni and two additional keyboardists (Bradley Joseph and Julie Homi), are backed by a rhythm section headed by Charlie Adams on drums, with Michael Bruno on percussion and Osama Afifi on bass, and a string section featuring Charlie Bisharat and Karen Briggs on violin, and Sachi McHenry on cello.[9]
- Charlie Adams – drums
- Osama Afifi – bass guitar
- Charlie Bisharat – violin
- Karen Briggs – violin
- Michael Bruno – percussion
- Julie Homi – keyboards
- Bradley Joseph – keyboards
- Sachi McHenry – cello
Tour production
- Yanni's Manager: Jeff D. Klein
- Booking Agent: Fred Bohlander, Monterey Peninsula Artists
- Tour Manager: Vincent Corry
- Prod. Mgr/Designer: David "Gurn" Kaniski
- House Sound Mixer: Tommy Sterling
- Stage Monitor Mixer: Paul Serault
- Stage Manager: Peter Feldman
- Drum/Bass Tech: Jeff Buswell
- Keyboard Tech: Peter Maher
- Vari-lite Operator: Bryan Faris
- Sound Tech: Tracy Kuntsmann
- Lighting Crew Chief: Gus Thomson
- Lighting Tech: Tod Metz
- Tour Accountant: Diane Kramer, Numbers, Inc.
- Set Construction: George & Goldberg
- Wardrobe: Lynn Bugai
- Yanni's Assistant: Susan Smela
- Tour Publicity: Dione Dirito
- Special Thanks
- Yanni thanks E-mu Systems for providing the state-of-the-art sound generating equipment, including 4 Emulator IIIs, Proteus 1 and 2s, and 2 Procussion units used in the performance.[9]
Tour dates
Miscellaneous
The music "Once Upon a Time" was adopted by TVB as the background music of world weather from July 28, 1991 to December 31, 2009.
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[11] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| Singapore[12] | Gold | 10,000 |
| United States (RIAA)[13] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
|
*sales figures based on certification alone | ||
References
- "Chart history for Dare to Dream". AMG. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
- Yanni (1993). Yanni Live, The Symphony Concerts 1993 - Official concert program.
- YanniHIStory (2012-04-16), YANNI - Yanni interview - Private Music 1990, retrieved 2020-06-12
- Yanni Greatest (2016-09-15), Linda Evans & Yanni - The Dini Petty Show. 1992. Interview 1992. Part 4/4. 480p, retrieved 2020-06-12
- AllMusic
- Johnny Loftus. "Review of Dare to Dream". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-05-06.
- Dare to Dream (CD liner). Yanni. Private Music. 1992. 01005-82096-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
- "Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Gold and Platinum searchable database". Archived from the original on 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
- Dare to Dream – Official concert program. Yanni. 1992.
- Yanni 1992 Tour Itinerary
- "Canadian album certifications – Yanni – Dare to Dream". Music Canada. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- "Dream Come True". Billboard. 15 April 1995. p. 80. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
dream come true.
- "American album certifications – Yanni – Dare to Dream". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 31 October 2018. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.