I think if I were to spend the time, I'd start historically, going back to, say, artists like Isaac Hayes who drew from "beautiful music" without being it; so I'd want to find out whom he drew on, and give them a shot.
In general, when it comes to easy listening, where to start? Mantovani? Ray Conniff? (Okay, just listened to a Conniff track that was dreadful; but I have the vague impression that some interesting Latino musicians think he's tops.)
Or I might go to country slush: Kenny Rogers, whom I'm sure I underrated. Might want to try his duets with Dottie West.
The AC stations and smooth jazz stations play plenty of good material, much of which wasn't designed specifically for them. I remember Anthony Miccio on Rolling Teenpop 2006 talking about how Evanescence crossed over to AC, not just with pretty stuff like "My Immortal" but via the crunchy "Bring Me To Life," too.
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In general, when it comes to easy listening, where to start? Mantovani? Ray Conniff? (Okay, just listened to a Conniff track that was dreadful; but I have the vague impression that some interesting Latino musicians think he's tops.)
Or I might go to country slush: Kenny Rogers, whom I'm sure I underrated. Might want to try his duets with Dottie West.
The AC stations and smooth jazz stations play plenty of good material, much of which wasn't designed specifically for them. I remember Anthony Miccio on Rolling Teenpop 2006 talking about how Evanescence crossed over to AC, not just with pretty stuff like "My Immortal" but via the crunchy "Bring Me To Life," too.