Customer Reviews

Seven Lives Many Faces

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

If you're not well-acquainted with Enigma, then here's what you need to realize before purchasing this album. The main magic of Enigma, the essense of the project, are albums 1-4. They belong in their own category--they *form* their own category--but they represent a finished chapter in a book.

Albums 5, 6, and 7 are independent of them. Each of the albums explores a new, more-or-less impossible to describe, genre of music. In this particular album there's more hip-hop, more lyrics, and more of Cretu's scratchy voice; but those are just the general descriptions. Overall, it's good, addictive. I probably listened to the entire disk 10 times in the past week; every once in a while a random song from the album would pop into my head. I like some songs more than others, but all of them are good.

The only thing missing, though, is the emotional impact that I've come to love about the first 4 (and the 6th) albums. Unlike the earlier albums, this one did not become forever entwined with a set of memories that associated with the music; it did not summon the chills along my spine by piercing my soul. Hence, only four stars this round.

I'll be honest, when I first heard the single off this album, my first thought was WTF. It was a very stark contrast to the music I heard previoulsy from enigma. The guys voice was very jarring to me, and I didn't really like it.

I had bought it for a gift and ended up ripping it and gave it a few more listens. The single started to grow on me and the rest of the music was more in line to what enigma had done before. The single Seven Lives started to grow on me and I actually really like it now. It's defintely very different but has some connections to how he usually sounds.

I wouldn't have minded hearing a version with a girl singing. Not every song is a gem, but none of the songs are bad, and all offer something unique. I guess it's good he tried something different. It really was jarring at first to expect one thing and get another. The beatbox thing sounded cheesy at first, but it kinda grew on me and flowed with the song.

Overall, keep in mind that the main single is the most different thing on the album. The other songs are pretty in line with how Enigma usually sounds. With that being said I can see the mixed reviews, but if you really go in with an open mind, you'll be surprised.

Michael Cretu's seventh album is a smoother mix of sounds and less eclectic than previous albums. It retains a chilled euro-pop feel and I've had to listen to it several times to develop some favourite tunes because nothing struck me immediately.

There's the familiar musical and vocal introductory track and some songs have non-english-singing vocalists, like many previous Enigma albums. The Same Parents, La Puerta Del Cielo, and We Are Nature have an earthy, emotive and 'typical' Enigma feel to them.

Seven Lives Many Faces is more subdued, less punchy than Cretu's previous offerings, yet with repeated listening it'll grow on you. The additional tracks are well-worth downloading.

I'll keep this short: Enigma could be a lot bigger than it is right now if Michael would just leave the singing to the girls, or at least find a decent male singer if he must absolutely have one. He should just stick with what he does best, which is write great music...

I would actually give this album 4.5 stars if I had the option.

I am a huge Enigma fan. My parents played the original Cds when I was a kid, and I fell in love with them. I give the 1st 6 Cds all five stars. It seems like fans think that "Voyageur" and "A Posteriori" are the weaker albums, but they are just as strong and passionate as the 1st 4 albums to me.

Unfortunately, I couldn't give this one five stars. Don't get me wrong, this is also an extremely great album, but there a few flaws that really take away from the album. Enigma is amazing because every song stands out, but they also flow together perfectly. The 7th album has minor flaws that slightly ruin the flow of the CD unlike the 1st 6 albums. Since so many people have done such a great job pointing out the overall majesty of this album,I'm going to point out the flaws.

The flaws: 1.) The Same Parents - I like this song as a whole, but the chorus is a bit off in the song. It's just a little too eerie for me I guess. Overall, It's still a good song. This song does flow very well in the album though 2.)Heaven's Hell - There is a sound in this song that sounds like my computer's throwing up. It's a cool sound, but it's way too sudden and WAY TOO LOUD! I literally jumped when I heard it for the 1st time. It jerked me out of the relaxed state that Enigma puts me in. It's such a shame because It's a fabulous song other than that. 3.) Distorted Love - This is the biggest flaw by far. The lyrics are SO CHEESY!!! I can't believe out of all of the brilliant songs and lyrics Cretu has written that he wrote song with lyrics like "touch me, I'll be your daddy." I mean, you can't listen to this song without looking around seeing if anyone else is hearing these ridiculous lyrics. I can't be relaxed if I'm embarrassed. The instrumental part of the song is phenomenal though.

Other than those 3 things, this is another fantastic Enigma album. Even the 5 bonus songs are great. I would highly recommend it!!!!!!!!!

The two best songs are "Seven Lives" and "The Same Parents". The problem in the past with Enigma is that much of their music sounds the same. You will find many similarities but there is also more experimentation to this album. "Seven Lives" has a hip hop flavor to the beat which surprised me but it makes it a powerful number worth listening to.

