Culture Beat - Serenity (1993)

Martin van Zeelandt / TCD
Dec 24, 2025
3 min read

This is a bit of a weird review. Not because of the music, but more what happened on the day I started this review. It was the 16th of November of this year, and I was just listening to this album, as I wanted to write something about it, and we had to rush back to my wife's mother's house, to find her unfortunately not alive anymore. Obviously I did not continue writing this review, as it left a bit of a nasty aftertaste in my mouth, which is obviously not Culture Beat's fault. More than a month has passed now, and I think it's OK to pick this up again, where I left it behind....

Culture Beat was important to me, as a kid. Growing up in the 90s, you listen to whatever your parents were listening to, and I was getting a bit fed up with hearing Abba, Queen, Barry White, and all these softie artists. I needed something a tad harder and faster. Hence why my dad comes into the picture. He was always a bit of a fan of the harder sounds, and when he purchased Culture Beat's album 'Serenity', I ''borrowed'' it and never gave it back. What was his, is now mine.

I only knew Culture Beat from their hit single 'Mr. Vain', which got played on each radio station, and reached number 1 in multiple countries, including the Netherlands. But that's not when they started: their roots lie within the late 80s. But the mainstream pop culture only became aware of them because of 'Mr. Vain', which is still a massive hit. A few other hits followed, and then they kind of disappeared. They still kind of release music, and their latest hit from 2017, ''Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas'', it didn't chart anywhere, and truth be told: I've not even heard it.

The album is still in my possession, and I do not believe my dad knows I actually borrowed it.

Culture Beat - Serenity (Prolog)
Culture Beat - Mr. Vain
Culture Beat - Got To Get It
Culture Beat - World In Your Hands
Culture Beat - Adelante!
Culture Beat - Rocket To The Moon
Culture Beat - Anything
Culture Beat - Key To Your Heart
Culture Beat - The Other Side Of Me
Culture Beat - The Hurt
Culture Beat - Mother Earth
Culture Beat - Serenity (Epilog)
Culture Beat - ID Tania
Culture Beat - ID Jay

It was a very short album. Only 64 minutes long, which obviously is a tad weird. But it also had a weird ending segment, which we'll get to in a minute.

The opening is great. And after the 'intro', it goes straight into Culture Beat's biggest hit, 'Mr. Vain'. What a classic song that is. And it just goes on and on. What I did notice, is that the band actually had a more spiritual message, a message about Earth, relationships, and so much more. Not just some Europop trashy songs, but ones with a deeper meaning. Until you get to track 13 and 14.

I don't get, to this day, why they've got these +/- 10 seconds tracks on here, where the two main artists talk about where they are and telling you what you are about to listen to. It sounds more like snippets from a radio show, during which the artists introduce their next song. Not really fitting on this album. Weird ending: they should have added 1 more track to it, or have 'Serenity' be the last track.

The more 'mellow' sounding songs are OK, but they wouldn't get me dancing until the Sun comes up. It's the more faster and more vigorous songs that get me and everyone else on the dancefloor. Yes, 'Mr. Vain' is cool, but there are three records that are the best on this album. 'Serenity (Epilog)', 'Adelante!', and my most favourite, and clearly the most underrated song of Culture Beat: 'Anything'. The version on this album I do not come across that often, and it hits hard. Proper rave anthem, if the ravers actually knew it existed.

A wicked album with mixed emotions attached to it. But I will have to push my emotions aside when 'Anything' comes on. One of the greatest Eurodance anthems of the 90s, that's for sure.