It's hard to fault Denon's More Bedtime Serenades for being a modest budget collection of soothing classical pieces, performed by the label's leading artists and recorded with remarkably clear and natural sound. All the same, the selections will be more than a little familiar to most listeners, and the program seems limited to the same popular Classical and Romantic repertoire that made the double-disc Bedtime Serenades like so many other unimaginative chill-out or greatest-hits compilations on the market. If this single disc diverges from the norm at all, it is for the inclusion of Kabalevsky's charming "Little Lyrical Scene" from The Comedians, and the traditional Catalan song "El Noi de la Mare," which are the only offerings that stand out for being unusual choices. Otherwise, the slow movements from concertos by
Mozart and
Tchaikovsky, the evocative excerpts by
Saint-Saëns and Offenbach, and the pleasant short pieces by
Debussy,
Bach,
Liszt,
Schumann, and
Sibelius are all standard fare, and prospective buyers should check their own collections for duplication. However, if a CD of relaxing music is all that's needed, this is a smooth album that sounds best at a moderately low volume, where the changes of instrumentation from solo piano and chamber ensembles to full orchestra are less noticeable.