CD Odyssey Disc 1908: Enya

It’s taken ten long and random years for me to come around to the final album in my collection by this artist, but here we are! My first review of her work was Disc 11 – so long ago it was before I had the “What’s Up With the Cover?” section. Dark times for the readers, indeed.

Disc 1908 is… The Memory of Trees

Artist: Enya

Year of Release: 1995

What’s up with the Cover? The eternally beautiful Enya sitting on some sort of Throne of the Gods looking mysterious. Is she an oracle? A royal vizier? The empress of a mystical land?

Maybe she’s a half-elven bard on a thrilling fantasy adventure! More on that later…

How I Came To Know It: For a few years in the late eighties and early nineties Enya was a Big Deal. I would have bought this album, likely from a record store that no longer exists (A&B Sound or Lyle’s Place being the two most likely) the week it was released. That’s how you bought your music in 1995 – at a bricks and mortar store – and its how I still do it to this day whenever I can.

How It Stacks Up: I have five Enya albums. Of those five, “The Memory of Trees” comes in at #4. I can’t put it above “Watermark” and because “Watermark” only received two stars, I’ve done the same here, but I want you to know, dear reader, that I feel bad about this and would happily give both three stars on a day like today, where I am feeling more charitable.

As this is the last of the Enya reviews, here’s a recap:

1. Shepherd Moons: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 854)
2. Self-Titled: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 205)
3. Watermark: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 11)
4. The Memory of Trees: 2 stars (reviewed right here)
5. A Day Without Rain: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 24)

Ratings: 2 stars

What did Frodo and Sam hear when elves passed by on their journey to Bree? Probably this album. Enya’s ethereal voice and mix of English, Gaelic and Latin lyrics lends itself to enchanted forests and wandering minstrels.

I was as enchanted as everyone else by Enya back in 1995. So much so, I even had a Dungeons and Dragons character (a half-elven bard named Arlea) based largely on Enya and her music (and maybe a little Karen Matheson as well). I even made a mixed tape of songs Arlea would sing that was heavily laden with Enya songs and forced them upon my fellow gamers (I regret nothing).

Holy nerd tangents! Let’s get back to the music, shall we?

Hailing originally from Celtic band Clannad, Enya branched off into a more layered, produced sound that in the day we called New Age. How can you tell New Age from folk? All that production and overdubs is a good start. 

The New Age tricks that Enya did was to layer her own vocals multiple times, making a rich tapestry of sound. It works because her voice, which is sweet and gentle, lends itself to the treatment.

Whatever you think of how an Enya song is produced, there is no denying the lift your heart gets when she climbs into the higher parts of her register. There is something otherworldly going on in that voice that transcends the human – like she’s made a deal with a leannán sídhe or maybe is one. Either way, we’re the fortunate beneficiaries of her instrument.

As with most Enya albums, she puts one jumpy number on there to draw in the audience and to get some MTV/MuchMusic playing time. On “The Memory of Trees” this offering is “Anywhere Is”. It’s a catchy number, despite some cringe-worthy sing song moments in the lyrics like “In motion on the ocean/The moon still keeps on moving”. Not bad written down but a bit twee out loud.

This is what we sign up for with an Enya record, though. If you don’t think you’re going to get a heathy does of ‘twee’ and ‘dear’ from a record that has song titles like “China Roses” and “Tea-House Moon” then you are fooling yourself.

The good news is that while some of those tracks are forgettable “background while browsing the antiques store” fare, there are also plenty that provide a lift to the spirit in a way few other artists can accomplish. Enya’s quiet grace got me through many a dark time in my life and you could do a lot worse than laying in the dark listening to “the Memory of Trees,” letting the weariness wash away on the waves of the motion on the ocean.

Best tracks: Anywhere Is, Athair Ar Neamh, Hope Has a Place, On My Way Home

CD Odyssey Disc 1563: Loreena McKennitt

This next album features a harpist. Fun fact – when I was a kid I wanted to learn how to play the lyre. My mom searched all around for someone who taught the lyre, but all she could find was someone who taught the harp. Being a headstrong teen, I rejected this very reasonable compromise. Never did learn to play the lyre either…

Disc 1563 is…. The Visit

Artist: Loreena McKennitt

Year of Release: 1991

What’s up with the Cover? Who is this woman knock knocking on my chamber door?  Why does she seek to gain entry at this unearthly hour? Is she pursued by vampires, or is she just trying to escape the humidity that is playing hell with her hair?

How I Came To Know It: I saw a video (I think it was “All Souls Night”) on a music channel back when those were a thing. I think it might have been Country Music Television. I liked it a lot and went and found the album it was on. This was it.

How It Stacks Up: We have six Loreena McKennitt albums, and “The Visit” is the best of them all. Number one! This is the final review as well, so here’s a recap.

1. The Visit: 5 stars (reviewed right here)
2. Parallel Dreams: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 141)
3. The Mask and Mirror: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 262)
4. Elemental: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 143)
5. The Book of Secrets: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 552)
6. An Ancient Muse: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 282)

Ratings: 5 stars

It has been almost nine years since the CD Odyssey last landed on a Loreena McKennitt album, but there is no question we’ve saved the best for last. “The Visit” is a record I have heard hundreds of times but every time I put it on it still makes my spirit soar.

Since it has been a long time since I wrote about McKennitt, a refresher is in order. She is Celtic folk music, emerging from between the shadows to briefly bubble up into the mainstream consciousness when Celtic folk was a fad back in the early nineties. While there was a lot of junk that came out of that Celtic Renaissance (Riverdance comes to mind) there was also a lot of great music. “The Visit” is as good as it gets.

McKennitt plays both keyboards and harp on the record, and if you’re wondering what keyboards are doing on traditional Celtic folk music, you’d be right – this isn’t purely folk. McKennitt blends in a number of influences, but she does it so artfully you won’t mind.

In any case, it is the harp and her vocals that are the stars of the show. We don’t get many opportunities to hear the harp in modern music, and it is often relegated to a lonely corner at the back of a wedding dinner. “The Visit” brings it front and center. There is none of the fustiness you might expect from such a ‘chamber’ instrument. McKennitt’s harp trills through the album, burbling across songs across the top of the melody like some kind of water spirit.

McKennitt’s vocals have an equally magic quality. High and operatic, but with a rustic delivery that lends itself to storytelling. Modern artists like Marissa Nadler owe much to pioneers like McKennitt, who blended these traditions so artfully.

