Carnival of Light (album)

Carnival of Light
Studio album by Ride
Released	20 June 1994
Studio	Sawmills, The Manor, RAK, Abbey Road, Sound City, Ocean Way, Sunset Sound
Genre	Britpop [1] garage rock [1] psychedelic pop [2] folk rock [3]
Length	56:33
Label	Creation
Producer	John Leckie
Ride chronology
Grasshopper (1992) Carnival of Light (1994) Tarantula (1996)
Singles from Carnival of Light
"Birdman" Released: 18 April 1994 "How Does It Feel to Feel?" Released: 13 June 1994 "I Don't Know Where It Comes From" Released: 12 September 1994

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Melody Maker	(positive) [5]
NME	7/10 [6]
Select	[7]
Vox	8/10 [8]

Carnival of Light is the third studio album by British rock band Ride, released in June 1994 via Creation Records. The album is named after a lost song by the Beatles. The album showcased the band's shift from shoegazing to a more traditional, folk rock sound. ^[3] It was well received by some critics, magazine Select calling it "another fantastic British album in the old tradition" ^[9] and reached the UK Top 5. However, by the end of 1994 even the band members had become disillusioned, referring to it amongst themselves as "Carnival of Shite", ^[10] although in a 2022 interview Andy Bell stated that he had "made peace with it. It’s got a lot of good tracks, like Moonlight Medicine and Birdman". ^[11]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Andy Bell except where noted

Original album

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Lead vocals	Length
1.	"Moonlight Medicine"	Mark Gardener	Gardener	Gardener	6:49
2.	"1000 Miles"	Gardener	Gardener	Gardener with Bell	5:00
3.	"From Time to Time"	Gardener	Gardener, Steve Queralt	Gardener and Bell	5:05
4.	"Natural Grace"	Loz Colbert	Loz Colbert	Gardener and Bell	4:40
5.	"Only Now"	Gardener, Jack Rieley	Gardener	Gardener	4:25
6.	"Birdman"			Bell	6:39
7.	"Crown of Creation"			Bell	4:41
8.	"How Does It Feel to Feel?" (The Creation cover)	Eddie Phillips, Bob Garner	Phillips, Garner	Gardener and Bell	3:40
9.	"Endless Road"			Bell	3:30
10.	"Magical Spring"			Bell with Gardener	4:25
11.	"Rolling Thunder"				2:08
12.	"I Don't Know Where It Comes From"			Bell	5:32
Total length:					56:33

Bonus tracks

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Lead vocals	Length
1.	"Don't Let It Die"	Gardener	Gardener	Gardener	3:12
2.	"Let's Get Lost"	Bell	Bell	Gardener and Bell	3:56
3.	"At the End of the Universe"	Bell, Colbert, Gardener, Queralt	Bell, Colbert, Gardener, Queralt	Gardener and Bell	7:55

Personnel

Ride

• Loz Colbert – drums, percussion
• Steve Queralt – bass guitar, Fender Rhodes on "Only Now"
• Mark Gardener – vocals, rhythm guitar, tamboura
• Andy Bell – vocals, lead guitar; piano on "Crown of Creation", "Endless Road", and "Magical Spring"; Hammond organ on "Crown of Creation" and "Endless Road", Fender Rhodes on "From Time to Time"

Additional musicians

• Jon Lord – Hammond organ on "Moonlight Medicine"
• Electra Strings – strings on "Moonlight Medicine", "1000 Miles", "From Time to Time", and "Only Now"
• Kick Horns – horns on "Endless Road" and "Let's Get Lost"
• The Christchurch Cathedral School Choir – choir on "I Don't Know Where It Comes From"

Charts

Chart performance for Carnival of Light

Chart (1994)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [12]	32
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [13]	38
Scottish Albums (OCC) [14]	15
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [15]	24
UK Albums (OCC) [16]	5

Chart (2023)	Peak position
Scottish Albums (OCC) [17]	22
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [18]	8

References

1. Unterberger, Andrew (19 November 2014). "Ride Announce Reunion and 2015 World Tour". Spin . Retrieved 21 July 2022.
2. Heaton, Dave (8 April 2003). "In a Different Place: Interviews with Andy Bell and Mark Gardener of Ride". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
3. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Ride Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic . Retrieved 20 July 2015.
4. Kellman, Andy. "Review: Carnival of Light – Ride". AllMusic . Retrieved 12 July 2009.
5. "Fete Accompli". Melody Maker . 1994.
6. Sutherland, Steve (16 June 1994). "Flawed Fiesta". NME .
7. Perry, Steve (June 1994). "Top of the fops". Select .
8. Malins, Steve (July 1994). "Oxford blues". Vox .
9. Perry, Steve (June 1994). Select http://ride.band/site/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/select-june-1994.jpg.{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
10. Cavanagh, David (2001). The Creation Records Story: My Magpie Eyes are Hungry for the Prize. Virgin. p. 613. ISBN   978-0-7535-0645-5.
11. Simpson, Dave (24 November 2022). "'We beat Radiohead at football 25-4': Ride's Andy Bell". The Guardian . Retrieved 25 November 2022.
12. "Australiancharts.com – Ride – Carnival of Light". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
13. "Charts.nz – Ride – Carnival of Light". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
14. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
15. "Swedishcharts.com – Ride – Carnival of Light". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
16. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
17. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
18. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 July 2024.

External links

• Carnival of Light at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)

"Official Ride website" . Retrieved 9 December 2005.