ENIGMA 4 REVIEW

After so long of anticipation of the style and direction and obvious thoughts of music ,I am coming up with my Review..... As every Enigma album before, this one offers as much excitement...all my words expressed were written as I heard the album on the second play, and reflect my feelings and emotions as a true Enigma fan."Thanks to the few who made this possible...you know who you are!!!"

and by the way those who Know me very well, Enigma is what they should start thinking

wat ya say!

every second of the diffretiated music has been understood and left into imaginary world.

I would suggest you all to play the Album and then read... you will understand the abyss followed then.

Bless! and happy listning , as you read.

-Chaitanya

The Gate 2:01...swirling intro...Elisabeth Houghton repeats the galaxy information...the familiar intro that has been with us since E1 comes ambling in...and out again...the vocal information keeps telling us about the earth’s rotation...some nice bells tumble down...swirling space sounds...could we be in a space station?? ...just as the sound fades at

1:26 in comes the first Carmina sample looping and fading inwards...

1:36 the vocal is full blast loud, very loud...the sample is the full length and not looped until

1:57 when the ladies voice tells us more about the universe!! ...drums start and go right into...

Push The Limits 6:25...This starts very differently than most Enigma tracks but ends up being a classic piece of music...Oh how I wish every Enigma track is 6:25 long and has all of these elements!!The intro to this song carries over the same words about space being presented...and it has different synth sound than you would not normally assign to Enigma. Drums beat from side to side with a deep bass sound...the voice...and then lead into a snare...at 0:30 sec into the track the main melody kicks in...again a different synth sound is used...great drums are all around...and loud!!!

At 1:18 the melody and strange synth stop...it goes into a very nice ethnic chant...repeated with the now familiar Enigma sound of the past...a really nice high pitched female vocal melody plays in the background...Now 2 chants at the same time!!!At

1:57 in comes the third chant...similar to the one in Light of your Smile!!! at

2:03 the voice says ( Basic Instincts are side by side )...so 4 elements are playing all together for a few brief moments...CHRIST this is brilliant ...At

2:20 the drums drop and in comes the TNT tabulars drums...and the English ladies voice repeats the "words of wisdom"...then at

:40..another captivating/chilling/eerie/ Mongolian sample...this haunting sound will stay with you and you never forget the chilling sound of this Mongolian chant...awesome!!!!...the drums are still low while this chant goes on and on...this is the real Enigma...until

3:34 when the beat goes up and more strange instruments never heard on Enigma before...the voice comes back again at

3:54...it is haunting/scary!!...this plays to the first drums and increases in intensity until 4:33...where the drums cascade into the first synth sound and melody again...this plays until 5:10 when the drums drop again ..and the moans of Sandra together with a sample used in Mea Culpa...drums build up again...and in come the voices chants again...drums are really nice...and strong!!The mea Culpa sample plays over...and the melody comes back in the final seconds...classic Enigma!!! This is the same feel you get from "Eyes of Truth" and "Morphing Thru Time"...great opening track...hallmark of Enigma albums...

Gravity Of Love 4:01...Same version as the single...nothing more to say about this track...(well we all Know Know This Track..wat ya say!

Smell of Desire 4:56...droplets of beats...ambient feel...low synth Enigma feel to start...very heavy bass drum drops in at

0:16...clicking drum noise...could it be native tribe banging wood...or just a new Enigma drum beat...melody of synth come in around

0:25 low and un-assuming...in comes the pan flute...low and winding...at

0:47 and the main drum beats comes in...not as loud and the whole track has a low key feel...pan flute plays a beautiful rift...at

1:25 in comes a quick heavy sigh sample...and into a new higher pitched synth melody...sounds new and just as moody as the pan flute...this wanders it way through silky sounds until a very nice low electric guitar of Jens Gad comes in at

2:01...starts off with a acoustic Spanish feel but quickly goes into a smooth rift...heavy deep breathing surrounds the background...but it is kept back in the mix at just the right level ...oh my...in comes Sandra at

