(as I listened to the first song)

The silence of unsaid words
fills the open solid space
reaching into distance
You can swim in the Sky

The scales of the Dragon vibrate
Beauty flows out of my abdomen
You can swim in the Sky!
My bones are made of crystal
My body transparent to
the NRG of the Universe
(You can swim in the Sky)
The Vibrations of a low note
OOOOOOHHHHHHMMMM
form a wet sphere in front of me
dripping cold flames
heavy with sweet love
You can swim in the Sky!

In the heat
of the drum beat
tiny dancers on my back
each ballet a spiral
Deosil and Widdershins
opening the Chakras
I absorb the raindrop notes
ripples intertwining
Dare we swim in the Sky?

The silence of unsaid words
fills the open solid space
(You can swim in the Sky)
reaching into distance
my arms enfold the Earth
hugging my Mother's warmth
there is no longer fear
You can swim in the Sky!

@terryplatt

9y↑297

And then all wars ended / Arms of every kind were outlawed and the masses gladly contributed them to giant foundries in which they were melted down and the metal poured back into the earth / The Pentagon was turned on its side and painted purple, yellow & green / All boundaries were dissolved / The slaughter of animals was forbidden / The whole of lower Manhattan became a meadow in which unfortunates from the Bowery were allowed to live out their fantasies in the sunshine and were cured / People swam in the sparkling rivers under blue skies streaked only with incense pouring from the new factories / The energy from dismantled nuclear weapons provided free heat and light / World health was restored / An abundance of organic vegetables, fruits and grains was growing wild along the discarded highways / National flags were sewn together into brightly colored circus tents under which politicians were allowed to perform harmless theatrical games / The concept of work was forgotten

The peace poem from the rear of the LP cover, author unknown.

One evening in 1969, I was taking a bath, and had my tiny transistor radio standing on the edge. It was tuned to John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show, struggling to break through the AM static, and this piece of music was played without announcement, in its entirety - almost unimaginable that that could be done then, but John was God and could get away with it. It was only at the end, having sat there in complete and total awe, and slowly cooling water, not daring to upset the mesmeric effect of the music by running some more hot water, that John told me - us - what we'd just been listening to.

That bathtime was a Damascene moment in my life, and - suitably clean and pink - I went straight to one of the big central London music stores the very next day to buy a copy - at that moment, only available as a hugely expensive import - but boy! did I ever not begrudge that expense so much!!

The other side of the disc (misprinted on the label as Popply [sic] Nogood And The Phantom Band) took me longer to get into, but eventually it too worked it's subtle magic on my psyche, and I came to regard it too as a masterpiece.

Being a card-carrying, fully paid-up member of the hippie movement - and it still informs and guides me all these decades later - I was also very taken with the peace poem which, in one form or another, has gone with me physically - and philosophically - ever since and, printed out to a small slip of paper, has been enfolded in my wallet for many years. It may sound these days like impossibly over-optimistic, naïve hippie escapism, but we really thought not only that such things were possible, but that they would really happen... OK, admittedly the bit about turning the Pentagon on its side was somewhat fanciful...

A Rainbow In Curved Air is inseparable from the dreams of the era and aspirations of this poem - its words are its unsung lyrics - and I felt it my duty to post it alongside the YouTube soundfile.
.
From one Terry to another, thank you so much for this unique experience, for enriching my life for all the years since, and for directing my musical interest down a scenic route that may otherwise have remained unexplored. Oh, and of course, thanks so much also to the late, much missed John Peel, without whom I may have forever remained in complete ignorance of this incredible, groundbreaking piece of music.

Final footnote: when I heard the very first broadcast, on 8th March 1978, of the Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy, I immediately recognised the perfectly-chosen piece in the backgrounds of the narrative sections, and knew that there were kindred spirits in Douglas Adams and producer Geoffrey Perkins, who used not only this, but also many of the other pieces featured in the series, and which Rainbow had led me on to check out and add to my collection. AND I happened at the time to live in a house whose street number was 42 - serendipitous celestial convergence or what??! I spent 3 happy, fun-filled years sharing a big house in south-west London with a crowd of Australians, in which the concept of work really was - almost - forgotten, and it really was the Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything!

All comments from YouTube:

@Loose_System

2y↑149

i hate this album

@daverockwell1996

2y↑181

Such is your right. Let me know of similar stuff you hate, so I can check it out.

@numbernine2207

2y↑18

@@daverockwell1996 llol....jimi Hendrix, Marc Ribot, Sun Ra, Harold Budd, Amancio D'silva, Hassell, etc.

@runlikehell4180

2y↑5

lol

@sean..L

2y↑11

Me too. I disliked the video.

@dominiquegiroud2454

1y↑20

Quand tu te tapes la tête contre un vase,et que ça sonne creux,ce n'est pas forcément le vase qui est creux.

