1971 studio album by John Cale and Terry Riley
Church of Anthrax
is a collaborative studio album by musicians
John Cale
and
Terry Riley
. It was released in February 1971 by record label
CBS
, nearly a year after the material was recorded. It followed Riley's success with 1969's
A Rainbow in Curved Air
and Cale's influential work with
the Velvet Underground
.
[5]
The album was reissued and remastered in 2014.
Music
[
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]
The album blends "
Riley
's drones and patterns with a more muscular and melodic bent versed in both
free jazz
and
experimental rock
."
[3]
Rolling Stone
labeled it "largely stretched-out
organ
-heavy improvisations, a freak-out in slow motion."
[6]
The album was mostly improvised on the spot, using two drummers,
Bobby Gregg
and
Bobby Colomby
.
[7]
"The Soul of Patrick Lee" is the only vocal track on the album; all others are instrumentals. No singles were taken from the album.
Terry Riley
noted that "
John Cale
and I had a lot of disagreements about the album, including the way it should sound and the way the material should go. During the last mixing session, John started feeding in a lot of extra guitar tracks over what we had done. That started to obscure some of my keyboard work that I thought should be heard. We had a disagreement about that, so I stopped going to the mixing sessions and they mixed it without me."
[7]
However, in retrospect he stated that "over time, I’ve grown to like what they did."
[7]
In the early 1990s, the duo reunited in New York to record a
Church of Anthrax II
, but nothing materialized after it became clear that Cale only wanted to produce rather than perform on the album.
[7]
Reception
[
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]
Upon release, the album received mixed reception.
[2]
Rolling Stone
called it "one of the finest records to be released this year" but noted that it was largely ignored.
[6]
Melody Maker
described the album as "an uneven record, remarkable for one excellent Cale song ("The Soul of Patrick Lee") and the title track, a brilliantly dense piece of production. Cale's viola and bass and Riley's organ and saxophone create an impenetrable, organic vortex of sound. One of the all-time great headphones tracks, featuring the
avant-garde
at its funkiest."
[8]
Robert Christgau
of
The Village Voice
described it as "an album of keyboard doodles posing as improvisations."
[4]
Following its reissue in 2014, the
Irish Times
noted that the album was initially regarded as an "unsatisfying concoction between two motivating forces in the avant-garde," but suggested that "for those who like their
minimalism
spiked with broken glass (notably "Ides of March"), perhaps it’s time to open the door and walk down the aisle."
[2]
Record Collector
stated that the album "walked the thin line between boundary-pushing experimentation and indulgent jamming, only reaching a cathartic breakthrough on "The Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles"' shimmering collision between Cale’s piano and Riley’s tape-delayed soprano sax."
[5]
The New York Times
called it "an
art-rock
touchstone."
[1]
Track listing
[
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]
All tracks are written by John Cale and Terry Riley, except "The Soul of Patrick Lee" by John Cale
Side A
Title
|
---|
1.
| "Church of Anthrax"
| 9:05
|
---|
2.
| "The Hall of Mirrors in the Palace at Versailles"
| 7:59
|
---|
Side B
Title
|
---|
1.
| "The Soul of Patrick Lee"
| 2:49
|
---|
2.
| "Ides of March"
| 11:03
|
---|
3.
| "The Protege"
| 2:52
|
---|
Personnel
[
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]
- John Cale
? bass guitar, harpsichord, piano, guitar, viola, organ
- Terry Riley
? piano, organ, soprano saxophone
- Additional personnel
- Technical personnel
- Don Meehan ? engineering
- John Berg, Richard Mantel ? cover design
- Kim Whitesides ? cover art
- Don Huntstein ? cover photography
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Rubin, Mike.
"Terry Riley's Avant-Garde Sounds Are Still Casting Spells"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
6 August
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Clayton-Lea, Tony.
"Album Reviews: John Cale & Terry Reilly: Church of Anthrax"
.
Irish Times
. Retrieved
6 August
2020
.
- ^
a
b
Mason, Stewart.
"
Church of Anthrax
? John Cale, John Cale & Terry Riley, Terry Riley | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
4 April
2015
.
- ^
a
b
Christgau, Robert
(1981).
"Consumer Guide '70s: C"
.
Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies
.
Ticknor & Fields
.
ISBN
089919026X
. Retrieved
23 February
2019
– via robertchristgau.com.
- ^
a
b
c
Needs, Kris.
"Church of Anthrax"
.
Record Collector
. Retrieved
6 August
2020
.
- ^
a
b
Edwards, Gavin.
"10 Weird Albums Rolling Stone Loved in the 1970s You've Never Heard"
.
Rolling Stone
. Retrieved
6 August
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Prasad, Anil.
"Terry Riley - Lighting up nodes"
.
Innerviews
. Retrieved
6 August
2020
.
- ^
Mick Gold.
"John Cale: Caged Heat"
.
Rock's Backpages
.
External links
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Studio albums
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Extended plays
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Live albums
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Soundtrack albums
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Compilation albums
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Albums
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Works
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Collaborations
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