Following a promotional tour in support of her compilation albums Paint the Sky with Stars and A Box of Dreams in late 1997, Enya started work on a new studio album in mid-1998 with her longtime recording partners, producer and arranger Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan.

A Day Without Rain received mixed reviews from critics; some felt it too derivative of Enya's previous albums whilst others complimented the minimal use of overdubbing that her sound had become known for.

Following a promotional tour in support of her two compilation albums Paint the Sky with Stars and A Box of Dreams at the end of 1997, Enya started work on a new studio album in the mid-1998 with her longtime recording partners, producer and arranger Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan.

Around the time of starting on A Day Without Rain, Enya questioned some decisions she had made in her life and found herself answering them in the songs she was writing.

"[5] A Day Without Rain was written and recorded in a similar way to Enya's previous albums and without a timeline or deadline set by their label.

She first spends time alone developing melodies and outlines of songs on the piano, which she then presents to the Ryans: "I'm quite anxious at this point because it really is an act of laying your soul bare".

[5] In a musical departure from her keyboard-oriented sound, the album features a string section which Enya said was not a conscious decision initially.

The former alludes to the difficulties and pressures of finding "the perfect love", which Enya has found difficult throughout her career due to her private lifestyle and that her past relationships were not the right ones.

[8] It was planned for the track to be a song and Roma had prepared an incomplete set of lyrics for it, but as the arrangement developed it was decided for it to remain instrumental.

[6] Enya gave permission for "Only Time" to be included in the soundtrack to the romantic film Sweet November (2001) where one of the lead characters finds out they are dying of cancer.

She agreed in connection with the death of Irish musician Frankie Kennedy, co-founder of the Celtic group Altan with his wife Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, from bone cancer in 1994.

[6] The song gained nationwide radio airplay following its use in an episode of the drama series Providence and the soundtrack to Sweet November (2001).

[19] The song, in April 2001, was remixed without authorisation with added electronic dance beats and keyboards by the Swiss American Federation (S.A.F.

), a group formed of Los Angeles-based radio DJ and producer Christian Burkholder, a longtime Enya fan, and Marc Dold.

When the song aired on WHTZ in New York City in June, other stations followed suit, which led to Burkholder being contacted by Nicky and Enya, who approved his remix.

[14] "Only Time" gained further exposure following its use as a sound bed for promos of the comedy series Friends on the first five episodes of the eighth season.

[33] Following the media response and increased sales of Enya's records, "Only Time" was reissued as a maxi-CD on 20 November 2001 containing the S.A.F remix and original version, with earnings from its sales donated to the Uniform Firefighters Association's Widows' and Children's Fund in aid of families of fire fighters involved in the attack rescue operations.

"Lazy Days", he thought, was "an engulfing pop song filled with swooshing flourishes that one-ups the hooky, wall-of-sound pull" of Enya's past singles "Orinoco Flow" and "Caribbean Blue".

[46] A critical review appeared from Gavin Martin of The Mirror, who thought that the title track and "Only Time" would please her fans, but the album "still sounds like undistinguished new age fodder ...

Murthi for New Straits Times gave a rating of two-and-a-half stars out of five for Enya's performance and three out of five for the album's sound quality.

He wrote that the album is a "ho-hum New Age effort" with "pretty melodies" but, on the other hand, its "dense textures conceal a compositional shallowness".

He deemed some of the track titles "pompous" but the more successful songs, such as "Deora Ar Mo Chroi", are so due to their traditional Celtic elements rather than Enya's own compositions.

[5] Billboard complimented the album's production, writing the more experimental songs like "Only Time" and "Lazy Days" "not only freshen a musical formula that still works extremely well but also leave the listener happily curious about Enya's next move".

[50] Rolling Stone remarked that the album sounded too similar to her previous releases and thought a change in musical direction after Paint the Sky with Stars would have been better.

[51] People recommended the "masterful" album for a "rainy day" because of Enya's characteristic sound and tranquil mood.