One of the releases I'll be reviewing soon is the new DVD of the live show by Italian progressive rockers, Delirium. In anticipation of that, here's the review I wrote for their previous album from 2009, Il Nome Del Vento.
Originating in Genova, Delirium rose from the band Sagittari in 1970 and went on to release three progressive rock albums in the 1970s’, Dolce Acqua, Lo Scemo E Il Villaggio & Delirium III: Viaggio Negli Arcipelaghi Del Tempo. They disbanded in 1975. In 2003 they reformed with two new members and released a live album in 2007, this album reviewed here in 2009 and a live show on DVD in 2010.
This album flows beautifully from one album to the next as the song seem to connect to each other, as if not ending but serving as the starting point of the next in line.
Starting with a reprise of Dio Del Silenzio from Delirium III, the album goes on to the title track that presents the string quartet that plays along with the band. This is a beautiful, evocative and spellbinding melody, rich sounding and captivating. The strong section adds much to the emotions that dominate this song, along with the sax. Next comes a track that includes VdGG’s Theme One. It starts with a wonderful sax lead (no percussions yet) building an atmosphere and later on comes the piano to take over the lead and also provide a powerful rhythm. All this builds up the tension up until more than two minutes in when the familiar theme begins; this is a superb buildup towards this. Delirium doesn’t simply plays the Theme, but jams with it a bit and then goes on to “take back” the lead with their own theme, heavy sounding and ominous, returning later on to the familiar theme. More variety comes in again as they shift away from the Theme again to play a jazzy interlude, organ dominated with a sax playing on the top an edited version of the Theme, jamming to it. This is a staggering piece, varied, powerful and haunting. It connects directly to the next piece, which features in first 2 minutes, the classical lineup in full scale and dominating the show alone. This is a peaceful yet strong performance that again reaches emotional climaxes throughout. The rest of the band, including vocals, join towards the middle, achieving the vast sound of the band that is representative of this album. There’s not much point going on as you get the idea, but let me just say that the songs are varied in style and mood in this album. It does require several good and concentrated listens to be able to absorb it completely, though, due to its richness of melodies and wide range of moods, elements and sounds.
To sum this up: The sound is rich and wonderful, the musicianship splendid, the instrumentation lineup wide, the vocals powerful and the music varied and beautiful. A wonderful album; get it.
Links:
Myspace
Italian Prog website
Prog Archives
Silly ciip, but just listen to the music:
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