Search - Terry Riley :: Last Camel in Paris

A Snowstorm of Icy Beauty

Steven Moore | Ann Arbor, MI USA | 09/03/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Where has this been all my life? If it had been released after it was recorded in 1978, I could have enjoyed 30 years of aesthetic bliss. But better late than never. Similar to the music on his "Shri Camel" album (1980), this is a single, 54-minute improvisation. It's a beguiling mixture of Middle Eastern and Western modes, as though an Indian sitarist somehow mastered a Renaissance organ (with just intonation) and let a raga unfurl. I pictured snow falling outside my window, and can't wait to listen to it in winter. And please, if there are any more old tapes like this floating around, release them!"

Minimalist Masterwork Realized Live

directions | Space Time Foam | 05/07/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The somewhat awkward title "Last Camel in Paris" refers to the Terry Riley masterwork "Shri Camel" here played live (or an interpretation of it, among the minimalists Terry Riley always relied on improvisation and had some grounding in jazz) in 1978. As usual, Terry Riley plays a modified electric organ which is in just intonation and the concert brings out the tonalities in it. If you are a fan of classic minimalism, this would be an excellent purchase though for the casual listener who has not gotten into minimalism yet, in the way of Terry Riley, "In C" or "A Rainbow in Curved Air" or of course "Shri Camel" might be a first listen but "Last Camel in Paris" is not to be discounted and for a live concert recording its completely listenable and has more of a psychedelic trance like feel than most minimalism which although excellent has a more clinical feel similar to Bach's harpsichord works which of course are essential works in the classical cadre but less "warm" than the soundscapes Terry Riley creates. Minimalism, which has by now passed its peak in creativity, although not in influence, is continuing to expand with Terry Riley and Philip Glass unearthing lost works, some of which are quite good and some are masterworks of which "Last Camel in Paris" falls in the latter."