| The Sky of Mind | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1983 | |||
| Genre | New-age, instrumental | |||
| Length | 45:24 | |||
| Label | Ray Lynch Productions | |||
| Producer | Ray Lynch | |||
| Ray Lynch chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Sky of Mind is American new-age musician Ray Lynch's first independent album, released in 1983. [1]
The album was recorded and produced at Lynch's own home. [2] The album was dedicated to his spiritual teacher, Adi Da Samraj. On the label is a quote from Adi Da's 1978 work, The Enlightenment of the Whole Body, starting with "The mind is like a cave of bats." [1] [3] The titles "Quandra", "Too Wounded", and "Green Is Here" were also taken from works by Adi Da. [3] The album was rearranged for its subsequent re-releases. [4]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [5] |
Stephen David of New Age Journal described the album as a "suite of meditations", stating that it was "quiet, ethereal, and a little predictable". [1] AllMusic gave the re-release a 3/5, writing "the radiant compositions also make for ideal morning listening". [4] In the appendix of their 1988 book, Healing Music, Andrew Watson and Nevill Drury writes that the album is "a modern interpretation of classical themes", noting the combination of acoustic and synthesized instruments. They also wrote that one of the tracks, "The Temple", "could easily be inspired by Ligeti". [6]
All tracks are written by Ray Lynch
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Quandra" | 9:13 |
| 2. | "Good News" | 6:18 |
| 3. | "The Temple" | 7:58 |
| 4. | "Too Wounded" | 8:59 |
| 5. | "Pavane" | 6:47 |
| 6. | "Green Is Here" | 5:43 |
Production
Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music history in the 1999 edition of The Guinness Book of Records.
Introspective is the third studio album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 10 October 1988 by Parlophone. It received generally positive reviews from critics.
Norman Jeffrey Healey was a Canadian blues, rock and jazz guitarist, singer and songwriter who attained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. He reached No. 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart with "Angel Eyes" and reached the Top 10 in Canada with the songs "I Think I Love You Too Much" and "How Long Can a Man Be Strong".
Jennifer Diane Lewis is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She was the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley.
Raymond Lynch is an American guitarist, lutenist, keyboardist, and composer. In the late 1960s, Lynch performed on the lute in New York's Renaissance Quartette, but he withdrew to California and began incorporating electronic music elements, as heard in 1983's The Sky of Mind. He vaulted to fame in 1986 with the single "Celestial Soda Pop" and the 1984 album Deep Breakfast, becoming the first independent new-age artist certified Gold for sales of 500,000. Lynch sued his label Music West and joined Windham Hill in 1992 before retiring in 2000.
Jeffrey Steven Pilson is an American musician best known for being the bass player in the glam metal band Dokken and currently classic rock band Foreigner. He has also had an extended stint with Dio in the 1990s.
Lee Mack Ritenour is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s.
Bride is an American Christian rock and metal band that formed in Louisville, Kentucky by brothers Dale and Troy Thompson in 1983. During the band's peak years, it was known for covering a wide range of musical styles and remains popular in places like Brazil. Their song "Same 'Ol Sinner" is on the Digital Praise PC game Guitar Praise.
Gary Gene Watson is an American country music singer. He is most famous for his 1975 hit "Love in the Hot Afternoon," his 1981 No. 1 hit "Fourteen Carat Mind," and his signature 1979 song "Farewell Party." Watson's long career has included five number one hits, 21 top tens, and 48 charted singles.
Deep Breakfast is the second album by American new-age artist Ray Lynch, released on December 12, 1984, on Lynch's own label. After signing with Music West Records, the album was released more widely in March 1986. By October 1986 the album had sold 72,000 copies, becoming Lynch's breakout work. The first track "Celestial Soda Pop" was tapped for the theme song of the NPR show Fresh Air, increasing exposure and sales of the album.
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. The album was released after Lynch signed with Windham Hill Records. It peaked at #1 on Billboard's "Top New Age Albums" chart.
Love Among the Cannibals is the third album released in 1989 by rock band Starship. It was the first album after Grace Slick's departure from the band, and their last full-length studio release until Loveless Fascination in 2013. The album marks a shift in the band's musical direction, featuring a harder edged, AOR style as opposed to the synth pop of their first two albums. Another departure from the preceding albums is the decrease in outside writers, as this album features four songs written by Thomas, Morgan, or Chaquico. The song "Wild Again" had previously been produced for the soundtrack to Cocktail (1988), and was included as a bonus track for the album's CD release. The album had one top 20 single on the Billboard charts, "It's Not Enough", which peaked at No. 12 in October 1989 and was their final Top-40 hit, but the album itself only climbed to No. 64 and single "I Didn't Mean To Stay All Night" was No. 75. The track "I'll Be There" was featured in the end credits of Gross Anatomy (1989).
Nevill Drury was an English-born Australian editor and publisher, as well as the author of over 40 books on subjects ranging from shamanism and western magical traditions to art, music, and anthropology. His books have been published in 26 countries and in 19 languages.
"Dweller on the Threshold" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and first released on his 1982 album Beautiful Vision. It was released as a single on the B-Side in 1982 with the instrumental "Scandinavia" as the "A" side. Another release in 1984 had a live version of "Dweller on the Threshold" as the A-Side.
Stevie Ray Vaughan was an American blues rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and the frontman for the band Double Trouble. He is often regarded as one of the greatest guitarists and blues musicians of all time. During his career, he released four studio albums, one live album, and several singles.
Andrew Scott Pendlebury is an Australian guitarist-songwriter. From 1977 to 1981 was a member of The Sports and from 1986 to 1988 he joined Slaughtermen. He has undertaken other projects and issued four solo albums. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1993, Pendlebury's solo work, Don't Hold Back That Feeling, won the ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album. From 2003 he has been a member of The Mercurials.
Nero are a British electronic music trio composed of members Dan Stephens, Joe Ray and Alana Watson. On 12 August 2011, they released their debut studio album, Welcome Reality, which reached number one in the UK Albums Chart. In August 2012, "Promises" received a Gold certification in the United States. On 10 February 2013, Nero won a Grammy Award for their collaborative remix of "Promises" with Skrillex. Their second studio album, Between II Worlds, was released on 11 September 2015.
Dustin Charles Lynch is an American country music singer and songwriter, signed to Broken Bow Records. Lynch has released six albums and one EP for the label: a self-titled album in 2012, Where It's At in 2014, Current Mood in 2017, Tullahoma in 2020, Blue in the Sky in 2022 and Killed the Cowboy in 2023. He has also released seventeen singles, of which nine have reached number one on Country Airplay.
Blue in the Sky is the fifth studio album by American country music singer Dustin Lynch. It was released on February 11, 2022, through BBR Music Group. It was produced by Zach Crowell and preceded by the lead single "Thinking 'Bout You", a collaboration with MacKenzie Porter. The album also includes collaborations with Chris Lane and Riley Green. Lynch toured in support of the record.
Pulse of the Early Brain is a compilation album by the English-French avant-pop band Stereolab, released on 2 September 2022 under Duophonic Records and Warp Records. It is the fifth installment of the band's "Switched-On" series which collects the band's rarities, such as the EPs Simple Headphone Mind (1997) and Low Fi (1992); bonus and exclusive tracks from Chemical Chords (2008); and individual tracks from other albums, split singles and flexi discs. Unlike previous "Switched-On" releases, which compiled each of the band's eras in chronological order, Pulse of the Early Brain covers rarities from all over their career.