BenWiganUK

I couldn't be arsed teaching my Year 10 class today so I put a video on and went to my office to ring Warner. I was told I need to speak to Nadine Parker, Product Manager for Enya, but she's away all week. I'll ring her again next Monday to find out what is going on with this situation and lack of news.

I feel I know a little bit about this one..... I'm Head of Religious Eduation in a Catholic High School in Lancashire, England. Enya's music has been used in Catholic circles really from the outset. I have been to countless masses, services, liturgies and school assemblies where she has been played. Many of the instrumental pieces go very well with readings and prayers. Other vocal pieces are used. How can I keep from singing is actually one I've never seen used, but plenty of others have. Pax Deorum borrows heavily from the monastic Gregorian chant style of music. Athair an neamh is a hymn meaning 'Father in heaven'. Evening falls has been used very often with the feeling of being "close to home" ie close to God. Only time has been used for the marking of the seasons, Morning Glory for the wonders of creation, Pilgrim on the theme of life's pilgrimage. We used May it be at our Year 11 leaver's assembly this year. The idea of sending them out and may a light always shine down on them wherever life takes them. Then of course you've got the explicitly Christian Oiche Chiun and Adeste Fideles. I could go on and on and on.....

I'm still standing by my friend at Warner who told me in October that there would be no Enya album this year.

Obviously I have already given up hope! I think if no album arrives, and there is no communication from Aigle, that I will cease to be a fan. I will borrow and burn releases but not buy them and certainly not bother logging onto her site or doing any fan things. I will consider that they have taken the p*** for too long.

I agree that the way they treat fans is dreadful. It has been throughout her career. The odd childish competition does nothing to help me change my mind. Enya has no presence on her website. The messages that come from her sound suspiciously like Roma. Her book has not been updated for over two years. The whole thing is most unsatisfactory.

There's no album coming this year. The mystery is why Aigle are not letting the fans down gently. Perhaps they just don't care.

We know because I told you that that was what my friend at Warner said. She investigated several areas and said she could find no listing of an Enya release this year. I asked her if one could be added and she said it was very unlikely. You may choose to disbelieve this information if you want to. But I'm Head of RE in a Catholic school and I'm not prone to lying. And neither is my friend at Warner.

It's really not as serious as "releasing information" and costing jobs lol. I spoke to my friend and asked if there was an album due and she said no. She checked and there isn't one listed. I really don't think she felt she was releasing information or telling me anything of earth-shattering importance. She simply told me that there is not one listed anywhere. Just as HMV in Manchester told me and the Virgin Megastore too.

I'm still hoping that there will be a Christmas album. Unfortunately, I spoke to my friend at Warner UK yesterday. She was surprised when I asked her about the Enya album. She said she had heard nothing about it and when she checked she said there wasn't one listed. She was certain that an album would not be released this year. She concluded that it would be highly unlikely for an album to be released when nothing is known of it at this late stage. I went to school with her 20 years ago! I trust her implicitly. She could be wrong but I doubt it. Yet it does seem odd that Aigle have said nothing and they were quick to say there wasn't going to be an album back in 2004. The whole thing is very mysterious.

I really hope O holy night is on the album. It is by far my favourite Christmas carol. I hope she does a multi-layered version too. I can just hear the "Fall on your knees" bit. I've got goosebumps just thinking about it.

In conscience I couldn't vote for an Irish musicican who refuses to perform live. The Irish musical culture is very much about live performance so I don't think Enya deserves to win this one. Sorry.

Never taken to Evacuee, Tea house moon, Pilgrim, Amarantine, Someone said goodbye.

I had to go for a walk round the block after watching this for the first time....just to walk off the cringe. I thought it was utterly dreadful. However, like David, I feel a bit kinder towards it now and just think she was very very nervous. I have to say...everything seems wrong though. The hair, the dress, the performance. It just seems so uptight.

