Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Love - Delerium, Zoe Johnston
2. After All - Delerium,
3. Just a Dream - Delerium, Margaret Far
4. Run for It - Delerium, Leigh Nash
5. Truly - Delerium,
6. Serenity Touched - Delerium, Rachel Fuller
7. Forever After - Delerium,
8. Fallen - Delerium,
9. Orbit of Me - Delerium, Leigh Nash
10. Magic - Julee Cruise, Delerium
11. Eternal Odyssey Returning - Delerium, Kristy Thirsk
12. Stopwatch Hearts - Delerium, Emily Haines
13. After All [Andrew Sega Remix] - Delerium

Disc 2:

1. Silence [Multimedia Track] - Delerium, Sarah McLachlan
2. Flowers Become Screens [Multimedia Track] - Delerium, Kristy Thirsk
3. Aria [Multimedia Track] - Delerium,

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #291609 in Music
• Released on: 2003-06-30
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Box set, Enhanced, Import

Album Description
The aggregate responsible for inspiring Sarah McLachlan to enter the dance music realm is back with a fresh set of beauties for 2003, including guest appearances by Leigh Nash (Sixpence None The Richer) and they also managed to get Julee Cruise (Twin Peaks, Angelo Badalamenti) to record once more. This special edition of the album comes with a bonus disc of a track that didn't make the regular album and a remix of "After All", along with three enhanced videos of previous hits!

Amazon.com
Delerium’s Rhys Fulber and Bill Leeb lighten up their sound on Chimera, as the darker fixations of early records like Morpheus retreat yet further into the background. After Sarah McLachlan’s lovely turn on the single "Silence," and the massive success of 1997’s Karma, the duo have dutifully embraced their winning combination of ethereal female vocalists and ambient dance-pop. On Chimera, the formula yields a few worthy singles, such as the limber and catchy "Love" and "Run For It" (featuring Sixpence None The Richer’s Leigh Nash). And while the record too often settles for disposable, bland pop ("Touched" and "Magic," for instance), it also delivers potent hooks and moments of inspiration that will keep the band’s fan base happy. --Matthew Cooke

Customer Reviews

Not their best but still good
Delerium is easily one of my favorite groups. I have all their newer albums (Semantic Spaces, Karma, Poem, Odyssey: The Remix Collection) which I prefer to the gloomy darkwave of their melancholy archive days. And while their latest offering may not be their best, there's plenty of catchy tunes with beautiful female singing, making 'Chimera' (an imaginery monster made up of incongruous [out of place] parts) worth buying, whether a longtime fan or just a casual listener.

IMO this album is great but it definitely doesn't flow without faults. With every new record, the guys of Delerium (Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber) seem to stray further and further from their trademark sound. I guess you could say it's the evolution of their music growing with the ages but it doesn't seem to be working in their favor. I mean, why change something that's already good? A lot of people were let down with 'Poem' so if you were one of those disenchanted aficionados then you'll be even more disappointed with 'Chimera'. I think the success of their club hits "Innocente" and especially "Silence", which were both overly played and remixed by one too many DJs, may have gone to their heads, steering them in the wrong direction. Even with Leigh Nash of Sixpense None The Richer contributing her vocals to "Run For It" and "Orbit Of Me", they're still not likely to get any radio exposure but they're certainly guaranteed to lose a couple once-devoted followers. Why? Well, for one, there's hardly any haunting Gregorian chantings and the ethereal sirens are mostly overshadowed with pop and dance beats. It's pretty sad but "Eternal Odyssey" is the only song on here reminiscent of their Karma days. So with that said, I still think some of these negative reviewers are being a little harsh, exaggerating their unconstructive point. It may not be their greatest effort but it's definitely not bad. After a short absence to work on his solo project, Rhys Fulber returns (but for how long?), bringing with him his love of Middle Eastern music. It's also nice to see Kristy Thirsk come back with a soaring performance to close 'Chimera' with. It's songs like "Fallen", "Truly", "Eternal Odyssey", "After All" and "Returning" that make the merit of this purchase commendable. And like a lot of new releases coming out, this includes a bonus disc with a remix of "After All" by contest winner Andrew Sega and the amazing "Stopwatch Hearts" with Emily Haines, which reminds me of something you'd hear on Conjure One (ala "Center Of The Sun"). You can also view three of their music videos from your computer with the Quicktime player. On "Semantic Spaces" a man is wandering the desert sand dunes, and on "Silence" a man and a woman bind one of their hands with a rope, linking them together, running on a rocky seashore until they break free. "Aria" is the only video I really like though because it actually features all the Mediaeval Baebes.

lush, sometimes overly sentimental, pop
Few musical groups have undergone the dramatic and consistent changes of Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber as Delerium. Their early music (Morpheus, Syrophenikan) was dark industrial; later albums (Euphoric, Karma) became more dance-y and incorporated ethereal and beautiful vocals from Sarah McLachlan and Kristy Thirsk. Successive albums have become more sappy, and Poem was almost unbearable.

