The Book of Secrets
, the follow-up to 1994's
The Mask and Mirror
-- there was a
Christmas
EP,
A Winter Garden
, released in 1995) -- finds
Loreena McKennitt
in the same musical vein, mixing Celtic, Spanish, Italian, and
new age
to create her own distinct sound. The only problem is that she did not seem to progress much during the time between releases. This is not necessarily a bad thing, since she still knows how to write incredible melodies and layer instruments to produce peaceful images.
"Night Ride Across the Caucasus"
and
"Dante's Prayer"
are just two prime examples of this. And she continues her practice of setting classic poetry to music (
Alfred Noyes
'
"The Highwayman"
). Expertly recorded at
Peter Gabriel
's
Real World
studios, this CD serves as a travelog of sorts for
McKennitt
, musically detailing her travels during 1995 and 1996. She provides the musical and lyrical inspirations from each location she visited, utilizing the instruments and sounds she encountered on her travels. Although she may be referred to as the Canadian
Enya
,
is definitely her own person, producing music of beauty and warmth. ~ Aaron Badgley