Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!

Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! (French for "The King Is Dead, Long Live The King!") is the third studio album by the German musical project Enigma.

This article is about the Enigma album. For the history of the phrase, see The king is dead, long live the king!
Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!
Studio album by
Enigma
Released22 November 1996
Recorded1996
StudioA.R.T. Studios, Ibiza
Genre
Length45:32
Label
ProducerMichael Cretu
Enigma chronology
The Cross of Changes
(1993)		 Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!
(1996)		 Trilogy
(1998)
Singles from Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!
  1. "Beyond the Invisible"
    Released: 21 October 1996
  2. "T.N.T. for the Brain"
    Released: 17 February 1997

Released on 22 November 1996, the album reached to the top spot in Norway's top 40 charts and third in the whole of Europe. Two singles from the album, "Beyond the Invisible" and "T.N.T. for the Brain" were also released at around the same time of its parent album. A planned third single, "The Roundabout", was scrapped at the last minute for unclear reasons, even though a remix had already been created by DJ Quicksilver.[1]

This album continued Enigma's trend, giving it a slightly more modern, futuristic sound by combining the elements of Enigma's first album, MCMXC a.D., and their second album, The Cross of Changes. Michael Cretu, producer of the project, considered Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! to be the child of the previous two albums, with the first being the father and the second being the mother, as indicated by the 19‑second track, "Third of its Kind".

There are two editions of the packaging; one with standard paper artwork, and another with translucent tray and booklet artwork printed on a heavier plastic.

Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! was nominated in the 1998 Grammy Awards for Best New Age Album and Johann Zambryski's album art design earned him a nomination for Best Recording Package.[2]

The intro track begins with a sample of mission control contacting the Discovery from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. The intro, including the famed "Enigma horn", is played backwards for the closing track, "Odyssey of the Mind".

The track "T.N.T. for the Brain" contains samples taken from Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds. The samples are just audible, underlying the main music. They can be most clearly heard at the start and the end of the track, but are just noticeable throughout.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Entertainment WeeklyD+[4]

Rick Anderson of AllMusic stated that "[Michael Cretu, as Enigma] doesn't seem to have done much to expand upon his original ideas", and despite reserving praise for the "darkly lovely" "The Child in Us", dismissed most of the album as "twaddle" and "disappointing".[3] The site gave the album two and a half stars out of five.[3] In a D+ review, Tracey Pepper of Entertainment Weekly summarized the album as "another synthesizer-heavy mix of Gregorian chants, moody atmospherics, lyrics rife with existential platitudes, and well-trodden '90s dance rhythms", writing "It sounded okay in 1990, but now it's just embarrassing."[4]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!"Michael Cretu1:57
2."Morphing Thru Time"Cretu5:47
3."Third of Its Kind"Cretu0:19
4."Beyond the Invisible"Cretu, David Fairstein5:00
5."Why! ..."Cretu4:59
6."Shadows in Silence"Cretu4:21
7."The Child in Us"Cretu5:05
8."T.N.T. for the Brain"Cretu4:26
9."Almost Full Moon"Cretu3:25
10."The Roundabout"Cretu, Fairstein3:38
11."Prism of Life"Cretu, Fairstein4:54
12."Odyssey of the Mind"Cretu1:41
Total length:45:32

Singles

Personnel
  • Michael Cretu – music, lyrics, record producer, arrangements, instruments, vocals, engineering
  • Sandra Cretu – voices
  • Peter Cornelius – guitar ("The Child In Us")
  • Louisa Stanley – voices
  • Fabrice Cuitad (credited as David Fairstein) – lyrics

Additional personnel

  • Volker Sträter – illustrations
  • Johann Zambryski – art direction, design

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[21] Gold 35,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[22] Gold 25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[23] Platinum 100,000^
France (SNEP)[24] Gold 122,500[25]
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[26] Gold 21,236[26]
Germany (BVMI)[27] Gold 250,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[28] Gold 10,000*
Netherlands (NVPI)[29] Platinum 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[30] Platinum 15,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[31] Platinum 50,000*
Poland (ZPAV)[32] Gold 50,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[33] Gold 50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[34] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[35] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[36] Platinum 1,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. http://www.five.no/enigma/records/roundabout.html, www.five.no
  2. http://theenvelope.latimes.com/extras/lostmind/year/1997/1997grammy.htm, theenvelope.latimes.com
  3. Anderson, Rick. "Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! – Enigma". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  4. Pepper, Tracey (13 December 1996). "Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  5. "Australiancharts.com – Enigma – Le roi est mort, vive le roi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  6. "Austriancharts.at – Enigma – Le roi est mort, vive le roi" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  7. "Ultratop.be – Enigma – Le roi est mort, vive le roi" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  8. "Dutchcharts.nl – Enigma – Le roi est mort, vive le roi" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  9. "Enigma: Le roi est mort, vive le roi!" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  10. "Lescharts.com – Enigma – Le roi est mort, vive le roi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  11. "Offiziellecharts.de – Enigma – Le roi est mort, vive le roi" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  12. "Charts.nz – Enigma – Le roi est mort, vive le roi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  13. "Norwegiancharts.com – Enigma – Le roi est mort, vive le roi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  14. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  15. "Swedishcharts.com – Enigma – Le roi est mort, vive le roi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  16. "Swisscharts.com – Enigma – Le roi est mort, vive le roi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  17. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  18. "Enigma Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  19. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  20. "Enigma Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  21. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  22. "Austrian album certifications – Enigma – Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi !" (in German). IFPI Austria.
  23. "Canadian album certifications – Enigma – Le Roi est mort...vive le Roi". Music Canada.
  24. "French album certifications – Enigma – Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  25. "Les Albums Or". infodisc.fr. SNEP. Archived from the original on 2011-10-18. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
  26. "Enigma" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  27. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Enigma; 'Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi !')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  28. "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1997". IFPI Hong Kong.
  29. "Dutch album certifications – Enigma – Roi est mort" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Roi est mort in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  30. "New Zealand album certifications – Enigma – Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!". Recorded Music NZ.
  31. "Norwegian album certifications – Enigma – Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi !" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.
  32. "Polish album certifications – Enigma – Le Roi est mort, vive le roi" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
  33. Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 943. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  34. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Enigma; 'Le roi est mort vive le roi')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  35. "British album certifications – Enigma – Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi !". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi ! in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  36. "American album certifications – Enigma – Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi !". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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