Voyageur

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Love Sensuality Devotion: The Greatest Hits	MCMXC A.D.	The Screen Behind the Mirror
Enigma 3: Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!	A Posteriori	MCMXC a. D. - The Complete Album DVD

So about VOYAGEUR, there are many mixed reactions so I decided to let the album grow on me for a week or so before writing anything. Here are my thoughts:

Enigma has grown and moved away from silky ambient sampled themes and is marching toward a world beat mixed with an edgier rhythm and more diverse vocals. A fantastic leap into something new for such an established project like Enigma.

The album opens up with a warm muted piano laced under soft sounds rushing suddenly with an urgent beat. "From East to West", the intro, may be the announcement that Enigma is about to move forward into the future. Then in "Voyageur" a guitar plays while a strange meloncholy baseline meaders from nowhere. Quivering sampled voices bring an eerie feel to the song.

"Incognito" comes on with a looped vocal with a steady beat and a far off male voice singing. Next is an ode to a tarot card in "The Page of Cups" with sounds of birds and perhaps a far off boombox which is drowned away by slow beats of trance music.

"Boum-Boum" is most likely to be a single. A sorta Euro-dance/outer space boogie with a female voice singing about longing so much her heart goes "boum"! Suddenly a male voice responds and the beat is carried deeper. A great track! This song is begging to be remixed!!

"Total Eclipse of the Moon" brings some synth strings and classical tones and a beautiful song. If you like Peter Gabriel, you will like this song! A muted grinding rhythm finds itself a voice "In the Shadow, In the Light". Very understated...perfect!

The muted piano returns for an ambient dance sonata in "The Piano". Then the album finds fruition with "Following the Sun" a sweet musical number with both male and female vocals taking the album from start to finish...from east to west...following the sun...following the future.

Remember listening to the first Enigma CD and thinking "this music is so on the edge and new"? Well listen to this with an open mind and you will be hearing again music that is new!

Enjoy this CD!


Sadness, Pt. 5   November 12, 2003
Jason Stein (Chula Vista, CA United States)
24 out of 32 found this review helpful

Like many of the reviewers here I, too, own all five Enigma cds and think that producer/multi-instrumentalist Michael Cretu has never lost his talent for creating solid ambient music. However, it would be nice for him to incorporate a variety of sounds, rhythms and meters because "Voyageuer" and the other four cds by Enigma sound very similiar. Cretu keeps reinventing the peanut butter sandwich (it tastes good, but so does turkey, chicken and pastrami). As with each Enigma cd, there is half an album's worth of solid material. "Voyageur's" most successful tracks are "From East To West", "Voyageur", "Incognito", "Boum-Boum", "Total Eclipse Of The Moon" (a nod to Pink Floyd perhaps?), "Look Of Today" (which completely sounds like ABC's 1982 hit "The Look Of Love") and "Following The Sun". The rest of the tracks are truly forgettable and album filler. "Voyageur" is definitely an improvement over 2000's "The Screen Behind The Mirror" and 1996's "Le Roi Est Mort--Vive Le Roi!" I just think Cretu is capable of more and he's spent 13 years attempting to give us a great cd, but they end up just being good and reliable.


Unexpectedly anticlimactic.   October 1, 2003
Timothy Karlberg (Minneapolis, MN)
23 out of 29 found this review helpful

During the first few listens, it was difficult for me to suppress the question, "This is what I waited three years for?" And indeed, Michael Cretu, the self-proclaimed perfectionist-genius, certainly took his time nursing this project along for the past few years.

However, it misses where some of his previous CD's scored big, particularly in the category of phonic revelation. For those well-versed in Enigma music, I won't need to explain where this CD excels (it's part of the Enigma formula). But here's why it's only worth my four stars.

"Voyageur" doesn't make any real acheivements towards Cretu's famed electronic porgression, but rather appears to enjoy some degree of complacency in the sound of 2000's "The Screen Behind the Mirror." Because of Enigma's previous milestones, "Voyageur" comes off as remarkably intelligent, yet unexpectedly anticlimactic. After reading some of Cretu's pre-release interviews, I was convinced this latest CD would be spilling over with foreign sounds and an intriguing, new direction. Not so.