2:23 with the erotic Mea Culpa words... "Je ne dors plus, Je suis folle, Je m’abandone, Je suis a toi" which she repeats through to

:42 when the pan flute comes back in with the melody...rally nice atmosphere surrounds...and in comes another E1 sample from Sadeness trance mix playing backwards at

3:15 all 3 previous Enigma albums come together in this track...how is it possible...wow!!!...electric guitar comes back in with the Sadeness track still playing backwards in the background...now in comes Mea Culpa again...this is truly amazing how he blends all elements together...all the way to the end...you will listening in amazement of the construction of this track...the true beauty of production...Sadeness, Mea Culpa, Principles, Beyond the Invisible, Shadows in Silence, I'll love I'll Kill You all in one!...The Master of erotic!!! This has to be one of the most standout tracks...fades out with Sandra whispers of the "the eternal flame will always burn - feel - understand - and learn" ...fading Pan flute...goes into a...

Modern Crusaders 3:49...ambient feel to start the track until the drum kicks in at

0:08...Andru picks up the vocals at

0:18..(first thought are Cretu singing...but NO it is Andru...Cretu's voice can't get down low to some of the notes...listen carefully) singing through the normalizer to make his voice slightly distorted...very upbeat song...singing about Modern Crusaders...sound like early Cretu solo singing but with a heavy drum beats...not to much happening in the background...the old Enigma synth feel...until his voice breaks at

1:32...and wow...in comes the main chant you will all know from "Carmina Burana - O Fortuna"...mixed here with the heavy drums...pounding...chants stops at

1:58 in come heavy Gad guitar...sounds as hurried as the guitar from E2...breaks at

2:32...drums break and lower feel...in comes the main sample from "Carmina Burana" again...low chorus which builds up to the main part which come in loud at

2:55...drums come in heavy again...and Andru goes back into the chorus at

3:18 Gad comes back with the rift...Andru finishes the vocals and in comes the same organ used at the start of Rivers to finish the song...hurried and a very up beat song after the last track...it is over as quick as it starts. The production of the sample works and he captures the emotion of the Carl Orf theme...More ambient feel and intro...into...

Traces (Light and Weight) This is one of my fav's.. and I like this part like I smell my soul back.

.4:10...heavy droplets of water...are the start of this track...drum beat is different again...but heavy...strange sound that accompanies the drum...almost sounds like a snare...but it is a match being scraped and lit...in comes a chant Mongolian sample at

0:40...swirling around in the background...sound like a instrument church bells ring at 1:02...they chime to the melody to another new synth sound form Cretu...at

1:35...the sound breaks apart form the water droplets...atmosphere surrounds...a very faint Latin sample is heard which fades quickly and is slightly muffled...more Delirium sampled sound...very low...weird sounds surround this section...again sounds like spring noise...could it be dolphins noise...at

2:14 the heavy drums start again...melody still floating in the background in comes the sampled voice again at

2:27...not high in the mix...but enough to make the song chilling...church bells accompany the melody briefly again...weird sound going on and on... the sampled voice becomes louder and more the front of the mix...and then fades as then song does...more ambient feel as the drum stops and the tracks fades out...reverse voice and choir are heard at the end...this starts the next song...

The Screen Behind The Mirror

3:57...This starts with another nice heavy drum intro...going to heavy bass beats at 0:10sec leading into some nice Sandra heavy breathing and atmosphere...at

0:31 a very nice chant that has been distorted in the same fashion as Peter Frampton did...this then goes into a more audible chant...African...he turns this into a melody until

0:51 sec when Sandra starts some very faint singing with the chants very active in the background...harmonica samples...voice samples too...this then breaks into the synth melody at

1:12 which is a high pitch...and again a different type of Enigma melody at

:33 more Andru singing the vocals of Gravity...then in Ruth joins hi mat

1:52...with the a very nice catchy "da da der" chant...The vocals are deliberately distorted to set the mood of dreaming...and confusion in your mind...the heavy drum stays al the way through this...great track...the old Sadeness stutter drum loop thrown in a few time s to diffuse the master beat...at

2:015 Andru sings more lines for the Gravity lyrics...until

2:34 where the high pitched melody comes back in very strong...this then winds it way to the end of track with a lot of atmosphere and Ruth vocals in the background..."da da der" vocal chant to the end...

