List | E | Enigma | 'MCMXC a.D.' CD 1991

Track:	Name:	Time:
1.	The Voice Of Enigma	2:21
2.	Principles Of Lust	11:43
2.	A: Sadeness	4:06
2.	B: Find Love	4:48
2.	C: Sadeness Reprise	2:49
3.	Callas Went Away	4:27
4.	Mea Culpa	5:03
5.	The Voice & The Snake	1:40
6.	Knocking On Forbidden Doors	4:31
7.	Back To The Rivers Of Belief	10:32
7.	A: Way To Eternity	2:21
7.	B: Hallelujah	4:05
7.	C: The Rivers Of Belief	4:06
	Total	40:17

Comments:

Enigma burst onto the charts in 1991 with the release of 'Sadeness', a 'new' kind of soft ambient-pop music based around Gregorian monk choirs (and got sued for sampling without permission), sampled flute, soft strings, breathy (erotically suggestive) female vocals and religious imagery to a slow hip-hop-ish beat. Some catholics called it blasphemy (which it maybe was, even if perhaps unadvertedly so) and it was banned on some radio stations. The pop music world however loved it, and millions of cheap Enigma-wannanbe bands surfaced, popularizing the use of sampled flutes and monk chants. It also helped to put a focus on ethnic-ambient-pop like Deep Forest and the likes.

As a promotion gimmick, it was long a secret who was behind the name Enigma (enigma = mystery), and for quite some time the press hunted them like mad until it was revealed they were actually experienced musician/producer Michael Cretu (remember 'Samurai' from '85?) and his wife '80:s German pop star Sandra ('Maria Magdalena', 'Everlasting Love' & more).

Not that Gregorian chorals were a new thing in contemporary music, but it hadn't been mixed with danceable beats and gotten this commercially successful before. Whether you like it or not, Enigma had a lasting impact on pop music as we know it.

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