One record at a time: 103. Enigma - MCMXC a.D. (The Complete Studio Album Collection)

Back in 1990, I never really understood why "Sadeness Part I" (or "Sadness" if you prefer the corrupted English title) was so popular. My brother bought the CD single and played it quite a lot, but the sound of Emulator II Shakuhachi presets emanating from his room failed to make much impression at the time.

In fact, I didn't really appreciate Enigma until I heard the follow up album "Cross of Changes" in 1993. Discovering this album led me back to debut "MCMXC a.D." and I finally understood the fascination. 

Here I will be listening to the 180g repressing of the album from "The Complete Studio Albums" box set from 2021. As you might expect with a record pressed by Optimal Media, the vinyl sounds very nice and the mastering is sympathetic. The only slight downside of these records is that the sleeves seem to deposit paper fragments and general debris from the manufacturing process on the playing surface. Whilst this isn't a big issue, you do have to clean each record thoroughly before spinning it.

The album opens with "The Voice of Enigma" which features a slightly hokey spoken introduction telling us to turn off the light, take a deep breath and relax. The next three tracks are grouped under the subheading "Principles Of Lust", with the afore mentioned breakthrough hit "Sadeness" featuring prominently (but not titled "Part 1"). There is also a track called "Find Love" in this section which was later released as the single "Principles of Lust". All confusing stuff. 

Where things really get going for me is on the flip side. "Mea Culpa" (later released as the single "Mea Culpa Part II" - told you it was confusing) has all of the same motifs and sounds as "Sadeness" but it is a bit more atmospheric. There's something about the pads and the way Mr Cretu uses samples on this album that set it apart from everything else. "Knocking on Forbidden Doors" features some imaginative use of a preset from the PPG Waveterm called "CARS grand prix". Only when you know the source of the sound does it become recognisable as a passing F1 car; prior to that it is just an amazing effect.

The three track suite "Back to the Rivers of Belief" commences with "Way To Eternity" which borrows the motif from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" but somehow gets away with it. The TR-909 beat from "Sadeness" is resurrected for "Hallelujah" but the repetition doesn't matter as it is such a perfect groove. As the last track "Rivers of Belief" comes to a close I'm usually left wanting more. 4/5