Celts [Limited Edition, Import]

Enya | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 9, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Limited Edition, Import
• Label: Pid
• ASIN: B000005K4K
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (119 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #773,114 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Born Eithne Ni Bhraonain, this classically-trained pianist was kid sister in the musical family that became Clannad, joining the Irish band in 1979 but dropping out amicably three years later to pursue her own muse. This music, produced in the mid-'80s as the soundtrack to a BBC series, was released as her debut in 1987 and promptly ignored--yet its mix of atmospheric soundscapes and Enya's lush, layered vocals, sung in both English and Gaelic, is the template for her subsequent global hits, beginning with Watermark the following year. --Sam Sutherland

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply MAGICAL - I Don't Really Know How to Describe it!, October 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Celts (Audio CD)

Despte this being a soundtrack compiling music from '86, Enya wouldn't have even needed "Watermark" for her to be accepted into the new-age music world if this CD had been produced earlier! I'm telling you, this CD is WONDERFUL! I'm desperately searching for words to describe it - magical, fantastical, even poignant! All those seriously touching tunes of every single track can even make you cry if you listen to them repeatedly; the best thing is, you never get sick of feeling sentimental when listening to Enya's music on this album! The lyrics by Roma Ryan have been beautifully crafted to tell a historical story melodiously and in a creatively poetic style. But Enya's tunes that can suit them so masterfully proves her to be the undoubted queen of new-age music and even soundtrack composers! They're such that they really put you in the shoes of the moments the Irish Celts encountered, both sad and rejoiceful. An excellently produced masterpiece that can make history for itself! You HAVE to purchase "The Celts"; listen out for it's title track, "Aldeberan", "I Want Tomorrow", "To Go Beyond", "Epona", "Bard Dance", "Sun in the Stream" and, most importantly, "Fairytale". The latter single is simply an extremely touching piece of instrumental-cum-vocal music. It's highlight would be that in its prologue - Enya crafts through it with an instrument so mystical, you'd just want to listen to the music and even probe into what instrument she uses! This applies, but to a lesser extent, to all her other tracks, earning her the rightful, admirable title of a Maiden of Mystery in the musical world. Buy this CD, y' all; and WELL-DONE to you, Enya!

86 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Melodic, Dreamlike and Enchanting., September 17, 2000

By 

dev1 (Baltimore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Celts (Audio CD)

For fans who were enthusiastic with Enya's Watermark (1988), it was tough to find more of her material. The only other album available at the time, and difficult to locate, was her debut titled simply Enya (1986) on the Atlantic label. Although I prefer the black and white cover art of the original release, The Celts is a Reprise re-release of Enya's debut. The album is a score for a BBC-TV series titled The Celts. With that in mind, most of the material here is suitable as "background" music for a soundtrack: delicate, melodic and unobtrusive so as not to distract from the television program, but to add an aural dimension. As background music, The Celts is serene and soothing. Despite its overall tranquil quality, several tracks are dynamic and immediately memorable. The opening track, `The Celts', has a gorgeous melody which is repeated several times throughout the album giving it continuity. `I Want Tomorrow' features a dark and foreboding string arrangement over Enya's alluring and melodic vocals. The recording of Enya's voice is unusual: it sounds as though it is 100 miles away giving the song (and others) a detached and ethereal quality. The appeal of The Celts, and Enya's other work, is not her synthesized New Age savvy, but the incorporation of Celtic influences. One might categorize The Celts as an Ethnic Alternative to New Age. Several compositions are sung in Gaelic (Deireadh an Tuath, Triad, Dan y Dwr), a beautiful language for music and especially enticing when presented by such a gifted singer as Enya. Overall, The Celts lacks the energy and dynamics of Watermark, but it is melodic, dreamlike and enchanting.

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The Celts," The First of Her Best!, February 13, 2001

By 

M. D. MCGINLEY "Chief Highliner" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Celts (Audio CD)

I have had this album so long I forgot when I bought it. I lose sense of time and the harshness of reality when I listen to Enya. I am glad to have the original recording on the Atlantic label that has no title, except that beautiful black and white photograph of her kneeling with her dogs. This album has 15 wonderful, mystical tracks of only one woman, whose music is so unique it deserves its own classification.

No other musical artist that has ever lived has ever done what Enya did with that harp on track 2, "Aldebaran." If you really want to know what the angels enjoy, then close your eyes and take in this chorus of arpeggios and crescendos that will renew your mind and your spirit.

What Enya does with the overdubbing of her voice is produce a layered, chorus-like sound that is nothing short of glorious. She sings in English and also Gaelic, and with either it doesn't really matter. It's Enya! "The Sun in the Stream," "Triad" and "To Go Beyond" typify the purely floating lyrics she uses that make you wish you also Irish (I am!). No matter where you come from, however, "The Celts" imparted spirit is universal--that of joy and peace. It's not religious, but to say that Enya's work cannot move your spirit would not be factual. This is why Enya helps me to reduce and eliminate my mood swings, irritability, anger, the rage from this world--in essence, anything "bad"--and helps me get back on course towards heaven. It's not about being corny. If it were not true, I would have told you. Ten stars out of five for Enya.

If you like feeling good, and I mean a real contentment even with the pressures of this world, then buy this album today. Play it constantly. Use Enya as a "prescription" for emotional well-being. Everything else goes on hold when Enya is on. If you already have "The Celts," well, then you already know.