November 04, 2023

Enigma - MCMXC a.D. (Limited Edition) (1991)

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posted by all-musicrecords

MCMXC a.D. is the debut studio album by the German musical project Enigma, led by Romanian-German musician Michael Cretu. 

It was released in Europe by Virgin Records on 3 December 1990, and in the United States by Charisma Records on 12 February 1991. 
Cretu became fascinated with mixing archaic sounds with modern music after producing German pop singer Sandra's song "Everlasting Love", for which he experimented with Gregorian chant. 
Following Michael Cretu and Sandra's marriage in 1988, Michael developed the idea of the musical project Enigma and recorded the album over the course of eight months in 1990 at A.R.T. Studios.
MCMXC a.D. combines new-age music with dance rhythms, as well as combining themes of religion and Gregorian chant with sexuality, for which the album received generally positive reviews from music critics. 
The Gregorian chant was taken from recordings by Capella Antiqua München, which resulted in the Munich-based choir's label, Polydor Germany suing Cretu and Virgin Records for infringing on its "right of personality". The case was dropped after Cretu agreed to pay compensation. 

Songs
"The Voice of Enigma" was written solely by Cretu, and starts with a foghorn sound that is known as the "Enigma horn". 
After the foghorn, Louisa Stanley (an executive at Virgin Records at the time) starts talking and invites the listener to relax and take a deep breath, while an environmental soundscape plays in the background. 
"The Principles of Lust" track employs a drumbeat throughout similar to the R&B 1989 song "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" by Soul II Soul, flute synth lines, and Cretu's whispers and "orgasmic breathing" that mark the song breaks. 
The first part, "Sadeness", includes a Gregorian chant taken from the track "Procedamus in pace!" from the 1976 album Paschale Mysterium by Capella Antiqua München. 
It also includes contributions from Fabrice Cuitad and Peterson. 
The song's French lyrics are a quizzical look at, and defense of, the 18th-century writer Marquis de Sade, who was notorious for writing literature delving into themes of sexual violence and domination.

"Callas Went Away" was written solely by Michael Cretu, and samples Maria Callas's singing. "Mea Culpa" was written by Cretu and Fabrice Cuitad and is a follow-up to "Sadeness". Like "Sadeness", "Mea Culpa" samples Gregorian chant from the Capella Antiqua München and thus evokes the same atmosphere. 
The song's theme "centers around guilt", according to the official Enigma website. "The Voice & the Snake", written by Cretu and Peterson, is based on the Book of Revelation.
"Knocking on Forbidden Doors" was written solely by Cretu. The "Back to the Rivers of Belief" track's three songs were mainly written by Cretu, with the song "The Rivers of Belief"—which centers around the Indian river Ganges and differs from the other songs in being more soulful—including contributions from Fabrice Cuitad.

The bonus remixes are a bit of a mixed bag. The remixes of the better tracks on the album, "Sadeness" and "Mea Culpa", are both great: the former is a Chillout interpretation of the reprise found earlier, minus the monks' samples; the latter also suffers from a lack of Gregorain goodness, but almost compensates with an eclectic mix of pan-flutes, varying beats and extra vocals from Sandra Cretu (the wife of Michael). 
The remixes of "Principles of Lust" and "The Rivers of Belief" are both inferior takes on the originals, the former being a Carbon copy with a slightly different beat superimposed while the latter is an interesting combination of the title track, "Callas Went Away" and "The Voice and the Snake", introduced by an excerpt from "Toccatta and Fugue"!


1990 original version

1.  The Voice of Enigma - 2:21
2.  Principles of Lust - 11:43
     a. Sadeness
     b. Find Love
     c. Sadeness (Reprise)
3.  Callas Went Away - 4:27
4.  Mea Culpa - 5:03
5.  The Voice & the Snake - 1:39
6.  Knocking on Forbidden Doors - 4:31
7.  Back to the Rivers of Belief - 10:32
     a. Way to Eternity
     b. Hallelujah
     c. The Rivers of Belief

1991 The Limited Edition

8.  Sadeness (Meditation) - 2:43
9.  Mea Culpa (Fading Shades) - 6:04
10.  Principles of Lust (Everlasting Lust) - 4:50
11.  The Rivers of Belief (The Returning Silence) - 7:04


Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of MCMXC a.D.

  • Michael Cretu (credited as "Curly M.C.") (all tracks)
  • Frank Peterson (credited as "F. Gregorian") (tracks 2a, 2c, and 5)
  • Fabrice Cuitad (credited as "David Fairstein") (tracks 2a, 2c, 4, and 7c)
  • Sandra Cretu (uncredited) (tracks 1, 2a, 2c, and 4)

Companies, etc.

