(25 November 2001) Eleven vocally-dominated new age-oriented tracks some with vocal contributions by Freud's Cora O'Donovan (review) comprise the Elysia album Spirit Of The Sun (Edel Records (Germany), 2001). Crisp percussion and electric guitar perfectly compliment the synth-based arrangements. Lush male and female vocal harmonies support Cora's lovely lead. Several of the album's tunes ("Forever," "Earthvoice" and others) also feature lead vocal parts by Alireza Sanatjou.

The album was produced by Terra Del Sol-artist Ingo Hauss (review) for Matiz Music and was co-produced by Clyde Ward. Executive production credit goes to Mike Ungefehr. The album is certain to appeal to enthusiasts of ERA and Delerium (review).

Sung as a duet between the two lead vocalists, the album's title track and "The World Wasn't Made In One Day" are certainly among the album's standouts. We especially appreciated the soaring female African-sounding chants that underscore the male lead and shine through in the chorus. Upbeat and rhythmic percussion adds a dance flavour to several of the tracks as well. Evocatively sung male and female vocal parts intertwine in the heavenly ballad "Come The Night."

The Cora O'Donovan female-led vocal numbers, including "Elysium" and "One In A Million Dreams," make this album work for us the most. Powerful and lush layers of vocals comprise an Enya-style choir in the symphonic piece "Genesis," certainly one of the album's standouts.

Dominated by synthesizer, "Tranquilia," and the album's closing number, "Magnetic Wisdom," are both moving and very Vangelis-oriented new age instrumentals. Soundbites of all the album's tracks are available at amazon.dehere. The blend of worldly instrumentals, new age sounds and Cora O'Donovan's vocals make this one to explore further--a very nice listen!