Extraordinary Ways

Conjure One | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 30, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nettwerk
• ASIN: B000AHJ7W0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,097 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Serene singers and lush electronic textures and strings are often a prescription for smothering romanticism and overwrought pop-treacle. Rhys Fulber, the force behind Conjure One, succumbed to that with his other band, Delerium, on their last album, Chimera ." But Fulber's post-Delerium project, Conjure One, though using the same formula, has a darker, sometimes more foreboding edge. On their long awaited second CD, superstar singer Sinead O'Connor is gone in favor of a bevy of lesser known voices, but little else has changed. That's not bad although "Endless Dream" echoes "Center of the Sun" from the previous album perhaps a bit too closely with yearning lyrics rising to cathedral heights in a soul-haunted chorus. The vocal credit on the tune is Jane, but unless someone has perfected human cloning, it's actually the singer-songwriter Poe, a hold-over from the last CD. She has the kind of warm crystal clear alto that makes even the awkward lyrics of the title track sound like heavenly entreaties. Joanna Stevens eschews words all together when she powers through a Middle-Eastern derived wordless hymn on the ecstatic grooves of "Dying Light." Conjure One almost becomes a different project, --one that recalls the glistening electro-pop of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark-- when Rhys Fulber sings on "Beyond Being" and a cover of The Buzzcock's "I Believe". But singers Tiff Lacey and Chemda bring it back to the Conjure One sound. From the orchestral-electronica of "Pilgrimage" to the poignant intimacy of "One Word," Extraordinary Ways is an album that seduces easily. -- John Diliberto

Product Description

With Conjure One being Rhys Fulber's (Frontline Assembly & Delerium) solo debut, he expands upon the promise of Karma with a rapturous blend of lush textures, hauntingly beautiful melodies and softly curved electrobeats. Nettwerk. 2005.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Album, but the 1st one is better, September 2, 2005

By 

Anthony Morelli "Woofbear" (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Extraordinary Ways (Audio CD)

Bought it Wednesday morning and I like it. Took a couple of listens for me to get used to it. I was expecting something closer to the 1st album...with the familiar tribal, euro and techno beats. That one offered so much color. But this album is much more laid back and slow. It was slightly harder to digest and it's my only reason for the 4-star rating.

Track 4 "ONE WORD" (Sung by Poe) is beautiful and my favorite off the CD. Anyone who owns this CD will notice that Poe's name isn't mentioned at the end of the lyrics of each of her songs. Instead, the name "JANE" pops up. Is that her real name? Or am I missing something? As for the songs with the male voice & distortions...I don't really care all that much for them. And, they're too slow and repetitive...but are tolerable.

I've followed Rhys Fulber since 2001 when the Maxi Single of "A WHITER SHADE OF PALE" was released by Sarah Brightman & her record company. Rhys Fulber did a remix and i think his is the best of the 5 "publically released" mixes. His work is great, regardless if the song is slow, fast or both.
When he teamed up with POE and Sinead O'Connor, they made magic. This time around, I appreciate Poe more, and only wish the rest of the album was more up-tempo. If it weren't for Poe's collaborations, this album would be darker and I don't think it would have made it to my "will listen to again" pile.

I was honestly disappointed during the first time I played Extradorinary Ways, to the point where I really didn't want to review the CD, nor did I want to listen to it again. But it certainly saved my own rear-end by taking the time to listen to it entirely a 2nd & 3rd time. Now I like it.

If you don't already own the 1st album, do buy it. The 1st one's a lot more eclectic and RF's choice of collaborating artists is amazing, and it fulfills me each time I pop the CD into the stereo or discman.

I heard there won't be a 2CD set version of this album. That's good, because it will be less hard to find this album in all the store for future customers. The 1st album was and still is scarce, whether it's the standard 1-disc version or the 2-disc.

Tracklist
01- Endless Dream - 4:30
02- Face the Music - 4:35
03- Pilgrimage - 6:48
04- One Word - 4:40
05- I Believe - 6:07
06- Beyond Being - 7:07
07- Extraordinary Ways - 4:40
08- Dying Light - 6:45
09- Forever Lost - 4:46
10- Into the Escape - 4:15

This album is great for the Rhys Fulber collectors, but not a "Must Have".

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars POE'S RETURN TO CONJURE ONE IS EXTRAORDINARY, June 15, 2006

By 

Howard L. Salter "Defending Liars Writer" (West Allis, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Extraordinary Ways (Audio CD)

I'm not happy with the negative reports that people have been provided here. My inital exposure to the clever lyrical content of POE was initally through a Conjure One CD and I've since bought her other solo material in addition to these collaborative efforts. POE definately has a fan in Milwaukee. The songs and content of this CD are engaging and a light pop orientation in the vein of DJ Armin Van Burne, Balligomingo, and Enigma, and Delerium. I've been getting into another act in this genre called Collide and that band happens to be my favorite in the Genre. This album however, has been played daily on my ipod for the last two weeks. I can't get the song "Extra Ordinary Ways" out of my head. If you like these other bands then this line up is great. I'd love a chance to see how they collaborate and some behind the scenes stuff on how Rhyes (spelling) worked with these other artists and how his collaborative procesess work. I also secretly wonder if he's hip to other projects out there outside this genre like Dream Theater? Well, if you like Pretty or Vocal Trance music this is for you. It has a more poppy flavor than the Energizer Bunny Trance sounds and is definately more loungy. Enjoy it.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flawless - My favorite album of 2005, hands down., December 6, 2005

By 

Rex A. Lloyd (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Extraordinary Ways (Audio CD)

I enjoyed so much of Conjure One's first self-titled album, but it never seemed to flow properly for me. This album is all flow.
If you felt the same way... and if you liked Delerium's Symantic Spaces, Karma and Poem... if you're an old fan of This Mortal Coil and all things 4AD.. If you yearn constantly (as I do)for dark, lucious, brooding female vocals atop gorgeous flowing soundscapes... This album is the answer.