One record at a time: 112. Erasure - Wonderland

Having worked our way through the Enigma back catalogue, we now face the daunting task of tackling twenty one Erasure albums. We start with thier debut LP, "Wonderland". 

I originally bought a copy of this album in 1987 from a local supermarket (back when supermarkets had record departments) and it came bundled with a 12" of  "Oh l'Amour". However, there was a large gouge in the vinyl and I had to returned it for a refund. A few years later I bought the album on CD and listened to that for the next twenty five years. In 2014 I bought another copy of the vinyl from eBay and this time around the record is in very good condition but no 12" single was included.

They say you should never judge a book by its cover; yet inevitably we do. The same can also be said for records and I know I definitely make judgements about the music based on the artwork presented. I'll cut to the chase and say I hate the artwork for this album and I wish I could divorce it from the music. There's something about the matt brown background and the unfinished images that I dislike intensely.

As for the music, I've said before on this blog that I think this album is a little lacking. "Wonderland" found Vince seemingly devoid of confidence and both the song writing and production are fragile. Whilst the album generally lacks the polish of later efforts, there are some diamonds in the rough.

The two stand out tracks for me are "Push Me, Shove Me" and "Cry So Easy" with everything else falling into the 'OK but nothing special' category. Even the version of "Oh l'Amour" is a little disappointing. I'm feeling generous so I will say this was an adequate first effort but better was to come. 3/5

One record at a time: 111. Enigma - Love Sensuality Devotion (The Greatest Hits)

We round out my Enigma vinyl collection with the 2021 "Monocorm Series" edition of "Love Sensuality Devotion (The Greatest Hits)". This is a 180g vinyl that features material released between 1990 and 2001. As this collection was initially conceived as a compact disc, there are 18 tracks which have to be spread across two vinyl discs.

The obligatory atmospheric introduction is provided by the "The Landing". This track and the single  "Turn Around" were written for this compilation and are competent without being overly impressive.

As "TNT For The Brain" starts I am beginning to notice there is little attention to the band's earlier albums here. The track choices break down as three from the first album, "MCMXC a.D.", four songs each from "The Cross of Changes" and "Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi!" but five from "The Screen Behind the Mirror". We don't get any music from the first and most successful album until we're halfway through the record. 

I find the inclusion of mediocre tracks such as "Morphing Thru Time" and "Smell of Desire" puzzling as they weren't released as singles and I'm not clear on how they became considered 'hits'. I think it would have been better to have culled 4-5 tracks and made this album a more traditional hits package that focussed on their most successful work. Despite some odd track choices this remains a great précis of the bands output from the so called "first chapter".4/5

One record at a time: 110. Enigma - The Fall of Rebel Angel (The Complete Studio Albums Collection)

We reach the end of Enigma's studio album collection with the eighth instalment, "The Fall of Rebel Angel". Once the obligatory moody introduction is over we get into "The Omega Point" which has a catchy synth refrain and imaginative drum programming. "Diving" is quite an abstract and ambient piece which fits with the aesthetic we've heard so far. 

"The Die Is Cast" is a good track that harks back to earlier works with its Art of Noise stabs and PPG Waveterm car samples. "Mother" belongs in the 'new but bland' category and "Agnus Dei" just recycles the theme from "The Omega Point".

Whatever you may be expecting from the follow up to "Sadeness (Part I)" I doubt it would be the "Part II" that comes next. The opening to J.S. Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" is played over a languid beat as woman breathlessly utters the original French lyrics. It's not terribly inspiring and doesn't seem worthy of the title.

"Lost In Nothingness" is another beat-less ambient piece which is followed by "Oxygen Red" which manipulates a vocal over a reverb drenched backing track. The rest of the album consists of a couple more forgettable ambient pieces before the finale "Amen" finally ends our misery. Amen indeed. 2/5

One record at a time: 109. Enigma - Seven Lives Many Faces (The Complete Studio Albums Collection)

As the obligatory atmospheric intro and 'Enigma Foghorn' fades away, the distinctive string motif of "Seven Lives" brings us out of our reverie. This really is an amazing song that seamlessly incorporates beatboxing, the sound of a dog panting and Cretu's rasping vocals. I really like it.

The strings are retained for the start of  "Touchness" which somehow sounds distinctly 'Enigma' without employing any of the old formula. "The Same Parents" is Cretu's stab at a the eternal lament of, "Why do we have to have suffering on Earth?" Imagine "People are People" a half speed with a child reading the lyrics. It's as awful as it sounds. Don't get me wrong, I admire the sentiment (however naive it may be), but the execution is excruciating to listen to.

The next two track pass by without making much impression. Things get a bit rocky with "Fata Morgana" and "Hell's Heaven" threatens to go IDM but nothing really transpires. "La Puerta Del Cielo" is a song in Catalan that I can't penetrate and hearing Michael sing "I'm your Daddy" on "Distorted Love" is enough to make me wince.

The sound of a woman breathlessly saying "Je t'aime" is so clichéd it makes any song employing it impossible to take seriously. If you then add in "The world's most annoying sample™" (a processed vocal of someone saying "Do you love me too?") you have an awful song that I hope to never hear again. I plough through to the end of the album but there is nothing else of interest. How disappointing. Any points this album scores are for the first three tracks alone. 2/5

One record at a time: 108. Enigma - A Posteriori (The Complete Studio Albums Collection)

"A Posteriori" is the sixth album by Enigma and I am playing the recent reissue from the "Complete Studio Albums" box set.

