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Enya (album)

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Untitled

Enya is the first studio album from the Irish musician Enya, released in 1987 on BBC Records. It was produced as the soundtrack to the 1987 BBC television documentary series The Celts.

Enya received mixed reviews from music critics and was a mild commercial success, reaching No. 69 in the UK. Following Enya's rise in popularity, the album was reissued as The Celts by Warner Music Group which reached No. 10 in the UK. The album has sold 1 million copies in the US.

Background

The album was first released in the UK by the BBC on their own label, and later issued in North America by Atlantic Records. It reached No.69 in the UK Albums Chart in June 1987.[1] In 1992, Warner Music reissued a remastered version of the album as The Celts.

The album includes only a portion of the music Enya composed for the documentary series. In 1992, coinciding with the reissue of the album, a previously unreleased track from these sessions, "Eclipse", was released as a B-side on the CD single for "the Celts". In 2005, another previously unreleased track from the same sessions, a "Spaghetti Western Theme" done in the style of Hugo Montenegro, was released on the CD single for "Amarantine", in memory of one of the producers of the TV series.

Filmmaker David Bickley reused music from the soundtrack later in The Memory of Earth,[2] an installment in his documentary trilogy Mythological Lands. The song "Boadicea" was also used in the soundtrack of the 1992 American film Sleepwalkers. "Epona" appears in the 1991 Steve Martin romantic comedy L.A. Story.

Sampling by other artists

The Fugees sampled "Boadicea" from this album for their song "Ready or Not" on 1996's The Score. Enya had prepared to sue the group for copyright infringement because they had not asked for permission and did not give her credit. After learning that The Fugees were not gangsta rappers, Enya declined to follow through with the suit, but stickers were then placed on The Score giving Enya credit for her work.[3] Mario Winans also sampled "Boadicea" for the melody of the song "I Don't Wanna Know". Producer P. Diddy reportedly personally contacted Enya for permission and gave her 60 percent of the royalties.[4] She also received name billing ("Mario Winans featuring Enya and P. Diddy") for the song, which turned out to be a hit, putting her name #2 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart in 2004. The song was also sampled on the answer-back song "You Should Really Know" by The Pirates featuring Shola Ama, Naila Boss & Ishani which peaked at #8 on the UK Singles Chart. "Boadicea" (with "Ready or Not") was also sampled by Nina Sky for their hype single "Time to Go" featuring Angie Martinez, from the mixtape presented by Cipha Sounds.

The title track was used as the theme music for the sports show Gaelic Games which aired in the UK on Channel 4 in the 1990s.

Italian hardstyle DJ Francesco Zeta's (Argese Francesco) 2008 song "Fairyland" made use of a sample from "Boadicea". In 2011 a small sample of "Boadicea" has been used in the song Der erste Winter by German singer Cassandra Steen, which has been released on the album Mir so nah. In 2012 she made another version, subtitled "ReAmp", which again utilised the sample. Also in 2012, hip hop artist Meek Mill sampled "Boadicea" on his mixtape Dreamchasers 2 on a song named after the Fugees' song, "Ready or Not".

1992 reissue

In November 1992, following Enya's rise in popularity, the album reissued as The Celts with remastering by Arun Chakraverty and cover art by Sooky Choi and photography by David Scheinmann. The tracks have slightly different running times than the original release. "Portrait (Out of the Blue)", however, is an extended version previously released as "Out of the Blue", the B-side to Enya's 1988 single "Orinoco Flow".

In 2009, a remastered version of The Celts exclusive to Japan was released as a Limited Edition on SHM-CD with "Eclipse" as a bonus track. [5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Los Angeles Times[7]
AllMusic[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]

Enya/The Celts received mixed reviews from music critics.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Roma Ryan, except where noted, all music composed by Enya and all songs produced by Nicky Ryan. All vocals, DX-7, emulator, keyboards and piano performed by Enya.

