Clannad is an Irish band formed in 1970. They perform traditional Celtic, new age, jazz, folk rock, Gregorian chant, etc.

tek's rating:

Rogha: The Best of Clannad
AllMusic; Amazon; Discogs; Wikipedia

This is the band's fourth greatest hits albums, released in 1997. I'm reviewing it in 2025, on St. Patrick's Day.

1. "Newgrange": I wasn't sure if I'd remember any of the songs, but at least the chorus of this one is familiar. And the whole song is good. Very Celtic. It's probably my favorite song on the album.

2. "Second Nature": This one sounds kinda familiar, too. It's sort of folk rock. It features guest vocalist/pianist Bruce Hornsby. It's not bad.

3. "Closer to Your Heart": This doesn't exactly sound either familiar or unfamiliar. I guess it's pop rock, and it sounds almost American. Like, I want to compare it to some other artist, but I'm not sure who. Maybe Fleetwood Mac? Anyway, it's not bad.

4. "Seachrán Charn tSiaill": As you could probably guess from the title (which I wouldn't even try to pronounce), this is another Celtic song, which is the kind of Clannad song I like more than their other genres.

5. "Ancient Forest": This has an Irish sound, despite being in English. I think it sounds mostly traditional, but maybe a bit modern. It's good.

6. "Now Is Here": This sounds kind of Irish and kind of new age. It's nice enough.

7. "Something to Believe In": This also features Hornsby. And it's another song that sounds kind of American to me, like soft rock or something.

8. "In Search of a Heart": This definitely sounds like 1980s rock, which isn't surprising, since all the songs on the album are from the '80s. It's not bad.

9. "Buachaill Ón Éirne": Another Celtic song, not in English, but still sounds a bit more modern than traditional. It's okay, but I like the more obviously traditional songs a bit more than this.

10. "Northern Skyline": I think I'd call this folk rock, I dunno. It has an Irish sound, but mostly because of the singer's accent. Aside from that I could almost call it yacht rock.

11. "Together We": This almost sounds familiar. It certainly sounds Irish, almost traditional, despite being in English. It has more instrumentation than singing, though.

12. "Tá 'Mé Mo Shuí": Another traditional Celtic song. It's pretty soft and and slow. I have no idea what it's about, but it almost sounds like a lullaby, to me. Maybe that's what it is, maybe not. In any event, it's soothing.

13. "Blackstairs": It's okay, I guess. I have no particular feelings about it, one way or the other.

14. "Indoor": It's okay, sort of soft jazz (which might apply to some of the other songs on the album, I dunno). Or soft rock. Or whatever. But it's another song that sounds pretty '80s (which applies to several songs).

15. "Thíos Fá'n Chósta": A modern song, sung in Irish. It sounds kind of familiar, I guess, particularly the instrumentation, which sounds more American, to me. It's not bad.

16. "In a Lifetime": This features guest vocals by Bono. It's one of several songs on the album that sound to me like they could be used in a cheesy '80s movie or TV show (but that's not a bad thing). It's got a jazzy saxophone part.

17. "Theme from Harry's Game": Another modern (yet traditional-sounding) song sung in Irish. It was made for a British TV miniseries. I like it.

18. "The Fairy Queen": This is a traditional, instrumental song. Parts of it sound more British to me than Irish, but other parts sound more Irish. Either way, I think it sounds sort of medieval. I like it. Very soft and soothing.

19. "Journey's End": Very Irish (but sung in English), it's a perfect song to end the album with. I like it a lot.