Enya's singles are very misleading. Only one or two singles are released because on the rest of the album, her voice rarely appears. When it does it's simply another background texture. Enya uses her voice as an instrument; that is her critically acclaimed style. Her music isn't in the head but in the heart. This greatest hits album is not an introduction to Enya. It's a collection of misleading songs.

Though lately, this particular instrument has been getting more than its fair share. "Orinoco Flow" was extremely conspicuous in Watermark for its excessive words but it feels right at home here. Single-released "Marble Halls,""Anywhere Is" and "Only If" depend heavily on their lyrics. "Paint the Sky With Stars" is so blatantly lyric-based I fear her record company's power is interferring with her work. How can a song with no distinct lyrics get to the top ten? It's that trick of maintaining balance between originality and marketability.

Not that they aren't good songs. "Book of Days" has the grand honor of achieving "AlwaysJB's Favorite Song Ever." The theme of travelling in a determined quest for enlightment can't be lost on many people; sort of a wider-reaching "Is There Life Out There" by Reba McEntire. "China Roses" is as antique and nostalgic as ever, capturing a memory through rose-colored glass.

"On My Way Home" actually samples from "Orinoco Flow" but its chorus is too conspicuous and tries too much to be another "Book Of Days". "Marble Halls" shows off the intimacy of her vocal technique but its music box quality is too fluffed up to measure up to the rest of the album. "Ebudae" and "Boadicea" (the latter being an ominous way of ending the album) both ring of fillers, also weigh heavily on lyrics.

Some "instrumentals" managed to get into the mix. Watermark's contemplative piano phrasing carries over from the voice-meshed "Storms in Africa" which, to be honest, sounds better (they're the other way 'round in the original album). The Celts and Shepherd Moons were disappointing (I expected something more grand) but they lend variety into the overall mix.

All in all, it's not a bad album. But it doesn't capture the personality of Enya's work. Each album has its own cohesion and theme; she wouldn't sound quite the way she sounds on a greatest hits as she would on an album. By all means get it, but don't make any presumptions about the original works.

Rating: B

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