Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998
From: Tripp Gwyn (tgwyn@infoave.net)
My review of this album [Clannad's Landmarks] is not 100% positive. It seems obvious that Máire was working on something else. The songs were usually like a mix of different influences, but on this CD you can tell who wrote each song by it's lyrics and sounds...
1. An Glean (C. Brennan)
I really like this track. I think it starts the album a little too fast, but it is very good. For some reason it makes me think of Fuaim. The lyrics flow very well. However, I think the chorus is repeated a few too many times.
2. Fado (D. Duggan)
I don't know Gaelic but I'm gueesing this song is about love. It's very
slow but it is enjoyable. It has a good chorus and Máire's vocals fit it
perfectly.
3. A Mhuirnin O (C. Brennam and M. Brennan)
I think I would like this track a lot better if I'd never heard Up Against
the Wind. The percussion sounds SOOO similar. The lyrics are really good
though and Máire's voice is very powerful.
4. Of This Land (M. Brennan)
I guess is supposed to be the central song of the album. It's okay. It's
VERY obvious that it's a Máire song. The instrumentation is beautiful
though. I think this was probably the obvious song to name the album
after. I think it if the song would have become a little more UPBEAT in
the middle it would have been a little better.
5. Court to Love (C. Brennan)
I really enjoy this song. I don't exactly understand the meaning of the
lyrics yet, but it's growing on me. I think the album was dying for this
track. It's very upbeat and at the same time holds emotion.
6. The Golden Ball (C. Brennan)
This is one of the best instrumentals every by Clannad IMHO. It's very
upbeat and even has the sax. I'm a little sad over reading the linears and
discovering hardly ANYONE with Clannad played on this song. I think Máire
might be humming on a few parts. This song sort of takes me back to Fuaim
also....
7. The Bridge of Tears (N. Duggan)
I enjoy songs that switch from English to Gaelic and I think this is the
only one on the album. It's fairly haunting, and reminds me a little of a
Loreena McKennitt song. This song has very good instrumentation. I think
there are Uillean pipes.....I love that.
8. Autumn Leaves Are Falling (C. Brennan)
This one kind of took me by suprise. It's kind of upbeat. The sax really
threw me. I think this sounds sort of popish. But it's not a bad song.
This one is definitely growing on me....
9. Let Me See (M. Brennan)
I don't know why, but I don't care for this song. It's very simplistic and
one dimensional. The lyrics obviously prove it's a Máire song, but it
needs better instrumentation. I think it might have been better in Gaelic.
10. Loch Na Gailli (C. Brennan)
Hmm, I've never heard a Clannad instrumental like this. It's pretty good
though. The guitar sounds a little Oldfieldish. But then you get more
instruments that leave the Clannad trademark. All in all this is an
excellent track.
I give this album a B- . I think it could have been a much better album. It sounds like it was put together over night from a few studio outakes. I think you'll like it if you LOVE Clannad. If you're just an Enya fan, you might want to pick up a different Clannad album.
Newsgroup: hk.rec.alt-music
Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998
From: Falcon S. L. Poon (fslpoon@hkusua.hku.hk)
LANDMARKS -- Clannad (1998, BMG)
--------------------------------
Among the many musical families in Ireland, the Brennan Family is the
most successful one -- undoubtedly commercially, arguably
artistically. They have brought the world Enya, who with her
multitracked vocals brought "new-age" music to the mainstream. Yet
the music of the rest of the family band -- Clannad -- is also
noteworthy -- certainly more so now that Enya has been making little
musical progress lately.
Clannad now consists of Enya's big sister (Máire Brennan) and big brother (Ciaran Brennan) and their twin uncles (Noel and Padraig Duggan). The works of Clannad falls into 2 periods: before the departure of Enya they played traditional Irish music, but since their "Magical Rings" album they began incorporating elements of new-age, pop and jazz into their traditional sounds. Earlier attempts at such fusion had resulted in rather clumsy and insipid pieces, but in their 1996 album LORE their effort really bear fruit -- LORE is a staggeringly beautiful and emotionally compelling album, with a perfect balance between pop and tradition. Full of surprising turns -- a soulfully melodic air transforming into hip-hop within a space of a few piano touches, A grevious chant dissolving into cavernous ambience -- this album is an ultimate showcase of the group's creativity.
Understandably I anticipate their 1998 album LANDMARKS. If Enya had made her "big-break" with her WATERMARK album, can Clannad make their with LANDMARKS?
It turned out that LANDMARKS is a much more straight-forward and simpler than LORE, but it is still an extremely enjoyable.
LANDMARKS opens with a up-beat piece ("An Gleann"). With its electronic pulses and light piano touchs, it reminds me of the "dream pop" style of Robert Miles. Máire's transparent voice soars over an undercurrent of monotonous chants -- immensely beautiful.
Another upbeat piece, "A Mhuirnin O" (track 3), will certainly draws your finger to the Repeat button. Admittedly it is very similar to one of Máire Brennan's solo song ("Up Against the Wind"), but no one can resist its galloping rhythm, dynamic waves and powerful chants. Here Clannad works on a very simple melodic structure, yet the listener is kept engaged with it kaleidoscopic changes in dynamics and electronic colouration. I hope someone could do a remix on it (Steve Roach or William Orbit would be great).
A Clannad album is never in short of slow and soulful melodic pieces. Now that the pseudo-celtic "My Heart Will Go On" has become a hit, I hope that more people will be interested in the real thing. The haunting tin-whistle of "Fado", accompanying the melancholic voice of Máire, would bring Titanic fans to a deeper emotional level than they had experienced in the film. Máire's voice sounds almost wounded in "On this Land", the theme piece of the CD -- and it suits perfectly with the meandering melody line so typical of Máire. I love the Uillean pipes at the middle, although I think a cello fit the mood better.
Clannad always bring a saxophone to their albums. Sometimes it is a nuisance, but it is in the right place in LORE. On the instrumental "The Golden Ball", the duet of saprano sax and tin whistle results in such intimate exchanges that there is no longer a need to tell one from the other. Clannad's best use of the saxophone so far.
As far as the Lyrics is concerned (the English ones, at least), LANDMARKS draws heavily from the scenery of rural Ireland, and the lyricist's thoughts and feelings, inspired from the scenery, was expressed in a unnecessarily vague, "impressionistic" manner -- to some , like myself, it reads like poetry; yet other may see them as sensless ramblings.
Speaking about impressionism, the concluding piece of the album is a beautiful impressionistic guitar piece, with sparse electronic garnish. The melody played by the tin whistle provides a idyllic ending to the album.
LANDMARK is a very enjoyable listening experience, yet I wish Clannad had given the music more complexity -- and bring the album to the high standard of LORE.