Credits

Notes
Released: 1 991
Recorded:  1990-1991 Studio A.R.T. (Ibiza, Spain) 
Genre:  New-age, worldbeat 
Length:  1:00:28
Producer:  Michael Cretu 

Label - Virgin Records 

November 03, 2023

Herman Brood & His Wild Romance - Freeze (1990)

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posted by all-musicrecords

Freeze is the tenth studio album by Dutch rock and roll and blues group Herman Brood & His Wild Romance. 
The album reached No. 63 on the Dutch album chart on 3 November 1990, and stayed on the chart for 5 weeks. 

In the summer of 1979, Brood tried to enter the American market, with support from Ariola's US division, which was attempting to expand into rock music. 
Following on the success of Shpritsz, the band was booked as a support act for The Kinks and The Cars, playing in auditoriums; "Herman Brood and His Wild Romance Tour Cha Cha '79" headlined in New York's (Bottom Line) and Los Angeles' (Roxy). 
A re-recorded version of "Saturday Night" peaked at number 35 in the Billboard Hot 100,[9] but the big break Brood hoped for didn't happen. 
When he returned to the Netherlands in October 1979, his band had begun to fall apart, and soon his popularity went downhill. 
Go Nutz, the album Brood had recorded while in the States, and the movie Cha-Cha, which finally premiered in December 1979, were considered artistic failures, even though Go Nutz produced three charting singles in the Netherlands and the Cha Cha soundtrack attained platinum status. 
The 1980 album Wait a Minute... was a minor success, but the follow-up albums Modern Times Revive (1981) and Frisz & Sympatisz (1982) failed to make the Dutch album charts. 

Brood continued to record throughout the 1980s and had a few hits—a top-10 single, "Als Je Wint" with Henny Vrienten, and a minor hit with a reggae song, "Tattoo Song," but he spent more and more time on his art work. At the end of the '80s he made a comeback of sorts; Yada Yada (1988), produced by George Kooymans, was well-received, and he toured Germany with a renewed Wild Romance (which saw the return of Dany Lademacher).

Brood wins the BV Pop Prize 1989. With the assistance of Clarence Clemons, the saxophonist from Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band, and the famous Tex Mex accordionist Flaco Jiminez, Brood records the album Freeze.
If success is not forthcoming, Brood announces that he will stop performing. His work as a painter begins to become more and more successful and lucrative.


Track listing

1.  Blue Ice Moon - 3:31 
2.  Crackin' Up - 4:26 
3.  The Talkin' - 3:59 
4.  Break Away - 4:29 
5.  Lie & Cheat - 2:17 
6.  Boys in Black - 1:02 
7.  Beefin' It Up - 4:21 
8.  Cat Smoke - 2:13 
9.  Legal in Amsterdam - 4:05 
10.  Johnny - 1:19 
11.  He'll Have to Go - 1:01 
12.  Cripple (Without You) - 2:49 
13.  On Top of You - 2:27 
14.  Forever - 2:07 
15.  Blue Moon - 1:00 
16.  It Ain't the Gun - 5:09 


Herman Brood and his Wild Romance
  • Herman Brood – piano, keyboards, vocals
  • Roy Bakkers – drums
  • Ivo Severijns – bass
  • David Hollestelle Jr. – guitar

with:

Technical
  • Koos van Dijk – executive producer
  • John Tilly – engineer
  • Herman Brood – design
  • Alex de Groot – photography

Notes
Released: 1989 
Recorded:  Studio Friends Studio, Amsterdam 
Genre:  Rock and roll, blues 
Length:  46:20
Producer:  The Wild Romance

Label - CBS Records

November 02, 2023

Chris Rea - The Road To Hell (1989)

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posted by all-musicrecords

The Road to Hell is the tenth studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1989. Coming on the back of several strongly performing releases, it is Rea's most successful studio album, and topped the UK Albums Chart for three weeks. 
Hailed as a "modern masterpiece", it was certified 6× Platinum by BPI in 2004. 

The album demonstrates a thematic cohesion previously absent from Rea's work, with the majority of the tracks containing strong elements of social commentary, addressing alienation, violence and redemption. 
The second part of the two-part title track, "The Road to Hell (Pt.2) ", is one of Rea's most famous songs, and his only single to reach the UK Top 10.
Throughout the album there are repeated references to increasing societal dissolution and rising violence, including riots, murder and their irresponsible depiction on television news (You Must Be Evil), and "the perverted fear of violence" on city streets (The Road to Hell (Part 2)), where "it's all gone crazy" amid fears that "someone's gonna get killed out there" (Texas). 

