Enigma - Enigma - Love Sensuality Devotion: The Greatest Hits
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Free Music Notes for Enigma - Love Sensuality Devotion: The Greatest Hits
Free Music Review: Love - Sensuality - Devotion
Hit: 5 Stars
Look back at the history of Enigma. It did something no one else did. It was something nothing else could be. It changed the way we looked at pop music. With Enigma's first album, MCMXC a.D., Enigma took hip-hop / dance floor beats, and melded them with Gregorian chants, which resulted in such #1 hits as Sadeness and Mea Culpa. The reason for the success of the album is that these songs were different. They were original. They took chances. Enigma had been born.
With Enigma's 2nd album, The Cross of Changes, Michael Cretu (Engima's mastermind) took a much poppier sound than the previous album, and infused it with ethnic chants from around the world, which resulted in hits such as Return to Innocence and I Love You, I'll Kill You.
Enigma's third album, Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi, marked the 'end of a chapter' to Cretu. Enigma took the elements that made the first two albums so successful, and combined them, while adding in the voice of Cretu himself. This resulted in a more laid back, relxaing, yet captivating 'look at life', says the German composer.
Enigma's latest album, The Screen Behind the Mirror, used samples of Carl Orff's famous opera Carmina Burana, namely O Fortuna, perhaps the most well known work of Orff's. Enigma blended this with slow and fast electronic beats, and gave the songs a bit more of a 'rock edge', to create what is perhaps the best Enigma work to date.
Now, along with the release of a brand new single, Turn Around, Michael Cretu has released Love - Sensuality - Devotion (LSD), a compilation that reflects his 'memory of the future'. Taking from the first four Enigma works 15 tracks, and adding in a new introduction and Turn Around, LSD is a must have for anyone who likes music in general. There is such a wide variety of music in this compilation, yet many people have not heard Enigma before.
This compilation marks the end of the 1st world of Enigma. But Cretu assures as that there will be another world - he won't be out of ideas for a long, long while.
Free Music Review: A kind of L-S-D
Hit: 5 Stars
I have followed the Enigma project for a long time, though this was actually the first Enigma album I had purchased. (Unless you count 'Pure Moods' compilations, which often featured tracks from Enigma albums.) However, I can say that this is one of the wisest purchasing decisions I have ever made, in terms of entertainment. L-S-D offers the most popular Enigma tracks on one compilation album. Of course, this album was released before 'Voyageur,' so you're not technically getting all the greatest hits.
Enigma is a combination of New Age and Electronic Ambience. Most of the vocals are performed by Sandra, the female vocalist, or are simply excerpts from various chanson albums. Most commonly, you will hear the phrase "O' fortuna, velut Luna." ("Oh, fortune of the moon...") The chanson excerpts give Enigma's music a very mystifying feel. (Especially in combination with the electronic beats.) Otherwise, the lyrics are very philosophical and abstract, pertaining to the human mind and spirit. (Or the general state of the world, in some cases.) A lot of songs can be very uplifting, mystifying and thought-provoking. Others can be passionate and erotic.
Overall, I give this album 5 stars, as it is an excellent compilation of some of Enigma's greatest works. However, I do have one disagreement -- the re-arranged version of 'T.N.T. for the Brain.' I am not sure why the original version, found in 'Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!' was not featured in this album. Instead, it was decided that a re-arranged version be used. Don't get me wrong -- it is an okay song, but I generally perfer the original version.
On a side note, I would like to see a re-release of this album, pakaged along with the extended version of 'MCMXC a.D.,' and the 'Remember the Future' DVD. This would, more appropriately, be a greatest hits collection. However, there has not been any activity since 'Voyageur' was released. Hopefully, that will not be the final album...