35 More Replies...

@kademan13

3y↑364

I uploaded this 9 years ago when I was a boy. It feels like it's been a long time but some of you were listening to this over 40 years ago. Thank you all for sharing stories and expressing appreciation for this great work. I hope you are all leading good lives.

@coadmiller5010

2y↑3

Yeah, kadamon 13, and I concur.Living good lives, is what it's all about, in it?.

@edgeof60

2y↑14

I was listening to this 40 years ago. And like any true masterpiece, it never gets old. Thanks for uploading.

@lunaguernicke4379

2y↑1

que tierni <3

@lunaguernicke4379

2y↑3

gracias x subir estooooo, espero que vos también estes viviendo alta buena vida uwu

@ClydeWPhillipsJr

2y↑2

Musical processing of grief.

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@MurdahPivot

8y↑213

how the fuck do I get back down to earth help

@chenchi6623

8y↑4

lol

@halerelic5169

7y↑15

reach into distance
your arms enfold the Earth
hugging Mother's warmth
there is no longer fear
You can swim in the Sky!

@sandydonaldson4998

orange slices

@sangfroid4376

If you managed to escape gravity's hold why the Hell would you want to come back here?

@bopperda

6y↑775

In 1971 I was attending Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana. The college had an FM station, WNDY, which had just enough power to cover five other adjacent university towns. I had a regular Saturday morning show, from 1 - 3am, in what was called the "experimental" time slot, which meant that the FCC were all asleep and you could do whatever you wanted. My audience was insomniac speed freaks completing assigments or cramming for tests, and I played A Rainbow in Curved Air to start every show. I had a phone in the control room and you would not believe the number of calls I got from nearly incomprehensible college students asking what planet, exactly, this music had come from.

@gaetanoapicella3903

5y↑97

At the time (1971) i was 9 years old, living in a little town on the south coast of the Tirreno sea, in Italy. By about 1982 i had the Lp and remember full load speakers sessions in the dark obscured room that was just an interplanetary spacecraft allowing passengers to be time/space travellers. Now i am 56, still dreaming.

@yourpalharvey

5y↑24

I would ...because I worked the exact same experimental time slot in another midwestern university

@PAULLONDEN

5y↑4

@Dave Schinbeckler Interesting story.....Got this in '69 after having heard just a small part on a John Peel show ,which BBC transmission reached into The Netherlands . Although very good.....it's not perfect , some sections from "Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band" (side 2) did grate a bit....

@petermurray5424

5y↑3

I can see there point but it is cool I never heard of him till tonight

@m4inline

4y↑24

This little thread is a rare example of what can make YouTube a wonderful thing

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@chrisreed3022

3y↑70

This music moves matter. My eyes fill, my lungs forget how to work, I frown and tingle and miss my wife two rooms away. I listen and nothing else is happening now since 1969. Time stands still and rushes past. Transcendent.

@peterbellwood5412

2y↑2

amen

@Burt472

36w

Great post.....Thanks from Italy

@TheBigMclargehuge

15w

God shut up you loon

@m4inline

4y↑96

I think I would like this as my ringtone. And then ignore all incoming calls.

@glmaughan

4y↑3

This is my ring tone. love it

@maelgraff9666

LMFAO

@coosoorlog

8y↑696

I love singing this in the shower.

@luciferbob

8y↑34

we would love to hear that... ;)

@mabusestestament

7y↑10

Or touch it

@coosoorlog

7y↑33

well I certainly DO need the money

@GeometryFletch

7y↑24

I love the 'put your hands up in the air!' part.

@darioluzi

7y↑3

°°°

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@sososoprano1

11y↑62

Didn't hear this until 1972. It brings back memories of a sunny morning in a flat in Edinburgh. Can't quite believe how many years have passed since then, but I still think this is fabulous.

@Meditarte

2y↑2

By now other nine years have passed!

@Druffmaul

11y↑88

I heard this for the first time about four years ago. Immediately assumed it was from the early 80s. When I found out it was actually from the mid 60s, I shat my pants.

@peterbellwood5412

2y↑4

I do hope that's an euphemism

@ecksem

2y↑2

Did you ever change them

@chrisfisher7288

1y↑3

Excellent... bravo 👌

@whitetigerwithhat2975

4y↑51

"Welcome to The Journey. You are dying"

@ryobibattery

3y↑1

Your life is meaningless...like a glowstick

@stefanblue660

4y↑97

This is one of the most important musical works of the 20st century ! Inspired by classical , indian and african music , it inspired a lot of musicians up to techno. And sounds somehow like coming from heaven.

@yurungai5459

3y↑4

SIM

@mAeRosTYlo

2y↑2

Es increíble , intenta después de una meditación amigo

@consternation6

1y↑1

I think jazz was a very important influence, too, but not sure I hear (of have rad of any) African music. Can you shed light on this, please?

