Comprised of 18 tracks culled from the singer/composer's first three decades, The Very Best of Enya was pieced together by the artist herself, along with longtime collaborators Nicky and Roma Ryan. Luckily, the trio seems enamored by most of the same songs that the general public is, resulting in one of those rare "greatest-hits" collections that goes deep without depriving the listener of the essentials. With tunes like "Orinoco Flow," "Caribbean Blue," and "Book of Days" in the pot and out of the way, it's easier to appreciate hidden gems like "Cursum Perficio," "Boadicea," "Trains and Winter Rains," and "Anywhere Is." Also notable is the inclusion of "May It Be" and a previously unreleased version of "Aníron (I Desire)," both of which originally appeared on the soundtrack for the first chapter of Peter Jackson's beloved Lord of the Rings trilogy. [An expanded Special Edition, featuring bonus tracks and a DVD, was released in 2009.] ~ James Christopher Monger

Twenty-two years have passed since the original release of Enya's self-titled debut album. During that time, Enya has become one of the world's most successful musicians with over 70 million album sales worldwide to her name and an array of authoritative honours including four Grammy Awards and three World Music Awards . The Very Best Of Enya brings together for the first time so much of the earth-spanning music created alongside her close friends and partners in music, Nicky and Roma Ryan. Warner. 2009.

CD/DVD package will be a hardback deluxe slipcase with book featuring Enya art and images. The Very Best Of Enya CD/DVD package features the most comprehensive Enya DVD to date, encompassing thirteen videos as well as interview and behind the scenes footage. It also includes two making of' mini-documentaries examining the creation of the Caribbean Blue and Only Time videos . The DVD will contain audio up mixed to 5.1 surround sound.


  A Midwinter Night's Dream CD
  by Loreena McKennitt
Our Price: $15.65 CD
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A MIDWINTER NIGHT'S DREAM is an expansion of a 1995 EP called A WINTER GARDEN, on which folksinger Loreena McKinnett tackled traditional Christmas carols. This 13 track version adds a few original holiday songs and more traditional material. Focusing on delightful but less overexposed tunes like "Coventry Carol" and "The Holly and the Ivy," A MIDWINTER NIGHT'S DREAM is a lovely antidote to uninspired cookie-cutter Christmas albums.

Personnel: Loreena McKennitt (vocals, harp, accordion, piano, keyboards); Abdelli (vocals, mandola); Eddie Upton, Philippa Toulson, Gill Berry, Ellen Robotham, Bob Berry (vocals); Brian Hughes (guitar, guitar synthesizer); Dan ArBraz (guitar); Simon Edwards (acousti c guitar, marimbula, electric bass); Aidan Brennan (acoustic guitar); Ben Grossman (hurdy-gurdy); Stratis Psaradellis (lute); Hugh Marsh, Waiel Abo Baker (violin); Donald Quan (viola, accordion, tabla); Caroline LaVelle (cello); Robert A. White (whistle, Uilleann pipe, shawm); George Koller (acoustic bass); Hossam Ramzy, Rick Lazar (percussion).

  Visit CD
  by Loreena McKennitt
Our Price: $15.99 CD
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With her piercing vocals and sensual, exotic sound, Loreena McKennitt has single-handedly made tangible the passions of Celtic and pagan life for her large, devoted audience. Her fourth release, THE VISIT, was her breakthrough, a satisfying mixture of original compositions and adaptations. "The Lady of Shalott" is an 11-minute rendition of the Alfred Lord Tennyson poem, while McKennitt archly notes that she sings the subdued "Greensleeves" in her best Tom Waits impersonation.

Personnel: Loreena McKennitt (vocals, various instruments); Brian Hughes (guitar, guitar synthesizer); George Koller (sitar, fiddle, cello, bass guitar, tambora); Hugh Marsh (fiddle); Anne Bourne (cello); Patrick Hutchinson (Uilleann pipe); Tom Hazlitt (bass guitar); Al Cross (drums); Rick Lazar (percussion). Personnel: Loreena McKennitt (vocals, harp, accordion, bodhran, keyboards);

Q (1/93, p.73) - Included in Q's list of the 50 Best Albums Of 1992.
Q (7/92, p.95) - 3 Stars - Good - "..[McKennitt] possesses a sharp eye for good material (her own and traditional) and a voice that makes mincemeat out of many of her contemporaries...could be the folk album of the year.."


