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Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!

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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. (Ibiza, Spain)
Genre
Length45:32
LabelVirgin
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

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, released on 22 November 1996 by Virgin Records.

Background and release

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The 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 for Best New Age Album at the 1998 Grammy Awards, while Johann Zambryski's album art design earned him a nomination for Best Recording Package.[1]

The intro track begins with a sample of mission control contacting the Discovery from the film 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. The track "Prism of Life" appears at the end credit of the 2023 documentary "Close Encounters of The Fifth Kind".

Commercial performance

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The album reached to the top spot in Norway and the top five in Austria, Finland, Germany and Switzerland. It spawned two singles, "Beyond the Invisible" and "T.N.T. for the Brain". 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.[2]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Entertainment WeeklyD+[4]
The Guardian[5]
Muzik[6]

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] 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

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All lyrics and music by Michael Cretu, except where noted.

No.TitleLyricsLength
1."Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!" 1:57
2."Morphing Thru Time" 5:47
3."Third of Its Kind" 0:19
4."Beyond the Invisible"
  • Cretu
  • David Fairstein
5:00
5."Why! ..." 4:59
6."Shadows in Silence" 4:21
7."The Child in Us" 5:05
8."T.N.T. for the Brain" 4:26
9."Almost Full Moon" 3:25
10."The Roundabout"
  • Cretu
  • Fairstein
3:38
11."Prism of Life"
  • Cretu
  • Fairstein
4:54
12."Odyssey of the Mind" 1:41
Total length:45:32

Personnel

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Credits adapted from the liner notes of Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi![7]

  • Dr. Bhagya Murthy – Sanskrit chant
  • Sandra Cretu – female voices
  • Louisa Stanley – female voices
  • Peter Cornelius – guitars on "The Child In Us"
  • Michael Cretu – instruments, production, engineering
  • Johann Zambryski – art direction, design
  • Volker Sträter – illustrations

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[34] Gold 35,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[35] Gold 25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[36] Platinum 100,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[37] Gold 21,236[37]
France (SNEP)[38] Gold 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[39] Gold 250,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[40] Gold 10,000*
Netherlands (NVPI)[41] Platinum 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[42] Platinum 15,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[43] Platinum 50,000*
Poland (ZPAV)[44] Gold 50,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[45] Gold 50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[46] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[47] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[48] Platinum 1,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "Past Winners Database – 1997 40th Grammy Awards". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 31 May 2007.
  2. ^ http://www.five.no/enigma/records/roundabout.html, www.five.no
  3. ^ a b c Anderson, Rick. "Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! – Enigma". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  4. ^ a b Pepper, Tracey (13 December 1996). "Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  5. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (29 November 1996). "Music: This week's Pop CD releases". The Guardian.
  6. ^ Newsome, Rachel (January 1997). "Enigma: La Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!" (PDF). Muzik. No. 20. p. 117. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  7. ^ Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! (liner notes). Enigma. Virgin Records. 1996. CDVIR60.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Enigma – Le roi est mort, vive le roi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Enigma – Le roi est mort, vive le roi" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Ultratop.be – Enigma – Le roi est mort, vive le roi" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9722". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Top National Sellers". Music & Media. Vol. 13, no. 51/52. 21 December 1996. p. 27. OCLC 29800226.
  13. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Enigma – Le roi est mort, vive le roi" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  14. ^ "European Top 100 Albums". Music & Media. Vol. 13, no. 50. 14 December 1996. p. 13. OCLC 29800226.
  15. ^ "Finnishcharts.com – Enigma – Le roi est mort, vive le roi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  16. ^ "Lescharts.com – Enigma – Le roi est mort, vive le roi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  17. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Enigma – Le roi est mort, vive le roi" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  18. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1997. 4. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  19. ^ "Charts.nz – Enigma – Le roi est mort, vive le roi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  20. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Enigma – Le roi est mort, vive le roi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  21. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  22. ^ Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  23. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Enigma – Le roi est mort, vive le roi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  24. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Enigma – Le roi est mort, vive le roi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  25. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  26. ^ "Enigma Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  27. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Albums 1996". ARIA. Retrieved 23 May 2022 – via Imgur.
  28. ^ "Årslista Album (inkl samlingar), 1996" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  29. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1996". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  30. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1997" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  31. ^ "Year in Focus – European Top 100 Albums 1997". Music & Media. Vol. 14, no. 52. 27 December 1997. p. 7. OCLC 29800226.
  32. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1997" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  33. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1997". Billboard. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  34. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1996 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  35. ^ "Austrian album certifications – Enigma – Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi" (in German). IFPI Austria. 25 November 1996.
  36. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Enigma – Le Roi Est Mort...Vive Le Roi". Music Canada. 9 January 1997.
  37. ^ a b "Enigma" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  38. ^ "French album certifications – Enigma – Le Roi Est Mort Vive Le Roi" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  39. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Enigma; 'Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  40. ^ "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1997". IFPI Hong Kong.
  41. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Enigma – Roi Est Morth" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Roi Est Morth in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2003 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  42. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Enigma – Enigma 3". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  43. ^ "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  44. ^ "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 1998 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. 6 January 1998. Archived from the original on 2024-11-26.
  45. ^ 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.
  46. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Le roi est mort vive le roi')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  47. ^ "British album certifications – Enigma – Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!". British Phonographic Industry. 1 December 1996. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  48. ^ "American album certifications – Enigma – 3 Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!". Recording Industry Association of America. 24 March 1999.
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