Studio album · No. 2

The Cross of Changes Songwriting Credits by Enigma

1993 Virgin 9 tracks 44:12

Produced by Michael Cretu  ·  Engineered by Michael Cretu

Virgin New ageAmbientWorldbeat
100%
Authorship
Complete Artist

Holds writing credit on 9 of 9 tracks

Authorship Breakdown 9 / 9 documented

Who wrote the songs?

Scored across the 9 tracks with documented writers, by whether Enigma carries a lyricist or composer credit.

100%
9 trackswritten by Enigma 0 tracksoutside writers
Enigma's roles on this album

Share of the 9 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.

Lyricist89%
Composer100%
Producer100%
Performer100%

By the Numbers

9
Tracks
4
Lyricists
1
Producers
8 million
Worldwide Copies Sold
1993
Released
Data Insight

Cretu wrote or co-wrote every track here and produced and engineered all of them, so on paper this is a one-man record made in a house on Ibiza. The credit that matters most is not his. "Return to Innocence" now carries Kuo Ying-nan and Kuo Hsiu-chu, the Amis farmers and singers known as Difang and Igay Duana, but their names went on it only after they sued Cretu, Virgin and several record companies in March 1998 over the chant that opens and closes the song. The case settled out of court in June 1999 for an undisclosed sum plus full attribution on every future release carrying the work, which is why the writer line reads three names today and read one in 1993. Cretu said he had been told the recording was public domain. Two outside writers sit on "Age of Loneliness": Anne Dudley and Jeremy Coleman, better known as Jaz Coleman of Killing Joke, whose album Songs from the Victorious City Cretu drew on. David Fairstein wrote the words to "The Dream of the Dolphin" and shares the lyric credit on "I Love You ... I'll Kill You". Cretu himself is credited on the sleeve as Curly M.C., a nickname from the Romanian cret, meaning curly.

The second Enigma album, written and built by Michael Cretu alone at A.R.T. Studios, his home room in Ibiza, and released on 6 December 1993. It swaps the Gregorian chant of the debut for world music sources, above all an Amis harvest chant from Taiwan that carries "Return to Innocence". Virgin released it internationally and Charisma handled the United States, where it reached number nine while topping the UK chart.

Track Listing & Credits 9 tracks

Written by the artist Written by outside writers
#TitleLyricist(s)Composer(s)Producer(s)Performers
1
Second Chapter
Curly M.C. Michael Cretu Michael Cretu Michael Cretu
2
The Eyes of Truth #21
Curly M.C. Michael Cretu Michael Cretu Michael Cretu
3
Return to Innocence #3
Curly M.C.Kuo Ying-nanKuo Hsiu-chu Michael CretuDifang DuanaIgay Duana Michael Cretu Difang DuanaAndreas HardeSandra CretuJens GadPeter CorneliusMichael Cretu
4
I Love You ... I'll Kill You
David FairsteinCurly M.C. Michael Cretu Michael Cretu Michael Cretu
5
Silent Warrior
Curly M.C. Michael Cretu Michael Cretu Michael Cretu
6
The Dream of the Dolphin
David Fairstein Michael Cretu Michael Cretu Michael Cretu
7
Age of Loneliness (Carly's Song)
Curly M.C. Michael CretuJeremy ColemanAnne Dudley Michael Cretu Michael Cretu
8
Out from the Deep #109
Curly M.C. Michael Cretu Michael Cretu Michael Cretu
9
The Cross of Changes
Curly M.C. Michael Cretu Michael Cretu Michael Cretu

Songwriter & Credit Spotlight 13 contributors

More from Enigma

Frequently Asked Questions The Cross of Changes

Who wrote the songs on The Cross of Changes?
Michael Cretu, credited on the sleeve as Curly M.C., wrote the lyrics to every track except where the release names someone else. David Fairstein wrote "The Dream of the Dolphin" and co-wrote "I Love You ... I'll Kill You". "Return to Innocence" adds Kuo Ying-nan and Kuo Hsiu-chu, and "Age of Loneliness" adds Anne Dudley and Jeremy Coleman.
Why are two Taiwanese singers credited on "Return to Innocence"?
The chant running through the song is a performance by Difang and Igay Duana, an Amis husband and wife from Taiwan, recorded by a French government project and issued by EMI. They were not credited on the 1993 release. In March 1998 they sued Michael Cretu, Virgin Records and several record companies, and the case settled in June 1999 with payment and full attribution on all future releases of the work.
What is the chant at the beginning of "Return to Innocence"?
It is a traditional Amis Palang song, known variously as "Weeding and Paddyfield Song No. 1", "Elders' Drinking Song" and "Jubilant Drinking Song", or Sapiliepah a Radiw in the Amis language.
Who sings on The Cross of Changes?
The liner notes credit additional voices to Andreas Harde (billed as Angel), Sandra Cretu, Louisa Stanley and Michael Cretu. Cretu takes the lead vocal on "Out from the Deep", and the wordless vocal on "Return to Innocence" is Difang Duana.
Where was The Cross of Changes recorded?
At A.R.T. Studios, Michael Cretu's own studio in Ibiza, Spain. He played the instruments, did the programming, produced the record and engineered it, with guitars from Jens Gad and Peter Cornelius.
How many copies did The Cross of Changes sell?
Around 8 million worldwide. It is certified double platinum in the United States, where it sold over two million copies, and double platinum in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Europe.
What did the album chart at?
It entered the UK Albums Chart at number one, Enigma's second consecutive UK chart-topper, and reached number one in Denmark and New Zealand. In the United States it peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200.
Is Curly M.C. the same person as Michael Cretu?
Yes. Curly M.C. is the credit Michael Cretu uses on Enigma releases, taken from his curly hair and from cret, the Romanian word for curly. He was born Mihai Cretu in Bucharest in 1957.
What does "The Eyes of Truth" sample?
The liner notes list Mongolian folk singing, Anne Dudley's album Songs from the Victorious City, U2's "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)", Peter Gabriel's "Kiss That Frog", Genesis' "Dreaming While You Sleep" and NASA transmissions from Vangelis' "Mare Tranquillitatis". None of those writers appear on the song's writer credit, which names only Curly M.C.
Data note: Writer credits come from the album's track listing (adapted from the Virgin liner notes) plus the writer lines on each single. Per-track performer breakdowns are documented only for "Return to Innocence" and "Out from the Deep"; for the rest, Michael Cretu's album-level liner-note credit for instruments and programming is applied and no other player is assigned to a specific track. The album article's uncited claim that Cretu sampled Vangelis, U2, Genesis and Black Sabbath names no per-track writers, so nothing was added to composers from it. "The Eyes of Truth" and "Out from the Deep" have documented samples (Anne Dudley, U2, Peter Gabriel, Genesis, Vangelis, Mongolian folk singing, and A Positive Life's "The Calling") whose writers are not listed on the songs' writer credits.

Sources