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Enya (album)

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Enya is the debut studio album by Irish singer, songwriter, and musician Enya, released in March 1987 by BBC Records in the UK and by Atlantic Records in the US. It was renamed as The Celts for the 1992 international re-release of the album by WEA Records in Europe and by Reprise Records in the US. The album features a selection of music that she recorded for the soundtrack to The Celts, a BBC documentary series about the origins, growth, and influence of Celtic culture.

Enya
A black and white photograph of a brunette woman with a dark dress and high heels, crouched down, with two aggressive stuffed dogs beside her. The image is surrounded by a white border and the word "Enya", stylized in all capital red letters, is placed on the top corner of the picture.
Standard cover. Several CD editions have a black border instead of white.
Studio album / Soundtrack album by
Enya
Released9 February 1987[1]
November 1992 (Reissue)
Recorded1985–1986
StudioAigle Studio (Artane, Dublin)
BBC Enterprises Studio Woodlands (Wood Lane, London)
Genre
Length39:36 (1987)
41:25 (1992)
Label
ProducerNicky Ryan
Enya chronology
The Frog Prince: The Original Soundtrack Recording
(1985) 		Enya
(1987) 		Watermark
(1988)
Singles from Enya
  1. "I Want Tomorrow"
    Released: 9 March 1987
The Celts cover
Singles from The Celts
  1. "The Celts"
    Released: 2 November 1992

Four years into her largely unnoticed solo career, Enya landed her first major project in 1985 when producer Tony McAuley asked her to contribute a song for the project. It was well received by director David Richardson, who subsequently offered her to compose for the entire series. Enya worked with her longtime recording partners, producer and arranger Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan. Several track titles are titled or based on various historical and mythological figures and stories associated with the Celts, and established Enya's sound of keyboard-oriented music and layered vocals. "Boadicea" has been sampled by various artists, most notably in 1996 by The Fugees and in 2004 by Mario Winans with P. Diddy.

Enya received mostly mixed reviews from critics when it was initially released. It was a commercial success in Ireland, peaking at No. 8, and No. 69 on the UK Albums Chart. "I Want Tomorrow" and "The Celts" were released as singles; the latter went to No. 29 in the UK. The album caught the attention of Warner chairman Rob Dickins, who signed Enya to the label. After the commercial success of her next two albums, Enya was reissued as The Celts and outperformed its original sales; it went to No. 10 in the UK and was certified Platinum in the UK and the US. In 2009, The Celts was reissued in Japan with a bonus track.

Background and recording

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Following her work on the soundtrack to the romantic comedy film The Frog Prince (1985), Enya's first major project as a solo artist followed when, in 1985, she was invited by producer Tony McAuley to compose a track for his 1987 BBC television documentary series The Celts. As a coincidence, Enya had recorded a track named "March of the Celts" before she was asked to be involved, and decided to submit it to the project. Initially, each episode of the series was to feature a different composer, but series director David Richardson liked Enya's track so much, he commissioned her to compose the entire score.[3][4][5]

Enya worked with her usual recording partners, arranger and producer Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan. The album was recorded in two locations; at Aigle Studio, a 16-track studio installed in the Ryans' home, then located in Artane, a northern suburb of Dublin,[6] and a sound studio at BBC Enterprises at Wood Lane, London.[7] When they recorded at the BBC studio, Nicky had to teach the audio engineers how he and Enya worked as their unusual recording process confused them at first. Nicky said he told them "to forget everything [they had] learned and just bear with us for at least a week".[6] One such example was Nicky's use of reverb, which he set to 24 seconds instead of the more common placement of one-and-a-half seconds.[6]

A total of 72 minutes of music was recorded for the series. Roma recalled that Enya was given "various pastiches" that Richardson wished to incorporate into the episodes, which Enya then used as a guide for to write music to complement them.[5] Enya includes 39 minutes of selected pieces from the soundtrack.[7] The album's front cover depicts Enya posing with stuffed wolves.[8]