@stefanblue660

Weil, I know that Steve Reich, another composer of so called minimal music, about the same time, I guess, was inspired after studying African music travelling a few months throughout Africa. He transferred that ideas to classical orchestration, F. e in Music for 18 Musicians, which is wonderful too. I think here is more Indian influence, the melodies and sounds . But these repetetive polyrythm parts are also from African musical understanding, I think, but also from India, that Tabla sounds for example., combined with a that time very new electronic Synthesizer sounds. Some solo parts could also be seen as Jazzy improvising, that seems right. However, for me it is peaceful music, beyond the words.

@troutmask6800

42w

@@stefanblue660s far as I’m concerned Music for 18
Musicians is the greatest composition of minimal music. I hear new things on it every time I hear it (and I’ve been listening to it since the 1970’s.

Also Reich’s tape pieces where he manipulates spoken word into music, is incredible and anticipated sampling decades earlier.

I don’t believe Reich used any electronics at all which is amazing. If you see any videos of the piece performed there are none used. It’s just marimba, horns and human voices and maybe piano
22:42 😅

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@leorivers7759

2y↑11

In 1970 Cal Tech in California opened a new auditorium and Terry Riley gave the inaugural performance there. As he plays the space clarifies and becomes a Pure Land. You aren't bored or in a hurry. The music just keeps returning your purr to the smiling wow of a meow.

@serialfreak8115

26w

Love that last sentence

@martinperlich6695

I used to play this masterpiece on “The Perlich Project” on WCLV-FM in Cleveland in ‘The Late Sixties’. Listeners loved it. I still do.

@davelopez9513

4y↑23

This song makes me rethink about my life and wishing things could of been better and also thinking about the future and how much time he have on this earth 🌏 don’t you guys ever think that too??

@jacksprat3009

4y↑2

Yes. I think everybody with an I.Q. about 60 does. I like Tim Leary's take on living life with some additional thought. 8 hours sleep or rest. 8 hours work (Developing what you love). 8 hours play and meditation. Also use the Zen trip of being conscious in the moment. (Whatever you are doing, do it with full concentration.) Time is an illusion used to measure our lives and the orbit of planets. It can be marvelous finding moments when time does not exist.

@yourgirlme9163

4y↑1

Often. Too often 🤣

@ianlopes7485

yes.

@gigahertz_1911

2y↑1

we have been here... forever

@manasbose8817

3y↑15

First heard this on a very tinny transistor radio when I was 15 and it sounded great. I'm 65 now and it still sounds great. It is one of the few pieces of music thats embedded in my very soul😍😍

@TheBigMclargehuge

15w

so what

@manasbose8817

15w

@@TheBigMclargehuge That's a Miles David tune on the classic Kind of Blue album pal

@jasonsmith5153

4y↑107

Magical in 2020 when we are in the midst of a pandemic. Thank you Terry Riley; 49 years later and still soothing to the heart, mind, and soul.

@robertcadman2195

3y↑5

He is now a vicar in Wicklow. He plays organ for his flock. How cool is that. I want to become a Protestant

@TheBigMclargehuge

15w

DEA PANDEMIC?????

@PrestonTobias

11y↑79

I wasn't about to click on this. But then I did. Possibly one of the best decisions of my life.

@angelholguin7562

3y↑5

You were quoted on the season 1 episode 4 podcast of The Artist and the Therapist, July 14, 2020 ☺️

@maelgraff9666

Sacré tobi

@RobertLaberge

7y↑30

The Who's Pete Townshend always recognised his musical debt and inspiration to sound pioneer Terry Riley, who inspired the way he used the then nascent synths, namely on the Who's Next album, featuring among others Baba O'Riley, named after the composer and Pete's guru, Meher Baba.

@Doctorgoatboy

Pete & Wendy Carlos are what brought me here

@TheWolfboy512

8y↑61

this album was one of the biggest influences in my life.
it still sounds sublime

@simoneric8183

7y↑3

- Same thing happened to me since the age of 15 when I first discovered it (and was turned on to repetitive music). Very interesting notion to revisit, especially for a fresher in music studies like me at that time (and still now !).

@kademan13

11y↑29

If you're getting high, go all the way.

@erniebuchinski3614

@Zeyn S As Hank said, "f you're gong to try (to get high), go all the way." ;-)

@abrahamtellez592

3y↑37

This takes me to another place and time, somehow both past and future; a sunny place, a colorful meadow with a river crossing near, the sparkling blue water reflecting off people's eyes. The sounds of laughter and music fill the air. It's like a picture, remembrance of a future that has yet to come.

@bowlock9901

3y↑2

#nevergiveup

@numbernine2207

2y↑1

There is no time as we understand it. It's cyclical, not linear. We humans comprehend so little.