All the other players on the record are amazing as well, notably the fiddle work from George Marsh, but it is the way they are arranged together that matters most; always creating a swell that propels the story of each song forward.

As for the songs, they are exceptional. A mix of McKennitt’s own compositions, traditional folk tunes and sometimes a mix of English Literature masterpieces set to McKennitt’s music. The best of these is Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shalott,” Tennyson was always a master of meter and flow and set to McKennitt’s music it will make your heart cry with the great and tragic romance that unfolds. The experience takes almost 12 minutes and at no point will you tire of the journey.

“The Visit” is McKennitt’s third album, and sees her beginning to explore broader Celtic traditions, and bringing in sounds from across Europe and beyond. “Between the Shadows” has a Middle Eastern flare to it and “Tango to Evora” brings in South American traditions. The opening track, “All Souls Night” is a mix of Celtic tradition and New Age mystery. All of it threads together in a grand tapestry of sound, and style.

McKennitt can also play it straight. The traditional “Bonny Portmore” laments the loss of a great tree that is felled to build a ship. I saw McKennitt live on “The Visit” tour back in 1991, and when she played “Bonny Portmore” tears streamed down my cheeks with the Goddamn tragic beauty of it all. This did not leave me looking manly in the eyes of my date, but I regret nothing.  

To this day, that concert was one of the best I have ever attended and to this day, this album is one of the best in my collection.

Best tracks: All tracks, but in particular All Souls Night, Bonny Portmore, Between the Shadows, The Lady of Shalott, and The Old Ways

CD Odyssey Disc 854: Enya

This next album is one of the first CDs I owned, so back in the day it got a lot of play. I don’t put it on much anymore, and so it was nice to hear it again. It was like visiting an old friend you don’t see very often, and finding you still have a connection.

Disc 854 is….Shepherd Moons

Artist: Enya

Year of Release: 1991

What’s up with the Cover? It’s Enya herself, looking fey and mysterious. Also, distractingly beautiful.

How I Came To Know It: I heard “Orinoco Flow” on Muchmusic back in the day and liked it. When I went to buy the album (“Watermark” reviewed way back at Disc 11) it wasn’t there, but this newer release was. Not wanting to return home empty-handed I bought “Shepherd Moons” instead.

How It Stacks Up:  I have five Enya albums (her first five). Of those, “Shepherd Moons” is my favourite so I’ll rank it…#1.

Ratings: 4 stars

“Shepherd Moons” is an album that will soothe a troubled soul. It did that for me in 1991. 25 years later I’m much less troubled, but it still fills my heart with peace and calms my spirit’s rougher edges.

If that introduction sounds a little overwrought, then welcome to new age music. And I don’t mean that in a bad way, either. New age music is meant to inspire the soul and if that means your soul bubbles over a bit in a wanton display of joy, then it is working the way it’s supposed to.

Enya’s signature sound is to take Celtic and classical musical structures and fill them with an ambient quality through multiple layers of overdubbing. The result is an unearthly choir that is something more than human. It always makes me think of what elves would sound like. Enya even looks elven.

Better than any other Enya album, “Shepherd Moons” finds the perfect mix of new age production and old school Celtic mystery. Despite the inherently artificial production that goes into making the album, the songs still feel suffused with organic vitality.

Enya also makes sure the album has a strong dynamic range. A lot of new age music can drone on through the length of a full record, but Enya keeps things interesting. The high energy “Book of Days” is sandwiched between the introspective classical piano piece “No Holly for Miss Quinn” and the insular and thoughtful “Evacuee.” From opening to closing the record feels like a single art piece, rather than just a collection of songs.

That said, I have my favourites, none more so than “How Can I Keep From Singing?” Because of all the layered production, Enya’s voice can sometimes feel fuzzy, and you might be tempted to think that her vocals are entirely artificial. “How Can I Keep From Singing?” dispels this notion, with an incredible vocal performance. I also love the lyrics, which are a message of hope in a sometimes unjust world:

“When tyrants tremble in their fear

And hear their death knell ringing

When friends rejoice both far and near

How can I keep from singing?”

Technically not a message of hope if you are a tyrant, I suppose. Anyway, listening to Enya I always get this weird feeling that all darkness has an end. She’s like Galadriel in Lothlorien giving a light to Frodo to help keep him safe on his journey. In fact, the album even has a song called “Lothlorien” which is a two minute piano piece that makes you feel like you’re walking through an enchanted forest full of elves. Yes, this music is both inspiring and nerdy.

The songs that edge into traditional Celtic forms are among my favourites. “Ebudae” has a rising rhythm that is an infectious earworm despite not being in English. It makes me feel like I’m sitting around a campfire chanting in some bygone time, except with less bugs and smoke.

“Smaointe” is the last song on the record and one of my favourites. I can’t even pronounce the song’s title, but Enya’s heart-wrenching vocal carries a deep sorrow that breaks through the language barrier. The song has a Daniel-Lanois like ambience that never intrudes on its intimacy, and the Uillean Pipes (played expertly by Liam O’Flionn) provide a poignant offset to Enya’s soft and pure singing.

The only track that didn’t quite hit the mark is “Marble Halls.” This song goes one step too far into schmaltz, as Enya recounts a dream where she is incredibly wealthy, but her greatest gift remains the love of her partner. Even the melody seems a bit too dear.

Still, this is one track out of twelve and I like all the others to varying degrees. I’m not much for new age music overall, but Enya is the master of it, and “Shepherd Moons” is her finest work. For many readers, one Enya album is too many. I am sorry you feel that way. If you do decide to open your heart to just one though, make it “Shepherd Moons.”

Best tracks:  Caribbean Blue, How Can I Keep From Singing?, Ebudae, Angeles, Book of Days, Lothlorien, Smaointe

CD Odyssey Disc 624: Sarah McLachlan

I’ve really been jumping from genre to genre lately on the Odyssey. I went from the dark progressive metal of Tool to the light and upbeat indie pop of the Ting Tings. Now I am bumped to new age folk-rock with this next album.

Disc 624 is…. Touch

Artist: Sarah McLachlan

Year of Release: 1989

What’s up with the Cover? I assume this is what it would have looked like if Galadriel had kept the One Ring (her golden hair would look black in ‘ring vision’).  Take the ring off, Galadriel – the Dark Lord can see you!

