Pure Moods, Vol. I
New Age music, ambient electronica, and spiritualized hip-hop received their first major, K-Tel-like treatment in 1996 when Virgin Records assembledPure 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 Moodsoffers genre hits aplenty: fromEnya's "Orinoco Flow" to "Sadness" fromEnigma; from a dance mix of the "X-Files Theme" to edits of vintage electronica fromMike Oldfield(Tubular Bells) andJean 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