Sadeness (Part I)

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"Sadeness (Part I)"
"Sadeness (Part I)" cover
Single by Enigma
from the album MCMXC a.D.
Released December, 1990
Format CD, cassette, 12"
Recorded  ?
Genre New Age
Length 4:17
Label Charisma / Virgin / EMI
Producer(s) Michael Cretu
Chart positions
Source
Enigma singles chronology
N/A
"Sadeness (Part I)"
(1990)
"Mea Culpa (Part II)"
(1991)

"Sadeness (Part I)" is a 1990 song created by the musical project Enigma. The single was the first of four singles released from MCMXC a.D.

Contents

[edit] History

"Sadeness" was named "Sadeness (Part I)" on its single release in Germany, and "Sadness Part I" on its single release in the United Kingdom and Japan. It is a sensual track with an insistent beat based around "questioning" the sexual desires of Marquis de Sade, hence the German release name of "Sadeness", as opposed to the English word of Sadness.

[edit] Track listing

  • 4-track CD single for the UK
  1. "Sadness Part I" (Radio Edit) – 4:17
  2. "Sadness Part I" (Extended Trance Mix) – 5:04
  3. "Sadness Part I" (Meditation Mix) – 3:01
  4. "Sadness Part I" (Violent US Remix) – 5:03
  • 5-track CD single for the U.S.
  1. "Sadeness Part I" (Violent US Remix) – 5:03
  2. "Sadeness Part I" (Meditation Mix) – 3:01
  3. "Sadeness Part I" (Extended Trance Mix) – 5:04
  4. "Sadeness Part I" (Radio Edit) – 4:17
  5. "Introit: Benedicta sit sancta Trinitas" – 3:04
  • 2-track promotional CD single for Japan
  1. "Sadness Part I" (Ebi-Kuma Mix)
  2. "Sadness Part I" (Meditation Mix)
  • 2-track 7-Inch single for France
  1. "Sadeness Part I" (Radio Edit) – 4:17
  2. "Sadeness Part I" (Meditation Mix) – 2:57

[edit] Trivia

On October 16, 2002, the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Anne Dudley performed a live version of "Sadeness (Part I)".

The song was featured in the "slow motion" sketch, from the 2nd season of Chappelle's Show. It was also used as background music in films such as Charlie's Angels and Exit To Eden.

[edit] Video

The video shows a scholar, possibly a reference to Marquis de Sade, who falls asleep at a desk in his room whilst writing ... and has a fantastic, seductive, and enlightening dream. The scholar finds himself wandering among cathedral ruins. He comes up to a highly ornate door, which is probably the "Forbidden Door", according to the album concept. As the young man looks on, he sees a beautiful young woman beyond it. She whispers the main lyric to him in a seductive tone - "Sade, dis moi" "Sade, donnes moi" or translated- "Sade, tell me" "Sade, give me". The man turns and tries to flee, but relents to his desires and is "sucked" back through the door. At this point, the young man wakes from the dream and looks around anxiously, but finds only a light from his window shining down on him.

[edit] Charts

The single became #1 hit in 24 countries, selling over 7 million copies worldwide. In the United States, the song peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in April, 1991, making it the most recent foreign language song to climb that high.


Enigma
Michael Cretu | Sandra Cretu | Jens Gad

Guest singers: Ruth-Ann Boyle | Andru Donalds

Former members: Peter Cornelius | David Fairstein | Frank Peterson

Discography
Studio albums: MCMXC a.D. | The Cross of Changes | Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! | The Screen Behind the Mirror | Voyageur | A Posteriori

Compilation albums: Trilogy | Love Sensuality Devotion: The Greatest Hits | Love Sensuality Devotion: The Remix Collection | 15 Years After

Singles: "Sadeness (Part I)" | "Mea Culpa (Part II)" | "Principles of Lust" | "The Rivers of Belief"
"Carly's Song" | "Return to Innocence" | "The Eyes of Truth" | "Age of Loneliness" | "Out from the Deep"
"Beyond the Invisible" | "T.N.T. for the Brain" | "Gravity of Love" | "Push the Limits"
"Turn Around" | "Voyageur" | "Following the Sun" | "Boum-Boum" | "Hello and Welcome" | "Goodbye Milky Way"

DVDs: Remember the Future | MCMXC a.D.: The Complete Video Album

Related projects
Sandra | Cretu and Theirs | Cornelius and Cretu | Moti Special | Trance Atlantic Air Waves
Related articles
A.R.T. Studios | Enigma videography | The Dusted Variations
Preceded by
"Bring Your Daughter...To the Slaughter" by Iron Maiden
UK number-one single
January 13, 1991 for 1 week
Succeeded by
"Innuendo" by Queen
In other languages