III (VIAGGIO NEGLI ARCIPELAGHI DEL TEMPO)

Third and final album by this Italian prog band. This album has been a little more difficult to review than some other prog albums, but here goes. At times they remind me a little of JETHRO TULL, especially the flute. Aside from the flute, musically they don't remind me of TULL. Sometimes they explore a more folk-y style, like the opening cut, but then they start going in to lengthy prog passages, dominated by Hammond organ and piano (with some electric piano). Vocals are in Italian, and they tend to be harsh (reminding me of LOCANDA DELLE FATE's Leonardo Sasso with a hoarse voice) and needs getting a little used to. Strings are used from time to time as well. But the one thing bothering me is the keyboardist is credited to using Mellotron but I sure don't notice any. Still, this album is worth having if you're in to the Italian prog scene.

"Delirium III - Viaggio negli arcipelaghi del tempo" is a kind of confused concept album about time and reality with lyrics not always inspired and beautiful instrumental moments. It's more symphonic if compared to "Dolce acqua" and "Lo scemo e il villaggio", featuring less flute passages but more strings and sax. In other words, a sound more distant from Traffic or Jethro Tull and closer to ELP, PFM, BMS, Le Orme etc. Nevertheless here Delirium are still able to keep a touch of originality and the result is not bad.

The opener "Il dono" (The gift) is a delicate ballad introduced by acoustic guitar and flute. "At distant god's wish / You'll live thousands years in just one hour / Eternal keeper of a civilization / Pale and filled with his goodness / At distant god's wish / You'll be able to understand your role / And then mould the time as you like / You will rule moon and sun / Strange colours deep into your eyes / Drops of fire set in the sky / Young face, the time will reveal / Only ashes of glances and then."

"Viaggio negli arcipelaghi del tempo" (Journey into the archipelagos of time) is more complex with gloomy vocals, changes of rhythm and jazzy interludes soaring from "the Earth still smelling of blood."

"Fuga N.1" is an instrumental track with a good organ and sax work, many changes of rhythm and of mood. Maybe a little bit too experimental but not bad at all.

"Dio del silenzio" (God of the Silence) is an amazing short acoustic ballad featuring a good sax solo. "In a moment of eternity / I'm the blaze without mercy / My body is made only of wind / Bright is the moon into sapphire's waters / There are only the stars into my singing / God of the silence, please don't go away. God, do you think that was just an act of goodness / To give me the gift of eternity?".

On "La battaglia degli eterni piani" after a quiet intro, "the battle rages on." and the rhythm goes up: this track is more complex and the mood is more epic and symphonic, though with a slightly jazzy interlude.

"Un uomo" is just a short melodic piano ballad and in my opinion this is the weakest point of the album. "I will find again / The faith in me / Or I'll run away. A man can never stop / He'll find into himself / His reality."

The last two tracks are instrumentals: "Viaggio N.2" with a good sax work and a jazzy feeling and the quiet and symphonic "Ancora un'alba" (Another sunrise). Both good but not outstanding.

On the whole a good album and, in my opinion, an excellent addition to any Italian prog collection.

"...the ground still smells of blood..."

Their forgotten gem!

Delirium III, also known as "Viaggio negli Arcipelaghi del Tempo" (Journey through the Archipelagos of Time), is their magnus opus, their masterpiece. I know many people say that only their debut album reached the masterpiece status. In my humble opinion they're wrong. I agree that "Dolce Acqua" was released very soon, in 1971, and is one of the first progressive albums in the italian prog scene. It is also true that leader- singer-songwriter Ivano Fossati is very famous in Italy and that his distinctive vocals were the Delirium's trademark on their first record. After his quick departure (he left after the release of Dolce Acqua) the band moved into their most fertile period. Their (excellent) debut album was very folk based, with acoustic guitar and flute, with remarkable jazzy influence. It cannot be forgotten, though, the commercial vein of Ivano Fossati. Paradoxally their most famous track from that album (their most famous track ever) is "Jesahel". Does this song is representative of the Delirium catalogue? No it isn't. Jesahel brought them great success and gave them wider audience. It's not prog at all, though!

So, after Ivano Fossati left the band, they started to concentrate more in prog and the improvement is well evident in their second record titled "Lo Scemo e il Villaggio" (The Fool and the Village), issued in 1972. But it's only wih their third 1974's work that they thouched the apex! What a great album! More varied and complicated. Without frills. New characters and instruments enter in the songs' structure along with flute and acoustic guitars: mellotron and sax. The result is an original and wonderful work. If you wish to find some comparisons you should go for an original mix between early King Crimson and Jethro Tull, with some references to Van Der Graaf, sometimes, and some jazzy flashes! Also two or three (great) appearences of violin.

The general mood of the album goes from dark and serious (it is a concept album, after all) to more relaxing and soft tunes, as for example, the beautiful (and the most favourite of mine) "Dio del Silenzio" (God of Silence, 2,59 mns).

The mix between flute and strong sax came out very well, as you can hear in the most memorable tracks: "Viaggio negli Arcipelaghi..." (4,38), "Fuga n. 1" (6,42) and the somptuous "La Battaglia degli Eterni Piani" (The Battle of the Eternal Plans, 6,42 mns). I think also the rough and deep vocals are better that those of the first album. Somehow in a similar vein of those you can listen in the Rustichelli e Bordini's Opera Prima.

In conclusion, a mastepiece. Essential for people who want to know the non-symphonic italian prog.

'Delirium 3 (Viaggio Negli Arcipelaghi Del Tempo ) was released in 1974 and is one of the most beautiful and elegant Italian Prog records. The record combines great songs with interesting instrumental passages, a mixture of Jazz and Folk reminding sometimes Jethro Tull, sometimes King Crimson, Focus and Gentle Giant.

The record opens with 'Il Dono ' a beautiful song for acoustic guitar, flute and strings with nice jazzy interplay , followed by the title track 'Viaggio Negli Arcipelaghi Del Tempo' an uptempo track with influences of Jethro Tull (flute) and King Crimson (the heavy funk rhythm and the sax solo reminds the KC of 'Islands' with Mel Collins) and a geat Mellotron outro.

'Fuga N.1' an instrumental again with a' King Crimson'- like intro, developping a dark mood for sax organ and strings, followed by a heavy funk section for flute, bass and strings, another great track.

The fourth track 'Dio Del Silenzio' like track one a beautiful theme,suported by acoustic guitar, flute and a sax solo , followed by 'La Battaglia Degli Eterni Piani ' with an intro for acoustic guitar and Moog, that evolves into a dark threatening theme with great flute & guitar interplay à la Jethro Tull and ending with a treated flute solo.

'Un Uomo' with a jazz piano intro, strings and jazzy vocals sounds a bit too much like 'Lounge Bar Jazz' for my taste, even so the melody is beautiful and reminds me Paolo Conte.

'Viaggio N.2 ' is a Gentle Giant inspired track, with a moog and sax intro, followed by a typical GG mutlipart vocal arrangement that evolves into a funky theme for guitar and soprano sax, Gentle Giant meets James Brown and segues into....

'Ancora Un'alba' a last beautiful theme supported by dramatic strings, chamberlain and flute.

A masterpiece that combines melodic Prog with Jazz & Folk elements and beautiful Italian vocals.

Acclaimed Italian title with lots of sax and flute

Delirium are a Genova based group who formed in 1970 from the remains of a beat band called Sagittari. The original line-up included the famed Ivano Fossati who had left by this time, replaced by Martin Grice. Some consider this to be their finest recorded work although there are those who prefer the first album with Fossati.

The album begins with "Il Dono" which is one of the prettiest songs you'll ever hear. A fantastic, sentimental melody runs throughout in the flute and acoustic guitar. There are occasional loud punches at just the right moments to give the songs some drama, but then it goes back to relaxing with nice hand drums for rhythm. The vocals are warm and approachable. Half way through Vigo's mellotron lays some nice washes adding to the gorgeous sound, then near the end it picks up a bit. Great opener a la PFM.

The title track is second and is harder edged with standard drums and sax. This one is quirkier rather than folksy with a GG/KC influence perhaps in the odd beat. Again the mellotron shows up but only sparingly which makes the effect even more welcome. "Fuga N. 1" begins with a sludgy bottom end sax combined with bass to create sort of a menacing heavy chug. Things degenerate into a sort of chaotic jazzy slurry with flute, strings, and sound effects. Then the organ and piano get some play which is very nice before the heavy groove returns. "Dio Del Silenzio" is another pretty piece of brightly strummed acoustic melody.

"La Battaglia Degli Eterni Piani" has a varied intro, then gets heavy sounding like a mix of Sabbath and Tull with some heaviness in the vocal and lightness in the flute play. Then come some jazzy guitar chords and bass and the heavy vocals return. "Un Uomo" features piano, mellotron, acoustic in another lovely track with laid back vocals. "Viaggio N. 2" is another quirky number that sounds like a Giant influence initially with gibberish vocals effects but soon morphs into a quick paced jazzy beat. From there on the piece turns a bit fusion but strikes me as unfocused. A crash of thunder welcomes the closer "Ancora Un' Alba" followed by serene strings. The relaxing orchestrations are eventually joined by the band for one pleasant bit before the fade-out.

