Demis Roussos

Greek pop singer Demis Roussos has been making his brand of sentimental pop since the '60s with the melancholy Aphrodite's Child. He left that group in the early '70s to pursue a solo career, which slowly moved away from the pop sound of the era and developed into a more traditional style as time went by. This collection celebrates almost 33 years of music from Roussos, and what stands out the most is how strongly he held onto his image. From day one Roussos comes off as a lovesick crooner who can barely get from one note to another due to fear of bursting into tears. This may seem like an exaggeration, but about ten songs into this 40-song collection it begins to really stand out. Much like contemporaries such as Tom Jones and Julio Iglesias, Roussos puts his all into his gimmick. He is actually quite an effective singer; what really makes the album difficult to recommend is how much of this music the average listener can take. Most of these songs are very slow, sad, and depressing, something that works over ten tracks but can be rather overbearing at 40. Still, this is a great package for casual fans -- curious listeners should just beware of the intense sadness and sameness that comes with this collection. ~ Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide