Voyageur

On this album only a few songs are worth mentioning "From East to West, Voyageur, Page of Cups" - that's about it. The rest of the songs will take a long time and a lot of effort to get used to. Sometimes i think he is spending too much time in the club-music-rich environment of Ibiza, hence this ever-more-divergent album. Not that change is not good but Enigma today is far from its versitile self of yester years, its getting more and more mainstream, and doing a crapy job at that. From Enigma MCMXC through Le Roi.., it was it was a journey which i enjoyed, Screen behind the mirror was a fine too, LSD had one new song (it was loyalty that i spent my money on that), this one unfortunately is a fork in our paths Mr. Cretu, i'm not rushing to buy enigma anymore, nor do i think this un-cohesive ensemble of left overs from your treasure chest is going to impress any serious fans. And for reasons unknown Cretu is too facinated with his own voice, he is not that good a singer (but to top it all he sings in almost ALL the songs). This is the credits section at the end of the show, NOT the show itself (no disrespect to the credit sections everywhere and the names therein) :-)


The Re-Debut Of Engima ?   October 2, 2003
Armando M. Mesa (Chandler, AZ)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful

Enigma's Voyageur is very different from their previous projects in sound and atmosphere...This new body of work has been criticized for not having the Gregorian or dark-symphonic heavy laden sounds as before. Get over it ! Cretu,wife Sandra, Ruth Anne, and Andru Donalds are on a new and different path...Listen to the opening track and this time only a very faint hint of the usual "Enigmatic horn theme opening" is used and by the end of the cd there may or may not be any trace of it left.Could this indicate that in the next Enigma future titles to follow the opening theme has been scrapped for a new one or none at all? This my fellow listeners is part of the re-invention or change into a new direction (probably hence the title Voyageur)...What I particularly noticed in some of the tracks is a more of a techno-funk sound while other tracks such as The Piano and Total Eclipse of the Moon add a classical flavor to the mix. The category New Age may be a misnomer for this cd since it has a more sophisticated pop and uplifting feel in some of the tracks that this time around should make Enigma radio-friendly. Has Enigma sold out ? Definitely not. Though the phrase "radio-friendly" or term would shock the most devoted of fans since Enigma assumed by many is suppose to only produce real cerebral music not for the masses but for a select understanding few. In comparing the very first release which debuted in 1990 against this one, the two are worlds apart and for all the right reasons (and the reasons are too many to go over);the most obvious is that the hip-hop Gregorian sampling days are over and done with (outdated) ! In sum, listening to the new Engima title is like actually listening to them for the first time, again. Clear the mind and forget what you remember. That is the reason why so many listeners and critics have to hear this several times before they get it. I heard it once and was happily satisfied!


Enigma's Mystique Fading? I Report--You Decide.   February 23, 2004
FloydWaters
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

Having heard all of Enigma's albums prior to this, it seems to me that Michael Cretu has reached a crossroads--but not one that I'd particularly hoped for, myself. Gone, it seems, are the musings upon life and the vast, sweeping, and graceful sound I've previously associated with Enigma. What has replaced it is something that rides dangerously close to a very average, bland sort of techno. Voyageur is not a total loss; don't get me wrong. Mr. Cretu does get points for moving forward in terms of experimention with different moods than those previously heard; while other albums have had a much more optimistic feel by the end, and have also been somewhat cyclical in nature, this one has a rather darker character; the final outro was certainly a surprise to me. There's something grittier in the mixing, a heavy distortion that sometimes works--sometimes seems like ovrekill. I do give Mr. Cretu credit for the distortions on his own vocals, which have quite an interesting effect.

Gone are the samples of world music and Gregorian chant. Although there are no *directly* sampled loops, there is one intriguing "tribute" buried on the title track, to the keyboard playing of Pink Floyd's Richard Wright on the studio version of "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun". This is the one place where the distortion of the sound makes complete sense; if you listen to the distortions in Mr. Wright's initial playing, it's very clear that Mr. Cretu has emulated it down to the last detail.

Speaking of Pink Floyd, in bands like that, the shift towards a heavier, more brooding atmosphere often signals a move towards a more serious approach to music--but with Enigma, I'm not entirely convinced that's happening. In fact, I'm quite shocked that something with such infantile lyrics as "Boum-Boum" was released with the Enigma name--if I want something with so little substance (and I do not), I'll turn on a "Top 40" station. "My heart goes boom-boom-boom...every time I think of you!" repeated ad infinitum...come on, Britney Spears can do better! "Weightless" comes fairly close to a similar degree of emptiness, although *nothing* beats "Boum-Boum" in the vapid department.

That is not to say this album and new direction are wholly without merit: "Incognito"/"Page of Cups" is certainly an interesting foray into darker territory for Enigma. "Total Eclipse", "In the Shadow and the Light", and most particularly the ethereal and beautiful track, "The Piano", will probably be the most satisfying for fans of the classic Enigma. I admit, also, that when I hear a piece like "The Look of Today", I wonder if perhaps Mr. Cretu *has* decided to move towards serious social commentary, even satire. While "The Look of Today" wears the mask of empty techno, there's something quite biting in his delivery.

The trouble is, he needs to be careful of just how much of this vacuousness he allows into his work or he may lose his identity in the process. What is also annoying to me as a listener is the *inconsistency* of quality--something I've never heard before from Enigma, not even on the debut album as is the case with most artists. I notice that while the album begins as all Enigma albums do with that typical "signature riff", it's abandoned at the end...a clear signal of a shift towards something else. The problem is, what will that transition be to, when it's complete? Overall, Voyageur is an album that, in many ways, is hovering upon the brink--between light and dark, between satire and sellout. Does the cold feeling I get at the end indicate Enigma's success, or its failure?

I can only hope that in his next venture, Mr. Cretu will properly assess the merits and deficiencies of Voyageur, and respond accordingly...I hope he's thought out where he's headed.


Good but not flawless   October 2, 2003
Erica Anderson (Minneapolis, MN)
8 out of 11 found this review helpful

I wasn't really planning on buying the new Enigma cd right away. I was hoping to buy the new Dido cd today but Target was out of her cds. When I came across "Voyageur" on my break during work today, I just flipped over the unique packaging and immediately bought the cd. It is good to hear new album from one of my favorite ambient/new age groups. I must confess that I was slightly disappointed in "Voyageur" in the sense that the music lacked the haunting, symphonic sounds of the group's previous albums. I was also a bit turned off by the silly lyrics of "Boum-Boum". I still don't care for the lyrics of the song but Ruth-Ann's vocals makes listening to the song more pleasant. Former Olive vocalist Ruth-Ann sings lead vocals throughout the cd. She definitely has a beautiful, if not enchanting voice. I have been a fan of her's since her days in Olive. Now that I have listened to "Voyageur" for a second time, the songs are starting to grow on me. The standout tracks for me on this entire cd has to be "Following the Sun" and "Total Eclipse of the Moon". The haunting melodies reminds me of why I love Enigma so much. Although I am not quite as taken with this cd as I have with their previous efforts, I am still glad to have bought "Voyageur". It is always good to hear new music from this enchanting group.