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Post by nicola on Mar 22, 2007 8:06:37 GMT
I'll echo what Jon (other) said about Enya. Her version sounds better because she layers her voice with sleek production. Enya is not a live artist, which is why you have never heard her live (and she does not tour - she's done a few here and there, but she is mainly a studio artist). Truth is, she has a very weak voice. She has the success she has because of very clever production. Well, it was clever at first. 7th album in, it's getting a bit tiring. There are not many songs of Enya's where you can, quite plainly, hear her voice, her voice is always tampered with. If you listen to one of her albums, this will be very hard not to notice. Hayley's version, on the other hand, was a clean cut vocal performance, so none of the layers were in there - and thus less mystical/haunting.
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Post by Richard on Mar 22, 2007 9:17:53 GMT
Hello Jon, Jon and Nicola! This thread is for reviews of Hayley's 'Treasure' and 'Celtic Treasure' albums, so please keep it on topic. If you wish to discuss Enya and her music, feel free to start a new topic on the 'Other Music' board. Many thanks, Richard Edit: Hayley's 'May It Be' is on 'Odyssey', not 'Treasure'!
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Post by stevemacdonald on Mar 22, 2007 9:40:23 GMT
Hello Jon, Jon and Nicola! This thread is for reviews of Hayley's 'Treasure' and 'Celtic Treasure' albums, so please keep it on topic. If you wish to discuss Enya and her music, feel free to start a new topic on the 'Other Music' board. Many thanks, Richard Richard, this topic has been around for well over four weeks -- and 9 forum pages -- so I think it's perfectly okay if it meanders a little by now. I'm sure Jon, Jon and Nicola felt they were on topic because Hayley has famously covered a specific song that Enya is powerfully associated with, and has set herself up for interesting comparisons with Enya as a direct result. Now that Hayley has gone "Celtic" the Enya discussions will innocently sneak in every so often. No need to scold these treasured forum members for simply doing what Hayley has pretty much invited them to do!
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Post by roger on Mar 22, 2007 12:10:56 GMT
I take your point, Steve, but it is essential that we do not deviate from a topic too much. To make a passing comment about Enya's version is fine but, if that should digress into a full-blown discussion about her then, as Richard says, it should be on the Other Music board.
Roger
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Post by jons on Mar 22, 2007 14:36:27 GMT
Well in that case I hope that the US get a special edition with 'The Heart Worships' and the other missing songs on it. It doesn't seem fair and they are missing out.
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Post by jons on Mar 22, 2007 16:18:23 GMT
Actually I listened to 'Treasure' last night and on 'My Heart Worships' there appears to be a bit of dropout. I'm sure this is on-topic because it does contribute towards the review. I listened to the song directly off of Napster (were I downloaded it from) and this 'drop out' is still there. I don't know if it does it on the CD. Listen to the song at 00:01:04. Its doesn't seem to spoil the song though. Its better than 'Abide With Me' I feel and Its a bit like 'jekyll' at the beginning.
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Post by chungchungxavier on Mar 22, 2007 16:57:09 GMT
Hello ! I just wish to put in my 2 cents , if anyone cares or happened to care . @ Caution : This is not a very positive review @ I just directly copy it from the official site forum : "Hi ! I wish to put in my 2 cents . I think I tend to agree with the OP . Personally I think that both Pure and Odyssey are BRILLIANT . But Treasure is just .............. AVERAGE ........ or even ............... SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE . On a 1 to 10 stars scale , I think both Pure and Odyssey are 2 outstanding 9s while Treaure is a just an average , if not "floppy" , 5 . I am sorry if I come across as obnoxious . But Treasure really fails to impress me . It seems that Hayley really took risks when producing the album , but it did not pay off . She experiments too much. Going back in time , she really DID have a vast diversity of light, popular classical soprano songs she could choose to record such as the Flower Duet , Think of me or Songs My Mother Taught Me or whatever there is ......................................... Those songs are already written there for her to sing (!) . In one way or another , she could have chosen to produce a very safe , typical "classical crossover" album like what Katherine had done . It is far easier for Hayley to "cash in" in this way , considering the fact that she already has an established fan base and a very clear marketing image as a crossover soprano. Being an overly "experimental" songbird/songwriter would just ruin her image . "
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Post by roger on Mar 22, 2007 17:05:47 GMT
Actually I listened to 'Treasure' last night and on 'My Heart Worships' there appears to be a bit of dropout. I'm sure this is on-topic because it does contribute towards the review. I listened to the song directly off of Napster (were I downloaded it from) and this 'drop out' is still there. I don't know if it does it on the CD. Listen to the song at 00:01:04. Its doesn't seem to spoil the song though. Its better than 'Abide With Me' I feel and Its a bit like 'jekyll' at the beginning. Hi Jon, Having listened to it very closely, I think you *might* have a point but, according to my counter, it is at 00:01:02 (perhaps they are not always strictly accurate). Does the drop out last for a mere fraction of a second and sound almost like a 'pop'? If so, I am inclined to agree with you. Can anyone else hear it? Roger
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Post by jons on Mar 22, 2007 17:11:34 GMT
Hi Roger,
Yes it is around that mark.It does sound as if it does it twice now come to think of it. But I have only just noticed it for some reason (maybe I was too amazed at the song to notice!) Its most noticeable through headphones though, its not really that off-putting, If its present on the CD then that rules out poor MP3 encoding.
