MCMXC a.D. is the debut studio album by the German musical project Enigma, led by Romanian-German musician Michael Cretu. It was released in Europe by Virgin Records on 3 December 1990, and in the United States by Charisma Records on 12 February 1991. Cretu became fascinated with mixing archaic sounds with modern music after producing German pop singer Sandra's song "Everlasting Love", for which he experimented with Gregorian chant. Following Michael Cretu and Sandra's marriage in 1988, Michael developed the idea of the musical project Enigma and recorded the album over the course of eight months in 1990 at A.R.T. Studios.
"Sadeness (Part I)" is a song by German musical project Enigma, released in 1990 as the debut single from their first album, MCMXC a.D. (1990). It became an international hit, reaching number one in 14 countries. In the United States, the song peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, and number one on both its Dance Club Songs and Dance Singles Sales charts. A sequel to the song, "Sadeness (Part II)" featuring Anggun, was released on Enigma's eighth studio album, The Fall of a Rebel Angel (2016).
"Auteuil, Neuilly, Passy " is a song recorded by the satiric group Les Inconnus in 1991. Released as a single from their album Bouleversifiant, it achieved great success in France, reaching number one on the national singles chart.
"Hélène" is a song by Canadian singer Roch Voisine. Written and composed by Voisine and Stéphane Lessard, with guitars played by Carl Katz and keyboards by Luc Gilbert, it was the first single from Voisine's debut studio album, Hélène, and was released in November 1989. The song is mainly in French but contains the English line "Hélène things you do / Make me crazy about you". The cover for the CD maxi used the same photograph as that of the album, Voisine's face with a black background. "Hélène" was successful in France, where it topped the singles chart for nine weeks, thus allowing Voisine to launch his international career.
"Jour de neige" is a 1988 song recorded by French singer Elsa Lunghini. Written by Pierre Grosz with a music composed by Vincent-Marie Bouvot and Georges Lunghini, it was released in November 1988 as the third single from her debut album Elsa. As for the previous three singles, it had a great success in France, reaching number two. Two years later, it was released in Italy and Spain in the languages of these countries.
"Saga Africa" is a song recorded by the former professional tennis player Yannick Noah, released in 1991 as the first single from his debut album, Black & What. The song is also available on the singer's album entitled Live, released in 2002.
"À nos actes manqués" is a 1991 song recorded by the French trio Jean-Jacques Goldman, Carole Fredericks and Michael Jones. Released as the second single from their eponymous album, the song was one of the summer hits in France and was the trio's most successful single in terms of ranks on the chart. In 2011, M. Pokora covered the song on his album Mise à Jour and released it as a single, which achieved some success in French-speaking countries. The trio also released an English version, To The Deeds We Missed.
"Puisque tu pars" is a 1987 song recorded by the French singer Jean-Jacques Goldman. It was released in July 1988 as the fourth single from his album Entre gris clair et gris foncé, on which it features as the sixth track in an extended version. The song was a number three hit in France.
"Les Valses de Vienne" is a 1989 song originally recorded by the French artist François Feldman for his 1989 album, Une Présence and was the second singles release from that album in November of the same year. It achieved great success in France, topping the chart for six nonconsecutive weeks, and remains Feldman's signature song and a classic of 1980s French music. It was also included on the singer's three best of compilations: Two Feldman (1996), Best Feldman (1998) and Gold (2008); it was also performed during Feldman's 1991 tour and was thus included on the live album Feldman à Bercy (1992).
"Petit Frank" is a 1989 song recorded by the French singer and songwriter François Feldman. It was the fourth single from his 1989 album, Une Présence, and was released on 6 October 1990. As for the previous three singles from the album, "Joue pas", "Les Valses de Vienne" and "C'est toi qui m'as fait", it had a great success in France, reaching the top of the SNEP chart, thus becoming Feldman's second number one hit. Later, it was included on Feldman's three best of compilations, Two Feldman (1996), Best Feldman (1998) and Gold (2008); it was also performed during Feldman's 1991 tour and was thus included on the live album Feldman à Bercy (1992).
"High" is a 1988 song recorded by French artist David Hallyday. It was the second of the four singles from his debut studio album True Cool. Released in November 1988, the song was a hit in France, becoming David Hallyday's first number-one single.
"Joy" is a 1992 song recorded by French singer-songwriter François Feldman. It was the third single from his third album Magic Boul'vard, and was released in the first days of February 1992. The song, the singer's 12th single overall, achieved great success in France, becoming the best-selling single of the year.
"Il faut laisser le temps au temps" is a 1990 song recorded as a duet by the French singers Didier Barbelivien and Félix Gray. Written by Barbelivien, while the music was composed by Gray, this ballad was released in November 1990 and became the second single from their 1991 album Les Amours cassées. It hit number one on the single chart in France, and was also a success in the French-speaking part of Belgium.
"J'ai peur" is a 1989 song recorded as a duet by French and American singers François Feldman and Joniece Jamison. Written by Jean-Marie Moreau with a music by Feldman, this dance-pop song was released in February 1991 and became the fifth single from Feldman's 1989 Diamond-awarded album Une Présence. As the previous singles from the album, it was a successful top ten hit, though it was the less-selling one.
"Le Dormeur" is a 1991 electronic song recorded by Belgian act Pleasure Game. Written and composed by Bruno Van Garsse, Benoît Marissal, Jacky Meurisse and Michel de San Antonio, it was released in the summer of 1991 as the band's debut single from the album Le Dormeur on which it was the second track. It became a hit in France and the Francophone part of Belgium where it became a top ten hit.
"J'ai des doutes" is a 1991 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Sara Mandiano. Written and composed by Mandiano, it was released in the summer of 1991 as her debut single from her album ? on which it was the second track. It became a top ten hit in France and remained Mandiano's only success on the chart, thus becoming a one hit wonder.
"Dis-moi bébé" is a 1990 song recorded by Belgian hip hop act Benny B, with DJ Daddy K also credited on the single's cover. Written by Amid Gharbaoui with a music composed by Vito Lucente, Alain Deproost and Richard Quyssensand, "Dis-moi bébé" is a rap-ballad song with a love theme, unlike the previous singles from the album. Released in June 1991, it was the third and last single from Benny B's first album, L'Album. As for the previous two singles, it became a hit in France and in Belgium (Wallonia) where it reached the top five.
"Déjeuner en paix" is a 1991 pop rock song recorded by Swiss singer Stephan Eicher. Written by Philippe Djian and composed by Eicher, it was released in the middle of 1991 as the lead single from his sixth studio album Engelberg, on which it appears as the fourth track. It became a hit in France and Belgium (Wallonia) and became Eicher's most successful single on the charts.
"Cœur de loup" is a 1978 pop song recorded by Belgian singer Philippe Lafontaine. It was the first single from his 1989 album Fa ma no ni ma on which it appears as the sixth track, and was released in July 1989. It achieved success in France where it topped the chart, became a popular song throughout years and can be considered as Lafontaine's signature song.
"Angelina" is a 1990 song recorded by French band PSY. Written by members Pierre Perez-Vergara, Stéphane Planchon and Yassine Dahbi, this pop song was released in 1991 as the first single from the band's album Être ange, mon ange, produced by Robert Levy-Provençal and which provided the singles "Mahler de malheur" and "Animal moi" too. Directed by Frédéric Planchon, the music video for "Angelina" shows a model named Maïwenn, also known as Polisse. In France, it was a top ten hit and became PSY's only charting single in the country, making the band a one-hit wonder.
