OFF: Steve Hillage 'Light in the Sky'

[Jon Jarrett]

On Wed, 30 Jul 2003, Rich Warren wrote:

> Having been a Gong Fan for many moons, I picked the new Virgin/EMI Steve Hillage
> Compilation 'Light in the Sky'
>
> What a cracking album, very glad I picked it up indeed, has a superb b side
> collaboration with Tim Blake called 'Shimmer', and 'Ether Ships' is just a
> phenomenal track. 'Activation Meditation/The Glorious Om Riff' is truly awesome.

        I don't suppose any suitably pot-headed people would know when
that's from exactly so I can stick it in the colaborations file, would
they?

        And I'm in two minds about that evrsion of the Om Riff; it doesn't
have as much pure energy going as some of the Gong versions but on the
other hand Andy Anderson's drumming is *fabulous*, changes the shape of
the track every turn-around. It's just a little bit too finished, it
doesn't hammer the riff into your head the way it should. But I do like
it.

        <snip>

> The sound is bolt clear, so the Hillage remasters should be worth the wait. I
> hadn't realised 'GREEN' was such gem, it must be based on the 4 tracks I'm
> hearing on this compilation.

        The second half of _Green_ is one long suite which finishes up
with `Activation Meditation' and `The Glorious Om Riff', but the first
half makes me cringe rather in places. In particular, being the age I am,
I can't hear `Unidentified Flying Being' without immediately thinking of
the Grange Hill theme tune. And `Musik of the Trees', even though I
tolerate Hillage's lyrical New Age excess better than some I know, is very
difficult to hear without wincing. But, with possible exception of `UFB',
which is an escaped funk track that doesn't really belong, the music is
great. The second side works very well (but then, it's mostly
instrumental... ). Yours,
                          Jon

ObCD: Spiritual Beggars - _Per Aspera Ad Astra_
--
                Jonathan Jarrett, Birkbeck College, London
    jjarrett at chiark.greenend.org.uk/ejarr01 at students.bbk.ac.uk
  "As much as the vision of the blind man improves with the rising sun,
       So too does the intelligence of the fool after good advice."
       (Bishop Theodulf of Orleans, late-eight/early-ninth century)