Album of the week

Over the weekend, I made a trip down to the Electric Fetus to pick up the new Loreena McKennitt album Lost Souls because Amazon had pushed back its delivery of the album I had pre-ordered for Wednesday. I have been listening to the new album for the past few days on a daily basis. On Facebook, some of Loreena's fans were not thrilled with the album saying that Lost Souls was not like The Mask and the Mirror or Elemental. Well true, Lost Souls is not like her previous albums nor did I want it too.

Lost Souls is Loreena McKennitt's first album of original material since An Ancient Muse which came out in 2006, well over a decade. I enjoyed listening to The Wind That Shakes the Barley and A Midwinter Night's Dream but those albums consisted of traditional songs not written by Loreena herself. To hear an album of original Loreena McKennitt songs is a joy to these hears. It is always a joy for me to see Loreena work with longtime collaborators Caroline Lavelle, Brian Hughes, and Dudley Phillips on her  albums. I always enjoy the results of their work together. I have just learned that the songs on the album are tracks not used on previous albums. Surprisingly the songs flow effortlessly together. Yes, this album is not like its predecessors but I don't want every Loreena McKennitt album to sound like Book of Secrets and The Mask and the Mirror. Overall a very satisfying album to this longtime fan.