The Cross of Changes

The Cross of Changes is the second studio album by the German experimental/new age musical project Enigma, headed by Romanian-German musician and producer Michael Cretu, released on 6 December 1993 by Virgin Records internationally and Charisma Records in the United States. Following the unexpected worldwide commercial success of the first Enigma album, MCMXC a.D. (1990), Cretu began to write and record music for a new album at A.R.T. Studios, his home studio in Ibiza, Spain. Cretu samples songs from several artists, including Vangelis and U2.

The Cross of Changes
Studio album by
Enigma
Released6 December 1993
Recorded1993
StudioA.R.T. Studios, Ibiza, Spain
Genre
Length44:12
Label
ProducerMichael Cretu
Enigma chronology
MCMXC a.D.
(1990)		 The Cross of Changes
(1993)		 Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!
(1996)
Singles from The Cross of Changes
  1. "Return to Innocence"
    Released: January 4, 1994
  2. "The Eyes of Truth"
    Released: April 8, 1994
  3. "Age of Loneliness"
    Released: August 8, 1994
  4. "Out from the Deep"
    Released: 1994
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyB[2]

The Cross of Changes was a commercial success. It became Enigma's second consecutive number one album in the United Kingdom and peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200 in the United States, where it sold over two million copies. In 1994, four singles were released: "Return to Innocence", "The Eyes of Truth", "Age of Loneliness (Carly's Song)", originally written especially for the film Sliver, and "Out from the Deep". A special limited edition was released in 1994.

Track listing

1993 original edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Second Chapter"Curly M.C.2:16
2."The Eyes of Truth"Curly7:13
3."Return to Innocence"Curly, Kuo Ying-nan, Kuo Hsiu-chu4:17
4."I Love You ... I'll Kill You"Curly, David Fairstein8:51
5."Silent Warrior"Curly6:10
6."The Dream of the Dolphin"Curly, Fairstein2:47
7."Age of Loneliness (Carly's Song)"Curly5:22
8."Out from the Deep"Curly, Morsman, Pierlejewski4:53
9."The Cross of Changes"Curly2:23
Total length:44:12

1994 special limited edition

Released on 21 November 1994 on a 24-carat gold-plated disc with three additional remixes.

All tracks are written by Curly M.C..

No.TitleLength
10."Return to Innocence" (Long & Alive Version)7:07
11."Age of Loneliness" (Enigmatic Club Mix)6:23
12."The Eyes of Truth" (The Götterdämmerung Mix)7:18

Singles

Samples

The Discogs website lists the following samples used on the album:[3]

  • "The Eyes of Truth" contains samples of "Habebe" and "A Survivor's Tale" by Anne Dudley and Jaz Coleman from the album Songs from the Victorious City. Vocal sample (Mongolian chant) taken from "Alsyn Gazryn Zereglee" as performed by Adilbish Nergui. Chorus taken from "Götterdämmerung" (The Twilight of the Gods) composed by Richard Wagner. NASA retransmissions sampled from "Mare Tranquillitatis", performed by Vangelis. Also contains a sample of "Ultra Violet (Light My Way)" performed by U2.
  • "Return to Innocence" contains samples of "Jubilant Drinking Song" performed by Kuo Ying-nan and Kuo Hsiu-chu. Also contains samples of "Pinta. Nina Santa Maria (Into Eternity)" performed by Vangelis.
  • "Silent Warrior" contains samples of "The Ghost Dance", a Native American war chant.
  • "Age of Loneliness" contains a sample of "Habebe" by Anne Dudley and Jaz Coleman from the album Songs from the Victorious City. Vocal sample (Mongolian chant) taken from "Tosonguyn Oroygoor", performed by Dechinzundui Nadmid.
  • "Out from the Deep" contains samples of "The Calling" performed by A Positive Life and from the album Songs from the Victorious City by Anne Dudley and Jaz Coleman.
  • "I Love You ... I'll Kill You" contains samples from "Battle of Evermore" by Led Zeppelin from the album Led Zeppelin IV singing "bring it back". The remastered version of the song however no longer has the samples as Michael Cretu is heard singing the words himself.
  • "Second Chapter" begins with an uncredited sample of "Static", the opening track on the eponymous debut album by Planet P Project, aka Tony Carey.