You will be unsurprised to learn this album opens with the "Enigma Foghorn" and some atmospheric synth textures. But this is pretty much the last we will hear of the tried and tested 'Enigma formula' on this record. Whilst other albums have sought to develop the sound of the band, nothing has been quite as radical as we will encounter here.

The first signs of this change of direction are heard at the end of "Eppur Si Muove" and progressed on the second track "Feel Me Heaven". Both of tracks feature some intriguing trance riffs and a minimalist approach to drum programming. Whilst Cretu is using trance and EDM motifs we aren't about to descend into a Deadmau5 pastiche - everything remains suitably restrained.

There isn't a Gregorian chant or Shakuhachi flute to be heard as we move through "Dreaming of Andromeda" and the excellent "Dancing With Mephisto". Whilst "Northern Lights" is a little slow and lacking a significant melody, the next track "Invisible Love" resurrects those synth arpeggios and electro drums to great effect. 

"Message from 10" is one of my favourites on this album as it has an excellent hook and is set against a pulsating electro backdrop. Something about this track reminds me of Jean Michel Jarre - you can take that as a compliment or condemnation based upon your own proclivities The album version of "Hello + Welcome" is a shadow of the single version and is something of a disappointment as a result. "20,000 Miles Over the Sea" treads familiar ground but the electro influences come to the surface a little more prominently on "Sitting on the Moon". Penultimate track "The Alchemist" again sounds like something Jarre would have produced around the turn of the millennium but closing track "Goodbye Milky Way" is just annoying. 3/5

One record at a time: 107. Enigma - Voyageur (The Complete Sutdio Album Collection)

Once again we come to an album that I hadn't heard until relatively recently. Here I will be playing the 180g remastered vinyl from the "Studio Albums Collection" box set of 2021.

As you might expect by now, the fist track "From East to West" begins with an atmospheric introduction and the distinctive 'Enigma horn' sample. Things seem to be all set up for a familiar slice of Gregorian chants, Shakuhachi flutes and wailing guitar solos. But as the piano twinkles over an increasingly syncopated beat you begin to realise this album is going to be a bit different to previous outings.

The title track sees a welcome return for Sandra and features a unique bassline that frames the song nicely. "Incognito" seems to be paying homage to Yello in some way. Whilst imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Herr Cretu would have been better served leaving Yello to be Yello: after all they are quite good at it. "Page of Cups" is a better effort with a great rhythm and some fine hooks but it is overly long. The single "Boum-Boum" sounds a little trite at first, but if you can accept the lyrics it becomes a good pop song. 

"Total Eclipse of the Moon" is one of those quieter tracks where Michael Cretu treats us to his rasping vocals before the song suddenly cuts off like someone has pulled the plug. "Look of Today" offers the first glimpse of a truly dance floor friendly groove that repurposes and contorts the chorus of "Look of Love" by ABC. From this description I wouldn't blame you for thinking this song sounds awful, yet somehow it succeeds very well. 

Another success is "In the Shadow, In the Light" which benefits from the vocal talents of Andru Donalds. "Weightless" is rather a maudlin but mercifully short piece  - as is the instrumental "The Piano". We end on a high with the wonderful "Following the Sun" which sees a welcome return to Ruth-Ann Boyle on vocals. As the uplifting melody weaves its way along I am reminded of Mike Oldfield songs such as "Man in the Rain" or "To Be Free". A great finale. 4/5

One record at a time: 106. Enigma - The Screen Behind the Mirror (The Complete Studio Album Collection)

Having disliked Enigma's third album I stopped buying their records in the late nineties. As a consequence of this, "The Screen Behind the Mirror" passed me by when it was released in 2000. It wasn't until I began to seek out the band's back catalogue in 2020 that I finally heard this record.

This album opens with a track called "The Gate" which features the traditional Enigma horn motif and an idea lifted directly from Vangelis's "Albedo 0.39". As the song segues into "Push the Limits", we are treated to snippets of Carmina Burana and an intriguing pizzicato riff. At this point I'm tempted to think this is the album that "Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!" should have been.

The Carmina Burana motif is used again on "Gravity of Love" which features an excellent vocal by Ruth-Ann Boyle. Whilst there is much that is familiar here, a change in vocalist injects some new energy and seems to have inspired Mr Cretu. 

"Smell of Desire" recycles some vocal snippets from previous albums and passes quite pleasingly. The tempo rises for "Modern Crusaders" which pounds along until it reaches a noisy crescendo. "Traces (Light & Weight)" sees the ethnic sample library being raided, but unlike the previous album, there is a strong melody to tie things together. 

The title track uses an updated version of the "Sadeness" groove and there is enough detail woven through the song to ensure it is entertaining. Next is a more routine 'Enigma by numbers' track called "Endless Quest" which employs the usual drum loop/Shakuhachi/guitar solo recipe. I'm not too keen on the reversed vocals of "Camera Obscura" and the Carmina Burana samples are getting a bit annoying by this point. "Between Mind & Heart" isn't all that engaging and the main points interest in the final track "Silence Must Be Heard" are the Art of Noise samples. Due to the slight disappointing flip side, the initial promise of this album remains unfulfilled. 3/5