Endless Quest 3:05...VERY STRONG DRUM beat...great angelic noises...and choir like synth melody...here is the old Enigma...pan flute...at

:30...very nice floating sound...and melody...man this drum beat is awesome and strong...pan flute winds it way with great effect...Beyond and Sadeness all in one...now at 1:20 and it is still going...WOW...angelic voices at

:30...drum breaks at at

:40...with a crescendo of cymbals...then a weaker drum breaks in the background...nice high sound synth again at

1:48...this now plays where the pan...flutes left off...pan flutes still laying in the background at the same time..

.2:17 the drums came back in strong with the electric guitar of JENS GAD...VERY STRONG and "I'll love Ill Kill" you strength...this breaks down at

:49...and winds down...and ends with some very heavy Sandra breathing man this could have gone on for another 2-3 minutes...suddenly it ends and in comes.

..Camera Obscura

1:27...wild vocals break and hard hard drum...vocals are very distorted...and it is hard to make out who is singing...sounds like Andru...but the words sound backwards...could it even be a chant...at

0:33 in comes a strong and bold Carmina chorus...this is the sample you all know...but the drums are very dance beat and strong!...this goes on and ends when the tracks breaks down into to sublime ambient beats...WOW talk about up high and then comes down into a mellow ending...very emotional track...and quick...this floats into...

Between Mind And Heart

4:08...Oh...very nice synth and mellow drum...and ambient beats...slow melody...with another organ sounding synth...Santoor instrument maybe...almost 2 sounds of melody...very calm...at 0:55 in comes some nice light sample of chants...vocal sound angelic and in Latin...heavy breathing as well. at

1:15 in comes a very nice harpsichord pia

no...with Michael vocals...hard to hear what he is singing...but it is calm...at

1:40 in comes a African chant sample...this is repeated and echoing...again you want forget this sample...haunting!!...this then floats with more heavy breathing and distant women...and more sample of chants harp plays in the back ground in comes Sandra who sings "this is the engine of your body" at

2:21...and then she says "that brings the engine of life"...louder choir and the main sample come in loud and floating Sandra voices...and this runs to the end of a beautiful track full of emotion and feeling...the track ends with all of the African samples looping all together and swirling around the room...Sandra ends the track with a whisper.

Silence Must be Heard 5:18...Oh my...so much has been heard upto now...it seems so quick but fulfilling...all the emotions that Enigma bring...come to a end with this beautiful sounding start...some really nice low synth like a organ...like TNT intro...really nice effects that appear like a knocking noise...until this really nice melody snyth starts at

0:30...really nice drum into combines with this super swirling melody...Ruth Ann starts to sing at

0:50...her voice has emotion and sounds like Sandra...low and highs voice...now it starts to get higher and more emotion...at

1:27 it breaks and has the feel of a Sandra song...in comes Michael as the drum breaks and groans in the background... "silence must be heard"...

1:27this distorted like a angels voice...then the Ruth Ann comes in hard with the chorus at 1:47...this sounds like Sandra...with many effects used in old Enigma and Sandra tracks...but then this great melody synth come back in at

2:07...very nice catchy drum pattern and loops...at

2:26 she sings the final words of the song...and this has breaks into another Cretu vocal background break...but the atmosphere is haunting...in comes Ruth loud again at

3:00..."Silence Must Be Heard"...in comes the final melody...Damn this is catchy...and mellow but has the emotion and energy of a the old Cretu...track fades out at

4:10 with whispers of "Silence"...could this be Sandra or Ruth Ann...and into the final outro will all know from previous albums...but clear and a space feel to it!!!This track will stay in your mind as soothing and even though it has energy...it oozes Sandra and maybe some earlier Cretu...even though Ruth Ann is singing...but it could easily be Sandra...maybe it is...but the melody will hook you...as it is addictive...this track could have surely gone longer.

