Conjure One

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Conjure One

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I jumped the Delerium bandwagon when 'Silence' was a hit and I loved "Canto Alla Vita" on Josh Groban's debut album, which was produced and arrange by Rhys Fulber. I just loved this style of music that could fuse romance with electronic musical stylings. While it falls short of excellent, it did live up to my expectations.

What makes this album different (perhaps even better) for me, however, is one woman: Poe. She contributes two songs on that are both very solid tracks. Her lyrics, as usual, are tight, eloquent, and subtle. She's proven again that she is a fantastic lyricist, and her vocals are velvety and rhythmic. It really is no wonder her fans call her the 'mistress of groove.' Her song "Center of the Sun" really is the highlight of this album. She never oversings and her voice complements both her songs very well.

Another standout song was "Sleep." It was very ambient and created a very strong mood. The song "Manic Star" was nice, as well--a very catchy tune! Both these songs, along with Poe's, were well produced and boast strong melodies (they key, I've found, with a good Rhys Fulber song).

Chemda's vocals were actually very good. Her Israeli-style vocalizations on "Redemption" were enjoyable. I don't know what basis the official reviewer has of saying her singing is a rip-off of the late Ofra Haza (who was a GREAT singer, don't get me wrong). When two people both hail from similar regions (in this case, the Middle East) you're bound to hear similarities somewhere along the line. Chemda's vocals were intense, soulful, and compatible with Rhys' style, not to mention lend an exotic feel to the album.

The song I am a little disappointed with is Sinead's "Tears from the Moon." In this case I do agree with the official review. The lyrics do fall on cliches here and there, and the song is a bit formulatic. It's doesn't have the sweetness of Sleep or Manic Star, and it definitely doesn't have the smooth groove of Poe's contributions. I think the problem was it is a little too pop and not ambiant enough.

Overall, however, this CD does boast strong tracks. If you enjoyed songs such as Silence, Euphoria, Fallen Icons, Daylight, After All, and Truly from Delerium's past albums, you should enjoy Rhys Fulber's solo venture.