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Enigma: The cross of changes

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s

Artist: Enigma
Title: The cross of changes
Released: 1993
Label: Virgin Records
Time: 44:16
Producer(s): Michael Cretu
Appears with: Michael Cretu
Category: Pop/Rock
Rating: ******.... (6/10)
Media type: CD
Purchase date:  1994
Price in €: 14,99
Web address: www.enigma.de

 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Second Chapter (Curly M.C.) - 2:16
[2] Eyes of Truth (Curly M.C.) - 7:13
[3] Return to Innocence (Curly M.C.) - 4:17
[4] I Love You...I'll Kill You (Curly M.C./Fairstein) - 8:51
[5] Silent Warrior (Curly M.C.) - 6:10
[6] Dream of the Dolphin (Fairstein) - 2:47
[7] Age of Loneliness (Curly M.C.) - 5:22
[8] Out from the Deep (Curly M.C.) - 4:53
[9] Cross of Changes (Curly M.C.) - 2:23  

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Michael Crétu - Programming, Vocals, Voices, Engineer

Peter Cornelius - Guitar
Sandra Cretu - Background Vocals
Angel - Background Vocals
Jens Gad - Guitar
Louisa Stanley - Background Vocals, Voices


 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


On Enigma's second album, their latent new age tendencies come to the forefront and occasionally obscure their usually captivating dance tracks.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine - All-Music Guide



"Alle Achtung: 'The Cross Of Changes' riecht wieder nach Erfolgsrezept. Cretu kreierte ein bombastisches Fantasypop-Melodram in bester Alan-Parsons-Manier, Song-orientierter als 'Enigma 1', rhythmisch komplexer, mit angenehmen Rückgriffen auf die Rockästetik der späten 60er, frühen 70er Jahre, mit wuchtigen Klangverdichtungen und flächigen Auflösungen."

M. Inhoffen in stereoplay 1/94



When Enigma unexpectedly burst onto the dance/radio scene three years ago with MCMXC A.D. and "Sadeness, Pt. 1 ," a new world of musical cross-pollenization opened up, with this enigmatic project leading us into new and musically intriguing territories. Reaching into his soul to tap an even broader range of moods, Enigma founder Michael Cretu has produced The Cross Of Changes, which continues where the Gregorian chants of its predecessor left off in exploring a pan-global terrain textured with cross-cultural soundscapes and clouded with mysterious dreaminess. At once seductive and exotic, The Cross Of Changes flows evenly behind intoxicating rhythms and chants in Indian and Middle Eastern voices, reaching around the globe, with a stop in the vast oceans ("The Dream Of The Dolphin") along the way. Enigma blends its melodies with an electronically-created atmosphere and subtle dance grooves, generating an absorbing swirl of imagination, one which helps the "Dear Prudence"-paraphrased "Out From The Deep" find its place among the more mysterious nature of the rest of the album. Explore: "Return To Innocence," "Age Of Loneliness (Carly's Song)," a new version of the song which appeared in the movie Sliver, "I Love You...I'll Kill You" and "The eyes Of Truth"

CMJ New Music Report, © 1978-1999 College Media Inc. All rights reserved.



The Cross Of Changes casts a wider net than Enigma's debut, mysterious and pulsating, drawing on everything from Arabic signatures ("The Eyes Of Truth") to native American chanting ("Silent Warrior"). Sultry, sensuous and ethereal, live and sampled female vocals - both spoken and harmonic - make up Cretu's layered choir. Subtle trance and dance, washes of atmosphere, New Age mysticism and synthesized dramatics

Roch Parisien - All-Music Guide



Haunting, evocative, mysterious, and magnificent, Enigma's Cross of Changes offers nine musical explorations of sound and sensation that dazzle and amaze. The songs unfold in rolling waves, each more complex and richly layered than the last, yet each fully capable of standing alone as a musically satisfying experience. The standout track on this disc is "Return to Innocence," which combines Native American chanting, Celtic harmonies, and a deceptively simple lyric to devastating effect. At once esoteric and elemental, Cross of Changes is a fine example of the best the genre has to offer.

