Enya (album)

Enya
A black and white photograph of a brunette woman with a dark dress and high heels, crouched down, with two aggressive stuffed dogs beside her. The image is surrounded by a white border and the word "Enya", stylized in all capital red letters, is placed on the top corner of the picture.
Standard cover. Several CD editions have a black border instead of white.
Studio album / Soundtrack album by
Enya
Released9 February 1987[1]
November 1992 (Reissue)
Recorded1985–1986
StudioAigle Studio (Artane, Dublin)
BBC Enterprises Studio Woodlands (Wood Lane, London)
Genre
Length39:36 (1987)
41:25 (1992)
Label
ProducerNicky Ryan
Enya chronology
The Frog Prince: The Original Soundtrack Recording
(1985) 		Enya
(1987) 		Watermark
(1988)
Singles from Enya
  1. "I Want Tomorrow"
    Released: 9 March 1987
The Celts cover
Singles from The Celts
  1. "The Celts"
    Released: 2 November 1992

Enya is the debut studio album by Irish singer, songwriter, and musician Enya, released in March 1987 by BBC Records in the UK and by Atlantic Records in the US. It was renamed as The Celts for the 1992 international re-release of the album by WEA Records in Europe and by Reprise Records in the US. The album features a selection of music that she recorded for the soundtrack to The Celts, a BBC documentary series about the origins, growth, and influence of Celtic culture.

Four years into her largely unnoticed solo career, Enya landed her first major project in 1985 when producer Tony McAuley asked her to contribute a song for the project. It was well received by director David Richardson, who subsequently offered her to compose for the entire series. Enya worked with her longtime recording partners, producer and arranger Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan. Several track titles are titled or based on various historical and mythological figures and stories associated with the Celts, and established Enya's sound of keyboard-oriented music and layered vocals. "Boadicea" has been sampled by various artists, most notably in 1996 by The Fugees and in 2004 by Mario Winans with P. Diddy.

Enya received mostly mixed reviews from critics when it was initially released. It was a commercial success in Ireland, peaking at No. 8, and No. 69 on the UK Albums Chart. "I Want Tomorrow" and "The Celts" were released as singles; the latter went to No. 29 in the UK. The album caught the attention of Warner chairman Rob Dickins, who signed Enya to the label. After the commercial success of her next two albums, Enya was reissued as The Celts and outperformed its original sales; it went to No. 10 in the UK and was certified Platinum in the UK and the US. In 2009, The Celts was reissued in Japan with a bonus track.

  1. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 27.
  2. ^ Evans, Paul (2 November 2004). "Enya". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 280.