Personnel

Music

  • Michael Cretu (credited as "Curly M.C.") – music, lyrics, vocals, production, instruments, programming, arrangements, engineering
  • Sandra Cretu – vocals, voices
  • Peter Cornelius – guitar
  • Jens Gad – guitar
  • Andreas Harde (credited as "Angel X") – vocals
  • Louisa Stanley – voices
  • Fabrice Cuitad (credited as David Fairstein) – lyrics

Production

  • Produced and engineered by Michael Cretu
  • Recorded at A.R.T. Studios, Ibiza/Spain
  • All songs published by Enigma Songs, except track 4 (Enigma Songs-Wanho Music) and track 7 (Ensign Music/Data Alpha-Wanho)

Charts

Album
Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[4] 2
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[5] 5
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[6] 7
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7] 5
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[8] 1
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[9] 5
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[10] 3
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] 4
UK Albums (OCC)[12] 1
US Billboard 200[13] 9

Singles

Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position Certifications
1994 "Age of Loneliness" Hot Dance Music / Club Play[14] 30
"Return to Innocence" Modern Rock Tracks[14] 2
Rhythmic Top 40[14] 15
The Billboard Hot 100[14] 4
Top 40 Mainstream[14] 5

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[16] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[17] Gold 25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[18] 2× Platinum 200,000^
France (SNEP)[19] Gold 250,100[20]
Germany (BVMI)[21] Platinum 500,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[22] Gold 50,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[23] Platinum 50,000*
Sweden (GLF)[24] Gold 50,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[25] Platinum 100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[26] Platinum 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] 2× Platinum 600,000^
United States (RIAA)[28] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[29] Platinum 1,000,000*
Worldwide — 8,000,000[30]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

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References
  1. The Cross of Changes at AllMusic
  2. "The Cross of Changes Review | Music Reviews and News | EW.com". ew.com. 18 February 1994. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  3. List of samples and proper credits, as found at discogs
  4. "Australiancharts.com – Enigma – The Cross of Changes". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  5. "Austriancharts.at – Enigma – The Cross of Changes" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  6. "Dutchcharts.nl – Enigma – The Cross of Changes" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  7. "Offiziellecharts.de – Enigma – The Cross of Changes" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  8. "Charts.nz – Enigma – The Cross of Changes". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  9. "Norwegiancharts.com – Enigma – The Cross of Changes". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  10. "Swedishcharts.com – Enigma – The Cross of Changes". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  11. "Swisscharts.com – Enigma – The Cross of Changes". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  12. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  13. "Enigma Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  14. "Enigma Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  15. "American single certifications – Enigma – Return to Innocence". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  16. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  17. "Austrian album certifications – Enigma – Cross Of Changes" (in German). IFPI Austria.
  18. "Canadian album certifications – Enigma – The Cross of Chances". Music Canada.
  19. "French album certifications – Enigma – The Cross of Changes" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  20. "Les Albums Or". infodisc.fr. SNEP. Archived from the original on 2011-10-18. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
  21. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Enigma; 'The Cross of Changes')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  22. "Dutch album certifications – Enigma – The Cross of Changes" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter The Cross of Changes in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  23. "Norwegian album certifications – Enigma – The Cross of Changes" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.
  24. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
  25. Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 937. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  26. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Enigma; 'The Cross of Changes')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  27. "British album certifications – Enigma – The Cross of Changes". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type The Cross of Changes in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  28. "American album certifications – Enigma – Cross of Changes". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  29. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1996". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
  30. "Enigma - Discography, biography, music, MP3s, members, pictures & videos at SoundUnwound". soundunwound.com. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
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