Also what are those creatures drawn in corners of the art border? Up top they look like fat Dr. Seuss birds, and down below they look like overweight octopuses.

For all the kidding, I do like this cover, which has a nice magical quality. Bonus points to McLachlan for doing the ‘hand tinting’ to the photograph, which I assume accounts for the Morgul-glow it has.

How I Came To Know It:  I heard the song “Vox” on MuchMusic and I liked it, so I bought this album. I am one of those fans from the beginning when it comes to Sarah McLachlan.

How It Stacks Up:  We have five Sarah McLachlan albums (her first five) and I must reluctantly declare “Touch” the least of the bunch. Sorry, Sarah – something had to be last.

Rating:  2 stars

“Touch” is an album by an artist still struggling to find her niche. McLachlan would go on to not only release a series of excellent records, but also to almost single-handedly launch the power of the all-woman tour with Lilith Fair. Back at the beginning she was just a newly discovered ingénue trying to figure it all out.

First the good stuff, because there is plenty of promise on “Touch” of what would come later. McLachlan’s voice is a thing of beauty, and she controls it with the grace and authority of an opera singer. A lot of these songs are incredibly vocally demanding and she delivers them well when lesser talents would have gone sharp or out of breath.

The hit off this record (minor as it was) is “Vox” and it is easy to see why. McLachlan’s vocals deliver the lyrics in a mysterious and breathless way that would help define the greatness of her next record, 1991’s “Solace.” Also, the keyboard riff on “Vox” is a pretty cool pop hook that nicely offsets the new age feel of the rest of the song. Even the lyrics of “Vox” are solid, as they describe a dreamy but troubled relationship (everything with this record is dreamy in some way):

"Through your eyes the strains of battle like a brooding storm

You're up and down these pristine velvet walls like focus never forms

My walls are getting wider and my eyes are drawn astray

I see you now, a vague deception of a dying day."

Unfortunately, someone decided that there can’t be too much of a good thing and ended the record with an extended version of “Vox”.The extended version is only two minutes longer, but those extra two minutes pack in a lot of terrible choices. Worst of all is the weird percussion sounds at the beginning that reminded me of the Dead Milkmen’s “Instant Club Hit” except without any of the self-aware mockery. Not all music is made for dancing, and trying to force it only makes it worse.

The drumming and percussion decisions on “Touch” are generally annoying. I’m not sure if they are trying to evoke tribal sounds or new wave drum machines but they often manage to mangle them together into a Frankenstein’s monster of distracting noise. McLachlan is game to keep these songs stable, and with the evocative power of her voice she generally succeeds. Her only reward for rescuing the songs is to have her pushed even lower down in the production mix. It was like when they made this album they hadn’t yet figured out that McLachlan is the reason people would buy it.

I will say that the title track has very pretty New Age production, where the drums and keyboards serve the melody, rather than overpowering it. The song has McLachlan singing in a simple hymn-like fashion that had me thinking of Enya’s first two albums. It may be a bit too much like Enya, in fact, but since I like Enya’s early albums I have no complaints with a little honest emulation.

This mood is broken by more goofy percussion on “Steaming” and then two terribly named songs in “Sad Clown” and “Uphill Battle.” While not a great song, “Sad Clown” has passable lyrics which are not – thankfully – about some morose circus performer. “Uphill Battle” is an instrumental that desperately needs McLachlan’s vocal talents to rescue it from itself.

Kudos to McLachlan for sticking to a reasonable 10 songs rather than going overboard and I also like the cover design as I noted earlier. However, the lyrics printed inside are provided in an almost unreadable handwritten scrawl. It may give it an organic look, but a note to artists; if you are including the lyrics it is presumably because you want us to be able to read them. Keep that in mind when you choose a font.

I’ll end on an up-note with “Ben’s Song.” This song shows the promise of everything “Touch” could have been if McLachlan’s talents were fully utilized. “Ben’s Song” is a meditation of sorts on the death of a loved one. Not the actual death, but merely the agony of imagining it will one day come to pass – the kind of dream that is so real it gives your heart a pain that threatens to knock you over with grief.

The song begins with McLachlan singing in a high, keening chant that is so pure and ethereal that you’re sure she’s stepped right out of the world of faerie. The only instruments are bass and piano. McLachlan plays the latter, reminding us of her exceptional talent as a pianist as well.

"On the hills of fire, the darkest hour

I was dreaming of my true love’s pyre

Who will bring a light to stoke the fire?

Fear not for you’re still breathing

"On a winter’s day, I saw the life blood drained away

A cold wind blows on a windless day”

The lyrics made me think of an ancient Viking woman sending her husband off to Valhalla, and the song fades out with McLachlan repeating “on a winter’s day” with a haunting resonance.

“Ben’s Song” would be the perfect ending to this album, and when I remember to rouse myself from its spell in time I stop the record here. Unfortunately, the “Vox” extended version is what the record execs leave us with instead – proof that they just didn’t know what they were doing.

Best tracks: Vox, Touch, Ben’s Song

CD Odyssey Disc 552: Loreena McKennitt

Yesterday I wrote my first complete rap song (after many partial efforts).  It is called “I Carry the Load” and it is a pretty fine freshman effort, if I do say so myself.  Now I just need a DJ to give me some fresh beats to rap over.  Maybe I’ll call up Eric B. and see what he is doing, or see what Terminator X is up to.  Or maybe I’ll just keep my day job.  Probably the latter.

This next review is as far from rap music as you can get, but it is variety that makes the music world turn, my friends.

Disc 552 is…. The Book of Secrets

Artist: Loreena McKennitt

Year of Release: 1997

What’s up with the Cover?  Loreena herself, looking resplendent despite facing sinister (if you know your heraldry, that will make sense).  The yellowish sepia tone makes it look very old, like the cover of a book of secrets maybe.

How I Came To Know It:  I was a fan of Loreena McKennitt since I first heard her album “The Visit” back in 1991.  I bought “Book of Secrets” when it came out.

How It Stacks Up:  We have six Loreena McKennitt albums.  “Book of Secrets” is good, but not great.  I’d put if fifth out of the six.

Rating:  3 stars

Sometimes as an artist becomes more and more successful, they can fall deeper and deeper into their own sound.  This can be both good and bad.  Part of Loreena McKennitt’s sound is that she is one of the great masters of establishing a mood in music. 