@justinperkins286

@@numbernine2207 I'm not sure why but this brings me to tears

@nitrotoxy

2y↑12

I came across this in music class some years ago and listen to it every now and then when I need a break from reality. It's magical.

@Burt472

2y↑2

Agreed...Greetings from Italy

@didierparise197

11y↑17

Terry is the godfather of all the electro scene

@sebdos

6y↑21

Can’t believe this has so much views. Gives me a hope in youtube.

@joansutton

3y↑7

Still one of my favorite pieces of music after all these years! I just sent it to my 8 year old grandson and asked him if he likes it. Here's what he said: "Awesomely awesome cool and fantastic."

@francescobonifazi2359

6y↑8

I spent many hours listening (really experiencing) this LP in the early 70s. It takes you on a voyage through your own mind...places you never knew were there. A master piece!

@Burt472

16w

Agreed....Ciao from Trento, Italy

@JessanDunnOtis

10y↑23

I listened to A Rainbow in Curved Air when it first came out. Loved it then. Love it now. Thank you, Terry Riley.

@PopeLando

3y↑10

0:43 Terry Riley invents the mobile ringtone.

@davefb

err not Francisco Tárrega then ?

@harmoniabalanza

8y↑107

I wrote countless term papers listening to this.

@MrKayley10

7y↑20

I'm doing school work now! I guess some things never change...

@simoneric8183

7y↑6

- Ha ha ha I'm not the only one on that ! Sometimes I let my perverted musical mind do things out of the way by slowing down the whole piece and listen to it playing at 0,50 %. It's so great on everything in me. And btw how did your univ year go actually ? Did the music put you on successful tracks ? (I hope so). Peace.

@anajonda

5y↑10

The stuff I did in college to this music also involved papers, but not the term kind alas..

@guilhermebgirardi

4y↑2

@@anajonda i was thinking about my LSD doses too!

@marshsherrif2824

its ok failing

@billcanonico6657

2y↑5

...a friend of mine, back in '69 or '70, asked me if i'd ever heard this album. since then, i've listened to it at least 100 times, and i'm listening to it, now.

@davidstair9657

42w

Me to.

@exoner6110

3y↑14

This is one of my all time favorite must have albums. The cover displayed here is NOT the original ("psychedelic") one, which showed the head of a smiling Mr. Riley looking through a golden glowing sky, residing over some landscape. I fetched this vinyl album when I was visiting the UK by hitch-hiking through the country, soon after its release. I still listen to this "souvenir" from time to time and still discover new things and still get a lot of inspiration for my adventures in modular music land. Mr. Riley is a godfather of modern music. Thank you for this timeless modern album, Mr. Riley.

@marshsherrif2824

6y↑238

if only my tinnitus sounded like this

@jannmiller808

5y↑1

Oh God, YES

@Averyssimo

5y↑3

Me too... My tinnitus is a Boeing 777

@markzuckerbergette6185

Lmao uh huh

@hlamart1

5y↑2

Yeah, tinnitus does come into play; mine is a two note constant wave peaking into a banshee scream in all the worst moments. Tinnitus owns me. Rely a lot on last quarter into the present classical and experimental compositions for washing away the demons at play with my inner ear. I was introduced to Terry Riley through John Cale's drone and experimental classical music especially Sunblindness and The Academy In Peril. Robert Fripp and Eno did it best at the time. Then, along arose Klaus Schulze, the master.

@marshsherrif2824

my tin tin prevented me from hearing Queen.

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@SweetSweetWaldo

9y↑151

Terry Riley has a more delightful muse than the other minimalists.

@yvesgerard1308

+SweetSweetWaldo Yes ... " Poppynogood " is based on Indian traditional " Ragas "melodies ... the charm of " Seventies "...

@samattos1

8y↑1

+SweetSweetWaldo It's from hanging out with Tony Wilson at Hacienda.

@12inchvertical

8y↑1

+SweetSweetWaldo well said

@mrutunjaytiwari9973

6y↑1

SweetSweetWaldo

@TomMarrJohnson

6y↑15

This music doesn't seem to have much in common with composers like Glass, Reich, Adams to me. Those guys make rigorous, organized music that follows rules. This is kind of cosmic improvisation. I'm always surprised to find it filed under Minimalism.

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@zimcricket

10y↑16

so happy that my ears have finally heard terry riley. thank you, world... you are truly awesome.

@_MrPink_

2y↑14

Oh, my GOD. This is pure magic. THANK YOU FOR THIS!!

@joseandrade632

5y↑11

I have just listened to this music for the first time today. I am nearly speechless... this music inspired and influenced a great deal of composers and musicians, there are so many that come to my mind, from several genres, it caught me unaware, for the only thing I knew was that one of his albums inspired the name of Curved Air, one of my favourite bands. Well, this is major... Fifty years later, what a waste! Fantastic concept, love it.