Rea also targets industrial polluters' destruction of rivers (which "boil" with "poison"), and Thatcherism (which he also criticised on Shamrock Diaries' Steel River), dismissing notions of an "upwardly mobile freeway", or that promises will be delivered on (That's What They Always Say). 
A sense of suffocating doom suffuses the title track. Rea cries "We gotta get outta here!" (Texas) and "I'm getting out!" (That's What They Always Say), and struggles to find an escape in Texas and Looking for a Rainbow. 
A prominent theme is the impact all of this is having on his daughter, who was six at the time (You Must Be Evil, Tell Me There's a Heaven).


Track listing

1.  The Road to Hell (Part 1) - 4:52 
2.  The Road to Hell (Part 2) - 4:32 
3.  You Must Be Evil - 4:23
4.  Texas - 5:12 
5.  Looking for a Rainbow - 8:02 
6.  Your Warm and Tender Love - 4:33 
7.  Daytona - 5:07 
8.  That's What They Always Say - 4:29 
9.  I Just Wanna Be with You - 3:41 
10.  Tell Me There's a Heaven - 6:06 

All tracks are written by Chris Rea


Personnel
  • Chris Rea – lead and backing vocals, keyboards, guitars
  • Kevin Leach – keyboards,
  • Max Middleton – acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes, string arrangements
  • Robert Ahwai – guitars
  • Eoghan O'Neill – bass
  • Martin Ditcham – drums, percussion
  • Gavyn Wright – concertmaster and conductor
  • Karen Boddington – additional backing vocals
  • Carol Kenyon – additional backing vocals
  • Linda Taylor – additional backing vocals

Production
  • Chris Rea – producer
  • Jon Kelly – producer
  • Neil Amor – engineer
  • Diane BJ Koné – engineer
  • Willie Grimston – coordinator
  • The Leisure Process – artwork, sleeve design
  • Jim Beach – management
  • John Knowles – management
  • Paul Lilly – management

Companies, etc.

Notes
Released:  2 October 1989 
Recorded:  Miraval Studios, France 
Genre:  Blues rock, soft rock 
Length:  50:53 
Producer:  Jon Kelly, Chris Rea

Label - WEA Records

November 01, 2023

The Alan Parsons Project - Tales Of Mystery And Imagination (1987 Remix) (1987)

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posted by all-musicrecords

Tales of Mystery and Imagination (Edgar Allan Poe) is the debut studio album by British rock band The Alan Parsons Project. 
It was released on 25 June 1976 in the United Kingdom by Charisma Records. 
The lyrical and musical themes of the album, which are retellings of horror stories and poetry by Edgar Allan Poe, attracted a cult audience. 
The title of the album is taken from the title of a collection of Poe's macabre stories of the same name.
Musicians featured on the album include vocalists Arthur Brown of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown on "The Tell Tale Heart", John Miles on "The Cask of Amontillado" and "(The System of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether", and Terry Sylvester of The Hollies on "To One in Paradise". 
The complete line-up of bands Ambrosia and Pilot play on the record, along with keyboardist Francis Monkman of Curved Air and Sky. 

"The Raven" features actor Leonard Whiting on lead vocals, with Alan Parsons performing vocals through an EMI vocoder. According to the album's liner notes, "The Raven" was the first rock song to feature a digital vocoder. 
The prelude section of "The Fall of the House of Usher", although uncredited, is taken verbatim from the opera fragment "La chute de la maison Usher" by Claude Debussy which was composed between 1908 and 1917. 
"The Fall of the House of Usher" is an instrumental suite that runs more than 15 minutes and takes up most of Side 2 of the recording.

In 1987, Parsons completely remixed the album, including additional keyboard and guitar passages and narration (by Orson Welles) as well as updating the production style to include heavy reverb and the gated reverb snare drum sound, which was popular in the 1980s. 
He also made the end of side A segue into the start of side B due to the remix of the album being released when CD's were commercially available, thus no need to stop playback to change sides. 
The CD notes that Welles never met Parsons or Eric Woolfson, but sent a tape to them of the performance shortly after the album was manufactured in 1976.

