Parallel Dreams, the Canadian harpist/songwriter's quietly moving sophomore release, finds the mystical red-haired siren in true balladeer form.
By far McKennitt's most romantic venture -- the liner notes describe the project's central theme as a "yearning toward love, liberty and integration" -- Dreams is more ambitious than her sparse, impeccably recorded debut, Elemental, tripling the amount of players and laying the groundwork for the immense scope she would go on to attain on future recordings.
The heartbreaking trio of "Standing Stones," "Annachnie Gordon," and "Dickens' Dublin" -- the latter features an effective radio-show sample of an unnamed Irish school child detailing the birth of Christ -- stand among the artist's finest works, and the range and clarity of her voice is undeniably powerful.
Parallel Dreams was an emotional and career-turning point for McKennitt, as her next recording would be the major-label spectacle The Visit.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samain NightLoreena McKennitt | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 04:32 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 2 | Moon CradlePadraic Colum, Loreena McKennitt | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 04:30 | 10 MB | 24 MB |
| 3 | Huron 'Beltane' Fire DanceLoreena McKennitt | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 04:22 | 10 MB | 26 MB |
| 4 | Annachie GordonTraditional | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 08:25 | 19 MB | 47 MB |
| 5 | Standing StonesLoreena McKennitt, Traditional | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 06:59 | 16 MB | 46 MB |
| 6 | Dickens' Dublin (The Palace)Loreena McKennitt | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 04:43 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 7 | Breaking the SilenceLoreena McKennitt | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 06:26 | 14 MB | 39 MB |
| 8 | Ancient PinesLoreena McKennitt | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 03:38 | 8 MB | 18 MB |
| 43 mins | 99 MB | |||||
| 43 mins | 261 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shelly Berger | Bass, Pzud |
| 2 | Padraic Colum | Composer |
| 3 | Al Cross | Percussion |
| 4 | Ritesh Das | Tabla, Turntables |
| 5 | Elisabeth Feryn | Cover Photo, Photography |
| 6 | Brian Hughes | Ambience, Bass (Electric), Digital Remastering, Guest Artist, Guitar, Producer, Sound Effects, Synthesizer |
| 7 | Patrick Hutchinson | Uillean Pipes |
| 8 | George Koller | Bass, Cello, Tamboura |
| 9 | Rick Lazar | Congas, Udu |
| 10 | Loreena McKennitt | Ambience, Arranger, Bodhran, Composer, Harp, Keyboards, Liner Notes, Primary Artist, Producer, Sound Effects, Synthesizer, Ukulele, Vocals, Whistle (Human) |
| 11 | Scott McKowen | Design |
| 12 | One Eyed-Jack | Engineer |
| 13 | Oliver Schroer | Fiddle, Violin |
| 14 | George Seara | Digital Editing, Sequencing |
| 15 | Traditional | Composer |
| 16 | John Whynot | Engineer, Mixing |
| 17 | Jeff Wolpert | Digital Remastering, Mixing |
| 18 | Dave Woodhead | Accordion, Mandolin |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |