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Watermark
Enya


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HOT PICK
With 1988's Watermark, Enya changed the face of new
age and Celtic crossover music. No longer merely a haven
for earthy, acoustic musicians or a catchall genre for
unclassifiable electronic musicians, new age was transmuted
by Watermark into a commercially viable yet artistically
rewarding niche that quickly moved from the back of
the record store to the front bins. With her exquisite
voice and melodies that seeped pleasantly into the mind,
Enya quickly found an adoring audience that didn't seem
to care that they couldn't understand a word of Latin
or Gaelic. One English-language track, however, "Orinoco
Flow (Sail Away)," became the focal point of the
CD. With its catchy repetitiveness and call to get away
from it all, "Orinoco Flow" conquered radio,
and a star was born.
Far from a gimmick, Enya possessed
an angelic voice and a melodic sense of achingly beautiful
dimensions. With Watermark, Enya successfully walked
that thin line between art and commerce. In the process,
she simply made some of the most endearing music ever.
Ken Masters
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