The Cross of Changes explained

The Cross of Changes
Type:	studio
Artist:	Enigma
Cover:	Enigma The Cross of Changes.jpg
Released:	6 December 1993
Recorded:	1993
Studio:	A.R.T. (Ibiza, Spain)
Genre:	New-age ambient worldbeat
Length:	44:12
Label:	Virgin
Producer:	Michael Cretu
Prev Title:	MCMXC a.D.
Prev Year:	1990
Next Title:	Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!
Next Year:	1996

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.

The Cross of Changes was a commercial success. Upon its release, it debuted at 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.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Cross of Changes.^[1]

• 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

1. "Return to innocence" has been sampled by Aura Dione in her track "Where Does Love Go?"^{[2] [3]}

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1994)! scope="col"

Peak position
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)^[4]	1
European Albums (Music & Media)^[5]	2
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[6]	2
Irish Albums (IFPI)	2
Portuguese Albums (AFP)	2
Spanish Albums (AFYVE)^[7]	6
US Billboard 200^[8]	9

Year-end charts

Chart (1994)! scope="col"

Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[9]	33
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[10]	21
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)^[11]	9
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[12]	37
European Albums (Music & Media)^[13]	6
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[14]	20
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[15]	6
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[16]	11
UK Albums (OCC)^[17]	14
US Billboard 200^[18]	42

External links

• Short article about the album
• Details of its release in different countries
• Lyrics to the songs in this album

Notes and References

1. The Cross of Changes . liner notes . . . 1993 . CDVIR 20.
2. Web site: Aura Dione – Where Does Love Go . 2024-09-18 . Discogs.
3. Web site: 2024-06-28 . Aura Dione - Where Does Love Go . 2024-09-18 . schmusa.de . de-DE.
4. Top 10 Sales in Europe. Music & Media. 11. 9. 26 February 1994. 16. 29800226. World Radio History.
5. European Top 100 Albums. Music & Media. 11. 9. 26 February 1994. 15. 29800226. World Radio History.
6. Top 10 Sales in Europe. Music & Media. 11. 10. 5 March 1994. 13. 29800226. World Radio History.
7. Hits of the World. Billboard. 106. 14. 2 April 1994. 44. 0006-2510. Google Books.
8. Enigma Chart History (Billboard 200). Billboard. 30 May 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200129204901/https://www.billboard.com/music/Enigma/chart-history/TLP. 29 January 2020.
9. Web site: ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1994. Australian Recording Industry Association. 10 October 2020.
10. Web site: Jahreshitparade Alben 1994. austriancharts.at. de. 10 October 2020.
11. RPM Top 100 Albums of 1994. RPM. 60. 21. 12 December 1994. 19. 0033-7064. Library and Archives Canada.
12. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Album 1994. nl. Dutch Charts. 10 October 2020.
13. 1994 in Review Sales Charts – European Top 100 Albums. Music & Media. 11. 52. 24 December 1994. 12. 29800226. World Radio History.
14. Web site: Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1994. de. GfK Entertainment. 10 October 2020.
15. Web site: Top Selling Albums of 1994. Recorded Music NZ. 9 February 2022.
16. Web site: Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1994. hitparade.ch. de. 10 October 2020.
17. Top 100 Albums 1994. Music Week. 14 January 1995. 11. 0265-1548. World Radio History.
18. Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1994. Billboard. 10 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20210309001346/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1994/top-billboard-200-albums. 9 March 2021.