Music and lyrics

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Several of the album's track titles are titled or based on various historical figures and stories. In writing about the song in 2002, Roma pointed out that "Aldebaran" is named after the brightest star in the constellation of Taurus. In the Arabic language, the title translates to "the follower" as it follows the Pleiades cluster of stars, and the song is based on future Celtic people "passing Aldebaran on their journey to new territories, continuing their migratory pattern which was so predominant in their early history."[5] The track was recorded in its entirety at Aigle Studio as Nicky expressed the difficulty in having to recreate the recording process elsewhere.[6] "The Celts" was used as the main title theme for the television series.[5] "Boadicea", which means "victorious", is a reference to the queen Boudica of the British-Celtic Iceni tribe in East Anglia who led a resistance against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire in 60 A.D., but was defeated and subsequently poisoned herself.[5] As a song about her was already written, Richardson wished for a new track that depicted the idea of "being spellbound" by Boudica, which turned into "I Want Tomorrow".[5] In the liner notes of the album's 1992 reissue, "I Want Tomorrow" is described, simply, as "thoughts of the present" and "March of the Celts" "echoes from the past".[9] "Deireadh an Tuath", which translates from Irish as "End of the Tribe", refers to past spirits and the fertile soil that helps ensure the future of the Celtic people, which is celebrated in the annual Gaelic festival Samhain, held on 31 October.[9] "The Sun in the Stream" was inspired by the legend of the Salmon of Knowledge, a creature written about in various texts in Irish mythology who "possessed all the truth in the world".[5]

"Fairytale" is a track based on a story of early Irish literature about "love, jealousy, secrets and endurance" between Midir, a fairy king, and his love for a princess, Étaín. In the story, Étaín is banished and transformed into a pool of water and emerges from it as a butterfly.[9] "Epona" is the name of the horse goddess Epona of the Gallo-Roman religion.[9] "Triad" is a track formed of three sections; "St. Patrick" is a traditional song that refers to St. Patrick who spent six years in captivity after he was captured by the Celtic people. "St. Patrick" lyrics were adapted from ancient hymn "Deus Meus Adiuva Me". The second part, "Cú Chulainn", Irish for "hound of Culann", is named after the culture hero Cú Chulainn. "Oisin", the final section, meaning "little fawn", is based on the mythological character Oisín.[9] "Bard Dance" refers to the bard, a man of ancient Celtic times who entertained the king.[9] "Dan y Dŵr", which translates to "Under the Water" in the Welsh language, is based on the intentional flooding of the village of Capel Celyn in Wales in order to accommodate a reservoir, Llyn Celyn.[9]

Release

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Enya was released on audio cassette and vinyl in February 1987 by BBC Records the United Kingdom through EMI Records. The label was enthusiastic about the album and decided to release it three months before the series aired on television.[10] The album was released in the United States by Atlantic Records, which categorised it as a new age album and placed an imprint saying so on the disc,[11] which Nicky Ryan later thought was "a cowardly thing to do".[12] The album gained enough public interest to reach number eight on the Irish Albums Chart.[13] In the United Kingdom, it entered the UK Albums Chart at number 79 for the week of 6 June 1987, climbing to its peak of number 69 on its fourth and final week on the chart, the week of 27 June.[14]

Enya released "I Want Tomorrow" as a single on 9 March 1987[15] as a 7-inch and compact disc with "The Celts" as the B-side. A maxi single was also released with the aforementioned tracks and "To Go Beyond (I)" and "To Go Beyond (II)". Following the album's reissue in 1992, "The Celts" was released as a single on 2 November 1992[16] with "Eclipse", a previously unreleased track from the Enya sessions, as a B-side. Another unreleased track, "Spaghetti Western Theme from The Celts", was released in 2005 as a B-side for Enya's 2005 single "Amarantine". It was released in memory of McAuley following his death in 2003.

Filmmaker David Bickley reused music from the soundtrack in The Memory of Earth,[17] an instalment in his documentary trilogy Mythological Lands. "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.

