Genova, Italy [Fonit LPX 11]
AMG Review by John Bush
Similar to Semantic Spaces with its focus on the lighter side of vocal dream-pop, Karma includes contributions from Sarah McLachlan, Kristy Thirsk and Jacqui Hunt.
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ProgArchives
Review by loserboy (James Unger)
5 stars DELIRIUM's "Dolce Acqua" is a wild concaution of Jazz, Prog, World and Psychedelic influences yet always retains that Characteristically 70's Italian influence. Musically this album explores a wide range of impressions with some great flute, piano and percussive passages... lots of gentle syncopation. Vocals are deep and full of emotion. Songs are quite rhythmic and heavily centered on a the melodic aspect... even some orchestration. This album unveils many highs for this music lover with its wide spectrum of bright and bouncy colors and sounds. Although 70's sounding throughout, "Dolce Acqua" leans much more on the Jazz-prog arena than many of the heavy Ital-Prog albums of its era and most certainly that of their second album. One of the most remarkable aspects of this album for me lies in its sound reproduction which comes to life in the CD re-mastered version. Sonically this album offers great wide speaker separation and clear definition making the performers sound as if they are in your living room. Might be one of the best recorded albums of 1971... Captivating and then some!!
Review by andrea (andrea parentin)
5 stars This is the first Delirium’s album, but for many people this is most of all the first album of Ivano Fossati, the Delirium’s singer, guitarist and flutist that left the band after “Dolce acqua” was released and that is now one of the most influential and successful Italian singer-songwriters… Anyway, “Dolce acqua” is an amazing work: it’s a kind of concept album about human feelings and the music is a mix of progressive, folk, jazz, classical influences and poetry…
Just the sound of the flute, then an acoustic guitar… “White houses kissed by a sun without light / Strange sun / Cosmic trains set off and don’t come back anymore / From that sun… Hot shadows that burn the air above us / From that sun / Cold hands opening from our ruins / To that sun / The fear runs within me since I know / All that will remain of us is a bonfire… Spring, if you ever pass around here / You will bring with you a little part of me”… The delicate opener “Preludio” is about “Fear” (Paura) and it’s a dreamy ballad with the vocals of Ivano Fossati and Mimmo Di Martino that interact very well… Than the rhythm goes up with the following “Movimento I”, about “Selfishness” (Egoismo)… “I haven’t got father / I haven’t got mother / In my life I never loved anyone but me”… “Movimento II” is about “Doubt” (Dubbio) and it’s another ballad with poetic lyrics and a classical inspired outro… “To Satchmo, Bird and other unforgettable friends” is a jazzy instrumental chosen to represent “Pain” (Dolore)…
Side two begins with the brilliant instrumental “Sequenza I e II”, about “Hypocrisy and Truth” (Ipocrisia – Verità), introduced by an acoustic rhythm guitar and a with a catchy melody that melts into a weird jazzy sound after a short drum solo break… The following track “Johnny Sayre”, delicate ballad with an interesting instrumental passage and change of rhythm , is about “Forgiveness” (Perdono)… “Padre tu non sai l'angoscia del momento / In cui la ruota di quel treno fu su di me / E ti chiedo perdono…”: the lyrics are an adaptation of Edgar Lee Masters’ character Johnny Sayre from the “Anthology of Spoon River”… “Father, thou canst never know / The anguish that smote my heart / For my disobedience, the moment I felt / The remorseless wheel of the engine / Sink into the crying flesh of my leg / As they carried me to the home of widow Morris / I could see the school-house in the valley / To which I played truant to steal rides upon the trains / I prayed to live until I could ask your forgiveness / And then your tears, your broken words of comfort! / From the solace of that hour I have gained infinite happiness / Thou wert wise to chisel for me: / Taken from the evil to come” (well, sometimes I think that poetry is music and vice-versa…)… The following “Favola o storia del lago di Kriss” is about “Freedom” (Libertà): it’s an acoustic ballad and the lyrics tell about a lake that would like to go out from its shores to explore the world of men… The final “Dolce acqua” is about “Hope” (Speranza), almost completely instrumental with a beautiful melody introduced by the flute and a “crescendo” with a good vocals and piano work: “The storm isn’t gone yet / But I can see sweet water”… The last one is perhaps the best track of the album…
On the CD version there’s also a bonus track, “Jesahel”, that was released as a single in 1972 (a very successful one indeed) and didn’t appear on the original version of the album… It is the most known song of the band but it has nothing to do with the concept of an album that is one of most interesting in the progressive scene of the early seventies in Italy…
If you like this album I suggest check some of the solo works of Ivano Fossati (for instance “La pianta del tè”, “Macramé” or “L’arcangelo”); though not exactly prog I think that the music of Fossati is worth listen to…
Review by Andrea Cortese (Andrea Cortese)
4 stars Dolce Acqua was the first of the three albums released by Delirium during their official activity (1971-1975). The only with Ivano Fossati, who left to become a famous (pop) singer-songwriter. The album if often regarded by many as a their masterpiece due to the large range of influences and genres (from jazz to folk and even hints of world music!!!). After having compared it with the following records for such a long time, I cannot agree with them. Ok, this is a very important album, one of the first examples of prog in Italy. There's also a huge variety of styles and influences on it. Not enough, though, to overshadow their third one, known as “Viaggio negli Arcipelaghi del Tempo”.
