Broadening her focus toward a more eclectic range of Celtic-related subjects, and following her attendance at an international exhibition of Celtic artefacts in Venice, Loreena’s writing in her fourth album, The Visit, takes on the form of musical historical travel writing.
A multimillion-selling success around the world, this 1991 recording recasts Loreena’s early influences in an inventive and contemporary light. Its nine self-produced tracks range from a haunting version of “Greensleeves” sung “as I imagine Tom Waits might have done it” and a stirring instrumental “Tango To Evora” to the heartrending traditional balladry and proto-environmentalism of “Bonny Portmore” and, finally, one of Loreena’s best-loved creations, a gorgeously melodic setting of Tennyson’s epic Arthurian poem “The Lady Of Shalott”.
“The Celts knew, as we are re-learning now, the importance of a deep respect for all the life around them,” Loreena concludes. “This recording aspires to be nothing so much as a reflection into the weave of these things.”
Review:
Loreena McKennitt's fourth release, and first for a major label, is a
quietly majestic tapestry of worldbeat and Celtic pop that effortlessly weaves
together traditional and contemporary songs into lush showcases for her fluid
voice and harp. The multi-talented Canadian utilizes all of her strengths here,
resulting in her most rewarding batch of tunes to date. With larger production
values and more ambitious arrangements than the sparse Elemental and Parallel
Dreams, her flair for the dramatic and the theatrical runs rampant throughout.
Whether she's toasting the souls of the departed with Pagan glee on the
delicious “All Souls Night,” or reinterpreting King Henry VIII's
“Greensleeves” through Tom Waits, it's never without both feet in the
water. Often when artists attempt to blend modern instruments (keyboards,
guitars, etc.) into the traditional folk idiom, the results are instantly dated
and horribly overwrought. McKennitt, however, never allows the two to compete,
and it's a testament to her belief in the songs themselves that they don't
devolve into garish new age drivel. Her adaptation of Alfred Lord Tennyson's
“The Lady of Shalott,” which utilizes an opening melody lifted – probably
unknowingly – from the bagpipe solo at the end of AC/DC's “It's a Long Way
to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll),” is The Visit's most powerful
moment. Clocking in at 11 minutes, the poet's lovelorn tale of Camelot's most
famous peasant maiden is rendered brief by McKennitt's breathless delivery
and atmospheric and austere presentation. The Visit is Loreena McKennitt at her
most comfortable, creative, and soulful.
All Music Guide – James Christopher Monger