TS: Clannad vs Loreena McKennitt

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Well, now that we've beat up on Enya Let's beat up on her "competition"
In the hunter green corner: Loreena McKennitt and her beautiful yet maudlin RenFaire cover versions of stuff like "Greensleeves" and "She Moved Trough the Faire"
In the burgundy red corner: Clannad and their Celtified casiotone air pudding versions of stuff like "Theme from Harry's Game" and "She Moved Trough the Faire"

If these two contenders are too mainstream for your tastes, you can pit Méav vs Mairead Sullivan against each other instead (who both, by the way, have done covers of "She Moved Trough the Faire")

For me, I'd say that none of them can come close to Déanta's version of "Culloden's Harvest" (I wonder if Déanta have done a cover of "She Moved Trough the Faire" yet?)

This thread can also double as a "Classic or Dud"/"Say Something Interesting about..."/"POX" thread for any musician mentioned above.

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Monday, 31 January 2005 17:48 (twenty-one years ago)

I have a Clannad compilation that I was holding onto strictly because of the sublime if overplayed "Theme from Harry's Game" and for their mawkishly over the top duet with Bono, "In A Lifetime" (wherein Bono practicaly gives himself a hernia via strenuous emoting). Played it not to long ago and found listening to the disc in its sickly entirety sonically akin to eating an entire tub of Cool Whip that had expired five months previous.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 31 January 2005 17:54 (twenty-one years ago)

some girls I wanted to hump in college liked loreena mckennitt so she wins

― kyle (akmonday), Monday, 31 January 2005 17:57 (twenty-one years ago)

This is like comparing a ham sandwich to a steamy pile of buffalo shit.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 31 January 2005 18:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Wow man, NEVER thought I'd see this thread! Um, due to my father constantly listening to Enya, Clannad, McKennitt, and every other similar group, they've kind of seeped into my brain as all being pretty good. We'll give this to McKennit, however... just for the fact that some of Clannad's tunes are really anoying...

― Bryan Moore (Bryan Moore), Monday, 31 January 2005 19:21 (twenty-one years ago)

her beautiful yet maudlin RenFaire cover versions of stuff like "Greensleeves"

mckennitt's version of "greensleeves" is her singing it the way she thought tom waits might. i love the album it's from because it has a song about unicorns and the old ways being lost. mckennitt destroys clannad, no contest.

― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Monday, 31 January 2005 19:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Just for laughs, I punched up the mp3 to "In a Lifetime". Apart from Bono's groin-worrying hollering, it's schmaltzy new age syrup that makes Sting's recent records sound like the Stiff Little Fingers.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 31 January 2005 20:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Not even close...Loreena McKennitt by an entire continent. Early Clannad is supposed to be less cloying than the later overproduced stuff, but whatever. Loreena's The Visit still sounds good, even this many years along, and her integration of eastern influences on the recordings since makes it even better.

Plus, she's from Manitoba. Gotta stick together yo.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Monday, 31 January 2005 20:42 (twenty-one years ago)

This is like comparing a ham sandwich to a steamy pile of buffalo shit.

*tries to figure out which performer is which edible item in this comparison*

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 31 January 2005 20:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Wow, I thought ILM would savage McKennitt. I didn't know she had so many supporters here.

I know I've already hinted at Déanta, but is it too late to add Capercaillie into the mix?

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Monday, 31 January 2005 23:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Clannad's album Fuaim from 1982 has some really awesome moments on it.

― papa november (papa november), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 01:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Clannad were a bit warped and disorganized taste-wise, I say. Its as if they couldn't make up their mind if they were going to be a futuristic eletronic mood music collective.... or ....a present day alt-pop act.... or ....a pan-flute playin' minstrels with a penchant for beautiful but maudlin RenFaire covers.
Who agrees with this assessment?

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 17:07 (twenty-one years ago)

I actually bought a LM album purely on the strength of hearing it in a shop one time... listened to it for a good long while before deciding to get rid of it.

My reason in the end was just that her arrangements, beautiful as they were, went on for a far longer time than I could be bothered with. Lost interest in almost every song on the record by it's end. And finally, didn't give me anything that Kate Bush's more celtic-y inclined moments didn't.

Still, somewhat impenetrable but strangely powerful stuff taken in small doses and really, really excellent music for listening to on flights! Something about being above the clouds really fits the foggy-hazy-mists of ancient times vibe perfectly.

― latetotheparty (latetotheparty), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 20:44 (twenty-one years ago)

I admit some of their stuff is total shit. I bought their album Legend and there was about one song on it that didn't make me cringe.

― kate/papa november (papa november), Friday, 4 February 2005 10:47 (twenty-one years ago)

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