1992 reissue

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In 1992, after Enya gained worldwide commercial success with her albums Watermark (1988) and Shepherd Moons (1991) for Warner Music, Enya was remastered by Arun Chakraverty and redesigned with new artwork designed by Sooky Choi with photography by David Scheinmann.[9] The album was reissued on 16 November 1992 as The Celts by WEA[18] in Europe and Reprise Records in the United States. The Celts outperformed its original sales, reaching a new peak of number 10 on the UK Albums Chart for two weeks from the week of 28 November 1992. It returned to the chart for two separate weeks in 1993, one week in 1996, and six consecutive weeks in 1998.[14] In the United States, the album sold a further one million copies. It contains a new, longer version of the instrumental "Portrait" that is named "Portrait (Out of the Blue)", which was originally released (under the title "Out of the Blue") as the B-side to Enya's 1988 worldwide hit single, "Orinoco Flow".[9] In 2009, The Celts had a limited Japanese reissue on Super High Material CD with "Eclipse" added as a bonus track.[19]

Sampling of "Boadicea"

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Enya's instrumental-humming piece "Boadicea" has been sampled by numerous artists. The Fugees sampled it for their song "Ready or Not" on The Score (1996). A lawsuit against the group for copyright infringement was prepared as they had not asked for permission and did not give her credit. However, after Enya confirmed that the group were "anti-crime and drugs and their message was quite positive", she decided not to follow through with the suit. As a compromise, later pressings of The Score included stickers placed on the cover giving Enya credit.[20]

On the 1999 album Astronomica by American heavy metal band Crimson Glory, the intro track "March for Glory" is an interpretation of Enya's "Boadicea".

In 2003, R&B artist Mario Winans sampled "Boadicea" for his song "I Don't Wanna Know". Producer P. Diddy personally contacted Enya for permission and gave her 60 percent of the royalties,[21] and included her name on the song's subtitle as "Mario Winans featuring Enya and P. Diddy". It went on to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart in 2004. "Boadicea" was also sampled on the answer song to "I Don't Wanna Know", "You Should Really Know" by the Pirates featuring Shola Ama, Naila Boss and Ishani, which peaked at number eight in the UK in 2004. "Boadicea" with "Ready or Not" was also sampled by R&B group Nina Sky on their single "Time to Go" featuring rapper Angie Martinez, from the mixtape presented by Cipha Sounds. In 2008, Italian DJ Francesco Zeta sampled "Boadicea" for his song "Fairyland"; he made another version in 2012, subtitled "ReAmp", that also used the hardstyle sample. In 2011, a small sample of "Boadicea" was used on "Der erste Winter" by German singer Cassandra Steen for the album Mir so nah. 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". In 2015, Masika Kalysha sampled the song on "Hella Hollywood". In 2016, Salvatore Ganacci's song "Dive" sampled "Boadicea", and Enya was credited as a featured artist. On Nigerian-American singer Rotimi's 2019 album The Beauty of Becoming, he sampled the song on a track entitled "In My Bed", which also featured the rapper Wale. In 2022, "I Don't Wanna Know" was covered in "Creepin'" by American record producer Metro Boomin, Canadian singer the Weeknd, and Atlanta-based rapper 21 Savage, and by proxy Enya is credited as a writer. In the same year, "Boadicea" was also used in "Enjoy That" by American singer Akon.

The song is also featured in the Stephen King movie Sleepwalkers.[22] The series Snowfall featured Boadicea in the funeral scene for the character Jerome in the final season.

On 22 July 2016, Bosnian-Swedish DJ Salvatore Ganacci released the single "Dive", which heavily samples "Boadicea" and features vocals from Alex Aris.[23] The single peaked number 14 on the US Billboard Dance/Electronic Digital Songs Sales chart.[24]

Music videos

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Technically, no music videos were released to promote the album. However, two episodes of The Celts featured music video-style interludes featuring Enya performing "I Want Tomorrow" and "Aldebaran". (A music video for "The Celts" would later be produced for the Warner Bros. reissue.)

