Customer Reviews

Karma

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Delerium's "Karma" is, and probably always will be, their best album. With such first-rate female vocalists as Sarah McLachlan, Camille Henderson and Jacqui Hunt singing on each of the three singles, "Silence," "Duende" and "Euphoria (Firefly)" respectively, the regular album version is a gem in itself. However, it is Kristy Thirsk, with her sultry, sensual vocals on "Enchanted" who steals the show on "Karma," and with this limited edition bonus disk version is Kristy Thirsk's "Heaven's Earth," arguably one of the best Delerium songs ever, and only available on this CD. When released as a single, it climbed to #2 in Ireland and #4 in Australia. You'll immediately know why when you hear it. Buy the limited edition bonus disc version of "Karma" for "Heaven's Earth" if nothing else!

Overall this is a great CD. The track shared by Sarah and Delerium is awesome. The sounds of the music throughout the remaining songs on the CD are harmonic and mellow with a good beat. Some of the tracks tend to be more monotone than you would anticipate in listening, (track 7, especially). I am a definite Sarah fan and will definitely give other Delirium LP's a listen.

To my ears, the sound on this album is characterized by Gregorian chants, sitar, flutes, short infusions of Spanish guitar, classical music structures, exotic percussive textures and frequent Middle Eastern style singing. Although cohesive enough, it lacks variation to some extent due to the same mid-tempo beat, so initially it is difficult to distinguish one track from another. Just when one expects the music to reach the heights of a Popol Vuh or veer into a Dead Can Dance direction, it reverts again to an Enigma like style.

Disk One: The first track, the mid-tempo Enchanted contains children's voices performing a chant between & under the flowing female vocals.

The sound of Duende integrates jungle drums, percussive rhythms, sitar & male background vocals, a texture that resurfaces on the up-tempo third track Twilight. The lyrics for this one was written by Camille Henderson who also does the lead vocals.

Silence, performed by Sarah McLachlan, opens with choral male vocals resembling a Gregorian chant that alternates with the female vocal. The lyrics, written by McLachlan, include the phrase "Heaven holds a sense of wonder."

There is a somewhat eerie undertone to Forgotten Worlds that combines what sounds like eastern & western instruments with a definite oriental flavor in the vocal delivery. This track has a complex arrangement with frequent tempo shifts and instrumental variation, including, besides sitar and flutes, also short orchestral infusions.

Kirsky Thirsk wrote the lyrics for Lamentation and graces it with her lovely voice. It opens with slow solemn flute sounds before the stringed instruments and percussion kick it, followed by those Gregorian male vocals and Kirsty's wordless singing. Euphoria, performed by Jacqui Hunt, is the track that comes closest to a traditional pop song structure.

Disk two has three versions of Silence: the radio edit of the sanctuary mix, the album version and the full-length sanctuary mix. There are also alternate versions of Silence, Euphoria & Duende. The 12 inch mix edit of Incantation has entrancing instrumental & vocal patterns.

The real gem is the frequency modulation mix of Flowers Become Screens that clocks in at 8 minutes. Kirsty Thirsk wrote the lyrics & performs this most enchanting song that towers above everything else on the album with its exquisite melody, uplifting arrangement and soaring vocals. The original version is available on Delerium's 1994 album Semantic Spaces. Karma is worth the price for this song alone.

This special edition of Karma contains another CD, with the best song ever created: Heaven's earth. Seriously.