"...this way could be my Book of Days..."

Enya made it again! After Watermark she created another wonderful album - Shepherd Moons. I like every track, though Caribbean Blue and especially Book Of Days are my two favourites. Besides, Book Of Days was a no. 1 hit on the Swedish track chart back in 1992 when the song became a worldwide hit since it was included - with English lyric - on the soundtrack to the film Far And Away. The original Book Of Days (which was only in Gaelic) was replaced by the re-recorded hit on later pressings. I like them both though I think it's pretty sad to replace an original song. Other songs which I really like are Ebudæ, Lothlórien and Afer Ventus. I suppose this is my favourite Enya album, even though I like everything from her. By the way; have you ever seen such a beautiful CD cover???



Here comes a short description of the tracks on Shepherd Moons:



1. Shepherd Moons - Instrumental; very relaxing

2. Caribbean Blue - English & Latin; great, wonderful, special*

3. How Can I Keep From Singing - English; beautiful

4. Ebudæ - Gaelic; pretty powerful, special*

5. Angeles - English; beautiful, relaxing, special*

6. No Holly For Miss Quinn - Instrumental; relaxing

7. Book Of Days - Gaelic / English & Gaelic; great, wonderful,

very dynamic and powerful, special*

8. Evacuee - English; beautiful, pretty calm

9. Lothlórien - Instrumental; extremely beautiful

10. Marble Halls - English; relaxing, pretty calm

11. Afer Ventus - Latin; very beatuiful, special*

12. Smaointe - Gaelic; calm and relaxing



* Hard to say why these songs are special, but perhaps because they don't sound like any other musical stuff. There's only one person that's able to create songs like these and her name is - Enya. You must hear them, but don't forget to try her other albums such as Watermark and The Memory Of Trees.

A masterpiece or a fraud?

New Age music has always left me cold with the possible exception of Kitaro. Enya's contribution to the New Age genre is unremarkable to say the least. She is pretentious, which her loyal following would never admit to. She tries too hard at putting forth an image of a grand mystic. Her vocals make an aborted attempt at trying to reinforce that image, but it is her vocals that are the most pretentious of all. They are lazy, hazy and are buried beneath a foggy mix. I truly believe she thinks too highly of her own talent. Her voice glides along the surface of the music without making any attempt to get at the very heart of the song. Her voice is merely a special effect. The songs are ambitious and nicely arranged, but once the vocals start you forget about the music. In New Age music the vocals should never over-shadow the music, but Enya's vocals invade the music like an unwanted thief. I would not recommend this album because Enya the singer is more important than Enya the musician and that should never be the case with New Age music.

Quite good

I love this album! Of the three Enya albums I own this is easily my favorite. It is relaxing and is pleasing to listen to while one passes the time or as background music for some other activity. I personally like to listen to this album while I pracice yoga. It is an overall calming album without becoming boring and montonous.