Wrap Up...What can I say...the album is awesome...and it will leave you spellbound in ecstasy!!...the feel and emotion has come back into our lives after 3 long years...and this album blows away Enigma 3 in context and beauty. Not overdone with vocals but pure instrumental charm with outstanding ethnic samples...where does Michael find them.The album feel is very diversified and listening to the Carl Orf samples used it is misleading...these give the album another twist...and it is hard to fully understand how he wanted these to fit...the Enigma feel is always present although the newer and cleaner sound is awesome!!Moody and full of energy...give you the roller coaster effect of emotions...the only negative...the album could have been longer... maybe each track would have done better to be at around 5 - 6min...you want each track to keep going...as beauty should be longer. African/Jungle/Indian feel to many of the songs...but each track takes many twists and turns you really cant get comfortable with any part before it changes into another direction...but the flow is tremendous. It is amazing how many older Enigma sounds are packed in this album...but you really don’t think..."hey this sounds old or outdated"...it is sounds new and fresh and part of the new generation album. The drums make you feel like you are born again...new sounds, new beats, new emotions...Enigma fans I am going to come with a lots of reviews..... more of ENIGMA 1, 2,3 and 5 and 6 too...... but as 4 being my fav... so's started with this..!well that day even is not to far away... but before that beg or borrow the money to buy the album...and you won't be disappointed!!!!Sorry I just love Enigma.

Enigma-the story behind the series!

Personal Information:

Band consists of Michael Cretu, born May 18, 1957, in Bucharest, Romania; married Sandra Lauer (a singer), 1988.

Education:

Studied classical music at Lyzeum No. 2 in Bucharest, 1965; studied music in Paris, France, 1968; attended Academy of Music in Frankfurt, Germany, 1975-78, and earned a degree in music.

Career:

Producer, composer, and arranger. As Michael Cretu, released first album, Legionare, Virgin, 1983; as Enigma, released debut album, MCMXC a.D., Virgin/Charisma,

1990 (Europe), 1991 (U.S.).Awards:Gold records for producing albums by Michael Oldfield and Sandra in Europe; platinum album for MCMXC a.D. in U.S.,

1991; platinum record for single "Sadeness Part I,"

1991; double-platinum album for MCMXC a.D. ,

1993;platinum album for The CROSS Of Changes,

1994; gold record for single "Return to Innocence," Virgin/Charisma,

1994; gold and/or platinum awards for MCMXC a.D. in 25 countries; Echo Award for most successful German production abroad,

1995, for The CROSS Of Changes.

Addresses:

Record company--Virgin Records, 338 North Foothill Rd., Beverly Hills, CA 90210;

or 1790 Broadway, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10019. Management--Nizzari Artist Management, 410 West 25th St., New York, NY 10001.

Michael Cretu, the man who is Enigma, declared his creative philosophy in a Virgin Records press release: "Old rules and habits have to be rejected and dismissed so that something new can be created." Even though Europeans were hip to Cretu's identity, early U.S. press information billed Enigma as the creation of a German producer who preferred to remain anonymous. "With Enigma," Cretu explained to Larry Flick in Billboard, " I have created a complete piece of music that I wanted to let stand alone. There is a sense of mystery in the music that I wanted to leave untouched by the perceptions and preconceived ideas that come with the past history of a producer or a songwriter." He continued, "Contrary to the usual record company philosophy, people are open-minded and starved for something unique. This is music that is different from any other available at the moment. I think people have responded to that."

Born on May 18, 1957, in Bucharest, Romania, Cretu pursued an early goal of becoming a concert pianist by studying classical music. In 1965 he attended Lyzeum No. 2--a college for young and gifted musical talents--with piano as his main subject, and he also studied for five months in 1968 in Paris, France. From 1975 to 1978 he attended the Academy of Music in Frankfurt, Germany, where he earned a degree in music. Deserting his goal of classical music, he claimed, "I started writing hits the day I sold my piano."