This album is ingenue-rich. Some of the collaborations work (Zoe Johnston, Jael, Margaret Far, Kristy Thirsk). Some of them don't (Leigh Nash, Rachel Fuller,Sultana, Rani, Julee Cruise). As for the latter group, I have enjoyed their work elsewhere, but here the lyrics are juvenile and the sound seems cloying rather than ethereal. There's a big difference but a fine line between haunting and mawkish, and Delerium & Co. keep jumping back and forth across it. Some songs are gorgeous, others are treacly, as if someone had distilled the essence of the movie 'Ghost' onto a disk.

If you liked 'Poem', you will enjoy 'Chimera'. If you are a fan of any of the accompanying vocalists, this will be of interest. If you liked early Delerium, this will not appeal to you.

It Takes a While to Grow on You
I like all kinds of music for the most part and as a result, I have a huge CD collection. Delerium has always been at the top of my favorite artists list as I own 7 (counting "Chimera") of their albums plus 5 or 6 Front Line Assembly albums (Bill Leeb's name for his industrial project). If you are a long-time fan of Delerium, there is no need to explain their evolution (and several people have already done this in their reviews). You will also probably not like "Chimera" on your first listen if you are a long-time fan.

It took me a long time to really enjoy "Poem" as I felt that it had too many vocal tracks on it (I was especially angered by not having the version that had "Terra Firma" on it - instead I got the version that had a chopped down version of "Silence", which was pointless to include). Yet, I find myself wanting to listen to that Delerium CD over "Semantic Spaces" and, gasp, "Karma". I have a feeling that "Chimera" might be the same. That doesn't mean that I think that "Poem" or "Chimera" are/will be better than "Karma". Leeb will never ever be able to top that 1997 masterpiece. It was good to see Rhys Fulber and Kristy Thirsk back on this one, even if it was in limited roles. Here are the tracks and my thoughts on each:

1) Love - was a little disappointed with this one as it featured a vocalist that I heard on the last Faithless album, "Outrospective", in Zoe Johnston. Was expecting more, but didn't get it. Still an above-average track - 4/5.
2) After All - this track had a cool vocoder effect in the beginning and is a solid song but I can't say that it is one of the best - 4.5/5.
3) Just a Dream - this is an AWESOME song! Clearly one of my all-time favorite Delerium songs as it ranks right up there with "Flowers Become Screens", "Wisdom", "Inner Sanctum", and "Silence" (the full version, not edited). This song is so sad when you first listen to it and Margaret Far has a great voice. I hope I will hear her again on other things - 7/5.
4) Run For It - track featuring Leigh Nash from Sixpence None the Richer. I think "Innocente" is a better song and this track tries to copy it. It is okay and Nash *can* irritate some with her distinct voice but I will give it a 4/5.
5) Truly - pretty strong track as the vocalist there has a strong voice - 5/5.
6) Serenity - one of 2 instrumentals on this CD. It is solid but not as good as the other one. But it is still nice to hear an instrumental to break things up a little bit - 4/5.
7) Touched - I have read some people trashing this song and saying it was a lame attempt to get Pete Townsend of the Who to guest since it is his girlfriend singing. However, I like this track the more times I listen to it. Maybe it is Pete's guitar playing with the vocals and the rest of the music, who knows. But it is one of the better tracks on this CD, IMO - 5/5.
8) Forever After - could be better, haven't been able to get into this one yet - 3.5/5.
9) Fallen - this track features Rani who sang on "Poem". Does an outstanding job on this one - 5/5.
10) Orbit of Me - a clunker. Leigh Nash returns but isn't given much to work here - 2/5.
11) Magic - yet another clunker plus I loathe this vocalist's voice as she sounds like she is 6 years old - 2/5.
12) Eternal Odyssey - after 2 disappointing tracks in a row, it is a relief to hear this. Featuring a clever sample on Barber's "Adagio for Strings", this is one of the best Delerium instrumentals, starting in the "Semantic Spaces" era, ever - 6/5.
13) Returning - great way to end the CD by bringing back old favorite Kristy Thirsk. To no one's surprise, she is outstanding and makes this track one of the album's highlights - 6/5.

As for the 2nd disc, I didn't feel anything good or bad about "Stopwatch Hearts" or the remix of "After All". The videos were somewhat cool, although it was disappointing not to see Sarah McLachlan for the "Silence" video (although I did like the remix of that song). However, I will say that I was most pleased with the "Aria" video and that bonus CD is worth it just for that, hehe.

All in all, you will have to give this CD several chances as Bill Leeb keeps changing what he wants to do with Delerium. Yes there are some clunkers on here (which is why I am giving it 4 stars), but with tracks like "Just a Dream", "Fallen", "Eternal Odyssey", and "Returning", it is definitely worth your time and money to pick up and add to your collection.