20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection by Gino Vannelli (CD, Mar-2002, A&M Records USA)

Progressive rock, rock-jazz fusion, R&B-jazz fusion -- sometimes music simply defies categorization. Add a tour-de-force song stylist to the mix such as Gino Vannelli, and you find yourself in an EroGenius Zone. Launch yourself into this pulsating, lyrical world in The Best of Gino Vannelli: The Millennium Collection.

When one hears the name Gino Vannelli, immediately the songs "Living Inside Myself" and "I Just Wanna Stop" may come to mind. Well, they certainly were major hits, but they also prompted many non-industry types to criticize the artist for bowing to the record industry's insistence on a commercial sound. Those same folks did not have the patience to realize that any artist experiences an evolution in his or her style/expression over time.

I have rediscovered "Living Inside Myself" from the interiors of that song. In the chorus Vannelli washes over the sweet chords with a tidal wave of passion as emotively as any operatic tenor would in a memorable aria. "I Just Wanna Stop" also has deeper meaning now, and I have experienced its happy melancholy. It's what Brazilians call "triste," with which all fans of bossa nova are familiar. When he is thinking about "those nights in Montreal" in "I Just Wanna Stop," he sure isn't referring to a hockey game. Go there and you too will know what the heartache in his soulful voice means.

Although the music in both of the aforementioned chart-topping songs lacks the daring creativity of the majority of songs in Vannelli's oeuvre, who can deny his versatile vocals overall? His octave-leaping vocal delivery ranges from the low register of seduction to the high register of sexually-charged euphoria. Great examples of Vannelli flexing his virile vocal muscles are "Fly Into This Night," "One Night with You" and "Wheels of Life." If you happen to be experiencing romantically referenced emotional pain, "Fly Into This Night" is the perfect elixir. That track alone will give your endorphins a boost.

At the time that Vannelli was enjoying his first worldwide success (late 1970s), no musical artist outside of opera's sphere sang like him. In fact, he satisfied our opera cravings with the brilliant Canto CD. The Best of Gino Vannelli: The Millennium Collection contains progressive-for-the'70s songs such as "People Gotta Move" -- a major hit for Vannelli that I recently saw him perform as a swing number, with a big band to boot. Also ahead of their time were the songs "The River Must Flow," "Appaloosa," "Mama Coco" and "Love of My Life" -- all on this CD.

I wouldn't be surprised if Gino Vannelli's throbbing vocals brought the god Eros back to life.