The Book of Secrets (album)

1997 studio album by Loreena McKennitt From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Book of Secrets is the sixth studio album by Loreena McKennitt, released in 1997. It reached #17 on the Billboard 200.[3] The lead single of the album, "The Mummers' Dance," remixed by DNA, was released during the winter of 1997–98, and peaked at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #17 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.[4] The album is certified double-platinum in the United States.[5] It has now sold more than four million copies worldwide.[6]

ReleasedSeptember 30, 1997 (1997-09-30)
Length53:00
LabelQuinlan Road, Warner Bros.
Quick facts Studio album by Loreena McKennitt, Released ...
The Book of Secrets
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 30, 1997 (1997-09-30)
GenreFolk, world, new-age
Length53:00
LabelQuinlan Road, Warner Bros.
ProducerLoreena McKennitt
Loreena McKennitt chronology
A Winter Garden: Five Songs for the Season
(1995)
The Book of Secrets
(1997)
Live in Paris and Toronto
(1999)
Close
More information Review scores, Source ...
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllmusicStarStarStar[1]
sputnikmusicStarStarStarStarHalf star[2]
Close

Track listing

All music written by Loreena McKennitt. All lyrics written by Loreena McKennitt except as noted.[7]

  1. "Prologue" – 4:22
  2. "The Mummers' Dance" – 6:07
  3. "Skellig" – 6:07
  4. "Marco Polo" – 5:15
  5. "The Highwayman" (lyric by Alfred Noyes, abridged by Loreena McKennitt) – 10:19
  6. "La Serenissima" – 5:09
  7. "Night Ride Across the Caucasus" – 8:30
  8. "Dante's Prayer" – 7:11

Song information

  • The DNA remix of "The Mummers' Dance" was made into a music video.
  • "Skellig" relates the dying words of a monk from a monastery that existed during the 6th–12th centuries on the island Skellig Michael (Great Skellig), 11.6 km west of Ireland.
  • "The Highwayman" is an adaptation of the poem of the same name by Alfred Noyes.
  • "Night Ride Across the Caucasus" appeared in the 1998 film Soldier.
  • The music from "Night Ride Across the Caucasus" was used in the song "Kokli" by Ulytau.
  • "Dante's Prayer" refers to Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy.[citation needed]

Personnel

This information is directly from the sleeve notes.

Production

  • As listed in CD booklet:
    • Produced by Loreena McKennitt; assisted by Brian Hughes & Donald Quan
    • Recorded & Mixed by Kevin Killen (recorded track 1; mixed tracks 1, 2, 5 & 7) & Stuart Bruce (recorded tracks 2–8; mixed tracks 3, 4, 6 & 8)
    • Recording & mix assisted by Jacquie Turner, Justin Griffith, Marco Migliara
    • Mastered by Bob Ludwig
    • All songs published by Quinlan Road Music, except in Europe, South America & Southeast Asia (Quinlan Road Music/BMG Music Publishing International)

Chart performance

More information Chart (1997–98), Peak position ...
Chart (1997–98) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[8]33
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[9]34
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[10]25
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[11]3
Danish Albums (Tracklisten)[12] 14
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13]29
French Albums (SNEP)[14]16
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15]7
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[16]37
Italian Albums (FIMI)[17] 17
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[18]9
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[19]30
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[20] 16
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[21]30
US Billboard 200[22]17
US World Albums (Billboard)[23]1
Close

Year-end charts

More information Chart (1997), Position ...
Chart (1997) Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[24] 91
French Albums (IFOP)[25] 88
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[26] 92
Italian Albums (FIMI)[17] 74
Chart (1998) Position
Canadian Albums (RPM)[27] 40
US Billboard 200[28] 67
Close

Certifications

More information Region, Certification ...
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[29] Gold 30,000^
Australia (ARIA)[30] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[31] 3× Platinum 400,000[32]
France (SNEP)[33] Gold 110,000[34]
Germany (BVMI)[35] Gold 250,000^
Greece (IFPI Greece)[36] Gold 30,000^
Italy 100,000[34]
Spain (Promusicae)[37] Gold 70,000[34]
United States (RIAA)[38] 2× Platinum 1,867,000[39]
Summaries
Worldwide 4,000,000[6]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Close

References

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI