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| Enya - Watermark Classification: Gold Discs Band: Enya Enyas golden masterpiece. I am literally flying away when listening to this magical album. This album is like nothing that Enya has done before or since even though all of her albums are great, even her most recent A Day Without Rain. Unlike the cheerful, sunny romps of that album, Watermark is a rather stormy album. It's the dark, moody, stormy music that makes me Love New Age and makes Watermark, in my opinion, Enyas strongest outing to date. Nothing of her latter albums could topple this album even though they are great albums in their own way. The title track is a stunning piano instrumental with a hounting melody. Things get stormy with the turbulent Cursum Perficio with a stormy grey melody, Gothic chants, and a very medievel sound. The song speeds up at the second half of the song. This is more like two songs in one. Things calm down with the somber On Your Shore with ambient organs, beautiful singing, and relaxing horns that make an upset person feel good again. Storms In Africa is a breathtaking musical Journey with a very stormy atmosphere, thundering drums, haunting Gaelic lyrics, a mournful melody, and probably some of Enyas best vocals ever. Exile is one of the best songs Enya has ever recorded. It's kind of like Storms but darker, more mournful, and more calm. This song is like bringing up images of a storm coming and seeing the sun at the edge of the clouds as they roll in. It also has very haunting flutes at the bridge. I enjoy how the song reverts between minor and major notes. If only Enya could produce songs like this again. I hope Enyas follow-up to A Day Without Rain would have a sound like Exile, it could rival this album as my favorite. Miss Clare Remembers is very much like the title track to this album but with just pianos and no Electronic synths. A beautiful piece. Orinoco Flow is the popular song that we,ve all heard so I,m not going to explain it in detail but I can say that it is a great song. The part I do Love though is the quiet bridge in the middle from 1:50 to 2:10. Evening Falls is a very dark haunting track with ambient synths and some almost Church sounding organs. This song is one of the darkest songs Enya has ever recorded. This song alone makes Watermark a Five star. This song makes me imagine walking and watching the twilight sunset as nighttime falls. River is absolutely radiant. It's a slightly Orinoco Flow-esque song mainly just with a similar rhythm. It has some of the most amazing synthesizers I,ve ever heard. This is a must hear. The Long Ships is a gem beyond words. It's a very beautiful, intense song with thundering beats, and intense chanting. In contast to saying that Enyas music is soothing this song is an exeption. It's one of Enyas more intense sounding Pieces and actually gets me going with it's Strong melody, haun As golden as is possible Enya's Watermark has had its Fair share of praise in its shortlifetime since being released in 1988. However, what makes it standout apart from other albums of the same genre, is that it simply defies genre. It could be called 'New Age' just to fit it in somewhere, but its not. Its certainly not pop music, and not even Irish traditional. What it is, though, is sheer magic. What is undisputably the century's finest New Age album, gets better with each repeated hearing. Listeners who are familiar with the works of Loreena McKennitt, Altan, Clannad, or Maire Brennan (Enya's sister, by the way), should already be well versed with the contents of this epic masterpiece. If you aren't, then please treat this as a very very Strong recommendation ! Enya has largely stayed out of the public eye, for the most part of her years in the music business. Her first album (titled 'Enya' and re-released 'The Celts' in 1993) set the standard for her later works, but this, her second album is by far her most accomplished work. The title track, a simple, melodious piano piece is definitely one of the most beautiful orchestrations heard on any recent album. Enya always slips in a few music-only Pieces in all her albums, and this one is no different. 'Miss Clare remembers' and 'River' are positively radiant - 'River' is one of my personal favorites. 'Cursum Perficio', is a Latin chant that is as haunting as 'Pax Deorum' from 'The Memory of Trees', and far more addictive. 'Watermark''s strengths lie in the slow ballads, and the Lush instrumentations. 'On your shore' is highly spiritual, as is 'Evening falls', and both shine. Surprisingly, 'Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)', which was the single that brought Enya to public attention, pales in the face of all the other songs. It is highly 'pop-ish' and while distinctly hummable, I have found myself skipping the track and moving through the rest of the album. Its a pity that most of the world remembers Enya for this one song, when she has so many more fulfilling works to her credit. Many people Express their fury at later editions of 'Watermark' not containing an additional track called 'Storms in Africa II', which was available on pressings made in 1988, when the album was first released. One can only guess as to why such a fine composition has been removed from later editions, but if you do wish to find it, try obtaining an Asian edition of 'Watermark' - some Japanese versions of the album still carry the track. The great thing about Watermark, is the continuity. Never is the pace or the melody broken, and the listener is never let down, ever. The closer 'Na Lactha Geal M'Oige' is a beautiful Gaelic song, and one that you'll find yourself learning and singing along to, no matter if you dont know Gaelic. Enya fans will rec Watermark Gold Minus One Track As with all 24kt Gold CD's, this one, which is considered Enya's best album sounds absolutely brilliant. Certain sounds are less Faint than they were on the regular version and Enya's voice is crystal clear especially for On Your Shore, Exile, Evening Falls, and yes, Orinoco Flow is perfect. The only flaw in this release, and I will not hold it against them, for my grade is still 5 stars, is that Storms In Africa Part II is omitted. Many people, including myself, Felt that Part II should have been the version released on Paint The Sky With Stars and Box Of Dreams instead of version 1. As of this date, no gold discs of Enya's work have included this beautiful version...Storms In Africa Part II deserves a place in the Enya 24kt Gold universe. Buy Enya Watermark at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.comJamster - the latest ringtones for your phone! |
