REVIEW: Enigma, The Screen Behind the Mirror (Virgin)
- Christopher Hill
"I don't always want to explain everything. It's high time that people begin to learn to read between the lines again," says the man behind the Enigma curtain, Michael Cretu. The first track ("The Gate") on this, the fourth Enigma cd, shows Cretu turning his words to action. Heavenly synths wash over a clinical recitation of astronomical data - "Closest approach to earth: 34,600,000 miles. Mean distance from the sun: 141,600,000 miles..." - without naming the subject. A half-minute bit of research brings up the answer: Mars. That's the easy part. But what does Mars have to do with the album? Mars being the Roman god of war, perhaps the martial allusion refers to the album's songs of people remaining true to their beliefs, fighting against societal pressures ("Modern Crusaders"), or people at war with themselves, their emotions battling logic ("Between Mind and Heart"). There's no simple answer in the liner notes.
Coincidentally, Mars' mean distance figure is also the number of square miles of Earth's oceans. But unexpected associations are nothing new for Enigma, the project responsible for the groundbreaking fusion of Gregorian chant and electronica. Cretu now turns his welding talent to "o Fortuna," an instantly recognizable piece from Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana." Last heard in an unlicensed incarnation on Apotheosis' "o Fortuna," the selection features prominently on Enigma 4's eleven tracks.
Lyrically, the album centers on self-actualization, with quotables like "The path of excess leads to the tower of wisdom" and "The experience of survival is the key to the gravity of love." The cynicism you bring to the writing depends on the day you've had. Post-grunge, it's difficult to listen to the earnest, sincere words without wincing. "They have no mission/ They have no passion/But they dare to tell us what's bad and what's good!/Stand up, join us/Modern crusaders alive." On a good day, it's thought provoking. On a bad day, it edges into New Kids on the Block positivity.
If it's a bad day, that's when the music becomes the primary focus: the easy driving beats and sibilant French vocals on "Smell of Desire," the deft touches of water drops and striking matches used as percussive beats on "Traces (Light and Weight)," or the beatific vocals of Ruth-Ann, from the band Olive, carrying lead vocals on two tracks: "The Gravity of Love" and the contradictory final track, "Silence Must Be Heard." Not to mention the musical backbone of "o Fortuna," which stands the CD upright and proud. This piece solidifies the brief "Camera Obscura," whose backward vocals will remain a mystery, at least until someone spins the LP version in reverse, and summons Satan.
"Heart is the engine of your body/but brain is the engine of life." On a good day, a nice image to take away from the album, once the last song has faded into Vangelis serenity.
See http://www.spikes.com/enigma/ for an excellent Enigma FAQ and http://www.virginrecords.com/enigma/index.html for the official record site. If you've got hours to spare, and the Shockwave plug-in on your browser, the site has a beautifully intricate maze to navigate. Literally.
