Paint The Sky With Stars: The Best Of Enya CD

Personnel: Enya (vocals).
Photographer: David Scheinmann.
Arrangers: Enya; Nicky Ryan.
Paint the Sky with Stars: The Best of Enya is an excellent 16-song overview of Enya's career, containing 14 selections from The Celts, Watermark, Shepherd Moon, and The Memory of Trees -- including "Caribbean Blue," "Anywhere Is," "Marble Halls," "Book of Days," and, of course, "Orinoco Flow" -- as well as two previously unreleased songs ("Only If...," "Paint the Sky with Stars") that fit comfortably with her past work. Although Enya is, in many ways, an album artist that creates a mood and sustains it through the course of one disc, this is a fine sampler for listeners who only want the hits and highlights. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
PAINT THE SKY WITH STARS: THE BEST OF ENYA is a collection of the greatest hits of the angelic-voiced Irish songstress, with the added bonus of two new tracks--"Only If..." and the title track. From her beginning days with Celtic supergroup Clannad, through her staggeringly succesful solo albums, her soaring, dreamy voice has captivated audiences worldwide, helping to make her one of the most succesful recording artists of all time.
Enya created a style whose wide open soundscapes were reminiscent of New Age, but more melodic, heavily based on the traditional Celtic music that formed much of her early singing career. This synthesis of styles proved marketable: the single "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) was a global smash, underscoring the universality of her work. Its dramatic string arrangements and heavenly choir struck a chord which resounded across all cultural and musical boundaries. More hits followed: "Caribbean Blue" assimilated yet another cultural paradigm into Enya's style, bringing the exuberance of the tropics into her ever-broadening scope, while "Boadicea" found another audience--a success on its own, it was later turned into the hit "Ready Or Not" by the Fugees. PAINT THE SKY marks a fitting tribute to a truly global talent.