A RAINBOW IN CURVED AIR

Recognized, justifiably, throughout the music world as a landmark album in the evolution of music, Terry Riley had been working on these pieces in live performances (sometimes all-night) for several years before finally rendering more concise versions of "In C," "Rainbow" and "Poppy" to tape and vinyl--and the radio listener and record consuming population has benefitted tremendously. Imagine if only live concert-goers were to have been the only individuals to have ever heard these pieces! While the classical staccato minimalism of "A Rainbow in Curved Air" contributed tremendously to the solidification of the genre of music that John Adams, Steve Reich, Phillip Glass, and Michael Nyman and, truthfully, a whole host of Berlin School electronic artists would make famous, the drones, loops, and overdubs of "Poppy Nogood" were also quite revolutionary. Everyone knows the effect In A Rainbow in Curved Air had on The Soft Machine during the composition/recording sessions of their album, Third--how Mike Ratledge's "Out- Bloody-Rageous" came out of this effect--but it's hard to imagine how long it would have taken Robert Fripp, Brian Eno, the members of Kraftwerk, and so many Ambient, New Age, and electronic artists to develop their sounds and styles without the advantage of hearing and learning from this ground-breaking album! While I may not consider the two songs to be great listening or greatly sophisticated compositions requiring virtuosic musicianship, they certainly provide nice background music for the home/workspace.

1. "A Rainbow in Curved Air" (18:40) nice minimalist overlaying of electronic keys (speeded up?) and percussion. (36.5/40)

2. "Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band" (21:40) very pleasant and mesmerizing weave of looped, echo-effected, and overlayed saxophone riffs, bursts and flourishes. Terry proves that one human can be a one man big band/wind orchestra! (36.125/40)

A-/five stars. Though perhaps only a minor masterpiece of progressive rock music, A Rainbow in Curved Air stands as a major contribution to the birth and development of progressive electronic music.