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [25]
Los Angeles Times    [26]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [27]

A November 1987 review appeared in Australian newspaper The Age by Mike Daly. He compared the sound of the album to Clannad following their shift in musical style in the early 1980s, "echoing, shimmering vocals and instrumentals". He questioned if it was "a beautiful, melodic example of New Age music, or perhaps New Folk?" Daly continued to pick out "I Want Tomorrow", "The Celts", "The Sun in the Stream", and "To Go Beyond (II)" as highlight tracks.[28]

Track listing

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All music composed by Enya; all music arranged by Enya and Nicky Ryan; all lyrics by Roma Ryan, except where noted. The lyrics to "St. Patrick" adapted from the Irish hymn "Deus Meus, Adiuva Me" by Mael Ísu Ua Brolcháin, though it is credited as "Traditional".[7][29][30]

Side one
No.TitleLyricsLength
1."The Celts"
2:57
2."Aldebaran" (Dedicated to Ridley Scott)
  • Enya
  • R. Ryan
3:05
3."I Want Tomorrow"R. Ryan4:02
4."March of the Celts"
  • Enya
  • R. Ryan
3:17
5."Deireadh an Tuath" (Irish for "End of the Tribe")
  • Enya
  • R. Ryan
1:44
6."The Sun in the Stream" 2:55
7."To Go Beyond (I)" 1:21
Side two
No.TitleLyricsLength
8."Fairytale" 3:04
9."Epona" 1:37
10."Triad"
  • a. "St. Patrick"
  • b. "Cú Chulainn"
  • c. "Oisin"
Mael Ísu Ua Brolcháin ("St. Patrick")4:25
11."Portrait" 1:23
12."Boadicea" 3:32
13."Bard Dance" 1:24
14."Dan y Dŵr" (Welsh for "Under the Water")R. Ryan1:42
15."To Go Beyond (II)" 2:59
Total length:39:36
1992 reissue as The Celts
No.TitleLength
11."Portrait (Out of the Blue)" (extended version)3:12
12."Boadicea"3:32
13."Bard Dance"1:24
14."Dan y Dŵr"1:42
15."To Go Beyond (II)"2:59
Total length:41:25
2009 Japanese CD reissue
No.TitleLength
16."Eclipse"1:33
Total length:42:31

Personnel

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Credits adapted from the album's 1987 and 1992 liner notes.[7][9]

Musicians

Production

  • Enya – arrangement
  • Nicky Ryan – arrangement, production, engineer on "Aldebaran" and "March of the Celts"
  • Nigel Read – engineer (all other tracks)
  • Mario Moscardini – sleeve design, art direction
  • Martyn J. Adleman – photography
  • David Scheinmann – photography (1992 reissue)
  • Sooky Choi – designer (1992 reissue)
  • Arun Chakraverty – mastering (1992 reissue)
  • Bruce Talbot – executive producer
  • Sam Feldman – remastering at Atlantic Studios, New York City

