DISClosure: Enya - A Day Without Rain • The Recipe

DISClosure
CD Reviews Of A National Scale

Enya
A Day Without Rain

by Lisa Hummel

After falling from sight in recent times, Celtic/New Age artist Enya has marked her re-entry into the music world with the release of her first full-length album in five years, A Day Without Rain. Not all that different from the albums she has released in the past, Rain has all of the qualities fans of Enya enjoy — her ethereal voice, the soothing sounds of the synthesizer, the seemingly careful attention paid to setting the listener’s mood. And, apparently, the creation of the album is precisely what kept the chanteuse behind the scenes in the last half decade, as she, with collaborators Roma and Nicky Ryan, crafted the disc with the keen perfectionism she is known for. In fact, Enya sang and performed everything on the album herself.

A short offering, Rain’s 11 tracks clock it at just over 30 minutes, all of them boasting the mixture of multi-layered harmonies, piano, percussion, and strings that have been Enya’s calling card since the release of the album that put her on the map, 1988’s Watermark, and its hit single, “Orinoco Flow.”

But while there is no denying Enya’s talent, there is also no denying that the fruits of her labor are not every music lover’s cup of tea. The soothing tones that set the mood for one easily cull up visions of sleep for another. And while Rain does have some stand-outs, including the Gregorian-like “Tempus Vernum” and the upbeat “Wild Child,” many of the album’s remaining tracks are eerily reminiscent of the singer’s other works, a fact that just might make a prospective buyer ponder the necessity of adding Rain to the collection.

After a five-year absence, however, true Enya fans would be happy with anything, and, while A Day Without Rain has its drawbacks it is definitely more than a meager offering for those fond of her new-age/adult contemporary/Celtic works. It’s just a question of need for the rest of us. (Reprise)

The Recipe
Geode

by Jeff Lockwood

Rising from the mountain college town of Morgantown, West Virginia comes the six-person band known as The Recipe. Blending an organic mix of country-tinged roots-rock, heavy grooves and sweet and soulful blues, the songs on Geode float somewhere between the media-imposed tags of neo-hippie improvisational band, blues-edged soul group, and country fundamentalists.

Hannah Ross’ violin is everywhere on the CD, yet never obtrusive. On songs like “Stardust Lovers,” the country (and Ross’ playing) comes through strong, but is well balanced with a percussive groove that shatters country stereotypes. Then you have the slide guitar, which makes itself be known … especially on “Witch Hazel” — a rocking blues tune. There’s even some great banjo picking on “Pinwheel”! But I’d have to say the vocals of Kristen Wolverton provide the cohesiveness of the whole CD. While many of the tracks feature an intelligent play of vocals between Wolverton and Joe Prichard, Wolverton has the deep-soul sounds that you not only hear, but you feel. And the feeling ranges from the lovely floating angelic sounds of “The Garden” to the bluesy-voodoo vibe of “Witch Hazel.”

While there seems to be an endless flow of groove-based jam bands over the last few years, not too many of them really stand out. Most of them seem to be mediocre at best. Often mired in a psychedelic haze, their epic-length songs don’t really allow them to become commercial radio favorites. Instead they’re banished to dorm rooms and nightclubs everywhere. Bands of this genre tend to be stronger in the live setting than on studio work. Fortunately, The Recipe have enough sense on Geode to possibly have some radio friendly songs while satisfying the fan-base that thrives on the live improvisation of such bands. (Phoenix Rising Records)