Free Music Review: T.N.T. For The Brain
Hit: 5 Stars
(The path of excess leads to the tower of wisdom. - W. Blake) I always knew that Enigma was an incredible band I just never knew how much until now. All I owned before this was their latest full-length release "The Screen Behind The Mirror". Almost two years went by before I considered buying something else by them and that's when (to my good fortune) "LSD: Love Sensuality Devotion" came out which contains all of their biggest hits such as "Sadness" and "Return To Innocence", along with new favorites (to me, that is) "T.N.T. For The Brain", "I Love You, I'll Kill You" ... (love the title!) ..., "Principles Of Lust", "Mea Culpa", and "Age Of Loneliness" which has Egyptian sound styling with Middle Eastern singing. (I think...) Other highlights include their brand new song "Turn Around", which has an edgier sound compared to its usual norm, "Gravity Of Love" and "Silence Must Be Heard" which both feature the lush female vocals of Ruth-Ann (which sings in the band Olive), and "Beyond The Invisible" which bares a striking resemblance to the closing song they play in the end of my favorite fantasy movie "Legend". (Watch the movie and then listen to this to understand what I mean...) So if you enjoy gregorian style singing with heavy breathing and words of passion and inspiration amidst subtle, sometimes pounding grooves than Enigma's Greatest Hits compilation is for you. Die-hard fans are recommended to buy this simply for "The Landing" and "Turn Around" while newcomers are recommended to buy this simply because it's the perfect place to start.
Another good thing about this album is how all of the songs blend in seamlessly together, just like they do in their other records. It also ends with a beautifully ethereal song called "The Cross Of Changes" which reminds me of the type of music you'd find on a Elevation (various artists) cd, which I also recommend...
(The soul belongs to GOD but the body belongs to us. - Rasputin)
Free Music Review: A Great Enigma Retrospective
Hit: 5 Stars
With over a decade of music behind them, it was time for Enigma to put out a greatest hits retrospective. "Love, Sensuality, Devotion: The Greatest Hits"---or "LSD" for short---covers the first four albums from 1990 to 2000 by this brilliant, ambient studio group fronted by Michael Cretu. It's a terrific collection, with many classic Enigma tracks that seamlessly blend into one another for over 76 minutes of continuous, breathtaking music. Naturally, Enigma's two big hit singles, "Sadeness Part 1" and "Return To Innocence" are included, plus other Enigma favorites like "Mea Culpa," "Push The Limits," "Gravity Of Love," "Age Of Loneliness," "Beyond The Invisible," and the thrilling "I Love You...I'll Kill You." As an extra bonus, there are two new tracks: the brief intro "The Landing," and the song "Turn Around," an excellent tune featuring a more streamlined Enigma sound that points the way to the group's next album, 2003's "Voyageur." And if that wasn't enough, a pair of tracks, "TNT For The Brain" and "Principles Of Lust," have been slightly re-mixed for this collection, giving both songs a somewhat different but no-less-powerful feel. Even if you already own all of Enigma's studio albums, "LSD" is still worth picking up for (A) the pair of new tracks, (B) the pair of re-mixed songs, and (C) the generously long playing time of over 76 minutes. And, of course, "LSD" is a perfect introductory album for any newcomer to the wonderful music of Enigma who wants to hear a healthy sampling from the group's albums on a single disc. Either way, "Love, Sensuality, Devotion" is a must-buy Enigma album for your collection.Free Music Review: Feed your passion and desire with this music.
Hit: 5 Stars
I've been a fan of Enigma, and of Sandra (wife of Michael Cretu--the creator of Enigma--whose voice is featured in some of the songs) since the 80's. Their music will leave you speechless and transform you to a different state of being. This is very powerful and sensual music. It's very different from anything that you're ever going to hear. It's ultramodern with techno and mysterious sounds from medieval times. The blend of medieval chants by monks coupled with modern techno is absolutely unbelievable. This is not music for the simple "folks"--it's music for your mind. It's not simple to understand and you have to think about it. This is not the simple rock'n'roll easy and very commonplace silly music. This is not for everybody--it's for people who like something to feed their souls with. My favorites are Sadeness (the best song ever from all the music genres--and the video is fabulous--again--you must do some interpreting and thinking to get its message--well, it's enigma--and do you know what enigma means?--exactly), Mea Culpa--you have to understand French and Latin to get the meaning of this---very very powerful), T.N.T. for the brain (very very sexy, and super video--everybody with passion and desire will understand this), and Return to Innocence (the easiest of the songs on the CD---but soooo nice and relaxing). Again, if you like the simple commonplace tunes that anyone can create, then this not for you. If you're more sophisticated, know languages, appreciate the unknown, and have a little bit of passion and sensuality about you, then this should really be wonderful treat for you.