The sound is strongly reminiscent of "The Screen..." with sparse, obscure hints of 1996's devastatingly genius "Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi." This is not to say that I was expecting a duplication of Cretu's past accomplishments. To be sure, there will never be another "The Child In Us." But I was hoping for more embellishment and expansion of that same vein which was expertly tapped on Enigma's previous two albums. Perhaps the only clear standout on "Voyageur" is the radio-ready "Following The Sun" with its creative marriage of Sandra's and Michael's vocals.

And speaking of vocals. By the end of this brief CD (an insatiable 47 minutes long), Michael's digitally-encoded vox had seemed to dominate many of the tracks, and the rare exclusivity they enjoyed on earlier records was waning. The instrumentation is another component that, to me, wasn't explored in typical Enigma fashion. For example, the programmed beats were disappointingly contemporary. Though this aspect was modified from prior recordings, it provided a surprisingly commercialized sound that I wasn't prepared for (and am still trying to accept while listening to the new CD).

This CD, for its few predictabilities, is still leaps and bounds ahead of at least 80 percent of the other leading brands of electronica out there today. Michael Cretu remains a musical player (if not an icon) to be reckoned with, and to a large extent he will always possess a certain midas touch when it comes to synthetic recordings.

Bottom line: This is still a landmark in musical evolution, and "Voyageur," though not entirely different from other Enigma CD's, should still be required listening for those interested in electronic composition.


A new Enigma   October 1, 2003
James Roman (Houston, Texas United States)
19 out of 26 found this review helpful

A new Enigma record has finally arrived. But this one is unlike any other you've ever heard. Enigma has evolved past using samples and chants. And the result is incredible! This could easily be the best album Enigma has done. It defines Enigma, setting them apart from other ambient bands. The new sound is fresh and modern, sounding nothing like new age and more like electronica. As the first album since the greatest hits package, you'd expect it to open a new chapter to Enigma's music. Here's a track-by-track.

FROM EAST TO WEST - Opens up with a piano. Very peaceful sounding. The piano part then ends beautifully with the familiar Enigma intro. But that intro very quickly fades into a haunting trance song that sounds very reminiscent of Michael Cretu's side-project, Trance Atlantic Air Waves. Here it becomes clear that you will not hear the Enigma we've grown used to. A great beginning to this voyage.

VOYAGEUR - This is the album's first single. An aquatic guitar gently begins this track before a funky bassline takes over. You hear Cretu sing, although it's unclear whether he's actually saying something or not. Then Sandra's whispers take over "Viens chez moi, Voyageur". There's a short break, then begins again. Very chic sound.

INCOGNITO - Very unusual track. The intro sounds like something from Jean-Michel Jarre, then hard beats take over with Cretu's vocals deep in the background. There is a heavy electronic sound to this. This is more reminiscent of Cretu's early solo work. Again, very modern sound.

PAGE OF CUPS - This is a very peaceful song. Soft beats and a tiny distortion encompass the entire track. Sandra comes in a few minutes in with some French whispers. It's a little repetitive, but the beat will undoubtedly hook you.

BOUM-BOUM - I love this song. Probably my favorite on here. It starts out with a nice beat, followed by Ruth-Ann's sultry vocals. After she sings, Andru Donalds takes over and the fierce beat begins! I adore the lyrics! I'd love for this to be the second single. This is such a great song!

TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE MOON - A short sweet track. Vocals by Michael Cretu and nothing but synthesized strings accompanying his voice. Two short verses and it's over.

LOOK OF TODAY - This is a perfect club track. Enigma has never done a song like this before. It's wonderfully put together. The vocals kick in, and I wish they weren't so distorted. Another classic moment in Enigma's history.

