Enya - Only Time: The Collection (2002)

A wonderful gift, this handsomely packaged four-CD box set (purple velvet cover, gold-foil lettering) also serves as an inviting midcareer retrospective of an uncommon vocalist-sonic architect. Only Time: The Collection is a mix-and-match assortment of tracks spanning Enya's first five U.S. releases (including her 1987 debut, The Celts) and embellished with a half-dozen B-sides not found on her previous U.S.-released albums. Chief among them are "May It Be" (from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack); "Isobella," a hushed, slowly evolving beauty formerly available only in Japan; and "Oiche Chiun (Silent Night)." The set's fourth disc is an enhanced CD that includes 1996 video footage of Enya performing "Oiche Chiun" during a BBC special. Also included is a 44-page, tall-format booklet filled with regal artist photos, song lyrics, and commentary on each track written by lyricist Roma Ryan. Some notations are throwaway items. Others are insightful, such as the unfinished lyrics (about lost love) for the instrumental title track to A Day Without Rain. The order is a jumble, usually mixing tracks from two recordings onto one disc. The stylistic difference between her dated 1987 debut and the sophistication of 1988's Watermark makes for some occasionally jarring listening on disc one. On the other hand, the opening sequence on disc three ("After Ventus," "No Holly for Miss Quinn," "The Memory of Trees") is mesmerizing. Overall, nicely done. --Terry Wood



Format: MP3 VBR



Tracklist:



1. Enya - A Day Without Rain

2. Enya - After Ventus (The Wind from Africa)

3. Enya - Aldebaran

4. Enya - Anywhere Is

5. Enya - Athair Ar Neamh

6. Enya - Boadicea

7. Enya - Book of Days

8. Enya - Caribbean Blue

9. Enya - China Roses

10. Enya - Cursum Perficio

11. Enya - Deora Ar Mo Chroí (Tears on My Heart)

12. Enya - Ebudae

13. Enya - Eclipse

14. Enya - Evacuee

15. Enya - Evening Falls

16. Enya - Exile

17. Enya - Fallen Embers

18. Enya - Flora's Secret

19. Enya - Hope Has a Place

20. Enya - How Can I Keep from Singing¿

21. Enya - Isobella

22. Enya - Lazy Days

23. Enya - Lothlórien

24. Enya - Marble Halls

25. Enya - March of the Celts

26. Enya - May It Be

27. Enya - Miss Clare Remembers

28. Enya - Na Laetha Geal M'Óige

29. Enya - No Holly for Miss Quinn

30. Enya - On Your Shore

31. Enya - One by One

32. Enya - Only Time

33. Enya - Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)

34. Enya - Oíche Chiúin (Silent Night)

35. Enya - Pax Deorum

36. Enya - River

37. Enya - Shepherd Moons

38. Enya - Song of the Sandman (Lullaby)

39. Enya - Storms in Africa

40. Enya - Tea-House Moon

41. Enya - Tempus Vernum

42. Enya - The Celts

43. Enya - The First of Autumn (Haiku)

44. Enya - The Longships

45. Enya - The Memory of Trees

46. Enya - The Sun in the Stream

47. Enya - Watermark

48. Enya - Wild Child