Establishing a mood can take a while, and on “Book of Secrets” there are only eight songs, but a full 53 minutes of music.  I found myself alternating between soaking in the journey and wishing she’d just get on with it.

In the liner notes, McKennitt is keenly aware of her own inclinations, offering up a Lao Tzu quote that goes, “A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.”  Good stuff, although I personally prefer Canadian Earle Birney’s expression of the same sentiment: “do you want to climb this mountain, or just get to the top?”  Whatever your preferred quote, this is a good way to approach this record if you want to enjoy it

All of the usual excellence in McKennitt’s earlier records is evident on “Book of Secrets” as well.  McKennitt’s operatic voice soars over a rogue’s gallery of instruments from around the world, including the bodhran, the hurdy gurdy, the shawm and mandocello (seriously, I’m not making these things up – go ahead and google them).  Many of the instruments are ancient medieval and renaissance affairs, and they give the recording a timeless quality.

Her subject matter is similar to previous records, as she explores the roots of the ever-travelling Celts across Eurasia.  “Skellig” is a nice track in this vein, telling the tale of a monastery located on the Skellig Islands near Ireland. You can practically feel the dark and dank stone walls, and the lone candle burning in a tower as some ancient dark ages monk scribbled away, writing scripture and history for future generations to discover.  Of course, it is slightly less spellbinding when you think about some of the classical texts and history monks in this era scraped off their pages so they’d have something to write on.  But I digress…

The true classic on this record is “The Highwayman.”  Like she did with Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shalott” on an earlier record, McKennitt has taken the epic Alfred Noyes poem, “The Highwayman” and brilliantly set it to music.

My degree is in English Literature, and I’ll always have a soft spot for a great poem.  For me, McKennitt’s treatment of “The Highwayman” is a five star affair that never fails to make the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.

“The Highwayman” tells the tale of a robber who has taken a shine to an innkeeper’s daughter, and visits here between heists.  The English redcoats set a trap for him there, but not before drinking the innkeeper’s ale without paying and tying up the daughter in the window so she can watch her lover die.  They tie a musket under her chin and (spoiler alert) she twists her hands in her bonds until she is able to get her finger on the musket’s trigger, and tragically warn him of the trap by killing herself.

When the Highwayman hears, he flees the trap, only to learn later what has happened and decide to return back into the trap to avenge her death:

“Back, he spurred like a madman shrieking his curse to the sky

With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!

Blood-red were the spurs i’the golden noon; wine-red was his velvet coat

When they shot him down on the highway

Down like a dog on the highway

And he lay in his blood on the highway, with a bunch of lace at his throat.”

So, no, he didn’t quite avenge his lover, but full points for bravery.  Also, the story shows that long before “Breaking Bad” gave us Walter White good writing was already making us root for what are essentially bad people.

Noyes’ writing flows naturally anyway, and with both McKennitt’s voice and the music perfectly punctuating the ebb and flow of the poem’s emotion, it makes it better than any simple reading could ever accomplish. The final stanza tells of how the Highwayman’s ghost still haunts the inn looking for vengeance, even as the music shifts to a disquieting whisper of percussion and almost whispered words:

“Still of a winter’s night, they say, when the wind is in the trees

When the moon is a ghostly galleon, tossed upon the cloudy seas,

When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor

The highwayman comes riding

Riding, riding

A highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.

There are other good songs on “Book of Secrets”, including the complex rhythms on “Night Right Across the Caucusus” and the piano-driven devotional “Dante’s Prayer.”  “Night Ride…” uses a multitude of instruments to create the feeling of a journey, while “Dante’s Prayer” is sparse, using mostly the aforementioned piano, accentuated with timely violin bits and some Gregorian Chants.  I was again reminded what a fine production ear McKennitt has (she not only wrote, but produced the record).

“Book of Secrets album does drag a bit in places (“Marco Polo” made me feel like I was listening to background music from the Civilization videogame), but overall the album is a solid effort.

Best tracks:  The Highwayman, Night Ride Across the Caucusus, Dante’s Prayer

CD Odyssey Disc 469: Clannad

Some albums aren’t the greatest albums in your collection, but they have enough associated memories that you have a hard time not smiling when you put them on.  This next one is one of those.

Disc 469 is…PastPresent

Artist: Clannad

Year of Release: 1989, with music from 1983-1989

What’s up with the Cover?  Oh, folk artists, you really struggle with the cover art.  The ghostly face of a giant woman haunts a field of some kind of grain (I think).  She looks apprehensive about something – maybe it’s the realization that the foliage is making her look like she has a beard.

How I Came To Know It:  In the eighties, I was a fan of an ITV series on Robin Hood called “Robin of Sherwood” that ran from 1984-1986.  I loved the melodramatic flair of the show, which starred Michael Praed as Robin of Loxley for the first two years.  I thought Praed was the best Robin Hood I’d seen since Errol Flynn, but at the end of Season Two they killed him off.  Spoiler alert – it happens when the Sheriff of Nottingham finally figures out he can track the thieves through Sherwood Forest with dogs – who knew? This awkward plot and the loss of Praed to the series were both genuinely depressing.  When Praed later resurfaced as “Prince Michael” on the insufferable soap opera “Dynasty” I was even more depressed.

Despite that hiccup, “Robin of Sherwood” remains one of my favourite tellings of the Robin Hood legend.  I really dug the theme song “Robin (The Hooded Man)” which I discovered was by the band Clannad.  Although a famous folk band in the UK, I’d never heard of Clannad at the time, but I went in search of the CD featuring the music from the show.  This was in the days before internet shopping, and I didn’t find it, but I did find the compilation album, “PastPresent” that had two of the tracks from the show, “Robin (the Hooded Man)” and “Lady Marian.”

How It Stacks Up:  As long time readers of A Creative Maelstrom will know, I don’t ‘stack up’ compilations because they are not true albums, but just a collection of singles.

Rating:  n/a – ‘best of’ albums aren’t rateable!

“Robin of Sherwood” was a formative series for me – full of melodrama, honour, derring-do and feats of heroism, but “PastPresent” sadly did not deliver the same magic. 