I have all of Enigma's albums since the begining and he has been one of my favorite artists since he came out in 1990, I was in high school at the time. I have fallen in love with this style of music and have since bought all of B-Tribe's albums, the first Deep Forest, Delerium, all of Enya's, etc. But ever since "Cross of Changes" Enigma has gone down a path that I have found hard to follow. I see people writing about how creative he is and all that, and sure, nobody else really sounds that much like him anymore, but is that a good thing? Every album he has come out with since then has been more of the same. More of the male screaming lyrics, less of the sultry sexy female lyrics usually in French or Latin, more of the electric guitar and less of the flutes and strings. I loved Enigma back when he was making sexy music, now it is just some guy yelling all the time. This album is so bad I can only listen to one song, and it is an instrumental (number 10 or 11 I forget). The rest are so bad I can't even play them. What happened to Sadeness, Mea Cupla remixes, The Child In Us, Return to Innocence, Carly's song, Push the Limits, Gravity of Love, all the songs that sounded so deep and sexy? I know you have to be imaginative on each album, but come on, enough with the yelling and beat boxing.

Maybe not one of their best, but still good.
Their first one , in my opinion, is still the best.

So...while I adore many aspects of this record, it took quite awhile for me to warm up to. Let me get the not-so-good stuff out of the way first, then talk about the highlights.

The biggest complaint I have about this album is first and foremost, the majority of drum loops Cretu used throughout this record. Imagine my dismay and disappointment in Cretu when I discovered that more than one of the drum loops, and spoken word vocal samples are included in Apple's Remix Tools Jam Pack (which incidentally was released before "Seven Lives, Many Faces") for Garage Band. Really, Michael? Not that this is the first time Cretu has used other peoples' drum loops: On "Return to Innocence" he borrowed the drum loop from Led Zeppelin's "When The Levee Breaks", and consequently this loop has been used a hundred million times by other electronic artists; he also borrowed the drum loop from Madonna's "Justify My Love" for the Orthodox version of "Mea Culpa" from the first Enigma album. But seriously? A GARAGE BAND drum loop? Come on.

Another issue I have with this album is the amount of "filler" songs, such as "Hell's Heaven" and "Fata Morgana". I tend to skip over these tracks.

Now, on to the good stuff. I can't say enough good things about the opening track, "Encounters". This track serves as the intro track that has been present on every Enigma album to date. "Encounters" begins almost inaudibly, but as we listen, the spooky, creepy female spoken voice gets louder, and speaks of all the mystical things that surround the number 7: Seven stars, seven days, seven seals, seven gates. Seven angels, seven skies, seven sins, seven lives." To this day, I'm pretty sure that this voice is not of human origin at all, but rather completely created electronically. The effect is downright eerie, but I can sit and listen to this track on repeat and get chills every time.

The first time I heard the song "Seven Lives", I kind of wanted to throw up. Andru Donalds, the vocalist on this song, has peppered Enigma's music since "The Screen Behind the Mirror". Sometimes, his voice is great, but other times (more often) it's simply annoying. He tends to "growl" all the songs he sings for Enigma, but he isn't always as harsh (check out his lovely solo track - produced by Cretu- called "Snowing Under My Skin" for a perfect example of how beautiful his voice can be). "Seven Lives" does feature Andru's growling vocal, but after the first few painful listens to this song, it REALLY started to grow on me, and now has become one of my absolute favorites from this record. The song is driving, very rhythmic, and the *LIVE* strings just make this song epic and very theatrical.

"Touchness" is just dirty, but it re-incorporates Enigma's signature sexuality that oozed out of "MCMXC a.D.". I like this song, but it DOES contain one of the Garage Band drum loops, which makes it fall quite short of what it could be.

"The Same Parents" is one of the standouts. On first listen, this song made me cringe a little- the lyrics come off a little Cheez Whiz, but there are some really great elements. The beat in this song is FANTASTIC (and as far as I know, not a Garage Band loop), and features vocals by Cretu's twins, Sebastian and Nikita, which is such a neat tribute, and very appropriate for the song. Their voices are very much like Cretu's, which ultimately could be a bad thing, but it seems to work for this song.

"La Puerta del Cielo" is probably the most standout track here, and very much bears the signature Enigma sound. The vocalist on this song is one Cretu has never used before, and I think all of us Enigma fans can agree that we hope he utilizes her incredible voice far more in the future. "Cielo" has a very familiar swinging beat that hearkens back to "Sadeness". The bassline though sounds slightly cheesy and dated.

"The Language of Sound" is an amalgamation of many different chants, a lot of which are sampled from several past Enigma albums. The effect is wonderful. This track is joyous, and is a reminder that while Enigma is changing, Cretu has not forgotten his past.

So, overall, a fairly decent record, but seems slightly lazy in spots. I wouldn't recommend this disc for someone who is just discovering Enigma, instead I'd suggest picking up "The Platinum Collection" and "Le Roi Est Mort...Vive le Roi!" for a better sampling of the greatnes that is Enigma. I think overall, longtime fans and listeners will appreciate this latest effort from Michael Cretu and Enigma.

I don't know - is there such a thing as a BAD Enigma CD? I don't think so! I have all of their CD's and I love all of them, equally the same! I am always eagerly anticipating their next CD, which it seems to me, doesn't come soon enough! They are the best around providing this type of musical experience! Buy it - you'll like it!