By
Vanessa Francis
Grade: A
Enya has somehow made a name for herself in an unassuming way. Sure, she's a new age musician singing of wind and fire and sun. But by some bizarre twist of fate - unlike many of her more sappy peers like Yanni or John Tesh - a person can buy an Enya album with head held high.
Her fifth release, A Day Without Rain, is similar to her previous albums. The songs are soothing and calm - the perfect background music to write a term paper. This is because the lyrics of Enya's songs are basically incomprehensible and sometimes not even in English. But they work.
Not that there is anything inherently wrong with this situation. Her music is what you listen to while driving or painting, or shellacking the kitchen counter. Any of these songs can be used as background to scenes in Rob Reiner or Ron Howard movies. And anyone can fall in love with them.
Enya is a master at successfully blending poetic lyrics with inspiring messages. The words to track six, "Flora's Secret," contain messages about nature - even though they would never seem evident without reading the album insert.
Enya owns her music - she writes the lyrics, mixes the sounds and performs all the instruments and she should be proud.
The album's intro and title track "A Day Without Rain" is one of the stand-outs. The song is subtle, with an easy-going piano accompanying melancholy, non-sensical vocals.
No Enya album is complete without the uplifting, "go-get-em" track. And for this album, it is certainly the song "Wild Child," with its inspiring crescendo about love and Earth.
Once again, Enya has produced an outstanding album, and like her other four releases, it will never grow stale with age. Despite the new age music genre, the sounds of Enya are timeless.
