EITHNE NÍ BHRAONÁIN alias ENYA - Vocals, All Instruments, Arrangement, Co-producer
NEIL BUCKLEY - Clarinet
CHRIS HUGHES - Percussion, Drums
DAVY SPILLANE - Pipe, Whistle, Uillean Pipes
NICKY RYAN - Arranger, Producer
ROB DICKINS - Executive Producer
ROSS CULLUM - Engineer, Mixing, Co-producer
JIM BARTON - Mixing
LAWRENCE DUNMORE - Design
DAVID HISCOOK - Cover Photography
RUSSELL T. - Additional Photography
1988 CD Reprise 2-26774
1988 LP Reprise 199
1988 CS Reprise 4-26774
1988 CD Reprise 2438752
1988 CD Atlantic 9242332
1990 CD Geffen 24233
1990 CS Geffen 24233
1999 CD Import 10091
1999 CD Warner Brothers 26774
Thanks to its distinct, downright catchy single "Orinoco Flow," which
amusingly referenced both her record company boss Rob Dickins and
co-producer Ross Cullum in the lyrics, Enya's second album Watermark
established her as the unexpected queen of gentle, Celtic-tinged new
age music. To be sure, her success was as much due to marketing a niche
audience in later years equally in love with Yanni and Michael
Flatley's Irish dancing, but Enya's rarely given a sense of pandering
in her work. She does what she does, just as she did before her fame.
Admittedly, avoiding overblown concerts run constantly on PBS hasn't
hurt. Indeed, the subtlety that characterizes her work at her best
dominates Watermark, with the lovely title track, her multi-tracked
voice gently swooping among the lead piano, and strings like a softly
haunting ghost, as fine an example as any. "Orinoco Flow" itself, for
all its implicit dramatics, gently charges instead of piling things on,
while the organ-led "On Your Shore" feels like a hushed church piece.
Elsewhere, meanwhile, Enya lets in a darkness not overly present on The
Celts, resulting in work even more appropriate for a moody soundtrack
than that album. "Cursum Perficio," with her steady
chanting-via-overdub of the title phrase, gets more sweeping and
passionate as the song progresses, matched in slightly calmer results
with the equally compelling "The Longships." "Storms in Africa,"
meanwhile, uses drums from Chris Hughes to add to the understated,
evocative fire of the song, which certainly lives up to its name.
Watermark ends with a fascinating piece, "Na Laetha Geal M'Oige," where
fellow Irish modern/traditional fusion artist Davy Spillane adds a
gripping, heartbreaking uilleann pipe solo to the otherwise calm
synth-based performance. It's a perfect combination of timelessness and
technology, an appropriate end to this fine album.
Enya's 1988 recording Watermark achieved landmark success with her
groundbreaking use of multi-tracking technology to fuse new age and
Celtic themes and instrumentation. The meticulous production defines
her sound and achieves continuity even while weaving together tender
ballads, piano pieces, massively layered vocal harmonies, and symphonic
synthesizer movements. Although Enya's pristine voice isn't especially
strong, her lead vocals possess a vulnerability that reflects the
lyrics' sense of personal searching. From the ubiquitous, frothy single
"Orinoko Flow" (which was used to hawk Crystal Light on TV) to the
hard, bold edge of "Cursum Perficio," Enya's style remains fresh and
engaging today.
Richard Price - Amazon.com
Einst sang Enya bei der irischen Folkgruppe Clannad, und schöne,
folklori- stische Melodien bevorzugt sie auch heute noch. Die bettet
sie mit ihrer hellen Stimme in zart schwingende Arrangements. Behutsam
ersetzen bei die- sen elf Songs zum Träumen weiche Keyboardsounds
die im Folk üblichen Gi- tarren.
Trends lösen Gegentrends aus - nicht erst seit Enya: Die
Schönfärberei der Dame aus Dublin ist die geeignete
Trotzreaktion auf die harsche Sozialkritik einer Tracy Chapman oder
Michelle Shocked. "Watermark" - eignet sich mit seinem lupenreinen
Digitalsound am besten für plüschgedämpfte Medita-
tions-Discos, trifft aber auch am heimischen Kaminfeuer den richtigen
Ton. LP-Kritik: stereoplay 12/88
Watermark is the second album by the Irish musician Enya, who began her
career with the traditional group Clannad and went solo in 1986. Her
first U.S. release, Watermark may sound overly subtle at first, but it
quickly establishes itself as a rich mood piece of broad proportions.
As evidence of Watermark's broad appeal, both the album and its single
"Orinoco Flow" have shot up the U.S. charts – mirroring the
album's phenomenal recent success in Europe. The opening, title track
sails the listener gently into an ebb-and-flow movement that permeates
the album. This simple instrumental leads into the complex "Cursum
Perficio" ("Journey's End"), for which producer Nicky Ryan overdubbed
up to 100 voice tracks to create a chorus of Latin-chanting Enyas. This
distinctive choral effect is also used on "Orinoco Flow" and "The
Longships," and its striking harmonies are countered by the exquisite
clarity of Enya's solo vocal on the third track, "On Your Shore." From
ethereal plaint to rippling sea chantey, Watermark becomes a glorious
aural mosaic. The lyrics, by Roma Ryan, are unornamented but
compelling, accentuating the multifarious feel of the album by using
Latin, Gaelic and English. The ethnic touches throughout tend to enrich
without dominating, as with the Gaelic lyrics on the closing track, "Na
Laetha Gael M'Oige." With its traditional and classical elements and
its broad acoustic vocabulary – ranging from Irish uilleann pipes
to clarinets and even church organs – Watermark transcends the
category of Celtic New Age. It is a tapestry of sound and image to be
discovered over time, its evocations ultimately personal, subjective
and definitely worth a journey of exploration.