IN THE SHADOW, IN THE LIGHT - A very sweet song. The tender lyrics really need to be heard! The music is nice though and the beat sounds like the one on "Enigmatic Encounter" by ATB and Enigma. Andru Donalds voice is great.

WEIGHTLESS - Ok, this song took me a couple of listens, but I finally find it fascinating. It's very short and very abstract. But the seemingly random notes in the background balance this track perfectly with Cretu's vocals. If I had to compare it to another track, it'd be "The Voice and The Snake" from MCMXC a.D., only a bit more musical.

THE PIANO - This track is so beautiful it gives me chills just thinking about it. It's an instrumental chillout track with a piano as it's main instrument. This song lifts you up and down. It's amazing.

FOLLOWING THE SUN - This is a PERFECT ending to this record. Ruth-Ann's vocals are mesmerizing, then Cretu jumps in with a chant for the climactic chorus. The song finishes and is taken over with a creepy, mysterious ending that quietly fades away into nothingness. Awesome!

All in all, an Enigma fan will love this record. Causal fans might be disappointed because it's clear now that Enigma is a new band. Gone forever are the familiar chants and pan-flutes. In fact, the only sample (besides the intro) from previous Enigma music is a meek "Sade, dit moi. Sade, donne moi" thrown in there for good measure (on "Incognito"). A great album! Enjoy!!!


a voyage stopping short of its potential   October 21, 2003
Clarissa (Ontario, California)
18 out of 20 found this review helpful

Well now, this is different... If you're expecting the same old Enigma sound than you're bound to be sourly disappointed, and many fans seem to be. When I first heard 'Voyageur' I didn't know what to think of it because I refused to believe all the negative reviews coming from this album but as much as I hate to admit it, they're mostly true. They are, however, a bit exaggerated. This isn't nearly as bad as some make it out to be. It's definitely several steps down from their previous accomplishments but it's far from disastrous.

Either Cretu's gotten lazy (he's had several years to work on this) or he's looking to change Enigma completely, and if that's the case and if this is a taste of what's to come than I really hope he's able to improve himself because this record does hold a modicum of potential but I feel that certain key elements to making this transaction a success are missing here. 'Voyageur' to me sounds slightly rushed and low on the passion that they're known to deliver. Even the artwork looks thrown together and I miss the breathy words of Sandra, which are pretty much gone, and the inspiring quotes often found in the booklet. There are a few exceptions though that almost, but not quite, make up for the lack of Gregorian chants, ethnic sampling, and their trademark flute pipes that briefly tease us in the opening track, "From East To West"... Maybe it's his way of saying goodbye to the old and in with the new as the light electronica comes in with a steady rhythm that gradually picks up speed but never explodes into anything mind-blowing... The title track is an alright song that reminds me a little of "Turn Around", which can be found on their greatest hits compilation, 'LSD', but "Look Of Today" is a perfect example of what this band must strive for if they wish to continue down this path. It has some high energy dance beats that take full control of my body movements every time it comes on, seducing my senses, while "Boum-Boum" is a strange but highly addictive euro-pop tune featuring the voice of Michael himself (unlike some people, I personally love when he sings) and Ruth-Ann from the trip-hop group Olive (I'm not sure but they might be defunct now) who first appeared on Enigma's last full-length album, 'The Screen Behind The Mirror', which is similar to this but, in my opinion, better. What truly makes this record worth buying though is "The Piano" which has the most breathtaking piano playing amidst a lush new age beat (this track may be short but it emanates beauty and passion and that's precisely what I meant when I said this album mostly lacks those qualities) as well as "Following The Sun"; a gorgeous song to close with that graces us for the second time with the angelic female vox of Ruth-Ann whom seems to be a very vital asset to this group now, keeping them together with her hypnotic singing style. Those two songs keep hope remaining in my heart that this journey of sensual meets spiritual will once again merge as one, and if Cretu wants to experiment than fine, but I pray they don't become another ambient electronic group that's here today and gone tomorrow. Enigma is one of my favorite bands and I really wanna see them end on top because that's where they started and that's where they belong.