Back in the pre-internet days, the only way I could find out if an artist like Ray Lynch had a new album was to go to Musicland and look in the New Age section to see if anything new was there. One day in 1989, there was a new Ray Lynch album.
There is a certain feeling, an excitement when you get surprised by a new album by one of your favorite artists. The hope, the anticipation, the exploration. No Blue Thing while not quite Beep Breakfast was still closer than The Sky Of Mind. It was largely electronic and carried on in the direction that made Deep Breakfast so cool to me. The name of the album didn’t seem too odd compared to his previous albums. There are some good pieces here and it wasn’t long before I made a mix tape for the car called The Deep Blue Sky which was basically a greatest hits tape that featured all the songs from his albums. You have remember that in 1989, Compact Disc players in cars was still a fairly rare and expensive concept.
I really liked the layered textures of Ray Lynch’s music. Often there is a subtle chord that rises and falls like the basecoat on a canvas. Then off to the edges seemingly unrelated riffs cycle while the main focus weaves in and out tying everything together. How does Ray know when to add more and when too much is too much?
While No Blue Thing is an excellent collection of soothing tunes and should certainly be a part of your music collection, it doesn’t seem to have the melodic hooks that stick with you likeDeep Breakfast.The Zen-like qualities persevere.
No Blue Thing
Clouds Below Your Knees
Here And Never Found
Drifted In A Deeper Land
The True Spirit Of Mom And Dad