In 1980 Cretu won his first gold record for his production work. The artists with whom he has been associated include Hubert Kah, Peter Cornelius, Moti Special, and Sylvie Vartan. Cretu has also won gold record awards for producing albums by his wife, Euro-dance chanteuse Sandra, and multi-instrumentalist-composer Michael Oldfield. Since 1985 Cretu has produced seven albums for Sandra, including her first international hit single, "Maria Magdalena," which went to Number One in more than 30 countries. Cretu released his first solo album on Virgin, Legionare (which means legionnaires), in 1983, but his solo efforts before taking the name Enigma failed to earn U.S. distribution.

Inspired by such groups as the Art of Noise and Pink Floyd, Cretu assembled Enigma's debut album, MCMXC a.D. (the roman numeral representation of 1990), on an AudioFrame system at his home studio in Spain. MCMXC a.D. was released on December 3, 1990, in Europe through Virgin Germany and on February 12, 1991, in the U.S. through Virgin/Charisma. The LP eventually sold more than 12 million units worldwide, and won gold and/or platinum awards in 25 countries. In the United States MCMXC a.D. went platinum by the first week in May of 1991 and earned double-platinum status by the fall of 1993. Cretu told Alan di Perna of Keyboard, "I conceived of the whole album as a single song. The words and sounds are like flashlight beams. They don't show you everything. You have to look at what's between the lines."

A mixture of sixth-century Gregorian chants, bewitching French whispers--provided by Cretu's wife, Sandra --and hypnotic, ethereal music set to intoxicating dance rhythms, MCMXC a.D. is definitely more a cathartic aural journey than a collection of individual songs. The video import of MCMXC a.D. is a gorgeous swirl of images seamlessly interpreting the entire album. Even so, "Sadeness Part I," a song marked by its inclusion of Gregorian chant, was destined to become the album's runaway single. "The great misconception of people who have only heard 'Sadeness' is that the whole album is filled with chanting. This is a complete piece of work with many different levels and sounds. 'Sadeness' is only one piece of the puzzle," Cretu explained to Billboard's Flick.The French lyrics in "Sadeness Part I" are actually a dark homage to the Marquis de Sade, an eighteenth-century erotic novel writer from France from whose name the word sadism comes. In analyzing this element of the debut Enigma album, Vince Aletti of the Village Voice stated, "Cretu isn't celebrating the notorious Marquis ... but his mere presence in this context is a provocation, surely a deliberate and delicious one. Sade reserved his fiercest contempt and some of his most exquisite literary tortures for the pious and the prim, so even if he remains offstage here, the writer is a devilishly successful device. Cretu uses him to introduce questions of virtue and vice, faith and sacrilege, love and lust."Cretu related to Keyboard's di Perna, "I wanted to use things that there are questions about, that are mysterious. You don't have to go too far to read all kinds of accusations about the Catholic Church--scandals, inquisitions, and wars--and you wonder how you can reconcile this with the idea that the Church is supposed to stand for universal love. But at the same time, I've been told that the Marquis de Sade was a very religious man, that he wrote what he wrote as a revenge against certain pious people who were hypocrites. So again, there are questions, mysteries."

The Marquis was apparently not the only one out for revenge. As Cretu revealed to Michael Azerrad of Rolling Stone, "[MCMXC a.D.] was like revenge against everything I was hearing. I didn't want to write songs, I wanted to write moods." When Azerrad drew a comparison to the way pop icons Madonna and Prince explored sexuality, Cretureplied, "What Madonna and Prince did is pure marketing--it's predicated on causing scandal. It's not a sexual music that I did. It's a sensual music. And there's a big difference."

Some radio stations in Europe with a large Catholic audience could not see that difference. They banned "Sadeness Part I," considering it "pure blasphemy." Dutch national radio network TROS actually received three bomb threats from listeners said to be shocked by what they heard when the record was proclaimed single of the week--prompting Cretu to issue a statement refuting rumors about satanic material in the Gregorian passages and insisting he had no desire to offend "any public religious beliefs." Himself an atheist, Cretu told Azerrad of Rolling Stone, "The institution of the Church doesn't really fit with our times. I believe in destiny, which is a much more powerful belief."

In terms of record sales, Cretu's beliefs were apparently embraced by many listeners. By January of 1991 "Sadeness Part I" had reached Number One in seven European countries: Germany (where it eventually became Germany's biggest-selling single ever), Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, the United Kingdom, and Greece. The record would ultimately attain the Number One position in 15 countries. In the American market, "Sadeness Part I" broke into Billboard's Hot 100 in February of 1991, and by April the record was in the Top Five after 11 weeks at Number One on the combined European charts.

Peaking at Number Two on the U.S. pop charts, "Sadeness Part I" became a certified platinum single.Although Enigma was perhaps singularly responsible for boosting interest in Gregorian chant music worldwide, there was a price to pay--literally. In August of 1991 Munich-based choir Kapelle Antiqua demanded a written apology in addition to financial compensation when the choir, according to Ellie Weinert in Billboard, "recognized its recordings of Gregorian choral works on Enigma tracks. The group sued for damages, claiming Cretu had infringed upon its 'right of personality' by distorting the records sampled on the 'Sadeness Part I' and 'Mea Culpa' album tracks and singles." Cretu and Virgin Germany agreed to pay compensation for samples used on MCMXC a.D. and settled out of court with Polydor and BMG/Ariola, which represented the German choir, for an undisclosed sum.

In the end Virgin acquired authorization for the retrospective use of the Polydor and BMG/Ariola masters.In 1993 film producer Robert Evans asked Cretu to write the title song for the motion picture Sliver. The result was "Carly's Song" and "Carly's Loneliness," both of which appeared as "Age of Loneliness" on Enigma's next album, The CROSS Of Changes. Other Enigma soundtrack credits include songs from MCMXC a.D. used in the films Single White Female and Boxing Helena.

In May of 1991 Cretu told Larry Flick of Billboard, "It is my plan for Enigma to be an outlet for music that boldly strays away from the norm of pop music. I have several ideas for the next album that I think are fascinating. Part of the fun of projects such as these is watching how all of the various elements come together in the studio."

Though it was released in Europe in December of 1993, it was not until February 8, 1994, that Enigma's second album, The CROSS Of Changes, was released in the United States. Cretu's belief that "music is part of my soul--and this ultimately decides everything" perhaps best explains the three years it took him to produce his second album.Reviewing The CROSS Of Changes for Pulse!, Michael Freedberg stated, "Cretu's Wagnerian symphonics [in the manner of composer Richard Wagner], crisscrossed by sleazy beats and train-like machinations, feel enough like midnight to make you dance across the Seine [River in France] with your headset on."Evidently others were dancing with him. The CROSS Of Changes went platinum in the United States just seven weeks after its release, and "Return to Innocence" reached gold status one month later, in July of 1994. In Keyboard Cretu summed up perhaps a major reason for Enigma's success: "Enigma is a vehicle for doing things outside the rules that you normally have to follow when you make a dance record." He went on to say, "Basically, I will keep on doing Enigma records until I run out of new ideas. Then I'll move on to something else."

Selected Discography:

MCMXC a.D., Virgin/Charisma, 1990.

The CROSS Of Changes, Virgin/Charisma, 1993.

Selected Discography:Also contributed songs to soundtrack Sliver, Virgin, 1993, and others.

Sources:

Billboard, January 26, 1991; February 16, 1991; May 18, 1991; September 14, 1991; February 19, 1994.

Entertainment Weekly, October 14, 1994.

Keyboard, September 1991.

Melody Maker, January 12, 1991. Pulse!, June 1994.

Rolling Stone, May 2, 1991; May 16, 1991. Village Voice, April 16, 1991.Additional Sources: Additional information for this profile was obtained from Virgin Records America publicity materials, 1993, and Nizzari Artist Management, 1995.~~ Lazae Laspina