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Post by Moe on Nov 14, 2008 12:27:27 GMT -5
I'm starting this thread after reading TC's review of AWC, because there's a fascinating point she raises:
I have kind of stopped thinking about Am, but these words make me want to re-evaluate what that album did, or at least tried to do.
The one thing that still impresses me about Am is the strong vocal line, with not much layering compared to AWC.
How do you folks look at Am, especially in light of AWC?
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Post by jpanarese on Nov 14, 2008 15:06:50 GMT -5
Now, this is a fascinating subject. It is interesting to consider the comparison. I do think that the individual songs on AWC do have power and impact on their own, but I would be inclined to agree with TC's point in regard to the album overall. I would really have to think this out for a time before I could express my reaction in some coherent way, but I am now going to have to listen to either album back to back. John
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Post by Becket on Nov 14, 2008 15:28:07 GMT -5
The goals and emotions that are communicated in the music of the two CDs AM and AWC are totally different...
There is also much difference when you look at the musical composition of the songs...
However another point to made here is when you list name your top 5 or 10 Enya songs you like, where do any of the songs from AWC and\or AM rank in your list...
As much as I like both AWC and AM, I cannot say there is much movement at all in my favorite Enya songs or ones that I would think of when I think of Enya...
I know I will play AWC every Christmas for the rest of my life!
I am not sure about Amarantine and where it "fits", I guess that was one problem with the CD, what is the theme or identity that Amarantine stood for in the scheme of things?
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Post by Treecat on Nov 14, 2008 17:41:13 GMT -5
This is an interesting topic. I'll be watching for the replies. It's no secret; Watermark is my favorite album, and probably always will be. I love Amarantine because, even though there's no Gaelic on it, it has the most Gaelic flavor of any of the albums since SM. A sense of Gaelic melancholy laces the music and the lyrics. I love the in-your-face attitude of Someone Said Goodbye (and good riddance? ) Maybe I was wishing for too much, but I thought AWC might have the same jolting impact as Amarantine. Sometimes in listening to it, I feel like there are two albums vying for attention--a Christmas album and a secular album. The album isn't THIS, but it isn't THAT either. Yet, as I said, I love the songs individually and have been plucking away on guitar with the love ballads. And that is something really nice -- these are the first real love songs I've ever heard from Enya: boy and girl meet; boy and girl fall in love; boy and girl experience heartbreak.
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Post by Moe on Nov 14, 2008 18:21:46 GMT -5
Sometimes in listening to it, I feel like there are two albums vying for attention--a Christmas album and a secular album. The album isn't THIS, but it isn't THAT either. Yet, as I said, I love the songs individually and have been plucking away on guitar with the love ballads. And that is something really nice -- these are the first real love songs I've ever heard from Enya: boy and girl meet; boy and girl fall in love; boy and girl experience heartbreak. I have had the same feeling - in fact, when I was taking notes for my general review of AWC, I used the terms "Christmassy" and "secular" for lack of a better terminology. The junction between the two was hard to find. I still do not "get" the agnus dei in TAWR..... In hindsight, perhaps Enya should have released a more traditional Xmas album last year, and saved those "secular" songs for the next album - and thus maybe speed up the production of that next album into, say, 2009. But, like you, I love the songs - and they rank among the best Enya has done to date. But my fav album remains, as always, SM. As for Am, I want to think more about it before expounding and boring you all to tears.
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Post by riene on Nov 15, 2008 10:50:55 GMT -5
I suspect that one could easily recombine all three albums--Sounds of the Season, Amarantine, and And Winter Came--and get three different albums instead--a Christmas album, "the newest release," and a Loxian album.
There is a major difference in styles between the two major releases. AWC has, IMHO, a better set of lyrics and more complex melodies. Amarantine has more simplistic lyrics and melodies. The Loxian songs are the most complex on that album, and they don't fit in at all with the rest of the CD.
I often wish Roma had done a separate CD with the Loxian songs. I would have enjoyed hearing her read the story, the words interspersed with Enya's Loxian songs.
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Post by Moe on Nov 16, 2008 16:13:52 GMT -5
I also got the feeling, reading the posts of fans, that the Loxian songs were problematic for some, if not many. So I think I'd agree with you, Riene, that maybe a separate EP with the Loxian songs plus commentary might have been a good idea. That EP would surely become a "hot" collector's item!!
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Post by alrik on Nov 16, 2008 18:44:47 GMT -5
In hindsight, perhaps Enya should have released a more traditional Xmas album last year, and saved those "secular" songs for the next album - and thus maybe speed up the production of that next album into, say, 2009. Hm, I tend to believe that And Winter Came actually IS the "Christmas album" that was planned for last year. In my theory, they might have delayed it.
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Post by alrik on Jan 25, 2009 9:50:50 GMT -5
Anytime I listen to "Less than a pearl", I think that she sings "I come !" in the refrain !