“Robin (the Hooded Man)” was a very cool track, and I still enjoy the odd mix of synthesizer, violins, hints of martial drumming and a chorus singing “Robin, the hooded man,” all breathy and mysterious.  However, it has never recaptured the magic present when I heard it sung over the credits as an impressionable fourteen year old, settling in for an episode of my favourite show.  But I digress…

Back to the album, which despite helping open my eyes to a new kind of music, was overall disappointing.  Clannad had been around since the mid-seventies, but “PastPresent” only covers the period from 1983-1989.  Regrettably, by this time they had drifted quite a ways from traditional Celtic folk and into new age.  In the eighties a lot of Celtic/new age hybrids were infected with the same production values that were wrecking rock and roll at the time, and Clannad did not escape the trend.  The songs are flat and fuzzy in production, and whereas former band member Enya had gone on to show the wonders of layered production sound, Clannad’s efforts at it are a mixed bag.

On up-tempo tracks the sound comes off a bit trite.  I expect it is supposed to be anthemic but songs like “Something to Believe In” and “Stepping Stone” lose their resonance with the inclusion of drum machine beats, and the sing-song voice common to folk vocals doesn’t mesh well with the pop production sounds.  Even the brilliant vocals of Maire Brennan can’t rescue these tracks from the ill-placed saxophone solos.

Also on the gripe list, this record has sixteen songs, which is two too many for almost any album.  Worse, two of those songs are “The Hunter” and “World of Difference,” both songs that are not available anywhere else.  Neither song is particularly good, but beyond that I am infuriated with artists that promote their compilation albums by adding one or two songs that don’t appear anywhere else.  Fine for someone like me (I only have two of Clannad’s studio albums) but a slap in the face of fans that have faithfully bought every release, and are now confronted with buying a bunch of those songs twice just to get the two they’re missing.  At least that’s how it was in the days before singles could be downloaded, which was definitely the case in 1989.  Naughty Clannad!

Despite these disappointing business decisions, on the album’s softer, more introspective songs the music arrangements works surprisingly well.  This is particularly true for the the traditional Gaelic tracks.  My two favourite songs are “Coinleach Ghlas an Fhomhair” and “Buachaill an Eirne” two old folk songs re-imagined in Clannad’s new sound.  The production on both is very new age, but the melodies are so beautiful they can survive almost any level of tomfoolery in the studio.  In fact, counter-intuitively the ambient sound that is out of place on the more modern songs works well with these more traditional numbers.  Brennan’s voice sounds ethereal and otherworldly wise.  I imagine these songs are the sort of thing you’d hear walking through an elven forest like Lothlorien or Mirkwood.

When I was much younger I used to suffer from bad bouts of insomnia, and both these songs were staples in helping me get to sleep.  They filled the room with a calmness that helped quell whatever was going on in my over-active imagination.  For all of this album’s shortcomings, I owe it for that.

I also owe it for being a very early album that put me on the path toward Celtic folk music; a journey I’ve enjoyed now for over twenty years.  This record is far from perfect, but it has its moments, and it has given me a few of my own.

Best tracks:  Theme from “Harry’s Game”, Coinleach Ghlas an Fhomhair, Robin (the Hooded Man), Newgrange, Buachaill an Eirne

CD Odyssey Disc 426: Figgy Duff

After many fits and starts, I finally made it back to the gym today, and getting in a workout has helped make a chaotic and busy world seem a little bit slower and more sensible.  It is amazing that the secret to life is really very little more than ‘eat right and exercise.’  You’d think there’d be more to it.

Disc 426 is…Downstream

Artist: Figgy Duff

Year of Release: 1993

What’s up with the Cover?  A close up of singer Figgy Duff singer Pamela Morgan looking kind of like an east coast folk version of actress Leah Thompson.  A google image search revealed this wistful half-smile is Morgan’s preferred pose when cameras are at hand.  This cover suits me well – nothing fancy, but well executed, with a title I can read.  As I noted in the teaser, everything doesn’t have to be complicated.

How I Came To Know It: I bought this album because I went to buy their album with the song “Woman of Labrador” on it (“Weather Out the Storm” reviewed way back at Disc 67).   That album wasn’t in, but this one was so I settled for it and hoped for the best while I waited them to restock the album I really wanted.

How It Stacks Up:  I only have two Figgy Duff albums.  This one is by far the inferior record of the two.

Rating: 2 stars

On my way to and from the gym today I listened to Billy Bragg, a little too loud, and with the top down.  I guess I felt I had earned a break after two full days to and from work with Figgy Duff’s “Downstream.”

In case you're slow on the uptake, this is a sign that I’m not going to have a lot of good things to say about this album, but I’m going to do my best to mute my scorn because despite this record’s many faults, Figgy Duff are earnest in their efforts, and because over their full career they did a lot of good for Newfoundland folk music, for which I’m very thankful.

With this in mind, let’s start with the best track on the record, “Twilight.”  This song is a stark piece of beauty.  From the lonely playing of the lone piano that starts it off to the frail sound of Pamela Morgan’s voice piercing the quickly closing darkness of the song’s theme it delivers an emotional wallop.  This is a song about intolerance that ends in both death and societal disintegration.  Morgan’s vocal chops make it strangely beautiful just ensures you pay close attention despite the rough ride.  It is a song about isolation, and those who get isolated without just cause, and at times it can be a hard listen – hey, it’s called “Twilight” not “Dawn,” people. 

“Twilight” is a fine work of art that has something important to say about human nature, love and at only 3:24 in running time it ends well before you get tired of it.  So, you know, not the movies.

And now, I must turn to some less kind observations.

First, I found the album’s production painfully fuzzy.  I think an effort was made to give the whole album a dreamy quality, with lots of ambient sound.  Instead it comes off indistinct and uninspired.  The musical arrangements are vaguely Celtic, but a lot of the traditional instruments like fiddle show up so far back in the mix you have to strain to hear them at all.

It felt like I was stuck at some boring summer garden party being forced to sip virgin mint juleps and endure easy listening AM radio while the neighbours next door have a kegger in full swing, with everyone dancing.  You strain to hear more of what’s going on over the fence but the damn stereo at your own event – while painfully low – is still too damned loud to let you hear the good stuff right nearby.

Morgan’s voice is as pretty as ever, but the production decisions make it sound very thin in places, and the melodies in the song compositions – with a few exceptions – don’t do her the justice she deserves.  Most of the songs are a maddening mismatch of song construction and singer.

