Carnival of Light (album) explained

Carnival of Light
Type:	studio
Artist:	Ride
Cover:	Carnivalridebandalbum.jpg
Released:	20 June 1994
Studio:	Sawmills, The Manor, RAK, Abbey Road, Sound City, Ocean Way, Sunset Sound
Genre:	Britpop^[1] garage rock psychedelic pop^[2] folk rock^[3]
Length:	56:33
Label:	Creation
Producer:	John Leckie
Prev Title:	Grasshopper
Prev Year:	1992
Next Title:	Tarantula
Next Year:	1996

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"^[4] 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",^[5] 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".^[6]

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"

External links

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

Web site: Official Ride website . 9 December 2005.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Unterberger. Andrew. 19 November 2014. Ride Announce Reunion and 2015 World Tour. 21 July 2022. Spin.
2. Web site: Heaton. Dave. 8 April 2003. In a Different Place: Interviews with Andy Bell and Mark Gardener of Ride. https://web.archive.org/web/20110525093918/https://www.popmatters.com/music/interviews/ride-030408.shtml. 25 May 2011. 21 July 2022. PopMatters.
3. Web site: Erlewine. Stephen Thomas. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. Ride Biography, Songs, & Albums. 20 July 2015. AllMusic.
4. Perry . Steve . June 1994 . http://ride.band/site/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/select-june-1994.jpg . Select.
5. Book: Cavanagh, David. The Creation Records Story: My Magpie Eyes are Hungry for the Prize. 2001. Virgin. 978-0-7535-0645-5. 613. David Cavanagh.
6. Web site: 'We beat Radiohead at football 25-4': Ride's Andy Bell . Simpson . Dave . 24 November 2022 . . 25 November 2022.