L.A. Smith - Amazon.com



Drei Jahre nach dem Überraschungsmassenerfolg MCMXC a. D. wartete Top-Produzent und Enigma-Matermind Michael Cretu mit dem Nachfolgewerk auf, das - wen wundert's - nach ähnlichem Rezept gestrickt war: Mystic meets Mainstream meets Modern Times. Also: auf 2 - The Cross Of Changes schwirren wiederum hymnische Choräle (bevorzugt eingesungen von Eheweib Sandra - die Frau mit der Micky Mouse-Stimme) um bombastische Kompositionen, irgendwo im Bannkreis von Heavy Rock, Avantgarde und mittelalterlichem, spirituell-inspirierten Bombast. Und natürlich, Trance- und House-Beats durften nicht fehlen. Schließlich wollte man auch die Unter-20jährigen und die professionellen Clubgänger mit der Enigma-Scheibe ansprechen. Das ist gelungen! Zwar verkaufte 2 - The Cross Of Changes nur noch acht Millionen Kopien statt der 12 Millionen des Vorgängers. Ein satter Erfolg freilich ist auch diese Scheibe des als Außenseiter-Projekt gestarteten Unternehmens geworden. Und sind wir ehrlich: Songs wie Return To Innocence oder Age Of Loneliness in ihrer äußerst eigentümlich-weltfremden Mystik hören wir immer noch gerne. Oder etwa nicht?

Michael Fuchs-Gamböck - Amazon.de



Jalousien runter, Räucherstäbchen an und dazu eine Tasse Tee: Die zweite CD von Michael Cretus Studioprojekt Enigma ist wie geschaffen für feuchtkalte Februar-Abende. Schon der Name ist Programm: Enigma, das griechische Wort für Rätsel, gibt sich stilistisch sehr undurchsichtig - Cretu rührt sanften Pop und pompösen Rock, meditative Klänge und Folklore-Elemente wild durcheinander und kredenzt einen schillernden Musik-Cocktail, der es in sich hat. Spätestens mit diesen prallen Klangbildern empfiehlt sich der Deutsche als "Alan Parsons der 90er".

© Audio



Cretu being no fool, he figured if it worked the first time, no need to change things much for the second. But he also knew not to simply go ahead and just rehash his debut for Cross of Changes, resulting in a just different enough effort along the same overall lines. The usual air of tasteful middle-of-the-road spirituality takes precedence, right down to the cover art and appropriately pantheistic quote from Persian mystic poet Rumi in the CD booklet. Needless to say, the music attempts to match the same throughout, and often succeeds. Things kick off with more of the synth-whale song noises and atmospherics from MCMXC, however there aren't any monks to be found this time around, but what sounds like the same whispering woman talking about "clearing the debts of many hundred years" and the like. From there, Cretu merrily takes the same plunge -- some of his sample choices this time around show he's got a decent record collection, including parts from Songs From the Victorious City, the striking fusion of Egyptian and Western musics from Anne Dudley and Jaz Coleman. His work with beats and loops noticeably shows a more developed edge -- while hardly an innovator, there's a bit more grime and loud in his rhythms, which in combination with extra electric guitar make a reasonable contrast to the smoother elements. Consider the rampaging conclusion to "I Love You...I'll Kill You," which while sharing some cheese with the title itself still works surprisingly well, right down to a clever Robert Plant vocal sample at the end. "Return to Innocence" was the big single from this one, not quite up there with "Sadeness" in the popular culture in the U.S. but almost inescapable elsewhere. There's another Led Zeppelin sample (this time John Bonham) and a haunting male vocal providing oomph under the fuzzy-headed greeting card philosophy of the main lyrics. It's an impressive effort, showing Cretu had a definite something in his own way.

