Best of 1990-2000
It is thus far well established that Chris Spheeris,  well-traveled Sedona resident and New Age heartthrob, creates his signature  sound from the textures of romance, global exoticism, and heavy layers.  More is nearly always more. More keyboards, more fancy guitar fretwork,  more variance in tempo, rhythm, and emotional tenor. This is further  evidenced byThe Best of Chris Spheeris 1990-2000, which draws  from the multi-instrumentalist's Higher Octave debut,Dancing with the Muse(reissued in 2000), and moves forward. Spheeris himself chose the  pieces for this retrospective and sandwiched them between two new  compositions, a fanciful Celtic-inspired number called "Looking Back"  and the surprisingly understated solo-piano composition "Rendezvous."  Standouts are the Middle-Eastern flavored "Magaya" fromDancing with  the Muse, the horn-accented "Field of Tears" fromDesires of the Heart,  and, most especially, the aforementioned "Rendezvous," which seems to  take inspiration from "My Funny Valentine." Neither for purists nor  lovers of subtlety,1990-2000is a good starting place for new  Spheeris fans.--Paige La Grone