Le Roi est Mort, Vive le Roi!

Enigma的第三张专辑发行于1996年11月25日，唱片标题为《le roi est mort,VIVE le roi! 》，这是法语，翻译为英文则"The King is Dead, Long live the King!"，中文意为"国王死了，国王万岁"，港台地区翻译为"改朝换代"，更多人则将之称为"王者风范"。这张唱片与Enigma的前两张专辑相比，在风格上稍有不同。整体音乐气氛的变化，加之鼓的音色更加平和，而且还出现了更多全新的少数民族音乐元素——从祖鲁人到拉托维亚人，包括这些少数民族特有的乐器音色。正因为这些特色，所以《le roi est mort,VIVE le roi! 》被评论界誉为Enigma众多唱片中最多元化的一张专辑。在这张专辑中制作人Michael Cretu向广大听众传达了许多自然的、哲学的观念，这个观念的主题就是"why（为什么）"。专辑中的《Beyond the Invisible 超越未知》是Enigma一首比较经典的单曲，通过Cretu的声音铺垫着一种不可抵挡的圣歌迭句和神秘的旋律。第七轨《The Child in Us 我们的孩子》运用了中国云南少数民族的乐器——芦笙，其中的女声演唱则充满了南亚音乐元素。《T.N.T. for the Brain》风格强劲而律动，MTV的拍摄手法更是另类而诡异，令人难以忘怀。 ==================================== by Rick Anderson Enigma burst on the scene in the early '90s with a pretty nifty schtick: dance beats and lush chord washes underpinning such exotica as muttered French sex talk and Gregorian chant, all unified by a bizarre theme somehow related to the Marquis de Sade. The concept was never as original as some people thought (Mark Stewart's "Maffia" had set plainchant to electro-funk as far back as 1984), but it worked nicely, and "Sadeness" (har har) was an international dance club hit. Two albums later, Michael Cretu (the individual who records under the Enigma moniker) doesn't seem to have done much to expand upon his original ideas. The monks are still there, floating in a murky club mix, though this time they're joined by a cool Mongolian ensemble as well. Cretu is singing more, which is unfortunate since his voice is mediocre and his lyrics silly, but the occasional high point does emerge, such as the darkly lovely "The Child in Us." Most of the album, however, is twaddle. Song titles like "Morphing Thru Time," "Beyond the Invisible" and (seriously) "Odyssey of the Mind" will give you a good idea of what to expect -- lots of atmosphere, lots of reverb, lots of sternly intoned lyrics about, er...something or other. What's missing is musical interest. Overall, the cool packaging is the only thing noteworthy about this disappointing effort.