Ned Raggett - All Music Guide



For having popularized Gregorian Chant on their 8 million selling MCMXC a.D., Enigma deserve thanks Too bad keyboardist Michael Cretu and crew didn't stop there. When their second effort doesn't shamelessly recycle the debut, it plunges into portentousness: pseudoreligiosity ("Return to Innocence") melds with ecomysticism ("The Dream of the Dolphin") as, all the while, predictable ambient-techno percussion shudders and fake strings soar. Worse yet are the phone-sex vocals by singers Sandra and Angel on Wagnerian kitsch like "I Love You ... I'll Kill You"; the two exude a moist eroticism of the sort usually relegated to Europorn flicks.

PAUL EVANS - Rolling Stone (RS 680)
  

 L y r i c s


SECOND CHAPTER

We came out from the deep
To help and understand but not to kill,
It takes many lives till we succeed
To clear the debts
Of many, many hundred years.


THE EYES OF TRUTH

Original

The Eyes of Truth
are always watching you.

Alsyn Gazryn Zeregleenn
Aduu shig mal shig torolzonoo khuoo.

Je me regarde
Je me sens
Je vois des enfants
Je suis enfant!

English Translation

The Eyes of Truth
are always watching you.

In the distance the mirage stands out like horses and cattle.
Very glad to see my beloved son.

I look at myself
I feel myself
I see the children
I am a child!


RETURN TO INNOCENCE

That's not the beginning of the end
That's the return to yourself
The return to innocence.
Love - Devotion
Feeling - Emotion.

Love - Devotion
Feeling - Emotion.

Don't be afraid to be weak
Don't be too proud to be strong
Just look into your heart my friend
That will be the return to yourself
The return to innocence.

If you want, then start to laugh
If you must, then start to cry
Be yourself don't hide
Just believe in destiny.

Don't care what people say
Just follow your own way
Don't give up and use the chance
To return to innocence.

That's not the beginning of the end
That's the return to yourself
The return to innocence.

Don't care what people say
Follow just your own way
Follow just your own way
Don't give up, don't give up
To return, to return to innocence.
If you want then laugh
If you must then cry
Be yourself don't hide
Just believe in destiny.


I LOVE YOU... I'LL KIL YOU

I see love, I can see passion
I feel danger, I feel obsession
Don't play games with the ones who love you
Cause I hear a voice who says:
I love you... I'll kill you...

Loneliness, I feel loneliness in my room...

Look into the mirror of your soul
Love and hate are one in all
Sacrifice turns to revenge and believe me
You'll see the face who'll say:
I love you... I'll kill you...
But I'll love you forever.

Loneliness, I feel loneliness in my room...


SILENT WARRIOR

Long ago, for many years
White men came in the name of God
They took their land, they took their lives
A new age has just begun.

They lost their Gods, they lost their smile
they cried for help for the last time.
Liberty was turning into chains
But all the white men said
That's the cross of changes.

In the name of God - The fight for gold
These were the changes.
Tell me - is it right - In the name of God
These kind of changes?

They tried to fight for liberty
Without a chance in hell, they gave up.
White men won in the name of God
With the cross as alibi.

There's no God who ever tried
To change the world in this way.
For the ones who abuse His name
There'll be no chance to escape
On judgement day.

In the name of God - The fight for gold
These were the changes.
Tell me - Is it right - In the name of God
These kind of changes?

Tell me why, tell me why, tell why
The white men said:
That's the cross of changes?

Tell me why, tell me why, tell why,
In the name of God
These kind of changes.


THE DREAM OF THE DOLPHIN

In every colour there's the light.
In every stone sleeps a crystal.
Remember the Shaman, when he used to say:
"Man is the dream of the dolphin".


AGE OF LONELINESS

Tosonguyn Oroygoor Toosrood.

Carly don't be sad
Life is crazy
Life is mad
Don't be afraid
Carly don't be sad
That's your destiny
The only chance
Take it, take it in your hands


OUT FROM THE DEEP

We came out from the deep
To learn to love, to learn how to live
We came out from the deep
To avoid the mistake we made
That's why we are here!

We came out from the deep
To help and understand, but not to kill
It takes many lives till we succeed
To clear the debts of many hundres years
That's why we are here!


THE CROSS OF CHANGES

If you understand or if you don't
If you believe or if you doubt
There's a universal justice
And the eyes of truth
Are always watching you.

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


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