Mea Culpa Review

The second single from MCMXC a.D., Mea Culpa, offers some interesting variations on the original version.

The Fading Shades Mix uses much of the beat and instrumentation used on The Rivers of Belief. It also has more of a focus on the female breathing, female vocals, and flute sounds, together with the introduction of an original male chant not contained on the album. What results is a track less focussed on a hard-hitting marching beat, and more focussed on the type of sensuality created in the first single, Sadeness part 1. For my liking the track goes a bit too long, repeating itself a bit too often (you can only take the moans for so long!). Regardless of this, though, it offers an effective and softer variation on the original.

The Orthodox mix offers an eastern feel to the album. Focussing on the new chant used in the fading shades mix towards the start, it heads off to a disinctive beat which is hard to describe at the 55 second mark which is mixed heavily with female moans and groans. The idea is apparent - to make the track naughty in the sense of the sensuality and sheer sexualty it is trying to create. Also mixing the flute used in Sadeness part 1, the track works wonderfully and, unlike the Fading Shades mix, does not become repetitive.

The final mix is the Catholic version. This is literally identical to what appears on the album - a track with a heavy marching-like beat intertwined with flute sounds and female vocals sung in French and Latin. The track shows how little of the original was used in the mixes and sounds better as an individual track compared to part of the overall flow of the MCMXC a.D. album.

Overall the single needs to have more mixes. While the Fading Shades mix and Orthodox mix offer new angles on the same track, they each had some similar formulas which did not separate themselves as much as the singles on Sadeness part 1 for example. With the use of more mixes the single would have left me with a greater sense of appreciation of the track, or if the track had some additional Sadeness mixes would have given me a greater sense of its worth.

Best Remix

• Orthodox Mix