Riley, Terry – “Les Yeux Fermes & Lifespan” – [Elision Fields]

cinder   7/20/2012   A Library, CD

Two soundtracks that Terry composed, in the early 1970s when he focused more on “longform keyboard cycles and improvisations.” Les Yeux Fermes was a feature length art film, and Lifespan features Klaus Kinski, and is about a doctor who tries to create a serum to lengthen life. The first track was the highlight for me. Beautiful synth melodies that float in and out of celestial time. The second track for the first film also drowns you in glorious sound. Calmly spastic horns, and an organ tone so rich you can feel the Leslie spinning in your head. A very film noir feel. Lifespan also has the dreamy organs, melodic synth keys, and saxophone (sometimes a bit cheeeball, but hey it’s the 70s!) Lifespan has a bit more of the colorful rainbow sounds that Terry Riley likes to create. Soft vocals on track 6, and picture a fat old, jolly bearded man playing track 7 (takes about 14 seconds for it to start being audible). Dreamy and experimentally cinematic.