@bobgreen623

6y↑12

Utterly magical, I can imagine this music spinning out across the cosmos for all eternity.

@nickwyatt3243

24w↑1

Oh good description! Yes, I can imagine this spinning out beyond the planets and asteroids and the inter-stellar space, hopefully to convince the recipients that we were more than mere amoebae.

@nickjerram5010

10y↑5

I came across this in about 1981 when the radio series of Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy used it as background. I only found out what is was in about 1993. Went out and found an old vinyl of it, happy days.

@remaincalm108

8y↑5

Blissful composition that still warms my heart after so many years, it remains brilliant & absolutely sublime.

@nonsensevector

9y↑123

me and my dog like it.

@NoahRobertGraves

+Bryan Todd Gee, that's swell. :D

@Ottofranchi

8y↑6

Praise Terry! Praise Bob!

@bbnnbb789

same here

@crex-pd1vv

7y↑1

hey, same profile pic hehe

@simoneric8183

7y↑2

- It's so funny how animals feel what's good for us and them : my three cats act in the same way (and I'm so delighted watching them).

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@wocmultimedia

6y↑13

It's one of my preferred LPs when I bought it by accident with a bunch of other secondhand LPs of so called Experimental Music in the 70s - He's a very great minimalist artist. Thanks Terry for giving such a gift.

@celestefleur9925

28w↑3

sublime!

@RogerBall1975

10y↑10

I found this album via a BBC 4 documentary on progressive rock some five years ago and listen to it almost constantly, track two's my favourite - its definately the gold of the piece and to think its written some 45 years ago.

@LordQueezle

4y↑6

Riley is a delightful minimalist composer!

@plrndl

3y↑2

One of the many wonderful pieces of music to which late, great John Peel introduced me. Thank you, John.

@andrewcutts3197

John introduced us to so much music over the years. I will always be eternally grateful.

@malconcio

8y↑120

I heard this about 45 years ago. I thought I was in front of a masterpiece... I was right.

@Burt472

Yes you were / are

@francioshoover2417

10y↑102

i feel like I AM computer being processed to send christmas emails & christmas gifts with 1gb ram drive. Every motion is blissfull

@nicholasputt9054

6y↑8

wat

@mightyboole

6y↑3

Francios Hoover are u high

@dodu8281

5y↑1

santa claus and his elves

@skywatcher1972

Not enuf RAM for Christmas insanity. . . . CMPTR already stressed due to proliferation of ADS.

@marieweigel420

Synaesthetic... great!!

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@greggnewby1065

7y↑4

I swear, this music speaks to me every time I hear it. My relationship with it will never end.

@user-to2gh7sg3l

22w↑2

I remember crate digging my dad's vinyl collection as a kid in the 90's and loving this album. I made a cassette tape and listened to it hiking while having some of my first Mushroom expereinces.

@thirdshore

4y↑7

In 73 I had a dream I was in a huge hall and this was playing. The hall was completely empty except for a small pillar topped with a dome of glass. Under the dome, a peculiar machine was drawing an intricate graph, using inks of red and orange. I opened the dome and took the graph, convinced I could take it back to the real world...

@poesievive7636

Mindblowing. Did you write your dream somewhere ? Maybe it was not a dream - think about it. Maybe YOU TOOK BACK the thing in the real world, for real. Who knows ?

@thirdshore

@@poesievive7636 No I don't think so! I woke up disappointed the graph was not in my hand...

@guilhermebgirardi

@@thirdshore it implies you were lucid dreaming, right? - but then you would know that you were in a dream. why did you care about the graphics? what (or how) did the grafics inmanently present (or show) itself to you in the dream?

@thirdshore

@@guilhermebgirardi You are right it was a lucid dream

@guilhermebgirardi

@@thirdshore yea but you didn't answer at least my second question

@winstonbarclay5807

9y↑52

Listening to this again, I am struck by what a huge influence Terry Riley was on Mike Ratledge of Soft Machine.

@davelarder4664

9y↑15

+Winston Barclay Terry Riley jammed with Robert Wyatt in 1964. They were staying at the home of William Burrows. So both Burrows and Riley influenced Soft Machine.

@winstonbarclay5807

9y↑1

Thanks. I didn't know that.

@Burt472

7y↑2

I am sure he meant Burroughs...Naked Lunch author

@simoneric8183

7y↑1

- Thank you so much Dave you really learnt me something crucial with your post : I use everything I can to improve my English (I'm french) and besides I'm so fond of 1) english litterature 2) the beat writers 3) (Strange) musics and Robert Wyatt 3) so intrigued by the man who killed his wife playing William Tell with a real loaded gun...
btw, we all want to know more and more about WB, but WHO EXACTLY was this woman, (and among other things) for having accepted such a risk ?
4) creative writing of course... (I have 5 work in progress french manuscripts -can't put an end to them)...