Charts

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Certifications

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References

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  1. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 27.
  2. ^ Evans, Paul (2 November 2004). "Enya". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 280.
  3. ^ "Watermark press release issued by Geffen Records". Geffen Records (USA). January 1989. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  4. ^ "On Her Shore: An Exclusive Interview with Enya". Inside Borders. January 2001. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Roma Ryan (2002). Only Time — The Collection (Booklet notes). Enya. Warner Music. p. 4, 10. 0927 49211-2.
  6. ^ a b c d Graham, Bill (1987). "Enya: The Latest Score". Hot Press. Ireland. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d Enya (Media notes). Enya. BBC Records. 1987. BBC CD 605.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ Azerrad, Michael (May 1989). "Enya: Clannad's Little Sister Sails Away". Musician. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Roma Ryan (1992). The Celts (Booklet notes). Enya. Warner Music. 4509-91167-2.
  10. ^ Fallon, BP (15 February 1987). "The Enchantress". Sunday Tribune. p. 18. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  11. ^ Enya (Media notes). Enya. Atlantic Records. 1987. 7 81842-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ Lanham, Tom (1989). "Interview with Enya". The Sunday Chronicle. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  13. ^ "Irish Charts > Enya albums". irish-charts.com Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
  14. ^ a b "Official Charts – Enya". UK Official Charts. Archived from the original on 13 July 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  15. ^ "New Singles". Music Week. 7 March 1987. p. 9.
  16. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 31 October 1992. p. 21.
  17. ^ "Enya.com". 7 March 2007. Archived from the original on 8 February 2007. Retrieved 26 March 2007.
  18. ^ "BRIT Certified – Certified Awards Search – "Enya – The Celts"". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  19. ^ "Enya the Celts Japanese SHM CD (459825)".
  20. ^ "Irish Voice article at archive.org". 18 February 1997. Archived from the original on 7 April 2005. Retrieved 26 March 2007.
  21. ^ "Where HipHop and Libertarianism Meet: "Sasha Frere-Jones in New Yorker"". 28 June 2004. Retrieved 26 March 2007.
  22. ^ "Nicholas Pike - Stephen King's Sleepwalkers (Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Discogs. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  23. ^ "Salvatore Ganacci - Dive feat Enya and Alex Aris". Spotify. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  24. ^ "Enya - Billboard Dance Electronic Digital Songs Sales chart". Billboard. 30 April 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  25. ^ AllMusic review
  26. ^ Los Angeles Times review
  27. ^ 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. Rolling Stone Enya Album Guide
  28. ^ Daly, Mike (12 November 1987). "Hard to categorise but a lot to listen to". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria. p. 48. Retrieved 26 December 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "Triad (St. Patrick, Cú Chulainn, Oisín)". unity.enya.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  30. ^ "Deus Meus Adiuva Me". Godsongs.net. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  31. ^ a b "Enya | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  32. ^ "Charts.nz – Enya – Enya". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  33. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Enya – Enya". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  34. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Enya – The Celts" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  35. ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. 19 December 1992. p. 47. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  36. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Enya – The Celts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  37. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Enya – The Celts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  38. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Enya – The Celts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  39. ^ "Catalog Albums". Billboard. 30 March 1993. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  40. ^ "New Age Albums". Billboard. 23 January 1993. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  41. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Enya – The Celts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  42. ^ "Charts.nz – Enya – The Celts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  43. ^ "Catalog Albums". Billboard. 22 July 1995. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  44. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Enya – The Celts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  45. ^ "Top Albums" (PDF). Music Week. 16 January 1993. p. 10. Retrieved 23 May 2022 – via World Radio History.
  46. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums for 1995". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  47. ^ "The Year in Music: Top New Age Catalog Albums" (PDF). Billboard. 27 December 1997. p. Y-72. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  48. ^ "Canada's Top 200 Alternative albums of 2002". Jam!. Archived from the original on 4 December 2003. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  49. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 94.
  50. ^ "American album certifications – Enya – Enya". Recording Industry Association of America.
  51. ^ Young, David (11 July 2007). "UU Honours Musician Enya". University of Ulster. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  52. ^ "Discos de oro y platino" (in Spanish). Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  53. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 94.
  54. ^ "Brazilian album certifications – Enya – The Celts" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil.
  55. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Enya; 'The Celts')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  56. ^ "RIAJ > The Record > April 1998 > Certified Awards (February 1998)" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  57. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Enya – The Celts". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  58. ^ Sólo Éxitos 1959–2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979–1990 (in Spanish). Iberautor Promociones Culturales. 2005. ISBN 8480486392.
  59. ^ "British album certifications – Enya – The Celts". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  60. ^ "American album certifications – Enya – The Celts". Recording Industry Association of America.
  61. ^ "University Of Ulster News Release - UU Honours Musician Enya". news.ulster.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
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