Also, for the most part the writing is overly saccharine.  The anti-war song “Freedom” compared very poorly to classics like Dylan’s “With God on Our Side” or even more modern folk tracks like Capercaillie’s “Black Fields.”  It may seem cruel to compare a relatively small Canadian act like Figgy Duff to folk greats like Dylan or Capercaillie, but the reality is that is the competition that happens every day for space on my CD carousel or MP3 player – and those artists consistently win for good reason.

As I pointed out earlier, Figgy Duff are earnest on this record, and I give them full marks for this.  They clearly work hard to compose songs that are not derivative, which is more than you can say for a lot of acts these days.  That said, topics like bullying (“Allanadh”) or autism (“Song for Paul”) are a delicate balance, and can sound either trite or insincere if they’re mishandled.  I think “Downstream” successfully delivers on sincerity in both cases, but can’t seem to avoid the trite.  Important topics, yes, but they come off feeling like that old Nestle Quik commercial where the Mom comforts the boy with hot chocolate after a tough day at the playground.

There are many lyrical missteps, but here are a couple of lines from “Crown of Thorns” that is particularly painful:

“Well I perceive that you don’t like me much

You don’t want me around

If there’s a thorn in your side

It’s from my crown – crown of thorns.

“Well I perceive that you’re uncomfortable

My presence kind of makes you squirm

It’s cuz I’m not afraid to tell it like it is

And open up a can – can of worms.”

So hard to quickly paint all the ways these lyrics need help.  The  tired expressions (‘can of worms’, ‘crown of thorns’), the sentence structure (no poem should have ‘kind of’ in it just to serve the meter of the line) or the use of an overwrought word like ‘perceive’ when the writer really means ‘see.’  It is too bad, because musically “Crown of Thorns” is one of the better songs on the record, but the lyrics make it really hard to listen to.

When I reviewed “Weather out the Storm” I pointed out that when they stick to traditional Celtic arrangements, Figgy Duff are excellent, but when they try a more modern world music/new age sound they fall flat.  That is true for “Downstream” as well, except that they’ve taken two more steps in the wrong direction on this record.  It makes me want to hear their earlier albums, which I expect would be much more to my liking.

Best tracks:  Twilight

CD Odyssey Disc 282: Loreena McKennitt

I did a fair bit of driving today, and result being I got through my next album in only a day! Of course part of that driving experience was going around the London Drugs parking lot three or four times. That is one bad parking lot to find a spot.

Disc 282 is...An Ancient Muse

Artist: Loreena McKennitt

Year of Release: 2006

What’s Up With The Cover?: It looks like the tent that some lord from the middle ages would use when travelling with his army. In any event, this is one awesome album cover, and a huge improvement over previous ones like this, or this.

How I Came To Know It: I have been a fan of Loreena McKennitt for many years, so this was just me buying her new album - and excited to do so, as there had been a gap of almost 10 years. This particular album sat for a long time on my shelf, after I gave it a couple listens and decided it didn't sit well with me. In the past year, I've been putting it on as mood music for my other writing. In the process, it has slowly won me over to its charms.

How It Stacks Up: I have six Loreena McKennitt albums, although I'm soon to have seven, as I see she's put one out last year. For now, six - all of them good. Of a good bunch, I must reluctantly put "An Ancient Muse" into last place, amid stiff competition.

Rating: 3 stars.

I've covered the general information on Loreena McKennitt in previous reviews, but a quick recap that she is a Canadian celtic/new age artist who can play the harp with the best of them, and sings like an angel.

"An Ancient Muse" was McKennitt's first release in almost ten years - a gap caused by the sudden and tragic death of her fiancee in a boating accident in 1998. Nothing could ever replace that, and I have often taken a moment to send some kind thoughts to McKennitt at that time. Being a new-agey type, I hope she got them.

Like Neil Peart from Rush - who also suffered a tragic loss of family - McKennitt took a long time soul searching before she decided to seriously return to music. I'm glad she did come back, as "An Ancient Muse" demonstrates that she still has the knack.

This album finds her still tracing the Celtic peoples roots across Eurasia, absorbing different musical influences along the way. By the release of this album, she has been doing this to varying degrees on her previous three records, so if you are expecting straight ahead Celtic folk music, you will be surprised at what you hear instead - but not disappointed.

Every McKennitt album has some piece of literature that she has set to music, and "An Ancient Muse" is no exception. For this record, she adapts Sir Walter Scott's ballad, "The English Ladye and the Knight", the story of a woman poisoned by her brother so that she will not marry her lover. The brother in turn gets his, as the lover stabs him through the heart. As Scott admonishes:

"So perish all would true love part
That love may still be lord of all!"

Love may be lord of all, but it is a depressing reign if everyone gets stabbed and poisoned. Nevertheles, it is a pretty song, and often her poetic adaptations end up as my favourites. I was interested to find the songs I liked even more were McKennitt writing both lyrics and music.

"Penelope's Song" is a mythical reference to Odysseus' famous wife, waiting for him to return to her from the Trojan War. It is an oft-covered story, and the focus on Penelope's perspective a fairly popular approach in the 20th century, but I like what McKennitt brings to the story. The song begins with Penelope making an oath to her husband, lost on the other side of the world:

"Now that the time has come
Soon gone is the day
There upon some distant shore
You'll hear me say

"'Long as the day in the summer time
Deep as the wine-dark sea
I'll keep youre heart with mine
Till you come to me."

FYI - oaths are a big deal in the ancient world (I wish they were as important in the modern one). These lyrics aren't particularly special, but I like that McKennitt uses Homeric structures (such as the grouped phrase 'wine-dark sea'), and with the help of the music, the whole takes on a beautiful longing quality that takes the listener to another world, as we stand on a cliff face with Penelope, pining for the man who has been gone for twenty years.

The other song I love on this record is "Beneath A Phrygian Sky", which is a nine and half minute epic where McKennitt muses on the history of the land of ancient Phrygia (central western Turkey, on the Anatolian Peninsula). Emotionally, it reminds me of Neil Peart's lyrics for "Tai Shan" and how you can become overwhelmed when standing on an ancient land, thinking of all that has happened there.

Given that Phrygia has suffered more than its share of armies criss-crossing it, McKennitt's song begins by focusing on the terrible waste of human violence:

"My mind was called across the years
Of rages and of strife
And all the human misery
And all the waste of life."

