Archives 1 [Original recording remastered]

Delerium | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 12, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Nettwerk Records
• ASIN: B00005OAG9
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #262,615 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Solid Album, but missing the appeal of later works, April 14, 2002

By 

Robin C. "perfectmotion" (Claremont, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Archives 1 (Audio CD)

With the Archives 2-volume set, Delerium traces its roots as a goth-rock instrumental experiment, and shows us not only how solid a foundation its sound was built on, way-back-when, but also how far it has come. The album is an excellent addition to a collector's collection, but may disappoint fans new to the Delerium sound.

Archives is a "best of" of Delerium's old works: Vol.1 encapsulates four albums from 1988-1992. The album delivers haunting, slightly exotic gothic melodies that consist mostly of samples and beats strung together for maximum effect. The result is an enjoyable (if slightly repetative at times) trip through a different set of moods and emotions, carefully crafted and well executed.

But for fans of newer Delerium material, (Semantic Spaces, Karma, Poem) this album may fall short of the mark. Now known for its pop vocalists like Sarah Mclaughlin and Kristy Hawkshaw, and its fully developed sound that challenges the line between goth and pop, Delerium has progressed considerably since its 1988 debut. The songs on Archives precede a 1994 rebirth that added vocals and a level of complexity; as a result, they lack some of the luster (and the vocals) associated with newer Delerium.

Which isn't to say that the Archives are bad - thy're not. But they are different. Fans of dark gothic music will enjoy the albums, and Delerium fans who appreciate all three post-1994 albums will hear the underlying sound they love forming in each of the tracks. The Archives are a practical solution to wanting more of the Delerium experience, and they deliver an enjoyable set of melodies. But those looking for more songs like "Silence," "Innocente," or "Euphoria" had best look elsewhere. Archives Vol. 1 & 2, while well-crafted albums in their own right, are not as accessible or as well-developed as Karma, Poem, or Semantic Spaces.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The evolution begins..., February 16, 2004

By 

Clarissa "MoonGoddess" (Ontario, California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Archives 1 (Audio CD)

Before hell evolved into heaven with the future dreamy pop melodies of 'Poem' and 'Chimera', something unsettling must have been stirring in the creative minds of Leeb, Fulber and Peterson, manifesting into their earlier more ambient works. Because they've been around since the late 80s, they decided to release two albums filled with several songs from each of their hard-to-find 'Archives' and this is v.1 containing two discs. There's 5 tracks taken from 'Faces, Forms and Illusions' (1988), 7 tracks from 'Morpheus' (1989), 5 tracks from 'Syrophenikan' (1991), and 4 tracks from 'Stone Tower' (1992). Although I do not find their most recent endeavors to be conventional in the typical radio sense, their older sound is far less cohesive with no real hook lines or ethereal vocals. The atmosphere is mostly dark and melancholic with dragging rhythms, haunting Gregorian chants, creepy chimes among other noise effects that will often make you feel somnolent (drowsy), as one of the songs is called, but I find this great to fall asleep or simply relax to as it is soothing if you enjoy this type of music. I catch myself listening to 'Semantic Spaces' along with the rest of their later material more than their dusty archives retrieved from the past but I appreciate everything these guys put out and am fascinated with their vast differences and how they've so drastically progressed as the wheels of time moved forward...

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great introduction to Delerium's beginnings, March 24, 2002

By 

Erica Anderson (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Archives 1 (Audio CD)

I am a massive Delerium fan and have been for a few years now. I'm in the process of checking out the group's older material which doesn't have the angelic female vocals found on "Karma", "Poem" and even "Semantic Spaces". Unfortunately finding the group's early albums such as "Faces, Forms, and Illusions", "Morpheus", and "Stone Tower" is like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack. Most major record stores do not carry the group's albums when they were on Hypnotic/Cleopatra records. I don't have a problem finding their albums prior to "Karma" because a local record store where I live carries the albums I just listed however for a lot of Delerium fans I am sure they have trouble because there aren't many copies readily available. Both volumes of "Spiritual Archives" that were just recently released contains music from the group's days when they were putting out strictly ambient music minus the female vocals. I already own "Syrophenikan" but that didn't stop me from buying the first volume of "Spiritual Archives". I was intrigued to hear if there was any difference in "Faces, Forms and Illusions", "Morpheus", and "Stone Tower". There isn't but I don't mean that in a negative way. The music is extremely moody and enchanting. The songs collected from "Faces, Forms, and Illusions", "Morpheus", "Syrophenikan", and "Stone Tower" is definitely far darker than the music found on "Karma" and "Poem". The layers of various ambient sounds adds a richness to the music not heard on "Karma" and "Poem". I particularly enjoyed the songs off "Faces, Forms and Illusions" as we as "Syrophenikan". Now while most of my favorite Delerium songs are off "Karma" and "Poem", I dug the tribal, orchestral ambient sounds of Delerium's earliest material. It is such a contrast to the music that they have been releasing in recent years.