Enya: Paint The Sky With Stars: The Best Of Enya

The idea of an Enya greatest-hits package doesn't make a whole lot of sense: After all, she's only made four albums, and her fans already have most or all of them—and it's not like her music features a particularly broad stylistic range in the first place. And, of course, Paint The Sky With Stars is a greatest-hits package that features the scourge of all greatest-hits packages: two extra songs that you can't get anywhere else. That way, those diehard fans will have to buy it to complete their collections, while less dedicated followers are expected to pick it up as their one-stop-shopping spot for hits like "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)" and "Caribbean Blue." The material itself is beautiful, of course, with loads of lush strings, delicate pianos, layered vocals, and an overall sensibility that somehow transcends the schmaltzy New Age ingredients. The two new tracks ("Only If…" and "Paint The Sky With Stars") are typically pretty, but they're not worth the price of a CD. If you're looking for a one-album Enya primer that you can enjoy all the way through, pick up her excellent 1991 album Shepherd Moons; after all, five of its songs warranted inclusion on this 16-song set. Then, if you crave more Enya, go back and pick up her other albums, and pass on this cash-cow exploitation.