The song transitions away from this early sadness, however, toward an understanding that sometimes conflict is needed if liberty is to be defended, and after that, we've all gotta learn to love each other in this crazy world.

In contrast to the bad drumming on the Wallflowers album I just reviewed, the measured - even haunting - drumming on "Beneath A Phrygian Sky" is key to setting the tone as we slowly transition from historical grievances to hope. Listening to McKennitt, I always feel like that is possible.

While this album has less stand out tracks than some, the overall mood is beautiful. It is like wading into a fast moving stream in a mountain. Cold at first, with treacherous footing, but soon enough refreshing and invigorating if you stay in long enough and get your bearings.

Just have a towel handy, and use the buddy system. A Creative Maelstrom doesn't want anyone catching hypothermia while looking for enlightenment.

Best tracks: The English Ladye and the Knight, Penelope's Song, Beneath A Phrygian Sky, Never Ending Road (Amhran Duit)

CD Odyssey Disc 262: Loreena McKennitt

From the powerful riffs of Judas Priest, the CD Odyssey takes another sharp turn - this time back into my other love - folk music.

Disc 262 is...The Mask and Mirror

Artist: Loreena McKennitt

Year of Release: 1994

What’s Up With The Cover?: In previous reviews of Loreena McKennitt I've been kind of harsh on the cover art, so I'll ease off this time and just say that this is an improvement. Obviously, as time went on Loreena had a bigger art budget. I'm not a fan of the collage as art, and her hair still needs help, but this is at least passable. For a folk album, it is positively high tech.

How I Came To Know It: I was already a fan of McKennitt when this album came out in 1994, and so just bought it as a matter of course. There was a music video for "The Bonny Swans" which I believe alerted me to the fact that there was a new album to be had.

How It Stacks Up: I have six Loreena McKennitt albums. Of these, I'd put this one third.

Rating: 4 stars.

This my third review of Loreena McKennitt, so I won't get into too much detail on the basics (haunting voice, amazing harpist etc.) and focus instead on this album.

While I was already firmly a fan of McKennitt in 1994, this was in many respects her breakout album (if such a thing is possible in the folk genre). The usual McKennitt elements are here, with the focus still being on the harp and vocals, but this record adds a number of other layers, including the occasional use of synthesizer. This brings it a more new age feeling than was present on her first two records, and advances themes only lightly covered by the record that immediately preceded it, "The Visit".

A quick review of the album's liner notes to see what other instruments were on here revealed quite an array. Everything from the pedestrian (electric guitar, fiddle, accordion) to the typically arcane folk fare (bouzouki, Uilleann pipes, balalaika) and into things so strange I'd never even heard of them (the hurdy-gurdy, the dumbek and the udu).

A quick search on the 'interwebs' reveals the latter two are types of drums, and the hurdy-gurdy is some bizarre stringed instrument played by means of a crank.

I couldn't pick out where each of these is used, let alone why, but this rogue's gallery of instruments could easily come off sounding like a disjointed mess in less agile hands. Instead, they complement each other very well under McKennitt's detailed and carefully wrought production. It never seems like an instrument is just put on for novelty's sake, but rather in every song, the sounds all just seem to belong with each other.

This is saying something, because as I noted earlier, McKennitt strays far afield from just a traditional Celtic folk album here. She works in Middle Eastern music, Russian folk sounds (hence the balalaika) and various other sounds from throughout central and western asia. It is an album that lovingly traces the roots of the Celtic people themselves, and brings their sounds from across thousands of miles of geography and hundreds of years of musical history.

It is deliberately done, certainly, but it is done with a deft and subtle hand. McKennitt gives us a musical history lesson without seeming preachy.

There are only eight songs on the album, most of which are very long - between six and nine minutes. They take time to develop, but never feel overblown. They are each exactly as long as they need to be. OK - except "The Mystic's Dream" - I could've shaved a minute off that one, but it is a minor quibble.

Favourites include "Full Circle" and "The Bonny Swans". The latter is a very grim (and Grimm-like) fairy tale of a woman drowned by her sister out of jealousy of her lover. The drowned sister's body floats up into a miller's wheel, where a harpist finds it, and makes a harp out of it (hair as strings, finger bones as tuning pegs and rib cage as the frame). The resulting harp is enchanted, and plays itself in front of the murdered girl's family - identifying her sister as the killer.

While I always enjoy the poetic justice in the song, I also wonder what sort of harpist makes a harp out of a dead body - and then what kind of hall lets him bring it into the dining room and play it. I mean - gross. But that's old school folk tales for you - they can be pretty nasty.

As usual, McKennitt also sets a few poems to music (Yeats' "The Two Trees" and a speech by Prospero from Shakespeare's "The Tempest"), but my sentimental favourite is a conversion of a 15th Century Spanish poem into a song called "The Dark Night of the Soul."

This song shows McKennitt in all her glory - from her deep whisper in the verses that sounds like a ghost is singing to you, up to full operatic majesty in the higher register of the chorus. The original poem is about a man's relationship with God, but it always struck me as incredibly romantic:

"Upon a darkened night, the flame of love was burning in my breast

And by a lantern bright I fled my house while all in quiet rest

Shrouded by the night and by the secret stair I quickly fled

The veil concealed my eyes while all within lay quiet as the dead.

"Oh night thou was my guide

Oh night more loving than the rising sun

Oh night that joined the lover to the beloved one

Transforming each of them into the other."

Best of all, on my first date with Sheila, I was in full thrall to this album's beauty, and when I invited her in, I suggested we sit and listen to 'this great song I've recently discovered.' We sat in the dark and I put on "Dark Night of the Soul." Not only did Sheila love it - she already knew it. She had the album, and had even seen this particular tour live. So while it could've been a little heavy handed for a 'we just met' moment - it all worked out after all.

So in summation, this is a fine album, with some great memories, and while I'm not suggesting it is likely to help you score girls, it certainly worked for me.

Best tracks: The Bonny Swans, The Dark Night of the Soul, Full Circle, The Two Trees

CD Odyssey Disc 205: Enya

Thanks for your confidence, gentle reader. Back at Disc 24, when I had rolled a second Enya album, I appealed for calm, promising that the Odyssey would not be populated every 12th review with another Enya album.

This has borne out as true, and it is over 180 reviews later that the third Enya album finally makes an appearance.

