And Winter Came - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
Twenty years after her landmark Watermark album, Enya's seventh studio disc, And Winter Came continues a phenomenally successful career that has included more than 70 million albums sold worldwide. And Winter Came is an enchanting evocation of the changing landscape of winter as well as the festive cheer of the holidays. One of the most successful female artists of all-time, and second only to U2 as the biggest selling Irish artist in history, Enya brings her beguiling and ethereal music to bear on the darkest and yet most hopeful season with And Winter Came.

Customer Reviews: Read 37 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars

Mixed luck November 14, 2008
33 out of 39 found this review helpful

Hard to start a review that many will hate, but I'll try. I have to firstly admit openly that I love Enya's music, I would not say everything she has done is brilliant, but the largest bulk of her production is superb and groundbreaking in many ways. I began getting disillusioned with Enya's musical direction with 'A day without rain', Although I like the songs and find moments of true genius in all of them, I felt betrayed by the sparse instrumentation and the fixed formula (verse-chorus-bridge-verse-chorus) It became so marked that I could tell you where the bridge was in any of the songs by just sliding the progress bar past the middle of the song. In one word, I missed the complexity/simplicity she achieved before. Amaranthine was no better, besides Water Shows the Hidden Heart, sumiregusa and It's in the Rain, the rest was repetitious and the same, thin instrumental arrangements, in a way the anathema of what her musical style stood for. Well, And winter came is no solution to this. Firstly, a 'xmas' album is not one high on my list, as much as I love xmas, if I want the sound of xmas I'll get the Cambridge singers doing traditional carols, besides she already released the sound of the seasons not too long ago, that should have been enough. Here we have the same repetitive structures with the sparse musical accompaniment, so thin that sometimes I want to yell 'for the love of God Enya, get some new instruments!'. Mind you, the album is good, some of these songs are lovely songs, well made, with great vocal mastery and all that, but for someone breaking musical ground for the last 20 years, this shows no growth, it actually shows a certain boredom, as if the most she can muster is the melodies and a bit of work on the layering of the harmonies, no musical exploration, nada. For all the niceness of the melodies, musically, the album offers very little and says very little of where Enya's talent is. To the risk of crucifixion by fans, I would say that if this is the best you have to offer now, you should have stopped with the memory of trees and leave it at that. Now, don't hate me, it is my opinion after all, just that.

PS- Enya, if you read this, please DO buy new instruments, hire a little string quartet, get a couple of gypsy players, anything but the pizzicato and the Yamaha sound piano, please! and find another rhythm to write in, you have already worn this one out, everything now sounds like only time.

5 out of 5 stars

This is THE winter album to own! November 12, 2008
20 out of 26 found this review helpful

If there is one album you should have in your collection this year, it has to be this one. There is a reason why it reached #1 on Amazon's best seller list! This is the release of the year. Every track is outstanding in its own way, there isn't a bad song on it. And Winter Came is Enya's first "winter themed" album. Some may think of it as a "Christmas" album. Here is a breakdown of what to expect when you listen to the album.

1. And Winter Came-The album opener, an instrumental. This is a reworking of a b-side track from Enya called "Midnight Blue" (available on the Wild Child single if you want to hear it) Nice opener, the beginning of the song is the best part. I think an excellent job was done with the tweaking.

2. Journey Of The Angels-A slow, traditional/religious carol. Said by Roma Ryan (lyricist) to be the story of the nativity as it would be written in the 21st century. Gorgeous song.

3. White Is In The Winter Night-A fun, upbeat song. Enya describes it as "very descriptive" and "a song to join in on" which I think is a fairly accurate way of putting it. Its lyrics are quite catchy. This is said to be the second single pulled from the album.

4. O Come O Come Emmanuel-This has to be the most exquisite rendition of this song I have ever heard. If this doesn't leave you with goose bumps, I don't know what will! The lyrics, the arrangement, her voice, just beautiful. The best on the album.

5. Trains And Winter Rains-Everyone knows this one! It reminds me of a mixture of past Enya songs (The Magic of the Night, May It Be, some say Orinoco Flow) Somewhat dark sounding. It's about a journey, there's no turning back. It's the first single taken from the album and I think it was a nice choice.

6. Dreams Are More Precious-This one reminds me of Once You Had Gold, but much better all around. It could be thought of as the "lullaby" of this album.

7. Last Time By Moonlight-This can be thought of as one of her fine moments in song. The lyrics are very moving. The strongest lyrics: Oh, remember this/for no one knows/the way love goes

8. One Toy Soldier-A Long Long Journey-esque song. To quote Roma: "One Toy Soldier is basically a children's song, a song about a little toy soldier. He's a favorite toy. He's been in the family for many years, he's like an heirloom, and as with all things that have been with you for a long time, he's not perfect, he's broken, his little drum is broken." An inspirational piece.

9. Stars And Midnight Blue-On some parts of this song, she almost sounds like her sister Moya. This song reminds me of If I Can Be Where You Are, but much better executed.

