Essential Andreas Vollenweider
The Essential Andreas Vollenweider surveys the Swiss harpist's  career from his 1981 worldwide debut,Behind the Gardens, Behind the  Wall, Under the Tree..., to 2000'sCosmopoly. In 1981,  Vollenweider was a breath of fresh incense capable of creating sweet,  poignant melodies with an electro-acoustic harp that reached from deep  bass lows to shimmering highs. As Vollenweider's music progressed,  world-music elements came to dominate his sound. Sometimes, as on  "Belladonna" from 1982'sCaverna Magica, the  fusion resulted in world-music kitsch as Middle Eastern and Brazilian  vocals wafted over snappy lounge rhythms. By the time of 1984'sWhite Winds,  Vollenweider had coalesced his multicultural approach into sweeping  suites.The Essential Andreas Vollenweiderconcentrates on his  upbeat, jazzier material, leaving the more textural, emotionally  ambiguous pieces aside. Nevertheless, there's a breadth of vision  represented on this CD that shows a musician always searching.  Vollenweider's albums are meticulously recorded, with each instrument  given its own space, creating an encompassing sense of architecture.  But the remixes here improve the sound dramatically, especially on the  earlier works. For the Vollenweider fan, there's nothing new here, but  for the uninitiated, this is a good place to begin exploring the works  of a New Age pioneer.--John Diliberto