Cursum perficio
Cursum perficio
Cursum perficio
Cursum perficio
Cursum perficio
Verbum sapienti; eo plus cupiunt
Verbum sapienti
Quo plus habent; eo plus cupiunt
Verbum sapienti
Quo plus habent; eo plus cupiunt
Post nubila, Phoebus
Post nubila, Phoebus
Post nubila, Phoebus
Quo plus habent; eo plus cupiunt
Quo plus habent; eo plus cupiunt
Quo plus habent; eo plus cupiunt
Post nubila, Phoebus
Post nubila, Phoebus
Post nubila, Phoebus
Post nubila, Phoebus
Post nubila, Phoebus
Post nubila, Phoebus
Iternum
Iternum
Iternum
ON YOUR SHORE
Strange how
My heart heats
To find myself upon your shore
Strange how
I still feel
My loss of comfort gone before
Cool waves wash over
And drift away with dreams of youth
So time is stolen
I cannot hold you long enough
And so
This is where I should be now
Days and nights falling by
Days and nights falling by me
I know
Of a dream I should be holding
Days and nights falling by
Days and nights falling by me
Soft blue horizons
Reach far into my childhood days
As you are rising
To bring me my forgotten ways
Strange how I falter
To find I'm standing in deep water
Strange how
My heart beats
To find I'm standing on your shore
STORMS IN AFRICA
Cá fhad é ó
Cá fhad é ó
Siúl tríd na Stoirmeacha
Dul tríd na Stoirmeacha
Cá fhad é ó
An tús don stoirm
Cá fhad é ó
An tús go deiradh
Tóg do Chroí
Siúl tríd na Stoirmeacha
Tóg do chroísa
Dul tríd na Stoirmeacha
Turas mór
Tor tríd na Stoirmeacha
Turas fada
Amharc tríd na Stoirmeacha
EXILE
Cold as the northern winds
In December mornings,
Cold is the cry that rings
From this far distant shore
Winter has come too late
Too close beside me
How can I chase away
All these fears deep inside?
I'll wait the signs to come
I'll find a way
I will wait the time to come
I'll find a way home
My light shall be the moon
And my path - the ocean
My guide the morning star
As I sail home to you
I'll wait the signs to come
I'll find a way
I will wait the time to come
I'll find a way home
Who then can warm my soul?
Who can quell my passion?
Out of there dreams - a hoat
I will sail home to you
MISS CLARE REMEMBERS
(Instrumental)
ORINOCO FLOW
Let me sail, let me sail, let the orinoco flow
Let me reach, let me beach on the shores of Tripoli
Let me sail, let me sail, let me crash upon your shore
Let me reach, let me beach far beyond the Yellow Sea
From Bissan to Palan - in the shade of Avalon
From Fiji to Tiree and the Isles of Ebony
From Peru to Cebu hear the power of Babylon
From Bali to Cali - far beneath the Coral Sea
From the North to the South, Ebudae into Khartown
From the deep sea of clouds to the island of the moon
Carry me on the waves to the lands I've never been
Carry me on the waves to the lands I've never seen
We can sail, we can sail...
We can steer, we can near with Rob Dickins at the wheel
We can sigh, say goodbye Ross and his dependencies
We can sail, we can sail...
Evening Falls...
When the evening falls and the daylight is fading
From within me calls - could it be I am sleeping?
For a moment I stray, then it holds me completely
Close to home - I cannot say
Close to home feeling so far away
As I walk the room there before me a shadow
From another world, where no other can follow
Carry me to my own, to where I can cross ever...
Close to home - I cannot say
Close to home feeling so far away
Forever searching; never right
I am lost in oceans of night
Forever hoping I can find memories
Those memories I left behind
Even though I leave will I go on believing
That this time is real- am I lost in this feeling?
Like a child passing through
Never knowing the reason
I am home - I know the way
I am home - feeling oh, so far away
RIVER
(Instrumental)
THE LONGSHIPS
Hi-ri-u
Ho-ro-ho
Ho-ri-u
Him-o-ro-ho
Hoireann is oro
Tá muid beo
Him oro ho
Go Deo na ndeor
NA LAETHA GEAL M'ÓIGE
(In ómós do mo m'athair agus do m'atair)
Ag amharc tré m'óige
Is mé bhí sámh
Gan eolas marbh
Bhí mé óg san am
Anois, táim buartha
's fad ar shiúil an lá
Ochón 's ochón ó
Na laetha geal m'óige
Bhí siad lán de dhóchas
An bealach mór a bhí romham anonn
Bhí sé i ndán domh go mbeinn, slán, slán
Anois, táim buartha
's fad ar shiúil an lá
Ochón 's ochón ó
Na laetha geal m'óige
Bhí siad lán de dhóchas
An bealach mór a bhí romham anonn
Bhí sé i ndán domh go mbeinn, slán, slán
Anois, táim buartha
's fad ar shiúil an lá
Ochón 's ochón ó