Enigma Posteriori CD

List All Reviews

 Not a definitive album, but more original than "Voyageur"
I've been a serious and devoted Enigma fan since 1994, and have since collected nearly every CD Enigma released since 1990. I'm not sure how devoted other reviewers are to the Enigma Project, but think back a little. With the release of "Cross of Changes" in 1993, it became clear that Enigma wasn't going to be just wood-flutes, heavy breathing and moans, and gregorian chants in every song on the album. "Cross of Changes" had a heavy Native American influence musically, a unique blend that resulted in a terrific title track and "Dream of the Dolphin." When "Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi" was released in 1996, I thought it was a fantastic morphing of the first two albums with a more contemporary international, particularly Hindi beat, and believe that "Morhping Thru Time" is the definitive track on the album. Critics were quick to complain at first, but warmed to the album - typical of those who can't appreciate some fresh improvements. With "Screen Behind the Mirror," Michael Cretu, with a new mixing studio, mixed the sound of the second and third albums with the opera "Carmina Burana," of course panned by fickle Enigma listeners looking for more of the same from a decade earlier. But the blending of a classic opera with the wizardry of Enigma's incredible sound element resulted in a fantastic new sound that was shunned by the mainstream, but found a new base in new-age techno and classical fans. "Voyageur" is the only album to date that I don't really understand. The severe disconnect from any of the albums left many devoted fans in the dark, wondering if Cretu was really behind the album at all. The album's core sound feels rushed and depressed, like a conflict of opinions or talents was present during creation of the album, evident in the wide array of ecclectic songs. "A Posteriori" is, in my humble opinion, a careful blending of the techno elements of "Voyageur" with the passion of "Cross of Changes" and the mixing and mastering wizardry heard in "Screen Behind the Mirror," which makes it perhaps one of Enigma's most history-influenced albums yet. Listen to songs like "Eyes of Truth" from the 2nd album, "Shadows in Silence" from the 3rd album, and "Push the Limits" and "Endless Quest" from the 4th album, and compare the similarities between these songs and those in this new album. Unlike other reviewers, I didn't find "Goodbye Milky Way" to be the album's definitive song, but found myself mesmerized with the incredible combination of keyboard synthesis, basic electric drum rhythm and acid guitar in "Hello and Welcome," and the passion of "Invisible Love," something I haven't felt from Enigma since "Endless Quest" from the 4th album. Look at it this way...Michael Jackson made all of his songs very similar in style and content, and he's out of ideas to reinvent his unique brand; at this point, Jackson will forever be unable to reinvent himself artistically without a fan-base backlash. Compare Jackson to Madonna, whose music is nothing like that from the 1980s. Why is it then that Enigma "fans" want nothing but gregorian chants, sexy lyrics and heavy breathing? If that's all you want from Enigma, buy "MCMXC a.D." Just let Michael Cretu change with the times like all other great artists do.
Submitted by Invincible_Irvine (Mission Viejo, CA)
Was This Posteriori Music Review Helpful? Yes No  2 of 2 found this helpful.

List All Reviews

Have you heard this album?