Dolce Acqua is the only true “prog-folk” album ever released by the band. Acoustic instruments (guitars and classic piano) and flute. The jazzy vein is already quite evident and strong in songs as “To Satchmo, Bird and Other Unforgettable Friendd (Dolore)”. A freely arranged composition that reminds me, somehow, the first album of Jethro Tull (This Was) in songs as “Serenade to a Cuckoo”. Flute is very well played and it was one of Delirium's trade mark along with the deep, charismatic and, sometimes, rough vocals.
The album also features wonderful melodic tracks as “Favola o Storia del Lago di Kriss (Libertà)” with the contribution of strings in the coda section. In the cd version their most famous track ever is added: “Jesahel”. This one was initially a single published in early 1971 and remains, still nowadays, their most important hit and one of the most memorable italian tunes ever.
In conclusion, Dolce Acqua is certainly worth of special mention, due in particular to its kindness and delicate variety of sounds and roots, from jazz to folk to melodic, with sparse (but important) echoes from Jethro Tull. Excellent for it drawed the line of what rock progressivo italiano could have been but it wasn't then. Dolce Acqua came before the arrival and the success of all those symphonic bands we all know very well. At that time, Delirium were already there along with very few bands and artists as, mainly, Le Orme, New Trolls and I Giganti...Jethro Tull were so strong at that time.
3.75
Review by Sean Trane (Hugues Chantraine)
3 stars First album of a group fronted by future pop solo singer Ivan Fossatti (no link that I know of with Garybaldi's Bambi Fossatti), but one of the lighter/poppier one, even after Fossatti left to pursue his solo career. Dolce Acqua is overloaded with Fossatti's presence and the rest of the group appears more like an accompanying band rather than a real prog group. Musically the album hestates between pop, jazz, jazz-rock and the odd bit of folk(mostly heard in the acoustic guitar strumming often sounding Latin American) and all tracks are penned by Fossatti and Magenta (whom does not appear as a musician in the group's line- up) and has pop feeling. Lyrically the album has a concept about feelings (the subtitles in brackets), but it appears non-convincing to the album's lack of musical focus. Due to the group's strategic appearances to a few festivals and a few successful chart-topping singles (Canto Di Osanna and Jezahel), this album gained a lot of attention and healthy sales early on in the country's golden prog era. And a very naïve artwork is gracing the cover as well.
In the 8 tracks of the album (Jezahel is a bonus track not properly mentioned on this reissue), there seems to lack unity, some being outright standard jazz (To Satchmo), some other are overloaded by cheesy strings (the title track), other dips in jazz rock (Sequenza), some are insufferably pop, but on the whole the album remains a pleasant listen, partly due to Fossatti's able presence behind the flute.
Indeed, it appears that a good deal of the "prog" groups that managed good success/public attention in Italy's golden prog age, might have not been the most gifted (I think of Osanna's Debut album as well) and that the most deserving groups did not get the needed recognition. Delirium appears to belong in the first category and this writer is not really impressed by this album, no matter how important (historically or commercially) the album was.
Review by braindamage
5 stars The first work released in 1971 "Dolce Acqua". The content is thick folk rock. Various music like jazz and classics, etc. is taken. It gives birth to air with a nostalgic sound of a romantic melody and musical instruments. The perfection as pop is preeminent. This album is not progressive. However, it fills with the charm extremely music. The album is also complete. It is ,so to speak, canzone folk rock.
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