Disc 205 is...Enya (Self-Titled)
Artist: Enya

Year of Release: 1986

What’s Up With The Cover?: Enya always looks good on her album covers (this comes from her innate advantage of being, you know, good looking). However, of all of them I like this one the best. She has a kind of art show punk look going on, which would never be replicated on later covers. After this, they all feature her in some combination of flowing velvet skirt, and wistful folk gaze. I like the edge on this one. Even the dogs work.

How I Came To Know It: It was 1991 and I had already purchased "Watermark" and "Shepherd Moons". This was a combination of me being interested in getting more Enya, and being advised by other Enya fans that this album was worth my time. Also, at the time it was the only other Enya album around.

How It Stacks Up: I still have five Enya albums, and this one holds up well. I'll put it 2nd.

Rating: 4 stars.

In previous reviews I've talked about Enya's style, which is new age, with Celtic folk inspirations. She comes by this naturally, getting started in her family's Celtic folk band, Clannad.

This is her first album, and of the five I have it is definitely the most mood-driven. The songs may not have the same range as we'll see on later albums, but they make up for that with a haunting moody feeling. All the songs are universally short, ranging from as little as 1:19 up to a long of 4:23, but they flow one to the next so seemlessly, the album at times seems like a single track.

As with most Enya albums, the lyrics are often in Gaelic, and when they're not, they're very basic - sometimes more than ooohs and aaahs.

The music has an unearthly quality; its hollow-sounding production makes Enya's already breathy voice even more ethereal. Using a technique for which she has made famous, she layers her own voice on top of itself over and over again, creating a kind of unearthly choir that makes you think her back up singers are a host of Elven spirits. If you're wondering what music you get to listen to when you're abducted by faeries, this would be a good guess.

The song titles evoke many Celtic legends, including one song called "Triad" that pays homage to early Celtic missionary St. Patrick, and mythical warrior poets Cu Chulainn and Oisin. There is also a separate song in honour of Celtic warrior queen and patriot Boadicea.

I admit that being a fan of Celtic Mythology, these song titles increase the album's coolness factor for me, but this record isn't about topic or lyrics as much as it is about capturing a simple yearning for a magical time long passed. It makes you want to find a comfortable patch of moss by a small stream in the woods, and just lie there, listen to the water and empty your mind of cares.

This is never more evident than in the instrumental, "The Sun In the Stream" featuring one of the more beautiful performances on the Uillean Pipes I've ever heard (and I've heard more than a few). Shout out to Uillean Pipes artist Liam Og O'Floinn.

This album won't blow you away, but it will quietly enchant you with its soothing grace.

Best tracks: The Celts, March of the Celts, Deireadhan Tuath, The Sun In the Stream, Triad, Boadicea, Bard Dance

CD Odyssey Disc 24: Enya

Uh oh. This is embarassing. The randomness of the dice are going to make everyone think I am a huge fan of Enya, instead of the small, long ago fan that I am....

Disc 24 is...A Day Without Rain

Artist: Enya

Year of Release: 2000

How I Came To Know It: In my last Enya album review from Disc 11, I defended myself by saying I was sucked in like everyone else by Orinoco Flow. Well, 12 years later, here is another Enya album, but with no convenient excuse. I still liked her, and the single "Only Time" drew me back in just when I thought I was out. Like the Godfather, only not cool.

How It Stacks Up: I still own 5 Enya albums. I thought going in this would rank at the bottom but it is OK. I guess it is at the bottom, but not much separates it from Watermark.

Rating: 2 stars with a thumbs up.

This is the second time I went into an Enya review hoping to hate it, but actually deciding that I enjoyed it (only not too loud, and not at stop lights).

Enya has a real soothing sound, and this album is just like that. The songs don't really go anywhere - kind of like techno music, except they are mercifully only 3 minutes long, and I don't hate them. They are just a little mood slice, sometimes in English, sometimes in Welsh and sometimes I think she just goes "aaahhh" or hums.

This album has an annoying quality that some artists think is nifty - not capitalizing song titles. If it wasn't cool for E.E. Cummings (take that E.E.) it isn't cool for you. Please stop that, and use your letters - and do it properly!

So, anyway - A Day Without Rain is is a bit flaky, but I like it anyway. I don't pull it out much, but I think I'll inflict it on the Tuesday night crowd coming over tonight. Hey - it is only 1 of 5 discs - toughen up!

Best tracks: Wild Child, Only Time, Cleora Ar Mo Chroi

CD Odyssey Disc11: Enya

The dice choose a second album that is "the most famous" and the second album in a row that came out in 1988.

Disc 11 is...Watermark
Artist: Enya

Year of Release: 1988

How I Came To Know It: I discovered Enya like most people - I heard "Orinoco Flow" on Muchmusic and decided I liked it. In my defence, I was entering my "folk phase".

How It Stacks Up: I don't know how many embarrassing admissions this post is going to have, but here's another one. I own 5 Enya albums. Yikes. "Watermark" is probably the third best, or middle of the pack.

Rating: 2 stars (with an embarrassed thumbs up).

Enya got her start in Clannad, an Irish folk band with new age tendencies. Yes, I also like Clannad, but I refuse to be embarrassed about that until I roll them.

"Orinoco Flow" was a huge hit back in 1988. Even now when I replay it, it is a bit on the overplayed side, and its been many years since Enya saw serious rotation on the CD carousel. Still, it is a good track, and catchy.

The rest of the disc is not so catchy, but wears a little better. Enya has an ethereal quality to her voice. This is 1 part a very cool voice, and 1 part that she is famous for putting a ton of layers into her voice (lots of takes, all lined up together) to give her that unearthly ambience. It is artificial yes, but it works.

This is about as far as I stray into "New Age" and I think for good reason. I think Enya is to New Age what Phat Boy Slim is to techno. Yes, I have Phat Boy Slim, but I won't be embarrassed about that until I roll it.

This album gets a 2, but a thumbs up, because it is actually well written and creates a nice mood. It is even good for driving, but the embarrassment factor at red lights is really high. Not "Jerky Boys" high, but easily "Gangsta Rap" high.

I think everyone has music that they would find embarrassing at a red light. Mind you, most have the good sense to not post it on the internet.

After review, I'm keeping this album, and living with the shame.

Best tracks: Storms in Africa, Exile, Orinoco Flow, The Longships