I don't think it's doing well at all in the UK. The other Enya albums spent months in the charts. Q Magazine said in 1995 re: 'The Memory of Trees' that there was only so many times that the public would be prepared to buy this sort of album. I have to agree. I love Enya but most of the record buying public will be happy to just one or two of her albums since they are not radically different. In the same way that I won't buy a third Dido album or another Tracy Chapman album. I also think the elusiveness, the lack of promotion overall, the refusal to tour, the lack of interaction with the fans, the poor choice of lead singles, have not helped Enya's success in the UK either.

It's very sad. But it will soon be that Enya goes the way Clannad did after the Banba album and just not release singles anymore. I went into both HMVs in Manchester last night. Both of them are large stores. Neither had the single.

I think 53 is poor considering there has been a newspaper and television ad campaign. Plus there were two appearances on tv as well as the world Music Awards. I wasn't expecting Amarantine to rocket into the Top 10. But considering it is her worst selling album in the UK I thought sales this week might have picked up more than number 53. It makes me wonder where have all the fans gone in England? Watermark and Shepherd Moons were in the UK Top 75 for months and months on end. Perhaps the album title and cover has put people off? Perhaps the songs people hear such as Amarantine and It's in the rain are too mid-tempo. Remember that her four biggest hits were far more uptempo....Orinoco, Carribean, Book, Anywhere. Maybe she needs to be more dramatic with her lead songs. Just random thoughts really....but I'm a bit disappointed with 53.

I was disappointed the booklet wasn't different.

I received a copy of the UK Amarantine Christmas edition today. If you already have the four new tracks, then it is nothing to get excited about. The new picture cover is simply a cardboard sleeve. Remove that sleeve and you get exactly the same album cover as last year. In fact, the booklet hasn't changed at all from last year. There is a second CD (a blue disc in contrast to the red Amarantine one). The blue disc contains the tracks in this order: Adestes Fideles The magic of the night We wish you a merry Christmas Christmas secrets And that's it really. No lyrics to the new songs and no new pictures. The booklet is exactly the same. I think the deluxe edition will be the same apart from a red velvet box, a mind-boggling book about mumbo-jumbo and three postcards.

Watermark The Memory of Trees Shepherd Moons Amarantine A day without rain

It strikes me the whole thing has been designed to try and resurrect album sales. In England sales were very poor compared to the other albums. Now that I have the four songs I won't bother buying the Christmas special edition...unless there is something particularly special about it. Enya would have been far better just cracking on with writing the new album. Oh and finding new guest musicians. Oh and a new producer. Oh, and a new lyricist. I'm tired of hearing Roma's lyrics about journeys, moons, stars, water. She writes about the same stuff over and over again.

Christmas Secrets is definitely my favourite. I think The Magic of the Night is a confused mess with terrible school girl lyrics.

A friend of mine emailed the tracks to me. Not keen on The Magic of the Night....messy production, a bit cluttered. Quite similar to Long Long Journey. My favourite is Christmas Secrets - absolutely beautiful. Very reminiscent of Paint the sky with stars. Adestes fideles is ok but I thought they could have done more layering with it. I loathe We wish you a merry Christmas. Dreadful. When there are so many beautiful Christmas songs out there, God knows why they picked that one. The verses that go on about "Figgy Pudding" and "We won't go until we get some" make me cringe to high heaven. Awful.

Just heard the new tracks.....Christmas Secrets is my favourite. Absolutely beautiful. Very like Paint the sky with stars but even better.

Thanks David. I appreciate that. Are you on a Eurovison forum too?

Yeah so do I. But I'd rather have them as a 4 track EP rather than buy the album again. I'm hoping I'll find them on itunes or something long before it comes out in the UK. As much as I like the between album projects: Storms in Africa Part II Book of Days (English Far and Away) Paint the sky with stars Lord of the Rings tracks ....it just kind of delays the next album. I'd rather she just got on with writing and recording the next album. Five years is a long wait each time.