Is anyone else here a big fan of Enya? She's got a unique and truly amazing voice, and there's very few artists I can think of whose gift is on the same level. I've had a growing interest in Celtic history and culture through the years, so that's one part of the attraction for me.
When I was a kid, I thought Enya was a French singer. Mainly because I'd hear "Sail Away" on the radio over and over again, and I thought she was singing "C'est Louest" or some other sort of french thing.
I like her stuff in small doses sometimes. It's tricky, because overproduced sounds are her shtick, but sometimes she goes too far. Gotta love "May it Be" from FOTR, though.
When Oronoco Flow was being overplayed, I was not a fan. And even the next song or two sounded like carbon copies of that track. Later I heard more of her on Sirius Spa73, and found I liked her more since I was into other Celtic stuff. I heard the Lisa Kelly version of May It Be first, and it wasn't too different from Enya's version.
I've been a fan of Enya's since 1988. She is one of only 2 or 3 artists that have a 100% success rate with me, meaning there has never been an Enya recording that I haven't liked, and I believe I have heard everything she's done except for a track that was released as a digital download only a year or so ago. I highly recommend the 2-disc version of The Very Best of Enya, a greatest hits collection that came out before Christmas. Aside from including a previously unreleased alternate take of one of her songs from Lord of the Rings, the second disc is a DVD of most of her music videos (here in North America we were supposed to have such a release way back around 2001, but it never happened). Alex
i'm not the biggest of fans, but i do like some of her stuff. i really like this re-edit though http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLScpNjQbak
^^^ TUNE! I was exposed to Enya and Clannad's work in the late 80s and was initially embarrassed to admit liking Orinoco Flow (especially when it was everywhere) but I do like some of her other work too.
I've managed to enjoy her without actually getting into her, if you know what I mean. I don't seek her out-but when I encounter her stuff I enjoy it. Prefer Dropkick Murphy or Flogging Mollies when I lean towards Irish/Celtic sounds, though.
in the early 90s i composed a lot of progressive-trance and soft-house stuff for a couple DJ pals. Orinoco was a big influence on me, but I too was ashamed to admit it back then... ahhhh youth, where did you go???
Her music puts me to sleep. And I mean that in a good way. She is usually part of my selection of sleeping music.
I was a big fan for a long time. Haven't been listening much lately - after Amarantine came out, I think I just kind of had enough for a while. The Memory of Trees is my favorite of her albums, and "Anywhere Is" and "Far and Away" are my favorite songs - oh, and the first track on the Amarantine album too - "Less Than a Pearl."
Amarantine didn't do a lot for me, but I love almost all of her other albums. (I've not heard The Celts, as best I know.)
I've never really followed vocal or popular music much, but I remember way back in the '80s or '90s or whenever that was, when there were music-video shows on broadcast channels in the daytime, I was channel-surfing one day and I came across the video of that "Sail Away" song (which I think is the "Orinoco Flow" thing you've been mentioning) and I found it absolutely captivating. She does have quite a beautiful voice, and the images in the video contributed to the effect.
Hi! I agree with Unicorn: Enya's music is not only beautiful, but it has very high level of musical and artistic quality. Her solo voice is one of the most beautiful female voice in popular music and she's the master of layered vocals. The melodies in her songs are breathtakingly perfect and her compositions can be very complex. She does all the instrumentation with different instruments (piano, cello, percussion instruments, etc.) and she can develop the most wonderful and most natural synthesizer samples. She tries to show us beauty, innocence and real values of our life through her music. I love Orinoco Flow, but if you feel that you heard that song too many times I suggest to listen to her less known pieces. She has many songs that have different style. For example Water Shows The Hidden Heart is like an aria from an opera, Cursum Perficio is like a classical masterpiece, Aldebaran and Smaointe also have unique style, try Aniron from LOTR, it is breathtaking, try Journey Of The Angels from her new album, it is perfect, and I could continue.
Oh, God, I love Enya. I discovered her (well, y'know what I mean) around 87 or 88 when I was living in Japan, and have been buying her stuff ever since. I love her sound. And she's cute as a button, too. I remember walking into a record store around Christmas when I was in Tokyo, and the music playing was "Silent Night" -- but I couldn't understand the lyrics. I remember thinking, "Damn, that sounds like Enya!" So I asked the clerk what that was, and she told me that Enya had released a single of "Silent Night" in Irish. Bought that sucker that very day and played the heck out of it.
I like her music but, as others have mentioned, can only listen to a bit of it before it all starts sounding the same. That being said, it's good-sounding same! Thankfully, the newly-released for Xmas seasons "Best of Enya" CD is a joy to listen, and includes the LOTR tracks. *aaahhhh* Cheers, -CM-