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Post by Moe on Jan 25, 2009 11:40:47 GMT -5
Interesting, Alrik, I'll have to put on the old headphones and see if I hear that as well. I'd like to go back to a point Becket made: My top ten now includes LTBM, which I regard as one of the very best songs ever, as well as SAMB; but WSTHH from Am remains in the top ten as well, as does AML, a song that grew on me like moss So each album has given me 2 new "top ten songs," leaving 6 songs from earlier albums to make up the rest. I personally "relate" more to AWC than to Am. I find the lyrics in AWC stronger, and I am a lyrics kind of person. But I find discordant elements in both albums: in AWC the Christmas songs seem to clash too much with the secular songs - the album tries to be two separate things; in Am, the Loxian songs, which I like very much indeed, seem to clash with the non-Loxian songs. In the end, I can only conclude that I like AWC "slightly" better than Am, but still admire Am as a very complex creation.
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Post by alrik on Jan 25, 2009 13:39:34 GMT -5
A trend I've noticed is that the blues songs continue. I had felsc "Someone said goodbye" already as a hint towards a blues song, and then I heard My My ... I wasn't surprised at all, only regarding how "strongly" that kind of "feeling" was expressed there.
Another trend is the turn away from instrumentals towards sung songs. I fear that this is due to pressure of the record company, which all prefer pop songs overall (which produce more profits to them).
I recall a similar trend with Mike Oldfield during his Virgin records years.
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Post by ใค๐โณโฒ๐ง ๐
๐๐โ๐๐๐๐ on Jun 12, 2023 13:44:45 GMT -5
Interesting - I hadn't found this thread before, happy to re-awaken it Even as a relatively late coming fan of Enya, I also believe that Amarantine as an album could be re-imagined, and it might have done better. It is placed lowest on my rankings of the albums (I prefer And Winter Came thanks to both of its singles) but isn't a bad album, perhaps a bit underwhelming compared to other releases that year. In my opinion, possibly others might see it too, Someone Said Goodbye should have been the main single for Enya's 2005 album, and the remix could have been officially released too. That way, by reordering the tracklist too, maybe the more lively Loxian could have served as a form of escapism from themes of worldly troubles. ๐ญ The songs overall - true about the point that the Loxian ones seem rather different with their adventurous themes, quite separate to the English lyric ones (a rather depressed feeling overall). Sometimes it is intriguing, exploring those more gloomy themes, but something uplifting - Enya's album A Day Without Rain - is much more preferable to me. I agree that it has some of the clearest lead vocals by Enya, in contrast to the vocal layering/wall of sound. Enya singing Amarantine live was rather good too, I was reminded earlier of one from this upload. The piano is also quite strong in this album ๐น In 2007 the instrumental piece Drifting was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Part of the tune (mentioned elsewhere too) sounds a bit like R.E.M's Everybody Hurts. I like the videos, Enya's dress and the lush forest setting in most of Amarantine, and the illustration style of in It's In The Rain. There are also many songs that Amarantine vaguely resembles, either the video elements (the late Laura Branigan in Cry Wolf, and a song that came a few years later, Idina Menzel and her song Brave - or Elsa's nightgown in Frozen II if you like ) or the tune (Alan Parsons Project - Silence And I). Theme-wise all these songs sort of match with Amarantine too. The song itself, sorry to say, is probably my least favourite of Enya's singles. Someone Said Goodbye is more catchy and has more important underlying themes. ๐ญ A random idea, but all the songs in sped-up high-pitch/Nightcore/Chipmunks sound more elaborate. They are already, of course, but some of the piano sounds quite magical at a higher pitch. ๐ช E.g. It's in the rain - Enya (sped up) I also think the album should have had a different name. ๐ก A title that sort of suits the sad nature of this album is that there is a petal-less flower, Amaranthus caudatus, also known as 'Love-lies-bleeding'. Back to the song Cry Wolf, I see (a bit) of the visuals in Amarantine (then again Enya kind of resembles Laura, without the long 80s hair) and a similar feeling being interpreted in It's In The Rain. (Still, closest one seems to be Tears And Rain by James Blunt - or that look ( see this GIF) that both he and Enya do in both of those 2005 videos. Anyway, the previous Enya album ADWR does mention rain in the title, but what if Amarantine was 'Listen to the rain'? 'Crying Wolf' perhaps..? The first idea I had for the title, with Someone Said Goodbye as the single, was 'See The Silver Lining..?' (or 'do you see the silver lining', more of a rhetorical question than the 'you don't' in the lyrics; that could have been changed). I think that might have been nice to be followed by And Winter Came... too Then a different album cover. I like the starry 'Christmas Edition' design too, but overall the pose could have been more 'flowy'. I like the yellow version, but it might be a bit bold/ would be portraying a different idea if that was the main album cover. There are lots of really nice Enya photos from the Amarantine 'era', but it seems most were after the album release. The Knebworth House photoshoots had a lot of elaborate settings to choose from, particularly the silky dresses. It's in the past, of course, but it is fun to reimagine it; none of Enya's albums should be left and forgotten about. Each one is, in some way, timeless. ๐๐ถ๐ Does anyone else have further thoughts on this? Attachments:
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Post by phantas on Jun 14, 2023 12:00:32 GMT -5
I just see this thread and realise I never posted in it! Possibly because at the time both Am and AWC were relatively new and didn't have time yet to functionally grow on me as they have now. I find both albums to be lovely, and especially Amarantine has grown the most on me. As a person who grew up with both a secular as well as a more Christian coloured view of the world, I have zero problems with And Winter Came as a mixture of both. In fact, Enya's renditions of more traditional style Christmas works is refreshing and quite bold (the spare OCOCE for example, or the boisterous WIITWN) but IMHO the way the songs are ordered gives all songs a bit of freedom, because there are buffers of non-traditional/secular Enya works in between. Christmas, imho, at its core today, is steeped in a mix of secular/religious dip anyhow, and And Winter Came fits right in. Moving on to Amarantine. I couldn't possibly compare the two albums, first and foremost, because they aren't aimed at the same target. Amarantine is Imho more aimed at the die-hard Enya-buyer, with a few little steps out of the comfort zone, whilst AWC is aimed at the mainsteram Enya buyer plus the casual Enya listener. Plus, it's targeted at Christmas, so there's thรกt. Totally different vibe. Anyhoo. When Amarantine came out, I wasn't really blown away by the single. The song plods along, allowing Enya to showcase her vocal a bit but all in all it's a bit wishy washy emo love ballad. Given time it grew on me, but I would not say it's one of my all time favourites. As for the album as a whole, there's a lot on offer here: We have quintessential Enya in "It's in the Rain" , "If I Could Be Where you Are" and "Long Long Journey". Besides this, there are ofcourse the Loxian songs and Sumiregusa, 3 songs in a made-up language plus one entirely in Japanese! On top of that, there's a thought-invoking, soothing intrumental รกnd a Winter song which could easily be placed on a Christmas inspired album. Add to that a nice range of typical Enya filler (i use that term lovingly here) and you have an album we've never seen before, and probably won't ever see again. It broke from the traditions before it, opening not with an instrumental but with a song, on top of that it's also a song NOT in English or even any wordly language. The (first) single was almost ballady in style, and very low beat. Only Caribbean Blue comes close in terms of first singles I think, and maybe Only Time. But those had more power to them than Amarantine. Factually, I'd say this album screams ROMA more than it does Enya. The Loxian songs have been positioned in such a way that we're drawn in and ushered out by a song in her made up language. Amarantine, Someone Said Goodbye and even Sumiregusa are poetic emblems of Roma's wordsmithery. Amid the Falling Snow is a testament to Roma's love for Nicky, whilst A Moment Lost also gives that heartfelt "home is where the heart is" feeling that Roma has in abundance. Does all this sum up an album that should've been on everyone's playlist? ehhmmmm..... juries are still out on that. It has absolutely stellar songs, but as a whรณle, that's a different ballgame. The album feels disjointed, serving up morsels in brackets rather than maintaining an everflow that leads from the first note to the last (in comparison, I'd wager DSI is a good example of this, despite also sporting Loxian songs. DSI has cohesiveness that Amarantine lacks.). Those morsels that are on offer are both brilliant and, in some cases, also quite Enya by numbers. IICBWYA, LLJ and even AML could've been placed on ANY Enya album and not stand out like a sore thumb. IITR, SSG and AMA are better selling points of the album. And here's where the crux is: The English songs offered here are 'doing the job' but do not give us something we haven't heard before. In comparison, the songs in other languages do exactly the opposite! And I think thรกt in itself is the magic of this album: the utter juxtaposition of English language songs vs songs in Loxian and Japanese (and maybe even the instrumental) forms the heart and soul of this album and the sheer power of these songs is softened by the more familiar material, thus creating more of a museum where there are some outstanding pieces, offset by more mundane, run of the mill works, that are elevated because the artist is so gifted. To sum up: it is the juxtaposition that gives this album life, though it also creates an incohesion that requires an acquiered taste. It gets better as the years pass on, though for some it may never attain the glory it could have It is also quite something to note that the period surrounding Amarantine/AWC was probably Enya's most productive period to date in terms of everything: promotion, recording, visibility. We had the Loxian games on the Forum, There was the SotS version which utterly led to AWC coming to life, and Enya had a new story to tell with the Loxian world being created by Roma adding another layer to he artistic persona.
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