The Cross of Changes
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The Cross of Changes is the second studio album by the German musical project Enigma, headed by Romanian-German musician and producer Michael Cretu, released on 6 December 1993 by Virgin Records internationally and by Charisma Records in the United States.
Following the 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 sampled songs from several artists, including Vangelis, U2, Genesis and Black Sabbath.Template:Citation needed
The Cross of Changes was a commercial success. Upon its release, it debuted at Template:Abbr 1 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming 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 from the album: "Return to Innocence", "The Eyes of Truth", "Age of Loneliness (Carly's Song)" (originally written for the film Sliver), and "Out from the Deep". A special limited edition of the album was released on 21 November 1994 on a 24-carat gold-plated disc, containing three additional remixes.
Critical reception
Larry Flick from Billboard magazine praised The Cross of Changes as "a stunning, mind-expanding collection of chill-out/ambient dance jams. Producer Michael Cretu, who started the act's multiformat fire at club level with 'Sadeness', has clearly topped himself with complex, vividly cinematic compositions like the sprawling first single, 'Return to Innocence', and 'I Love You, I'll Kill You'. Weighting in without a jam above 98 beats per minute, this is sustenance for the adventurous, intelligent programmer."<ref name="billboard"/>
Track listing
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Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Cross of Changes.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>
- Andreas Harde (credited as Angel) – additional voice
- Sandra Cretu – additional voice
- Michael Cretu (credited as Curly M.C.) – additional voice, instruments, programming, production, engineering
- Louisa Stanley – additional voice
- Jens Gad – guitars
- Peter Cornelius – guitars
Derivative works
- "Return to innocence" has been sampled by Aura Dione in her track "Where Does Love Go?"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Charts
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Weekly charts
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 1 |
| European Albums (Music & Media)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 2 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)<ref name="MM-1994-03-05">Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 2 |
| Irish Albums (IFPI)<ref name="MM-1994-03-05"/> | 2 |
| Portuguese Albums (AFP)<ref name="MM-1994-03-05"/> | 2 |
| Spanish Albums (AFYVE)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 6 |
| US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 9 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1994) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
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33 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
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21 |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 9 | |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
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37 |
| European Albums (Music & Media)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 6 | |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
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20 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
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6 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
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11 |
| UK Albums (OCC)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 14 | |
| US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 42 |
Certifications and sales
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