Paint the Sky with Stars: The Best of Enya is the first greatest hits album by Irish singer and composer Enya, released on 3 November 1997 by WEA. Following her worldwide promotional tour in support of her previous album The Memory of Trees (1995), Enya began selecting tracks for a compilation album in early 1997, as her recording contract with WEA permitted her to do so. The album contains songs from her debut album Enya (1987) to The Memory of Trees (1995) and two new tracks, "Paint the Sky with Stars" and "Only If...".
Paint the Sky with Stars received positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success, reaching number 4 in the United Kingdom and number 30 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. In the latter territory, the album continued to sell over the next eight years, reaching four million copies shipped in 2005. In Japan, it became the first non-Japanese album under the Warner label to receive a Japan Gold Disc Award in the Grand Prix Album category for selling over one million copies.
Critical reception
Paint the Sky with Stars received universal acclaim from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic rated the album five stars out of five and says that Paint the Sky with Stars: The Best of Enya is an excellent 16-song overview of Enya's career, containing 14 selections from The Celts, Watermark, Shepherd Moons, and The Memory of Trees, including "Caribbean Blue", "Anywhere Is", "Marble Halls", "Book of Days" and, of course, "Orinoco Flow"—as well as two previously unreleased songs ("Only If...", "Paint the Sky with Stars") that fit comfortably with her past work.[ AllMusic review]
Track listing All lyrics written by Roma Ryan, except for "Marble Halls", all music composed by Enya and all songs produced by Nicky Ryan.
Production Produced by Nicky Ryan Arranged by Enya and Nicky Ryan Lyrics by Roma Ryan Marble Halls (Traditional) arranged by Enya and Nicky Ryan All tracks published by EMI Songs Ltd Principal photography: David Scheinmann Calligraphy and Design: Brody Neuenschwander Mastered by Arun
Accolades Japan Gold Disc Awards
| style="width:35px; text-align:center;"| 1998 || Paint the Sky with Stars || Best International Pop Albums of the Year||
Charts
Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for Paint the Sky with StarsChart (1997–1998)PeakpositionAustralian Albums Chart10Austrian Albums Chart3Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)9Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)13Canadian RPM Albums Chart33Dutch Albums Chart10Finnish Albums Chart12German Media Control Albums Chart5Hungarian Albums Chart12Italian Albums Chart1Japanese Oricon Albums Chart4New Zealand Albums Chart6Norwegian Albums Chart2Spanish Albums Chart2Swedish Albums Chart1Swiss Albums Chart7 Taiwanese International Albums (IFPI) 1UK Albums Chart4US Billboard 20030
Year-end charts + 1997 year-end chart performance for Paint the Sky with StarsChart (1997)PositionAustralian Albums Chart41Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)33Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)47European Albums Chart56German Albums Chart88Swedish Albums Chart3UK Albums Chart19US Billboard New Age Albums Chart 24 + 1998 year-end chart performance for Paint the Sky with StarsChart (1998)PositionAustralian Albums Chart67Austrian Albums Chart50Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)46Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)83Dutch Albums Chart57European Albums Chart24German Albums Chart65Japanese Albums Chart44Swedish Albums Chart47UK Albums Chart90US Billboard 20083US Billboard New Age Albums Chart 2 + 1999 year-end chart performance for Paint the Sky with StarsChart (1999)PositionUS Billboard New Age Albums Chart 3
Certifications and sales
Release history +Release dates for Paint the Sky with Stars Country Date Format Label Europe 3 November 1997 WEA Records United States 11 November 1997 Reprise Records
See also List of best-selling albums in Brazil
References
External links