The Best of Clannad: In a Lifetime

Performer: Clannad
Artist: Paul Young; Bruce Hornsby
Producer: Ciaran Brennan; John Donnelly; Denis Woods; Greg Ladanyi; Hugh Padgham; Paul Ridout; Richard Dodd; Russ Kunkel; Steve Nye; Tony Clarke
Distributor: BMG (distributor)

Notes: Clannad: Moya Brennan, Ciaran Brennan, Pol Brennan, Padraig Duggan. Additional Personnel: Bono, Paul Young, Bruce Hornsby (vocals). Includes liner notes by Stuart Bailie. Audio Mixer: Graham Murphy. Liner Note Author: Stuart Bailie. Photographers: Mike Diver; Tim Jarvis. Arranger: Clannad. With over ten different greatest-hits collections to choose from, Irish legends Clannad seem poised to surpass their number of full-length releases. RCA's Best of Clannad: In a Lifetime is a fairly standard overview that touches on fan favorites, collaborations, and songs from films, once again omitting any material from their first four -- largely traditional -- recordings. While this may help with the flow -- it does -- it would be nice to hear the group's shape-shifting styles chronicled more thoroughly. Clannad are at their best when unleashing gargantuan choruses against Moya Brennan's hushed leads, and the inclusion of the beautiful "Newgrange," a mystical ode to one of Britain's famous stone circles, and "Caislean Oir," the leadoff track from the band's excellent 1985 release, Macalla, are prime examples. It's when the group abandons its lush new age tendencies and embraces generic adult contemporary pop -- "Something to Believe In" -- that the veil falls away, revealing a fast-food combo meal where there was once an elegant supper. ~ James Christopher Monger

Clannad began in 1970 as a traditional Irish folk group in the vein of Planxty or the Chieftans. The band eventually began incorporating a slicker, more atmospheric production aesthetic, evolving into creators of new age pop/Celtic soundscapes. They're as well known for their television and movie soundtracks as they are for their own albums. Both vocalist Maire Brennan and her sister Enya were able to use Clannad as a springboard for successful solo work.

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