In a discography as rich as Yanni’s there will always be albums and projects that are overlooked and almost forgotten. This happens not because they are bad, but because there are so may other great albums to choose from. Here I’m going to write about Yanni’s soundtrack to the 1989 TV movie I Love You Perfect. It is likely not an album you have listened to recently. The movie is also hard to find these days.
The script for I Love You Perfect was written by Dalene Young and directed by Harry Winer. It is a drama about a woman dying of cervical cancer. About the movie Los Angeles Times wrote:
The executive producers of the TV movie “I Love You Perfect,” airing Sunday at 9 p.m. on Channels 7, 3, 10 and 42, have been quoted as saying that it’s “not just another ‘cancer sto” It’s meant to be the true story of great love in the face of great tragedy.
What it is, from minute one, is a paperback romance with sappy music and commercials.
Susan Dey (of NBC’s “L.A. Law”) and Anthony John Denison (CBS’ “Wiseguy”) are star-crossed lovers Christina Taylor and Alan Matthews. He’s a bartender; she’s a free spirit who wants to be a chef. She’s soulful and impetuous, with little girl enthusiasms; he’s silent and brooding.
Dey, with considerable resources, gives it her all, but can’t overcome Dalene Young’s sticky script or the way Denison comes across. He seems petulant and morose, with a hint of too many nights spent in a singles bar. It’s uphill work trying to figure out why Christina is so beatifically smitten.
In other words: this is a movie where the soundtrack just might be better than the movie itself.
About 15 minutes of the movie can be seen on YouTube (in low quality):
Yanni composed the soundtrack after the completion of Niki Nina (1988) – but it was not released on cassette and CD before in 1995 (perhaps because of the 1994 success with Live at the Acropolis). The album is not available on iTunes or Spotify – but it can be bought as a CD on Amazon almost for free.
Opening Credits is the first track on the CD. It is an amazing theme that has Yanni’s fingerprints all over. It has a happy and carefree vibe, which is far from the movie’s serious theme. It’s simply an amazing song.
Another great track is Setting Free the Horse. The light and playful piano melody is impossible not to like. The album suddenly takes another direction with the 8 minutes long neo classical Clarinet Quintet. It is a fine song which I’m sure sounds nice in the movie.
I must also mention the Ending Credits. It shows Yanni’s unique melodic talent. Only he could have made it.
As usual on soundtracks there are quite a few short melodies that are designed to fit a certain scene. Here they are called Allan Fired, The Lovers Make Up and But I Have Some Good Days, which are less interesting for general listening.
If you want to listen to a quite rare and almost forgotten Yanni album, then the I Love You Perfect soundtrack is a perfect choice. You might even end up loving it. It is a must for any Yanni fan.
I Love You Perfect is available as CD on Amazon.