The Screen Behind the Mirror

( 11 )

Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble
With the 1991 hit "Sadeness," from the album MCMXC A.D., Enigma mixed Gregorian chants with 20th-century dance beats, sneaking new-age atmosphere in the back door of nightclubs worldwide and generating a multiplatinum hit. The followup, 1994's CROSS OF CHANGES, enjoyed similar success by blending Arabic melodies and Native American chants into a slicker, more pop sound. With THE SCREEN BEHIND THE MIRROR, Michael Cretu -- the 39-year-old Romanian who records under the Enigma moniker -- continues in a similar vein, making synth-heavy dance-trance for a new-age culture that wants it both ways. Imbuing his music with modern mysticism and timeless rhythms, Cretu counters pipe organs with electric guitars and juxtaposes ...
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More About This Product

Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble
With the 1991 hit "Sadeness," from the album MCMXC A.D., Enigma mixed Gregorian chants with 20th-century dance beats, sneaking new-age atmosphere in the back door of nightclubs worldwide and generating a multiplatinum hit. The followup, 1994's CROSS OF CHANGES, enjoyed similar success by blending Arabic melodies and Native American chants into a slicker, more pop sound. With THE SCREEN BEHIND THE MIRROR, Michael Cretu -- the 39-year-old Romanian who records under the Enigma moniker -- continues in a similar vein, making synth-heavy dance-trance for a new-age culture that wants it both ways. Imbuing his music with modern mysticism and timeless rhythms, Cretu counters pipe organs with electric guitars and juxtaposes ambient interludes with bursts of choral splendor. "Gravity of Love" anchors ethereal vocals with spacey loops and clubby beats while "Camera Obscura" pairs recorders and tribal drums and "Modern Crusaders" rocks to a Peter Gabrielesque world vibe. Throughout the album, Cretu drops samples of Carl Orff's choral epic "Carmina Burana" to recapitulative, epic effect. Like a Loreena McKennitt for the dance floor, a Dead Can Dance for the new millennium, Enigma is postmodern new age for an electronica nation. --Peter Rutter
All Music Guide - Heather Phares
Enigma's fourth album The Screen Behind the Mirror continues Michael Cretu's explorations into ambient new age, Gregorian chant, world music, and dance rhythms. Cretu's vocals play a more prominent role than on earlier Enigma albums, which, unfortunately, often detracts from the songs' other diverse elements -- which include church bells, Middle Eastern and European choirs, sensuous female vocals, and a wide array of ethnic percussion and instruments. The album's pieces are mixed together continuously and are united thematically by samples and reinterpretations of Orff's "O Fortuna" and other material from Carmina Burana, giving songs like "Endless Quest," "The Gate," and "Smell of Desire" a flowing, cohesive feel. Though it doesn't reveal significant growth or change in Enigma's work, The Screen Behind the Mirror will please fans of the group's other atmospheric works.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 1/18/2000
  • Label: Virgin Records Us
  • UPC: 724384861629
  • Catalog Number: 48616
  • Sales rank: 42,728

Album Credits

Performance Credits
Enigma Primary Artist, Primary Artist
Michael Crétu Guitar, Vocals
Jens Gad Guitar, Guitar (Baritone)
Andru Donalds Vocals
Sandra Cretu Voices
Ruth-Ann Vocals
Elisabeth Houghton Voices
Technical Credits
Michael Crétu Composer, Producer, Engineer
David Fairstein Composer
Jens Gad Composer, Engineer
Johann Zambryski Art Direction
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 11 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(8)

4 Star

(2)

3 Star

(1)

2 Star

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Sort by: Showing all of 11 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Save the past in the Present for the future

    I feel that this cd is extremely intellectual. Maybe for others it may seem dull compared to McMxC a.d. but, to me, this isn't the usual format as the other Enigma cd's. this one you must listen between the lines....let your mind meditate to the entire cd as a whole and then you will recieve the full meaning of the cd.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    If you think you have heard it all- Check this out!!

    Take it from 40ish guy who has heard music from the entire gambit, this group is - unbelievable. I think this is truly the sound to listen to as we head in to the first few years of the new century. Go for it if you are looking for some new and different sounds

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Good, could be better...

    While I love Enigma, this album has both good and bad parts, like any other. It definitely has a good feel to it, very Enigma-esque. The problem I have with this album is the feeling that it could be so much more! The GRAVITY OF LOVE track is the high point of the CD, and I just want to know where more of that is!!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    meditative music brings me to my inner soul

    my favorite music in all the world and I love all music. the beat moves your body and brings you to your higher self. If you are spiritual and need the music to go with it, get this cd.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Words fail me

    Truly defining in their style , definitely a classic to collect.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Their best work ever!!!

    Michael Cretu and his Group Enigma have topped themselves again. From the beginning they have been my favorite Group and now I am even more in love with the mus

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    The definitive sound for the new millenium

    The fourth Enigma album is a must have for Enigma fans and music listeners alike. This album still holds on to the same rythmic/trance beats that made the first album MCMXC aD so popular in 1990. However, this time Michael Cretu has taken his unprecedented style to a whole new level of sound and mystism. Now with the vocal talents of Ruth Ann Boyle from the group Olive and new artist Adru Donalds Enigma has truly set the stage for music in the new millenium.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    it just gets better

    i discovered enigma back in 1990. i loved the music fromthe first time. i love gregorian chants combined with pop/dance music. michael cretu just keeps getting better. my favotite enigma's album is

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    An incredible album

    I cant say enough positive things about this cd. If you bought Enigma's first cd then you'll love this one. The entire cd is filled with massive drum beats, electric guitars, fierce choirs, infectious melodies and has a beautiful atmosphere. For me, the most impressive pieces are

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  • Anonymous

    Posted July 27, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 7, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 11 Customer Reviews