@bobgreen623

6y↑2

Yes, the start and end of Out-Bloody-Rageous shows a big Terry Riley influence, and I love it.

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@halerelic5169

7y↑19

@lesvoutesparis1351

3y↑2

I heard that the first time in 71'. Acid was good at this time. Fond memories.

@macronencer

9y↑32

WOW! Immediately recognised this from the Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series. Amazing. I never knew what it was.

@undulatingedifice

9y↑4

macronencer That is the first thing I thought of, too. Always assumed it was some BBC guy twiddling away. Also took me ages to learn the theme was from an Eagles track.

@Tilther

9y↑1

Yes! It /did/ strike as terribly familiar...

@simoneric8183

7y↑1

- Thank you for having mentionned the Hitch-hiker's guide. I'm a 60 year old guy and I must confess I had almost forgotten even the name... I'm going to check and googl...

@mvl71

5y↑1

Yes! yes! yes! Found it!
I'm helping my daughter with her homework; she's writing about Philip Glass and I'm helping her with her research by looking for similarities and/or differences with other minimal music composers.

Stumbled upon this, sat bold upright. I'm a huge Hitchhiker's fan and I always tried to listen to the music when the guide explained something.

So glad I found this.

@jamessamways8237

5y↑1

Listening to the Hitch-Hikers guide to the galaxy's calm electronic voice from the radio show describe some wild alien race over this always settled me.

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@terryplatt

9y↑297

@BradHollowniczky

9y↑17

I just had an almost identical experience to what you describe--I stumbled on this on YouTube earlier and flagged it for later listening, for no other reason than it looked interesting. It came up in the suggestions on a piece by John Cage. I decided to listen while having a bath, set my cellphone (not a transistor radio in 2014!) on the edge of the bathtub and found myself too mesmerized to refresh the hot water! :) Thank you for posting the poem from the liner. I am in the U.S. but I am well aware of the taste and influence of the inimitable John Peel. He championed many of my favorite performers (including Vivian Stanshall and Captain Beefheart) and is one of the many reasons I wish I'd grown up in the U.K.!

@TheNationalfilmbored

9y↑14

Beautiful story, thank you. I wasn't born yet when this was released, but I've had similarly transcendent moments the first time I heard certain pieces of music. (For instance on CBC's Brave New Waves, probably the closest Canadian equivalent to John Peel's shows.) Somehow it makes it even better if you don't know what the music is. Radio is especially magical that way, and I hope it's a medium that won't disappear any time soon.

@particlejones

9y↑2

Thanks for this

@lechatduverger7154

terry platt ok ta m

@lechatduverger7154

mr.trudeau mer

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@Daydy377

4y↑59

A rich guy in Antartica recomended this for spiritual enlightenment

@robertcadman2195

3y↑12

Your chilly confidante has great taste Bowie. Terry Reily was the true godfather of this genre. He now plays his organ for a small congregation in Rico’s Ireland. He is their vicar.

@gepmrk

3y↑5

Did it work?

@stephencarroll230

Was it Henry Kaiser?

@maccyd53

4y↑2

Huge part of my Life from 1971 right up until this very moment...

@hlahla9479

46w↑2

I'm a man who processes pain in a musical format.
This album helps me relax and remember sound differently with patience and calmed nerves. Thanks for this.

@falteredsinnerservo

3y↑8

my cat loves this

@MegaCirse

4y↑7

I love that psychedelic sound that takes me on a journey through another dimension; a sound that came out of the 60s and is exclusive to that era of transcendental meditation, experimentation and alternative ways of thinking

@topologyrob

3y↑2

Had a great time playing this live with Terry in 2006 in Brisbane. We put the whole ensemble through a crotchet-length delay. Then the next day we sang Olson III which Terry and his wife Ann nearly missed (as did I) since my car broke down (with them in it) at the top of Mount Glorious. We took a cab back down and just made the concert in time.

@gigahertz_1911

woah

@musicween

11y↑14

This is my new obsession! Totally groovy and I love it.

@chaimmizrahi5031

8y↑6

Thank you for sharing the album that inspired Pete Townshend's and Mike Oldfield's best work. This music is incredible, I am happy that I finally am hearing the Riley of the Who song "Baba O Riley."

@nicolesephton4038

3y↑3

A Mike Oldfield documentary brought me here. So glad it did.

@franchurch630

2y↑1

First heard this when I smoked my first joint 1970. Never forgotten it.

@alanblackwood1

3y↑4

One of the pioneers of minimalism. Great stuff!

@shanemcdaniel1509

2y↑5

Wow how incredibly timeless, its on my all time play list. .thank you sir

@Chesterton7

5y↑7

The best.
"Take a moment out of your life and listen to this piece without any other distractions."

