The compilers of Virgin's two-disc
Pure Chillout are evidently knowledgeable and open-minded when it comes to music geared for lying in bed and gazing at butterflies. The first disc is heavy on new age artists -- such as
Yanni,
Adiemus, and
Clannad -- with dashes of film score material and atmospheric one-offs from
Ultravox and
Roxy Music. The second disc is relatively hip, containing chillout compilation staples like
Massive Attack ("Protection"),
Air ("All I Need"),
Goldfrapp ("Lovely Head"), and
Zero 7 ("Destiny"), along with the granddaddy of all chillout tracks,
the Art of Noise's "Moments in Love." While screwing up the sequencing of ceaselessly airy material like this practically requires a good degree of effort, the job done here is pretty remarkable. Appreciating both
Yanni and
Coldplay, or at least acknowledging that the two might not be worlds apart, might be the real chore.