"Viaggio" is a good Italian album with some very beautiful sections scattered throughout and these parts are very endearing. But I was less convinced by their more dramatic, harder edged sections which seemed a bit forced and as I mentioned already, somehow unfocused. Fans of Italian prog who love saxophone and flute will likely enjoy this enough to purchase but I don't think of it as highly as some others do. Then again, the sheer beauty of the opening track is enough for an Italian zealot like myself put this one on the shelf.

Here is "Viaggio negli Arcipelaghi del Tempo", the third, last and best offering by Delirium. This album pretty much follows in the vein of the preceding release, only this time the jazz factor is enhanced, in this way allowing the band to display their taste for colorful expansions in a more nurtured fashion. The fact that Mimmo decided to add the electric guitar together with his usual acoustic guitar duties helps the global sound to become as full as they intended it to be, although he is no virtuoso; in fact, most of the soloing is provided by Groce (mostly on flute but also with some mean sax for good measure). Meanwhile, the keyboard department is in charge to sustain the sonic nucleus (harmonic foundations, textures), a fact that becomes particularly relevant in those climatic moments when the band fluidly drive themselves toward the intense sections of the tracks. It is obvious that the band's musical ideology has become more ambitious, adding robust string arrangements in most of the densest passages. 'Il Dono' is a beautiful, serene acoustic ballad that finds the band confirming once again that the bucolic thing is and has always been a forte of theirs. The pairing of the namesake track and 'Fuga N. 1' shines with a bittersweet splendor through the tempo shifts and mood variations: the latter exhibits a particularly somber tone that almost seems cinematographic. In moments like this you can tell that there is a strong family air shared between Delirium, Jumbo, Capitolo 6 and Campo di Marte. After this ordeal of typically prog complexity, comes the ballad 'Dio del Silenzio', arguably the most accomplished pastoral Delirium song ever. Despite the relative simplicity of its recurrent main motif, its mixture of "Aqualung"-era JT and standard Mediterranean symphonic folk is taken to peaks of moving lyricism - the feeling provided by Grice on his flute playing certainly has got to do very much with it. 'La Battaglia degli Eterni Piani' reinstates the somber sophisticated atmospheres of 'Fuga', even reinforcing the source of energy. Once again, a ballad is used as a gentle provider of contrast - 'Un Uomo' is actually too short for the kind of tenderness that it is supposed to convey, but I guess that this is an usual problems in some prog albums. some songs deserved to be longer that they actually became. 'Viaggio N. 2' brings back the intense sort of jazz- friendly symphonic rock that tracks 2, 3 and 5 had previously delivered so well: the track's focus lies on the clever amalgam of two main motifs fluidly linked to each other. The thunder strike and pouring rain that end this track is segued into the closer 'Ancora un'Alba', which consists of an emotive orchestral daydream of strings and woodwind followed by a brief instrumental reprise of 'Dio del Silenzio'. Sublime!, really sublime! A beautiful ending for an excellent album, as a matter of fact, Delirium's zenith.

I actually enjoyed this album a lot more when I wasn't giving it my full attention, I was listening to it as background music I guess you could say. After a couple of listens giving it my full attention i've come to the conclusion that is good but not excellent. There's a lot of strings,as well as orchestral moments.

"Il Dono" features acoustic guitar and flute.Vocals come in around 1 1/2 minutes. Nice sound. Bass and drums do become prominant later. "Viaggio Negli Arcipelaghi Del Tempo" is led by flute and drums and the vocals are rough sounding although there is a second vocalsist who I like better. Sax before 1 1/2 minutes and strings a minute later. Vocal melodies come in after 3 1/2 minutes. "Fuga N.1" is heavier with organ. I like it. Sax comes in as well as synths with flute. A good uptempo section comes in around 3 1/2 minutes. Orchestration and some fuzz follows. Piano after 4 minutes. It's heavy again a minute later. It settles once more with strings.

"Dio Del Silenzio" is led by strummed guitar and vocals although there are some strings and a sax solo late. "La Battaglia Degli Eterni Piani" has a pastoral intro with some strings. Menacing vocals come in before 2 1/2 minutes with a fuller sound. The tempo picks up then back to those dark vocals. "Un Uomo" is a short 2 minute track with some flute and strings joining in. "Viaggio N.2" becomes uptempo and sax comes in before 2 1/2 minutes. Drums take the spotlight after 3 minutes. "Ancora Un'Alba" opens with thunder and rain followed by strings and flute.