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Post by roger on Mar 22, 2007 17:13:24 GMT
Hi chungchungxavier,
I can't actually locate that review on the official forum but we won't worry about that.
I think this proves that, like everyone else at times, Hayley just can't win. Many fans have expressed the wish that she should experiment a little and not restrict herself to what is considered safe. Then, when she does, she gets criticised for it.
Of course, that review is just one person's opinion and based on what we have seen so far, the writer is very much in the minority. I don't think we (or Hayley) need be too concerned about it.
Roger
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Post by roger on Mar 22, 2007 17:15:22 GMT
Hi Roger, Yes it is around that mark.It does sound as if it does it twice now come to think of it. But I have only just noticed it for some reason (maybe I was too amazed at the song to notice!) Its most noticeable through headphones though, its not really that off-putting, If its present on the CD then that rules out poor MP3 encoding. Thanks Jon. Dave, could you possibly run a test on this and see if any conclusions may be drawn? Roger
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Mar 22, 2007 17:16:19 GMT
Actually I listened to 'Treasure' last night and on 'My Heart Worships' there appears to be a bit of dropout. I'm sure this is on-topic because it does contribute towards the review. I listened to the song directly off of Napster (were I downloaded it from) and this 'drop out' is still there. I don't know if it does it on the CD. Listen to the song at 00:01:04. Its doesn't seem to spoil the song though. Its better than 'Abide With Me' I feel and Its a bit like 'jekyll' at the beginning. Hi Jon, This may be getting too technical now and I suspect that what you (and I) have observed probably occurs on most CDs and I'm sure that many are a lot worse (technically) than Treasure... or Odyssey for that matter! Yes the note Hayley sings at 1m 04s sounds possibly suspicious but it's certainly not a dropout on my CD. On soundwave analysis, where Hayley changes pitch halfway through that note of just over a second, the tempo seems to increase momentarily... which Hayley may have done herself but it could also be an edit on the master recordings at that point, the two bits having been put together imperfectly. I don't know which it is but I prefer to believe that it's Hayley, otherwise it will start to bug me! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gifMore serious to my ears is the 3 seconds of hard limiting and near-clipping from 1m 59s to 2m 02s where Hayley sings loudest and also pretty high. Some CD players cannot properly handle transients that hit 0.0 db (maximum digital 'loudness') as this segment does, there should always be at least 1dB "headroom" to avoid an element of unnecessary distortion on some equipment. If you are listening to this in such intricate detail Jon, you are welcome to start a separate thread on the technical aspects of Treasure or Hayley's other CDs (you could insert a link back to here). But it may not get any contributors apart from me and you! Cheers, Dave
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Mar 22, 2007 17:26:45 GMT
Oh I wish you two wouldn't keep changing where you say the dropout is! I've had a look and listen to 1m 2s and there is no dropout but what I can hear (but not see on the waveform) is a stray piano note that seems to have crept in at 1m 2.7s. It could of course be deliberate but it sounds like a stray note to me. This doesn't alter my enjoyment of it at all as it's still part of the music and not a technical glitch as such! Perhaps we are over-analyzing here.... Cheers, Dave
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Post by jons on Mar 22, 2007 17:30:04 GMT
If you are listening to this in such intricate detail Jon, you are welcome to start a separate thread on the technical aspects of Treasure or Hayley's other CDs (you could insert a link back to here). But it may not get any contributors apart from me and you! Cheers, Dave Thanks Dave, I might do that. As I said before its not that off-putting, although I am happy to know that its not just me. I can enjoy the song in peace again. The album still amazes me even now as if I've just listened to it the first time.
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Post by grant on Mar 22, 2007 18:50:13 GMT
Hi Jon and Dave Most of us may not be able to contribute, but it sure is fascinating stuff so please keep it coming! (at least I'm going to have a listen and see what you're talking about ) Best wishes Grant
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