Sirius (Clannad album)

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Sirius
Clannad-Sirius-cover.jpg
Studio album by
Clannad
Released26 October 1987
Recorded25 April – 20 July 1987
Studio
Genre Folk
Length42:25
Label RCA
Producer Greg Ladanyi and Russ Kunkel
Clannad chronology
Macalla
(1985)		Sirius
(1987)		 Atlantic Realm
(1989)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Sirius is the tenth album by Irish folk group Clannad, released in 1987. It features several guest artists such as Bruce Hornsby, Steve Perry and JD Souther.

Contents

Perry, who performed on the song "White Fool", sang some of the vocals in Gaelic at the suggestion of the members of Clannad. As Moya Brennan recounted, "Steve was recording near us when we met him. His ancestors come from Portugal, and their accent sounds very much like Gaelic. When we suggested he sing in Gaelic, he was very excited." [2] When discussing the album, Brennan recalled that the band encountered some criticism from England for working with American producers on Sirius. [2]

Cover

The cover of Sirius shows Brennan with the rest of Clannad standing beside a waterfall on the River Crolly in their hometown of Gweedore (Gaoth Dobhair).

Reception

Billboard believed that the influence of Greg Ladanyi and Russ Kunkel as producers resulted in an album that pivoted away from Celtic folk music. They felt that the band resembled "Heart with a brogue" throughout the album and said that the two tracks with Hornsby demonstrated "some commercial promise". [3] Ty Burr at Spin wrote, "The production runs thick and deep, and that’s both good and bad. The effect is like a beautiful antique table that some schmoe decided to cover with three layers of Lucite varnish. I mean, I like this album, but it took me about ten listens to get past the production and figure that out." [4]

Track listing

  1. "In Search of a Heart" (Pól Brennan) – 3:53
  2. "Second Nature" (Ciarán Brennan) – 3:20
  3. "Turning Tide" (P. Brennan) – 4:39
  4. "Skellig" (C. Brennan) – 4:46
  5. "Stepping Stone" (P. Brennan) – 3:53
  6. "White Fool" - feat. Steve Perry (P. Brennan) – 4:38
  7. "Something to Believe In" - Duet with Bruce Hornsby (C. Brennan) – 4:47
  8. "Live and Learn" (C. Brennan) – 3:32
  9. "Many Roads" (C. Brennan) – 3:25
  10. "Sirius" (P. Brennan) – 5:33
2003 re-master bonus tracks

11. "The Hunter" – 4:08 (single version) [original album version on the compilation Pastpresent ]

12. "World of Difference" – 4:01 [from the compilation Pastpresent]

Charts

Chart (1987–1988)Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [5] 84
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [6] 45
US Billboard 200 [7] 183
UK Albums (OCC) [8] 34

References

  1. ↑ Sirius at AllMusic
  2. 1 2 Wood, Terry (26 March 1988). "Clannad 'Sirius' Album" (PDF). Billboard . p. 35. Retrieved 24 October 2025– via World Radio History.
  3. ↑ "Album Reviews" (PDF). Billboard . 20 February 1988. p. 72. Retrieved 24 October 2025– via World Radio History.
  4. ↑ Ty Burr (June 1988). "Spins". Spin . No. 36. p. 75.
  5. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0955". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
  6. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Clannad – Sirius" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
  7. ↑ "Billboard Top Pop Albums" (PDF). Billboard . 19 March 1988. p. 105. Retrieved 24 October 2025– via World Radio History.
  8. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
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