10. The Spirit Of Christmas Past-Based on Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol". Very wonderfully done. Lyric sample: When tears are in your eyes/it's time to look inside/your heart can find another way

11. My! My! Time Flies!-This is an upbeat, catchy song that is most different from Enya, but at the same time, not radically different. It's a tribute to the late Jimmy Faulkner. There is a clever reference to The Beatles in the song and some nice blues guitar. The most surprising track on the album. Said to be the possible third single.

12. Oiche Chiuin (chorale)-A remake of her classic rendition of Oiche Chiuin (Silent Night) Richer sound, improved from the original. It's done in the fashion of tracks on Watermark.

Miraculum-This is a bonus track that is available for downloading on this site. The track uses the background music from One Toy Soldier, but the lyrics are different. This song was created in honor of 20 years of music. Sang in Latin.

Enya has not failed to please with this album. I would more than recommend this to any Enya fan (casual, once in a while, long term, whatever!) The artwork is also a very gorgeous presentation. The photos online do not do it justice. Some are saying that this work is not up to her potential, but I believe it has reached her potential and then some. Enya has yet to disappoint (and she won't!) This is one that won't leave your CD player (put it in one that has good bass and turn it up loud, it's the most gorgeous sound ever) Do yourself a favor and don't listen to the naysayers, you'll be missing out on some of her best recordings.

5 out of 5 stars

Winter Definately Came! November 11, 2008
19 out of 26 found this review helpful

I absolutely love this CD! My favorite track is And Winter Came. Next would be Trains and Winter Rains. The others are phenomenal as well. An earlier post stated this CD has a feel of cynical commercialism. If you go to her web site and listen to her explanation of this CD she states she wanted to do a more modern take on Christmas carols. Now days unfortunately commercialism at Christmas time is just about every where you turn. The only grievance I have with this CD is I miss when in her earlier work she would blend her native Celtic tongue with English and this CD is predominately English. Other than that I would definitely call this CD a winner!

1 out of 5 stars

Highly disappointing November 11, 2008
11 out of 34 found this review helpful

Got this yesterday. Two songs are rehashes from extra tracks on previous singles - "And Winter Came" was previously known as Midnight Blue. "Oiche Chuin" already released a few times. The other songs are twee, and the whole CD has an air of cynical commercialism about it. There's a huge lack of new ideas, lyrical or melody-wise: lots of repeated lyrical references to midnight chimes and chimes of midnight, and midnight blue etc...
Florida...? Oh, is that the place where the clever folks put The W into the White House? Good job!

5 out of 5 stars

"And Winter Came...": another great album November 11, 2008
11 out of 16 found this review helpful

I know some said this is Enya's best work up to date -- and they're almost right, in my opinion: I think "Watermark" will always be my favourite Enya album. That said, "And Winter Came..." is DEVASTATINGLY GOOD.

"And Winter Came": I already loved the track when it was called "Midnight Blue", I love it even more now -- the new vocals turn it into a completely different piece. It's a strong opening song, it really gets you in a wintery, peaceful mood.

"Journey of the Angels" reminded me of "Angeles" (from the album "Shepherd Moons"): great melody, great vocal arrangement, great lyrics. That's the track that reminded me of Enya's earlier days the most -- even though the WHOLE album is more similar to "Watermark" than to "A Day Without Rain".

"White is in The Winter Night" is utterly cheerful and I know I'll find myself singing it on Christmas day.

"O Come O Come Emmanuel" is haunting, especially the long and loud "aah" after the first verse. Lovely.

"Trains and Winter Rains" is an excellent first single, and it's POP at its most refined.

"Dreams are More Precious" should be released as a single, too: it has big potential. Superb vocal arrangement.

I think "Last Time By Moonlight" is going to be my favourite song on this album. Perfect melody (one that Mama Cass could sing), excellent arrangement, great vocals, insightful lyrics. The Trio did a great job on this one: it's flawless (not that the other songs are full of flaws, of course -- but this one's particularly appealing to my ears and brain).

"One Toy Soldier" is a very cute song! Roma Ryan did a great job on this one: the lyrics might sound sorta childish when you first listen to the song, but it quickly grew on me.

"Stars And Midnight Blue" reminded me of "A Moment Lost" (from "Amarantine"), which is a track I like a lot -- but it definitely sounds more mature and better produced.

"The Spirit of Christmas Past" is going to be my second favourite on the album. Another clever, soothing melody.

"My! My! Time Flies!" is another flawless song: it's different from what we've heard up to now, but you can still tell it's Enya, sweet lovely Enya. The lyrics are witty and priceless! Being an Enya fan, I knew the Beatles and B.B. King would be referred to in the song -- but I didn't know Isaac Newton would be, too. Lovely. Oh, and there's a great guitar solo at the end of the song -- something you don't hear very often in an Enya song! I love the ending line: "... could be tomorrow but then/ could be 2010."

The new "chorale" version of "Oiche Chiuin" is spectacular, luxuriant as the virgin forest, uber-cool. I like it as much as the version they recorded in 1988.

That's all.

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