To many people, Enya has become synonymous with new age music. Her haunting voice, clear and crisp above richly woven musical arrangements and adaptations, represents some of the best in the genre. Her performances on The Memory of Trees justify the Celtic songster's reputation. Songs like "China Roses" and "Hope Has a Place" complement the simple elegance of traditional folk music with luxuriantly layered instrumentation and highly crafted studio production. The ultimate effect is dazzling, to be sure. Whether she sings in English, Gaelic, or Latin, Enya conveys a profound, if slightly disconcerting, mix of spirituality and sensuality. --L.A. Smith

Customer Rating:
Summary: My favorite Enya album
Comment: As someone who has friends who don't share my eclectic taste in music I don't have many places to share my love of what I do like. That's why I like coming here and writing reviews of stuff I love. I reviewed Enya's recent Christmas album and it was a painful experience because it just didn't live up to my hopes. I hated writing an average review of an artist I respect so much... so I decided to review an album I consider my favorite.

There are a lot of differing opinions on what is Enya's best work, least favorite work and all in between. For me, this album don't have my favorite Enya song (That would be Flora's Secret from A Day Without Rain) or my favorite instrumental (Shepherd Moons from the album of the same name). But this album is probably my favorite overall for many reasons. I love the gentle feeling this album gives off. If I'm having a bad day it's a nice album to cool off to. I love the two songs "China Roses" & "Hope Has A Place". Very beautiful songs. "Pax Deorum" is a very epic sounding song and quite a neat piece of music. I'd love for Enya to explore this kind of musical landscape again. She does this kind of thing so well! "On My Way Home" is an excellent "Orinoco Flow" sounding, up tempo close to the CD.

Also, this was my first Enya CD so it also holds sentimental value to me. Ever since I've listened to this album I've been a die hard fan of Enya. Many people call this elevator music or boring. That's fine, I understand & appreciate how we all can have differing opinions of what kind of music we chose to enjoy. I hope some people give this album a chance & end up loving it as much as I did!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: One Of The Best
Comment: This CD by Enya, the first one I ever discovered years ago, is still my personal favorite, with the title song being my personal favorite song of Enya's. But just that does not do her justice. She is many times classified as New Age/New Age Celtic, but that title does not do her justice to the music which she produces. She is able to sing not only in English, but in Gaelic, Latin, Welsh, Spanish, French, and even a made up Elvish (LotR). She has the amazing ability to be so universally adored even winning the 1997 Grammy for Best New Age Album; and one can clearly see why she was graced with this honor. Between Enya herself and the two Ryan's, there could be no better album made, although one can say this about each and every CD of Enya's (which I do own, with her new CD "And Winter Came" soon to be added to the collection!)

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Lulls one to sleep
Comment: At first listening to this CD, the music sounds a lot like that on the Watermark album. But upon a second listening, the music sounds different, though of the same style. The tone and pace of the music on this album is similar to that of other albums, but the melodies are different. This album has both instrumental and singing, and both are enjoyable. This album makes for great background music, whether over dinner, eating, or napping.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: 4.5; music to dream to
Comment: Enya, despite being a successful recording artist, doesn't have the broad appeal as other artists; one reason might be that her kind of music is not very pop station friendly while another reason could be people think they're too "macho" for music that she makes. But people with open minds could find there's some beautiful melodies and harmonies as well as lively, upbeat tunes that are a joy to put on. I find the Memory of Trees to be one of her most consistent albums; plus it helps it has probably one of my top 5 favorite songs ever.

The Memory of Trees: Like all of her records (except the recent Amarantine), the albums open with a wordless instrumental and this album's title track is probably my favorite with gentle piano arpeggios and a beautiful vocal track. I always like the sparse use of percussion. 9/10

Anywhere Is: The lively single; it's actually a good sing-along with staccato beats and a great chorus. It's also a perfect length since it's under 3 minutes so whereas some pop songs drag after awhile, this one hooks you in then lets you go, leaving you wanting more. 9/10

Pax Deorum: Another album, another ominous Latin-sung piece. The music sounds like something you'd hear in enemy territories in video games while Enya gives a low-voice, almost monotone performance over the music. Slightly repetitive until a 2nd higher voice comes in but the piece hits its stride halfway with a gorgeous bridge. 8/10

Athair Ar Nearmh: There's some songs she does where it's more about the song itself rather than a poppy, catchy quality a la Only Time and this song's similar. Another ballad with some of her best singing, it's a more low-key track but it's also one of the album highlights. 8.5/10

From Where I Am: Another instrumental; this one's a more piano-based piece that would be a nice song to learn for all pianists out there since it's not technically complex or fast but it's pleasant to listen to. 7.5/10

China Roses: There's only a handful of songs I could have on repeat and never get sick of them and this is one of them. Everything from the vocals and background instrumentation, the lyrics and not to mention one of the most relaxing and almost tranquil ending codas I've ever heard, this is definately my favorite song on here, plus her whole career even. 15/10

Hope Has a Place: For me, any song after China Roses will probably suffer a tad but this song doesn't do much for me. Granted, her vocals are as great as always and the song has a nice, relaxing mood but either this kind of track is too familiar (a kind of Athair part 2 if you will) or it's just not as memorable. 7/10

Tea-House Moon: Very oriental in its instruments, it's another wordless song although it's more enjoyable than From Where I Am is, mainly because the melodies are more memorable and it's a bit more song-oriented. It's different but strangely likable. 8/10

Once You Had Gold: We're getting into the album's final stretch and the problem is that with this one, it's a more quieter affair as you can feel the album almost winding down. With Enya's more higher vocals (for some reason, reminiscent of her Silent Night rendition), it's another beautiful track but it's also a bit...same-y? 8/10

La Sonadora: Spanish lyrics for once, it's another slower paced track complete with "aahs" for background vocals and synths but again, the album could've benefited from a more perkier track. I do like what it does at the halfway point and gives the track a little boost. 7.5/10

On My Way Home: A church organ opens the track and with a more bouncy synth, you'd think it was a bit more upbeat. While it's not as lively as her vocals on Anywhere Is, it does give the album a bit more memorable closer, especially when the chorus comes where the track gets more fuller in its arrangements. 9/10

While A Day Without Rain or Watermark is usually marked as one of her best (probably because her big hits Only Time and Orinoco Flow were on them), I find the Memory of Trees a more likable album and despite a lack of more upbeat tracks, it's still one of her finest outings.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: awesome cd
Comment: ~~-~~

i love all of enya, and im pretty sure i own everything by her. this is definitely one of my favorite cds by Enya. Her singing is wonderful and the music is just great. I love playing it at night when i go to bed; it seems to calm down my puppy so he doesn't get too restless at night, plus i just like hearing it on. My favorite songs are On My Way Home and China Roses.

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