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Rainbow in Curved Air
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Price: $6.87
Price subject to change!
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0074640731525
Label: Sony
Manufacturer: Sony
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Sony
Release Date: 1990-10-25
Studio: Sony
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Customer reviews of Rainbow in Curved Air
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Terry Riley -'Rainbow In Curved Air' (Sony)
Comment: Originally released in 1967, looks to be Riley's very first record. This is my first exposure to the minimalist. I've heard his name mentioned several times before from fellow krautrock, progressive and experimental patrons. Was this electronic musician guru ahead of his time or what? Riley had managed to practically invent the 'minimalist' genre. Liked what I heard here, I need to seek out other titles from Mr. Riley. Really got sort of soaked right into the highly improvised title cut - "A Rainbow In Curved Air" (18:39) and the rather intriguing (make that out-standing) "Poppy Nogood And The Phantom Band" (21:38). The man makes such brilliant use of his keyboards, organ and synthesizers in this work. Unlike any other CD I've heard before. Should do plenty for fans of Tangerine Dream, Steve Reich, Escapade and possibly Fifty Foot Hose. Highly recommended.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Meditative, with a subtle rhythmic element
Comment: I found my first exposure to the music of American minimalist composer Terry Riley (and minimalism as a genre), to be extremely rewarding. As a fan of 1970s progressive rock and electronica, I am a little surprised that I did not explore the genre sooner, given that there is so much overlap between audiences of progressive and minimalism...well, at least there was overlap back when both styles formed part of a "popular avant-garde". At any rate, this 1969 album is excellent and sounds (to my ears) as exciting and innovative now as I am certain it did upon its release.
Terry Riley plays quite an assortment of instruments on this album including electric organ, RMI electric harpsichord, rocksichord, dumbec (finger drum), and tambourine. The electric organ however, which is heavily treated at times, dominates the soundscape. There is also heavily electronically altered soprano saxophone in the mix too. Quite honestly, this is some of the strangest and most eerie saxophone playing I have ever heard - very long sustained tones, with only incremental changes.
The music on this album is characterized by a series of what musicologists refer to as "ostinato networks". These networks are comprised of layers of interlocking and repeated melodic patterns that gradually unfold over long periods of time (A Rainbow in Curved Air = 18'39"; Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band = 21'38") with only very subtle changes over the course of each piece. There is however, a subtle rhythmic element, which is nicely demonstrated on the first piece. Evidently, this is a tendency borrowed from American jazz styles.
In large part however, the music on this album is deeply meditative, and at times borders on the hypnotic. The droning organ does a great job of achieving this and reflects a structural aspect borrowed from eastern music, particularly Indian classical music. One interesting fact that I read during my fact-finding session on minimalism was that the sheer length of each piece and the meditative quality of the music deliberately tried to reproduce the sense of timelessness induced during an acid trip. The second piece is a good example of this and seemed to at least partially suspend time - I got very caught up in the meditative aspects of the music and (for once) was not aware of time.
This is fantastic stuff and I am well on my way to exploring other works by Terry Riley including his masterwork "In C", in addition to other minimalist composers such as Steve Reich, LaMonte Young, and Philip Glass. Very highly recommended to my fellow proggers.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Pete Townshend's Turntable
Comment: Ok, this LP must have been on Pete Townshend's turntable day and night. Listen to the first track and you'll hear where "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" came from. In fact, the Riley in "Baba O'Riley" IS Terry Riley.
- Vincent G. Marino
Customer Rating:
Summary: Hasn't aged particularly well
Comment: While this may have been technically impressive at the time it was written (1968), it doesnt really stand the test of time; if I had heard it without knowing it was by Terry Riley, I would have thought I was listening to a fairly average modern electronica piece. There is minimalist work that has aged better than this; for example "Tago Mago" by Can, and some pieces by Philip Glass and Arvo Part. In the realm of early electronica, Jean Michel Jarre's "Oxygene" blows Riley's work away despite being only recorded 5 years later.
The second piece (Poppy Nogood) is significantly more interesting than Rainbow imo, although both lack any real emotional depth.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Inventive Music by an Inventive Guy.
Comment: When you say Terry Riley most people say "who?".Terry Riley made people think about the sythizier and tape loops,without him where would Baba O' Riley be,what about Eno,Soft Machine,even Pink Floyd and Funeral For a Friend by Elton. They sure wouldn't have have the synth in there or that melodelic sound.The title track Rainbows in Curved Air opens and finishes with this looped organ,synth track going around with some trickles of lead synth pouring down with some organ chords ont the side. Second part introduces tamborine professionally played and some backwards organ. That builds to where Riley introduces looped drums and insterments like harpsichord,piano and some keyboard that has this oriental pluck to it. This goes on on tell the piece suddenly stops. We then listen to the live Poppy Nogood and Phantom Band which is played with two to three tape machines playing at a different times to get a looped effect. bass drones start the song and end the song on this one With these wierd brass like insterments building and building kind of like In C.We hear Terry Riley on sax squealing away the the track gos to this brass loop with a drone callback responce.That fades to a heavy bass drone and Terry on sax which is loop for a echo effect with is pretty hyponotizing. The sax gets more intense by the minute and ends with the drone finishing afterward.A great album with a genuis working with anolog tapes with is pretty hard to do probably because your working with tape.Anyways this is an essiential to own. Recommendations would be any Soft Machine album Third on up or Hugh Hopper for thr Riley influence.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Riley is one of the granddaddies of Minimalism. His early music, In C and the two works on this disc, brought to light the musical possibilities of rapid-fire notation and shifting sonic textures to a new form of music. Riley has done this primarily through electronic keyboards and computer technology. The composer plays all the instruments on this extraordinary disc: electric organ, electric harpsichord, "rocksichord," dumbec, tambourine, and soprano saxophone. The music is spooky and hypnotic and is an early masterpiece in the genre. It belongs in the collections of anyone interested in late 20th century American music. --Paul Cook
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