Shepherd Moons

A follow-up to ‘Watermark’, ‘Shepherd Moons’ was named after two tiny moons orbiting the rings of Saturn. The album was released on 31 October 1991.

Tracklist

01	Shepherd Moons	3:45	Instrumental
02	Caribbean Blue	3:59	English
03	How Can I Keep from Singing?	4:25	English
04	Ebudæ	1:55	Gaelic/Vocalisation
05	Angeles	4:01	English
06	No Holly for Miss Quinn	2:43	English
07	Book of Days	2:55	English
08	Evacuee	3:50	English
09	Lothlórien	2:07	Instrumental
10	Marble Halls	3:54	English
11	Afer Ventus	4:06	Latin
12	Smaointe…	6:08	Gaelic

Themes

That feeling of being taken away, it never leaves you. Once we get to working on a piece, it becomes very personal. I do agree that on this album and on Watermark as well, there was a feeling of a sense of loss. Even if the song is in Gaelic, people will know the feeling. I know
there is melancholy inherent in my music, maybe it’s because I’m Irish, and there is always been a lot of sadness in Irish poetry.Enya, Hot Press, 1991

It is new in that there are new inspirations in it from my travelling around the world. They are in a few songs. It’s hard maybe for you to understand the inspiration in them, but there are a few songs and… Spain is in a few songs and Japan is in a few others… Lines and small fragments that are there inside. We are happy that they are in there, but when I was composing the music I wasn’t trying to do this. It happened through the music.Enya, RTE, 1991

Visuals

Photography

The promotional photography was shot by David Scheinmann. Enya’s costumes were designed by The New Renaissance.

Music Videos

Three music videos were filmed to promote the album. Michael Geoghegan directed ‘Caribbean Blue’ that was inspired by illustrations of an American painter Maxfield Parrish and ‘Book of Days’ that featured scenes from the ‘Far and Away’ movie starring Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise.

‘How Can I Keep from Singing?’ was done by Entertainment Production. The video shot at Poison Glen in Donegal includes archive footage of political figures such as Nelson Mandela or Boris Yeltsin, and references to the Gulf War and famine.

Promotion

Performances

Venue	Song	Date	Details
Top of the Pops (UK)	Book of Days	July 23, 1992	Lip-synced
World Music Awards (Monaco)	Book of Days	May 14,1992	Lip-synced
Rockopop (Spain)	Caribbean Blue	1991	Lip-synced
VIP Noche (Spain)	Caribbean Blue	1991	Lip-synced
Top of the Pops (UK)	Caribbean Blue	Oct 17, 1991	Lip-synced

Awards

‘Shepherd Moons’ won Enya her first Grammy Award. It was named the best new age album of 1992.

In the charts

‘Shepherd Moons’ was a no.1 album in the UK and a Top 20 hit in the US, peaking at no.17 on the Billboard 200. It stayed on the Billboard charts for 199 consecutive weeks.

Discography

Album Releases

Shepherd Moons
Shepherd Moons – Caribbean Blue
How Can I Keep from Singing? – Ebudæ – Angeles
No Holly for Miss Quinn – Book of Days – Evacuee
Lothlórien – Marble Halls – Afer Ventus – Smaointe…

Most issues of the album contain the English version of ‘Book of Days.’
The original Gaelic version could be found on early pressings and is now available only in certain countries such as Taiwan.

Singles

1991 Caribbean Blue
01 Caribbean Blue [edit]
02 Orinoco Flow [edit]
03 Angeles

1991 How Can I Keep from Singing?
01 How Can I Keep from Singing?
02 Oíche Chiúin
03 ‘S Fagaim mo Bhaile

1992 Book of Days
01 Book of Days
02 As Baile
03 Morning Glory

1994 Marble Halls
01 Marble Halls
02 ‘S Fagaim mo Bhaile
03 Book of Days [English]
04 As Baile

Credits

Ebudae – Percussion by Nicky Ryan and Enya
Angeles – Clarinet by Roy Jewitt
Book of Days – Percussion by Andy Duncan
Evacuee – Cornet by Steve Sidwell
Smaointe… – Uillean Pipes by Liam O’Flionn

Produced by Nicky Ryan
Music composed & performed by Enya
Lyrics by Roma Ryan
Arranged by Enya & Nicky Ryan
* Tks. 3, 10. Tr. Arr. Enya & Nicky Ryan
Executive producer Rob Dickins
Recording engineer Nicky Ryan
Mixing engineer Greg Jackman
Recorded at Aigle Studios
Mixed at Sarm West
Tks. 3, 7, 9. Recording engineer Greg Jackman
Recorded & mixed at Sarm West
Assistant Engineer Robin Barclay
Tk. 4. Recorded & mixed by Nicky Ryan
All instruments and voices by Enya
Published by EMI Songs Ltd

Photography by David Scheinmann
Wardrobe by The New Renaissance
Our thanks to: Owen Drumm of Owen
Drumm Designs, Ideal Systems, John
Kennedy, Seán Cannon M-Ocean Pictures,
Peter Reichardt & all at the Warner family.
Ár mbuíochas do Rob Dickins a d’fhan, "ag an
stiúir"

Review

Like Watermark, Shepherd Moons opens with the title track, a calm instrumental, has another brief instrumental titled after a Dora Saint book smack in the middle (“No Holly for Miss Quinn”), and concludes with a number incorporating a striking uilleann pipes solo, “Smaointe….” In general, Enya’s own musical style and work remains the same, again assisted on production by Nicky Ryan and with lyrics by Roma Ryan. Shepherd Moons does have one key factor that’s also carried over from Watermark — it’s quite good listening.

Though the total continuity means that those who enjoy her work will again be pleased and those who dislike it won’t change their minds, in terms of finding her own vision and sticking with it, Enya has increasingly polished and refined her work to a strong, elegant degree. “Caribbean Blue,” the lead single, avoids repeating the successful formula of “Orinoco Flow” by means of its waltz time — a subtle enough change, but one that colors and drives the overall composition and performance, the closest Enya might ever get to a dance number. Some songs call to mind traditional Irish music even more strongly than much of her earlier work, while two other tracks are haunting rearrangements of old, traditional numbers. With her trademark understated drama in full flow many other places, especially on the wonderful “Book of Days” (replaced on later pressings with an English language version done for the film Far and Away), Enya shows herself to still have it, to grand effect.
Ned Raggett, All Music Guide