@classicvinylcollectibles1796

continue with Stereolab/Nurse with wound-Simple headphone mind. This here above may have been the inspiration for it.

@olivierbrems7358

3y↑2

Thank you for all your wonderful stories about discovering Riley. I discovered him during a high profile concert in Brussels 10 years ago. The audience had to sit between the musicians.

@alexridolfi7279

I discovered him when I found out that he is my grandfather's cousin and was shocked that I was related to such a legend

@arlo0robyn

6y↑3

This has always been our prayer for planet earth and for all our relations: LOVE MAKES THE WORLD GO WHOLLY ROUND...........

@mstout2u

4y↑4

You know, given the technology of the time that this was recorded: magnetic tape and oscillators, this is truly a heroic feat!

@maxinemckenzie5765

4y↑4

Fantastic Sounds. My Vynil of this is scratchy and worn out, so it's great to hear it clean as a whistle. Meditative Psychedelic Minimalism. This Music oozes Electronic Hypercolour Cubes from within the Dome of the limitless Spectrum.. or Sumthing. Love the Utopian Poem on the back of the L.P Cover. I've read that out to People and it always touches them. What could've been. Thanks for Posting.

@JosephREllis

10w

I heard the first track for the first time while driving home in my car. I was listening to a progressive rock essentials playlist and this came one. I have a long enough commute that I was able to hear the entire song. It reminded me of video slot machines or video poker machines (in movies) which makes me wonder if they "lifted" parts of the song for their sound effects. In any case, I dug the song and went looking through my history the next day to find it. A google search brought me here. I thought "A Rainbow in the Curved Air" was created with synths, but I was even more impressed to learn it was created with a several "analog" instruments. Cool stuff - way ahead of its time!

@stephenluscombe2208

4y↑4

It's just bloody lovely! Heard it when it first came out and I can sing it!

@raulduran394

6y↑5

Desde hace mucho tiempo esperaba un o unos músicos que hicieran esto, que nos llenara los oídos de bellos sonidos tan excelentemente combinados como estos. Magistral!

@beatriz.t

6y↑4

the first few minutes of this reminds me very much of a piece of the soundtrack in studio ghibli's movie Nausicaa of the valley of the wind.
it's clear the score's composer, joe hisaishi, has a thing for minimalism; a song from another Ghibli movie, spirited away, feels a lot like Steve Reich's variations for winds, strings and keyboards. I'm glad to realise my taste in movies as a child is now influencing my taste in music as a young adult. thank you Terry Riley and other minimalist composers for being so great and for inspiring some really wonderful films' soundtracks!

@AychoXiimiolo

This reminds me of nausicaa too, you can try this [Ose - Adonia 1978 Track "L'Aube Jumelle" ] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6Clct1LY9Y

@agadirstore9430

5y↑2

Im 17 again..love this piece..had it on vinyl..astounding music for the cerebellum...

@MilciadesAndrion

3y↑2

The sound is brilliant and spectacular and it is distributed in the air and causes a chilling effect. Great video. I subscribed to the channel.

@stomachlining

10y↑8

i love it..... then & now

@pencilpines

7y↑5

This is amazing. It's like a rich deep meditation. It makes me so happy and stimulates my brain and heart at the same time. What a discovery! Yay!

@martingowar899

8y↑32

'Rainbow' blew me away when I first heard it as an 18 year old art student back in the day. It is still is one of my favourite electronic works (at age 61). Thanks for the info re TTIP kaderman.

@stencharbonneau2322

8y↑3

I was... 14 ! the first time ...and never had I listened to anything so powerful and unusual. Still one of my favorites, with Steve Reich's Music for 18 musicians.

@martingowar899

8y↑2

I agree totally with you Sten over the Reich piece : a modern masterpiece that has just got better and better with time since my hearing its UK premiere at the QEH all those years ago...

@larrylundy5707

8y↑4

Indeed. I still love it . . and was recently turned on to "In C" as performed by the Africa Express which is quite delicious. I just turned 64 and still do work with his music and a propellant . . .Steve Reich as well.

@larrylundy5707

8y↑3

Agreed . . .Riley and Reich . . .still making their magic after all these years!

@BertGrink

7y↑3

Greetings to all you other 'old farts' here (i'm 63 myself)

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@asaenco

4y↑2

Lying in the dark on my bed, listening to the lp and all surroundings disappeared. Felt like I hypnotised myself.

@arlo0robyn

6y↑4

There's a rainbow round the moon------goodnight----dream on----we find a way to ride the rainbow aire...thank you Terry Riley for our friendship---sail on......such a family of music lights---luminous.spirals
into the cosmos of flowers of delight~~~grow on star dust tuned to melodious sound waves in a b c d e f g
sharp flat particles return, return thankful E---major, minor LOVE

@yutakahaniya

9y↑18

About 40 years ago. I,a young student went to his show in Japan. He was still a famous musician who influenced Mike Oldfield.

