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Terry Riley - A Rainbow In Curved Air (1969)

Updated: Oct 7, 2023



My only reference to Riley from the 1970s was reading that Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells had been influenced by this album. However, in those days avenues like this couldn't be followed up easily without spending hard-earned cash, but half a century on, the outlay is (relatively) far less, so in the latest rash of CD buying I thought I'd give it a try.



A Rainbow In Curved Air is a massively over-dubbed organ and electronic piece, which noodles on for about twenty minutes, while the second piece Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band is a repetitive saxophone drone loop, which has its beauty, but another twenty minutes is a struggle.


It seems unfair to be judging this 1969 album by twenty-first century standards. What Riley produced was innovative and groundbreaking, but people like Tangerine Dream and Godspeed You! Black Emperor have run with the ball and produced far more interesting variations of these themes.



3* - I needed a second listening to hear some of the hidden beauty in this album, but its appeal is in its originality rather than content.




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