The first passage narrated by Welles on the 1987 remix (which comes before the first track, "A Dream Within a Dream") is sourced from an obscure nonfiction piece by Poe – No XVI of his Marginalia (from 1845 to 1849 Edgar Allan Poe titled some of his reflections and fragmentary material "Marginalia.") The second passage Welles reads (which comes before "The Fall of the House of Usher" (Prelude), seems to be a partial paraphrase or composite from nonfiction by Poe, chiefly from a collection of poems titled "Poems of Youth" by Poe (contained in "Introduction to Poems – 1831" in a section titled "Letter to Mr. B-----------"; the "Shadows of shadows passing" part of the quote comes from the Marginalia.


Track listing

1.  A Dream Within a Dream (Instrumental) - 4:13 
2.  The Raven   (Vocals: Alan Parsons, Leonard Whiting) - 3:57 
3.  The Tell-Tale Heart  (Vocals: Arthur Brown, additional vocals: Jack Harris) - 4:39 
4.  The Cask of Amontillado  (Vocals: John Miles, additional vocals: Terry Sylvester) - 4:33 
5.  (The System of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether  (Vocals: John Miles, additional vocals: Jack Harris) - 4:21 
6.  The Fall of the House of Usher (Instrumental) - 15:02 
      Prelude - 7:01  
      Arrival - 2:34
      Intermezzo - 0:59
      Pavane - 4:36
      Fall - 0:51
7.  To One in Paradise  (Vocals: Terry Sylvester, additional vocals: Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons) - 4:44
8.  Eric´s Guide Vocal Medley - 9:23
9.  Orson Welles Dialogue - 3:05
10.  Sea Lions In The Departure Lounge - Sound Effects and Experiments - 2:38
11.  GBH Mix - Unreleased Experiments - 5:22 

Personnel
  • Alan Parsons – EMI vocoder (2), Projectron synthesizer (3, 7, 10), recorder (5), additional vocals (11), synthesizer (3-4 on 1987 remix), cathedral organ (5 on 1987 remix) producer, engineer
  • Eric Woolfson – keyboards (1-3, 5, 7), backing vocals (2, 4), harpsichord (4), organ (7), additional vocals (11), synthesizer (9 on 1987 remix) executive producer
  • Andrew Powell – orchestral arrangement (2-4, 6, 8, 10), orchestral conductor (2-4, 6, 8, 10), keyboards (7), organ (9)
  • Francis Monkman – organ (7), harpsichord (9)
  • Billy Lyall – keyboards (1, 3), recorder (1), piano (4-5), Fender Rhodes electric piano (11), glockenspiel (11)
  • Christopher North – keyboards (2)
  • Orson Welles – narration (1 and 6 on 1987 remix)
  • Leonard Whiting – lead vocals (2), narration (11)
  • Arthur Brown – lead vocals (3)
  • John Miles – lead vocals (4-5), electric guitar (5)
  • Jack Harris – additional vocals (3, 5)
  • Terry Sylvester – additional vocals (4), lead vocals (11)
  • Jane Powell – backing vocals (11)
  • Smokey Parsons – vocals
  • Bob Howes & the English Chorale – choir (2-4)
  • Westminster City School Boys Choir – choir (11)
  • David Paton – acoustic guitar (1, 11), backing vocals (1), bass guitar (3-5, 7, 11)
  • Kevin Peek – acoustic guitar (9)
  • Laurence Juber – acoustic guitar (9)
  • Ian Bairnson – electric guitar (1, 3-5, 7, 11, 2 on 1987 remix), acoustic guitar (1, 11)
  • David Pack – electric guitar (2)
  • Joe Puerta – bass guitar (1-2)
  • Les Hurdle – bass guitar (6)
  • Daryl Runswick – double bass (9)
  • David Katz – violin, orchestra leader (6, 8, 10), orchestra contractor
  • Jack Rothstein – orchestra leader (6, 8, 10)
  • David Snell – harp (9)
  • Hugo D'Alton – mandolin (9)
  • Stuart Tosh – drums (1-5, 7, 9, 11), timpani (3), backwards cymbals (3)
  • Burleigh Drummond – drums (2)
  • John Leach – cimbalom (9), kantele (9)
  • Dennis Clarke - saxophone, clarinet

Production 

  • Gordon Parry – engineer
  • Tony Richards – assistant engineer
  • Chris Blair – assistant engineer
  • Tom Trefethen – assistant engineer
  • Pat Stapley – assistant engineer
  • Peter Christopherson – photography
  • Aubrey Powell – photography
  • Storm Thorgerson – photography
  • Sam Emerson – photography
  • Hipgnosis – design, cover art
  • Colin Elgie – artwork, graphic design, layout design

Notes
Released: 1987
Genre:  Progressive rock, symphonic rock
Length:  42:38 (1987) 
Producer:  Alan Parsons

Label - Charisma, 20th Century Fox