Pure Moods, Vol. I

17 Tracks New Age music, ambient electronica, and spiritualized hip-hop received their first major, K-Tel-like treatment in 1996 when Virgin Records assembled Pure Moods. The "As Seen on TV" compilation quickly became a hot seller, and it would be nice to think that its popularity has as much to do with the music as the marketing. To be sure, Pure Moods offers genre hits aplenty: from Enya's "Orinoco Flow" to "Sadness" from Enigma; from a dance mix of the "X-Files Theme" to edits of vintage electronica from Mike Oldfield (Tubular Bells) and Jean Michele Jarre (Oxygene). Beyond other selections of beat-enhanced chants and a few other popular themes ("The Mission," "Twin Peaks"), the album, refreshingly, also includes a few selections noteworthy only for their originality and quality. A three-track section near end of the 70-minute disk features affecting soft African chants from Geoffrey Oryema, followed by "My Wife with Champagne Shoulders," a dollop of regal, faintly ethereal romanticism from master film scorer Mark Isham, then a robust piano workout, "The Promise" from Michael Nyman (The Piano). With so many elements of interest on its 17 tracks, the album's broad diversity is sure to have broad popularity. --Terry Wood

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