No.TitleLyricsLength
1."The Celts"
2:56
2."Aldebaran" (dedicated to Ridley Scott)
  • Enya
  • R. Ryan
3:05
3."I Want Tomorrow"
  • R. Ryan
4:00
4."March of the Celts"
  • Enya
  • R. Ryan
3:15
5."Deireadh an Tuath" (The title is Irish for "End of the Tribe")
  • Enya
  • R. Ryan
1:42
6."The Sun in the Stream" 2:54
7."To Go Beyond (I)" 1:19
8."Fairytale" 3:02
9."Epona" 1:35
10."Triad: St. Patrick / Cú Chulainn / Oisin" ("St. Patrick" is an Irish folk song. "Cú Chulainn" and "Oisin" composed by Enya.) 4:23
11."Portrait" 1:23
12."Boadicea" 3:30
13."Bard Dance" 1:23
14."Dan y Dŵr" (The title is Welsh for "Under the Water")
  • R. Ryan
1:41
15."To Go Beyond (II)" 2:58
Total length:39:06
1992 reissue
No.TitleLyricsLength
1."The Celts"
2:56
2."Aldebaran" (dedicated to Ridley Scott)
  • Enya
  • R. Ryan
3:05
3."I Want Tomorrow"
  • R. Ryan
4:02
4."March of the Celts"
  • Enya
  • R. Ryan
3:16
5."Deireadh an Tuath" (The title is Irish for "End of the Tribe")
  • Enya
  • R. Ryan
1:43
6."The Sun in the Stream" 2:55
7."To Go Beyond (I)" 1:20
8."Fairytale" 3:03
9."Epona" 1:36
10."Triad: St. Patrick / Cú Chulainn / Oisin" ("St. Patrick" is an Irish folk song. "Cú Chulainn" and "Oisin" composed by Enya.) 4:24
11."Portrait (Out of the Blue)" (Extended version) 3:11
12."Boadicea" 3:30
13."Bard Dance" 1:23
14."Dan y Dŵr" (The title is Welsh for "Under the Water")
  • R. Ryan
1:41
15."To Go Beyond (II)" 2:59
Track 2: Aldebaran is the brightest star in the constellation Taurus.
Track 9: Epona is a goddess in the Gallo-Roman religion.
Track 10: Cú Chulainn is a culture hero of the British Isles; Oisin is a boy's name in several Celtic languages.
Track 12: Boadicea was an Iceni queen who led a resistance against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire.
Track 14: The title "Dan y Dŵr" (Welsh for "Under the Water") alludes to the intentional flooding of the Welsh village of Capel Celyn.

Personnel

Musicians
  • Enya – all other instruments, vocals
Production
  • Published by Aigle Music.
  • Words for "I Want Tomorrow" and "Dan y Dŵr" written by Roma Ryan
  • Words for "The Celts", "March of the Celts", "Aldebaran" and "Deireadh an Tuath" written by Enya and Roma Ryan.
  • Words to "St. Patrick" are traditional.
  • Enya: Vocals, piano, Juno 60, DX7, Emulator II and Kurzweil
  • Music arranged by Enya and Nicky Ryan.
  • Producer: Nicky Ryan
  • Executive producer: Bruce Talbot
  • Engineers: Nigel Read, Nicky Ryan
  • Sleeve design and art direction: Mario Moscardini
  • Photography: Martyn J. Adleman
  • Re-mastered by Sam Feldman at Atlantic Studios, NYC

Charts

Certifications

References

  1. ^ Official UK Charts
  2. ^ "Enya.com". 2007-03-07. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
  3. ^ "Irish Voice article at archive.org". 1997-02-18. Archived from the original on 2005-04-07. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
  4. ^ "Where HipHop and Libertarianism Meet: "Sasha Frere-Jones in New Yorker"". 2004-06-28. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
  5. ^ http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=459825
  6. ^ AllMusic review
  7. ^ Los Angeles Times review
  8. ^ AllMusic review
  9. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 280. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  10. ^ a b "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1993 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Cite error: The named reference "AustraliaEnyaThe CeltsalbumCertRef" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  11. ^ "American album certifications – Enya – Enya". Recording Industry Association of America.
  12. ^ Young, David (11 July 2007). "UU Honours Musician Enya". University of Ulster. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  13. ^ "Argentinian album certifications – Enya – The Celts". Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers.
  14. ^ "Brazilian album certifications – Enya – The Celts" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil.
  15. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Enya; 'The Celts')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  16. ^ "RIAJ > The Record > April 1998 > Certified Awards (February 1998)" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  17. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Enya – The Celts". Recorded Music NZ.
  18. ^ "Spanish album certifications – Enya – The Celts". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España.
  19. ^ "British album certifications – Enya – The Celts". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type The Celts in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  20. ^ "American album certifications – Enya – The Celts". Recording Industry Association of America.
  21. ^ "University Of Ulster News Release - UU Honours Musician Enya". news.ulster.ac.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
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