  Swagger CD
  by Flogging Molly
Our Price: $12.95 CD / $9.99 MP3
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Nothing like a traditional Irish band from California. All cynicism aside, Flogging Molly's hybrid of street punk and pub-rock is a ruckus of punch-drunk energy. Combining the folk of the Pogues with an Oi! blast by way of the Dropkick Murphys, their debut full-length Swagger provides a brew of rowdy party music that's perfect for any barroom brawl. ~ Mike DaRonco

Flogging Molly: Dave King (vocals, acoustic guitar); Dennis Casey (guitar); Robert Schmidt (banjo, mandolin); Bridget Regan (fiddle, tin whistle); Matt Hensley (accordion); George Schwindt (drums).
Additional personnel: John Donovan (guitar); Gary Schwidt (trumpet).

Alternative Press (10/00, pp.91-2) - 3 out of 5 - "...Different, upbeat and pure fun..." CMJ (5/00, p.59) - "...A pleasant enough punk diversion....Comparisons to those standard-bearers of Irish folk-punk, The Pogues, are inevitable..."


  New Journey CD
  by Celtic Woman
Our Price: $15.19 CD
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The chart-busting Celtic Woman are a group of vocalists whose thrilling harmonies and fiery interpretations of traditional and modern folk songs have charmed an international audience. What distinguishes Celtic Woman from other Irish folk groups is the clever way they weave their emerald webs around even the unlikeliest songs. So in addition to fife-and-fiddle rave-ups like "Dualaman" and "Carrickfergus," the women lend their dynamic choral singing to "Over the Rainbow," "Beyond the Sea," and "Scarborough Fair," and somehow make these chestnuts sound fresh and alive and, well, Irish.

Audio Mixer: Andrew Boland.
Recording information: RTE Studio 1, Dublin, Ireland; Windmill Lane Recording Studios.
Arranger: David Downes.
Celtic Woman: Chloë Agnew, Orla Fallon, Hayley Westenra, Meav Ni Mhaolchatha, Lisa Kelly (vocals); Mairead Nesbitt.

Personnel: David Downes (vocals, whistling, grand piano, harpsichord, keyboards, percussion); Des Moore (guitar, bouzouki); Andreja Malir (harp); Mairead Nesbitt (fiddle); Eoghan O'Neill (bass guitar); Ray Fean (drums, bodhran); Robbie Harris (bodhran).


  Songbird CD
  by Eva Cassidy
Our Price: $$13.45 CD / $9.90 MP3
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This posthumous anthology is the perfect introduction to the astonishing vocal talents of Eva Cassidy, a young, relatively unknown singer who died of cancer just as her career was beginning to gain steam at the age of 33. Cassidy, a native of Washington D.C., gained local favor with her pure, straightforward tone and her lovely, tasteful interpretations of everything from standards to gospel to contemporary pop.

SONGBIRD is a definitive best-of selection that picks from Cassidy's studio albums and shows the depth and breadth of her skills. SONGBIRD's perfection as a compilation is in its song choice, which covers Cassidy's takes on gospel ("Oh, Had I A Golden Thread"), soul (Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready"), pop (Sting's "Fields of Gold"), and well-known standards ("Over the Rainbow"). Cassidy's own perfection stems from her ability to bring the same precise, inventive phrasing and crystalline tone to each individual song, regardless of genre, making it indelibly her own. This collection became a best-selling number-one album in the U.K., and with good reason.

Rolling Stone (8/30/01, p.125) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...She effortlessly shuffles styles and the song selections are astute...Cassidy comes across as a bluesier version of English folk singer Sandy Denny.... she melts her personality into the fabric of each melody..."


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