@papercup2517

And Curved Air, of course.

@furioercolessi

3y↑7

Around 1973 I had bought this album, then - inspired by it - I proceeded to divert the path taken by tape on my Revox A77 to increase the delay between recording head and playback head, then play my Eko organ against my delayed self as Terry was doing. The results were probably awful but it was a lot of fun.

@martinjefferies666

3y↑1

I was eleven when I first heard the back end of Rainbow on the John Peel show. From then on I took the bus to my nearest record shop every Friday after school and politely the guy behind the counter to play it for me and his usual response was "again?". No headphones or sound booths back then so he (not a fan) and anyone else in the shop had to hear it too so I usually only got about 3 minutes before he took it off. I knew there was something there for me but, with a long list of 'must buy' albums costing 4-weeks pocket money each, I couldn't risk it.

And here I am, 50 years later, kind of kicking myself for not buying it then instead of 'Disreali Gears' or Dear Mr Fantasy or whatever was at the top of my list at the time. Over the years my eclectic and meandering musical journey has encapsulated the likes of Kraftwerk, Seventh Wave, Tangerine Dream, John Hassel, Gong, John Hopkins and many others who, perhaps, picked up some of the Terry Riley vibe along the way, so I definitely 'got there', but I've always felt slightly guilty that I wasn't able to put a few quid in his pocket 50 years ago in appreciation of his work and denied myself the pleasure of hearing this in all the years between

@rockkiller124

8y↑57

This is a fucking masterpiece.

@marshsherrif2824

6y↑2

better than that. its part of my head

@Vingul

Masterpiece is enough.

@JacksonCarson

7y↑3

Always loved this album when I was a kid. It's an excellent rip. Thanks for sharing!! :)

@PedroNord

I very clearly recall buying this album along with “Violin Phases” by Steve Reich from a record store on “the drag” in Austin in autumn of 1970. Living in a big old house with a half dozen of the most interesting people I’ve ever known over on Rio Grande. It was the center of the universe but to us it just seemed like what was supposed to be happening. This LP was on regular late evening rotation on the first nice stereo I ever saw that belonged to one of the guys just back from Vietnam. He called it his “Yokohama Special”. Pioneer receiver and speakers and a Technics turntable. Thank you for music Terry. Never gets old. Never did need to buy a television.

@jeffdawson2786

4y↑2

Transcendent, nostalgic, comforting, like an eternal video game that never grew up. I died and woke up inside Galaxian and Galaga, and so much more.

@markbrandus

8y↑3

Classic! Used to listen to this in college. All my professors knew the esoteric classic works.

@aardvaarkmaark

1y↑4

This is the first time I've heard this fascinating, trippy offering from Terry Riley. I like it. I now understand where Pete Townsend from the Who got his inspiration for ,,Baba O'Riley".

@wardygrub

9y↑1

Great morning music! Thanks for sharing. x

@HEADSPACES

4y↑1

SUPERB. Thank you so much for uploading.

@sylvienelli6393

2y↑4

Passé présent avenir...... musique intemporelle, mes vieux neurones sont reconnectés⭐👍

@thestoryplease

10y↑26

This was revolutionary in the 60's, a time when LSD, mescaline, peyote, psilocybin, and pot were opening minds. Experimentation, breaking out of the status quo was happening everywhere, freaking those who didn't understand what was happening, out. Today I'd classify this with Brian Eno's music made to play in the background as an environment to work, play, meditate, think, make love, eat, etc depending on the music, the activity etc. Break out of the box!

@eugwx9956

there is NO box in Heaven. . . . sorry cmptr has covid19. virus, you know.

@lemongold709

3y↑2

Boomer comment

@ebaylistentomusic

One of the first things I did when I got to San Francisco in the early 70's was go to a Terry Riley concert, it was a big part of why I left home and went there. All these years later this music still has the magic.

@carlosmila100

8y↑1

Maravilla de disco. Fantastic! Greetings from Mexico City!

@MrRezillo

3y↑15

I almost can't believe that I'm really loving this at my advanced age.

@MaynardJamesKeller

10y↑14

Wore my 1969 copy out decades before there was an internet and never thought it would surface again... ...all real instruments (with lots of overdubbing), all played by him... ...before synthesizers and personal computers existed. Read the Wikipedia entry to appreciate its place in music.

Love YouTube for this aspect. Just found another LP-side long fave from even earlier ('63 - before the British invasion and words like "psychedelic," "hippies," etc.) two days ago... ..."Folk guitarist" Sandy Bull's "Blend" from the Fantasia album - to me informed by and presaging a kindred vibe.

I feel all Billy Pilgrim "unstuck in time" and waking in '60s retro heaven.... :-D