Church of Anthrax
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]
| Church of Anthrax | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by John Cale and Terry Riley | ||||
| Released | February 10, 1971 | |||
| Recorded | 1970 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 33:48 | |||
| Label | CBS | |||
| Producer |
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| John Cale chronology | ||||
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| Terry Riley chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | C[4] |
| Irish Times | [2] |
| Record Collector | [5] |
The album was reissued and remastered in 2014.
Music
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
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
All tracks are written by John Cale and Terry Riley, except "The Soul of Patrick Lee" by John Cale.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Church of Anthrax" | 9:05 |
| 2. | "The Hall of Mirrors in the Palace at Versailles" | 7:59 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Soul of Patrick Lee" | 2:49 |
| 2. | "Ides of March" | 11:03 |
| 3. | "The Protégé" | 2:52 |
Personnel
- John Cale – keyboards, bass guitar, harpsichord, piano, guitar, viola, organ
- Terry Riley – piano, organ, soprano saxophone
- Additional personnel
- Adam Miller – vocals on "The Soul of Patrick Lee"
- Bobby Colomby – drums
- Bobby Gregg – drums
- Technical personnel
- Don Meehan - engineer
- John Berg, Richard Mantel – cover design
- Kim Whitesides – cover art
- Don Huntstein – cover photography
References
- Rubin, Mike. "Terry Riley's Avant-Garde Sounds Are Still Casting Spells". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- Clayton-Lea, Tony. "Album Reviews: John Cale & Terry Reilly: Church of Anthrax". Irish Times. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- Mason, Stewart. "Church of Anthrax – John Cale,John Cale & Terry Riley,Terry Riley | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
- Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: C". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 23, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- Needs, Kris. "Church of Anthrax". Record Collector. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- Edwards, Gavin. "10 Weird Albums Rolling Stone Loved in the 1970s You've Never Heard". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- Prasad, Anil. "Terry Riley - Lighting up nodes". Innerviews. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- Mick Gold. "John Cale: Caged Heat". Rock's Backpages.