As Andy from Planet Mellotron states, if there's mellotron on here it's hard to pick out with all the strings and orchestral movements. Still a good album that most seem to like a lot more than I do.

This album has been a true companian of mine since I purchased it during the warmer days of the summer. I was walking in some obscure backalley downtown Copenhagen, when my eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of what seemed to look like an RPI cover... Well blow me sideways and colour my knees green!! Italian prog in a danish musicstore? Stranger things have happened... Delirium? It rang a tiny bell, and then I remembered reading a marvelous review from Finnforrest on their newest release - needless to say that I was out of the shop 30 sec later a tad poorer, but with a giant Mona Lisa smile I-know-something-you-don´t on my face, that often appears when I´m making my way home with a new album under my arm.

There has been a lot of Jethro Tull references, but I honestly don´t consider all rockmusic that features flute to be derivative of JT. The way the flute is played on Delirium III: Viaggio Negli Arcipelaghi Del Tempo is very melodic and rhythmbased, and made me think of the mighty Jackson from VDGG, even if that sounds like I have lost my marbles. They both have an similar understanding of when to play lead or rhythm, though their individual styles are about as close as Michael Jackson is to Michael Åkerfeldt...

This is great music for mornings with blue skies and seagulls on the horizon. The horizon is always changing before our eyes, but there is always something familiar about it - something that is un-erasable. Delirium 3 is like that. It changes paths all through the album, jumping from acoustic sprinkling guitars spiced with soft handdrums and mellotron, to beautiful soaring textures with a full-on-orchestra attack,- and like The Wall from Floyd it has a recuring theme, that is played either by the flute or the saxophone. It is extremely effective as it is beautyful and almost naive. During these sections I can´t help from smiling, dreaming myself away to long warm summerdays of my childhood running around in bare feet not giving a care - wasting my time on anything that was remotely dangerous... I guess it´s the nostalgic feel to this album that colours my view. If I were to point out some personal highlights, I´d say Il dono, Fuga nr1, Viaggio nr2 and Dio del silencio.

Delirium III: Viaggio Negli Arcipelaghi Del Tempo should be heard in it´s entirety and preferably in green grass groves, mustard yellow fields or on a small backroad to the forrest where you might be pressed to shush the neverending chit chatting of blackbirds, because you are missing the saxophonepiece...

This is the Delirium album many point to as the one to have, but I would not readily agree. Lead vocalist Ivano Fossati has now been gone for two years, and the band is still working on finding an identity.

Opening track Il Dono starts with syrupy string arrangements that elicited an audible 'uh oh' from this reviewer the first time I heard the album. Title track has some nice sax work from Martin Grice (not as prevalent as the previous album) but is hampered by a shrill chorus. It settles into a nice piano jam with first album style vocalizations and flute that give the first indication that this is still Delirium. Some cautious sax echoes of Bloomdido style Gong riffs are in there too. Side one ends with Dio Del Silenzio, an acoustic guitar driven song that fully sounds like older Delirium, with cadence and melody hearkening back to the Fossatti era, hampered only by unnecessary strings and an indifferent sax solo. Some flute on this one would have been a better choice.

Side two begins with a delicate 12 string guitar and synthesizer before the string arrangements overwhelm the proceedings. (La Battaglia Degli Eterni Piani). Once the strings cut out, a flute and guitar jam takes over but soon the strings are back creating a slight Starsky and Hutch vibe that isn't what they'd hoped for.

A nice nod towards subtle Gentle Giant vocalizations are a treat on side two before strings, wah guitar and sax create an unintentional prog homage to Shaft. (the drums through a ring modulator is a nice touch). Thunder crashes, rain comes down and the syrupy strings take us into the finale, Ancora Un'alba, an inconsequential 'orchestra with band accompaniment' denouement to side two.

Overall, this is a fairly dark album, like a richer but creepier version of Van der Graaf Generator, which is a decent comparison. They are a more complex version but perhaps not for the better, as some more of the specialness of Delirium has faded. But it feels like the band is unsure what direction to head in, so they tried several things to see what works. My original notes i just found said "Proto string infused doom riffs with Shaft soundtrack meets Hatfield and the North." Hmmm. Perhaps this is their version of their King Crimson Red album. They've hit 1974, been through a ton of change, and are looking forward and backward at the same time. But the strings really get in the way of the whole proceedings and generally hinder rather than enhance any songs they are on (most of the album). Not a bad album by any means, but my least favorite of the first three. In a word: Uneven.

3 stars