Chimera [Enhanced]

Delerium | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 24, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Nettwerk Records
• ASIN: B00009P1MS
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (145 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,369 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #43 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Ambient Pop

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Love featuring Zok Johnston

2. After All featuring Jael (of Lunik)

3. Just A Dream featuring Margaret Far

4. Run For It featuring Leigh Nash (of Sixpence None the Richer)

5. Truly featuring Nerina Pallot

6. Serenity

7. Touched featuring Rachel Fuller

8. Forever After featuring Sultana

9. Fallen featuring Rani

10. Orbit Of Me featuring Leigh Nash

See all 13 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Stopwatch Hearts featuring Emily Haines

2. After All Andrew Sega Remix

3. Silence featuring Sarah McLachlan (Video)

4. Flowers Become Screens featuring Kristy Thirsk (Video)

5. Aria featuring Medifval Bfbes (Video)

Editorial Reviews

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

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not their best but still good, July 23, 2003

By 

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

This review is from: Chimera (Audio CD)

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.

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars lush, sometimes overly sentimental, pop, July 28, 2003

By 

audrey (white mtns) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Chimera (Audio CD)

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.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too poppy, September 11, 2004

By 

NightDmon (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chimera (Audio CD)

I am a huge fan of Delerium but this album I think is less than memorable. Anytime Delerium puts out a new CD I am there at the store waiting to get it the first day it is out. I got in my car put this CD in and was in disbelief that this was delerium. This CD just sits on a shelf collecting dust now. Balligomingo's CD sounds more like Delerium than this does. If you are looking for the haunting sounds of the earlier Delerium you will not find it on Chimera. If you are looking for forgetable dance mix usa type music this is the cd for you.