Average Rating: 
Rating:  - to jerry fry. advice
When Enigma started to sound in Spain I must say I didn't like at all. I hated Sadeness. Now is one of my favourite songs in the history of music. I started apreciating 1 or 2 years later listening to my dad's CD. I rate 4 out from 5 cos there are some changes I would do in the best songs album. As I've read from you, jerry, the 2 songs you like are instrumental and more or less soft, relaxing. 1st cd, MCMXCa.c. has 2 "strong" songs (Principles of lust, which contains Sadeness and Find love, and Mea culpa), 1 intro as every Enigma cd, 3 more relaxing (Callas went away, Knockin on forbidden doors and Rivers of belief) and the other one is like an intro (The voice and the snake).
2nd one, Cross of changes is, perhaps, stronger (Return to innocence, I love you...I'll kill you-which I love-, Silent warrior, Age of loneliness and Out of the deep). There is one long instrumental (Eyes of truth) and 2 short "melodics" (Dream of the dolphin and the cd closing Cross of changes).
3rd, Le roi et mort, vive le roi (King is dead, Life for the King in french). More calm songs (Morphin thru time, Shadows in silence, Almost full moon and Odyssey of the mind), and 3 stronger (Why, TNT for the brain and Roundabout). The other 3 are relaxin I think (the single Beyond the invisible, Child in us and Prism of life).
Finally, The screen behind the mirror: 5 strongs (Push the limits, Gravity of love, Modern crusaders, Camera obscura and Silence must be heard). 5 relaxin (Traces, Screen behind the mirror, Endless quest, Between heart and mind and my favourite Smell of desire).
I think four of them are very similar in that way, maybe second is the strongest and could be worse for you. Try with 1st or 3rd, but if you have the oportunity make yourself a mix with the calmest songs I recomend you: Callas went away, Knockin on forbidden doors, Rivers of belief, Beyond the invisible, Shadows in silence, Almost full moon, Traces, Between mind and heart and Smell of desire. Take into account that there are not breaks between songs in the cd's if you want to mix them. It seems me a bit unfair not to include my 2 favourite songs: Principles of lust (12 minutes) and I love you...I'll kill you (9 minutes). They mix strong and calm passages.
ciao
Rating:  - An almost perfect retrospective of Enigmas catalog
Enigma has never failed to amaze me with their mix of New age, Club, and rock. They are probably the only group who have not put out one bad song in my opinion. MCMXC had a very dark, Gothic feel. MCMXC to me is probably their best album even to this day after all these years. Sadeness mixed the use of Gregorian Chants, club beat and New Age to create one of the best New Age songs I,ve ever heard. The follow-up CROSS OF CHANGES was almost completely different with a much brighter sound and less of the Gregorian Chants and instead incorporated some Native American and Maori chants. Return To Innocence is almost totally opposite to Sadeness because Innocence is very sunny where Sadeness was very dark. LE MOR EST MORT VIVE LE ROI! was like the child of the two previous albums with the brightness of CROSS mixed in with the Gregorian sounds of MCMXC and with some new sounds that resulted in an album with a sort of aquatic sound. Child In Us is the best song on the CD. I almost call it the daytime version of Sadeness. SCREEN BEHIND THE MIRROR is completely different from CROSS or LE ROI EST MORT. It had a much more sultry industrial medieval sound. I almost compare it more to MCMXC. The title track borrowed the drum loop from Sadeness. This collection of songs from each of those albums showcases among some of the best works Cretu has ever come up with plus the songs still blend well even though they are from different albums. I never thought Mea Culpa could blend well into Push The Limits. The big bonus to this CD that makes it stand out so well from other Greatest Hits CDs is the remixing of some of the tracks to give them a totally different feel. TNT for the Brain on it's parent album has a relatively poppish sound. The version on here, The Midnight Man Mix has a much darker, more ambient, sound and sounds far superior to the original. The same goes for Principles of Lust. It's the remixing of some of the hits or singles that makes some greatest hits so wonderful(Madonnas Immaculate Collection is an example). There are two new tracks, The Landing and Turn Around neither of which catch you immediately like their older stuff. [This] is a worthy collection. Believe me it's worth owning just for the remix of TNT for the Brain and the whole disc runs at over 76 minutes.
Rating: - Unadulterated Pleasure....................
Since its inception Enigma has created a new cult in music combining various genres to create a sound so distinct that one instinctly knows upon hearing that it is none other than Enigma. I started listening to Enigma - Sadeness my all time favorite, when I was only 13. Since then the music still has the ability to spell bind me. Two years back I entered a club in NYC and Sadeness was echoing along the hallways - one had to only look at the effect it had on the people to see the change in body language. Enigma's music is simply very SENSUAL. It can put anybody in the mood for passion and desire...... I immediately purchased Love, Sensuality and Devotion without even glancing at the song list and all I can say that its contains the very best of Enigma - What more could I ask for? There is not a day that goes by where I have not heard Enigma on my stereo. It has the ability to relax me and change my mood no matter what......... This is CD is PHENOMENAL..............
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