| Nothing Above My Shoulders but the Evening | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 28, 1993 | |||
| Recorded | 1989–1993 | |||
| Genre | Classical Adult alternative | |||
| Length | 44:16 | |||
| Label | Windham Hill Records | |||
| Producer | Ray Lynch | |||
| Ray Lynch chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [2] |
Nothing Above My Shoulders but the Evening is Ray Lynch’s fifth and final studio album. It reflects Lynch's classical background and features performances by members of the San Francisco Symphony.[3] The album was released after Lynch signed with Windham Hill Records.[4] It peaked at #1 on Billboard's "Top New Age Albums" chart.[5]
Production
According to Keyboard, the album was originally slated to be released "during the first quarter" of 1992.[6] In an interview with the Vancouver Sun, Lynch revealed some of the struggles he faced while creating the album, and said that it had taken four years to create. In regards to its delayed production, he said, "That's the problem when you love what you make, if you love what you make and care about it, you're going to struggle with it until it's right."[7] In an interview with Brian, Mind in 1995, Ray Lynch explained that he shifted more closely to acoustic instruments than synthesized instruments. He further explained that he had always wanted to write a "very classical" album.[8]
Reception
Debbie Stover of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch praised the album for its use of instruments to recreate the sound of both the Baroque and Renaissance eras while also "managing to sound fully modern." Stover concluded her review by calling it "easily one of the year's best."[9] Elisabeth Le Guin of The New York Times praised the album for evoking "the highly colored emotions of the classical tradition" and described the album's sound as "pop Dvorak".[10]
Track listing
Nothing Above My Shoulders but the Evening includes the following tracks. All tracks are written by Ray Lynch.[1]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Over Easy" | 4:53 |
| 2. | "Her Knees Deep in Your Mind" | 6:18 |
| 3. | "Passion Song" | 5:24 |
| 4. | "Ivory" | 5:38 |
| 5. | "Mesquite" | 6:18 |
| 6. | "Only an Enjoyment" | 7:16 |
| 7. | "The Vanished Gardens of Córdoba" | 8:22 |
Personnel
All music composed, arranged and produced by Ray Lynch.
- Ray Lynch – keyboards and guitars
- Timothy Day – flute and alto flute
- Nancy Ellis and Nanci Severance – viola
- Glen Fischthal – trumpet, fluglehorn, and piccolo trumpet
- Julie Ann Giacobassi – oboe and English horn
- David Kadarauch – cello
- Dave Krehbiel – French horn
- Daniel Kobialka – violin
- Marc Shapiro – piano
Production
- Ray Lynch and Daniel Ryman – engineering and mixing
- Bernie Grundman Mastering, Hollywood, California – mastering
Charts
| Chart (1993) | Position |
|---|---|
| Billboard New Age Albums[5] | 1 |
References
- 1 2 "Nothing Above My Shoulders But the Evening - Ray Lynch | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
- ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Muze. p. 384. ISBN 0195313739.
- ↑ "New Age Leaders". CD Review. 10 (12): 24. August 1994. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
- ↑ Christman, Ed (14 November 1992). "Windham Hill". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
- 1 2 "New Age Music: Top New Age Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
- ↑ "Career Update". Keyboard. 17 (8): 25. August 1991.
New ager Ray Lynch will have a new album out during the first quarter of '92.
- ↑ Strachan, Alex (October 19, 1993). "Love for music can be deadly". The Vancouver Sun. p. E2. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
- ↑ "Composer Ray Lynch 'True artist has no options'". Brain / Mind. Interface Press. 20 (4): 6. January 1995. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
- ↑ Stover, Debbie (December 16, 1993). "Recordings - In Review". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. pp. 4G. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
- ↑ Le Guin, Elisabeth (July 31, 1994). "By Any Other Name, It Would Sound Sweeter". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 23, 2022. Retrieved October 23, 2022.