Nothing Above My Shoulders but the Evening

Nothing Above My Shoulders but the Evening
Nothing Above My Shoulders but the Evening
Studio album by Ray Lynch
Released	September 28, 1993
Recorded	1989–1993
Genre	Classical; Adult alternative
Length	44:16
Label	Windham Hill Records
Producer	Ray Lynch
Ray Lynch chronology

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	^[2]

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.^[3] The album was released after Lynch signed with Windham Hill Records.^[4] It peaked at #1 on Billboard's "Top New Age Albums" chart.^[5]

Production[]

According to Keyboard, the album was originally slated to be released "during the first quarter" of 1992.^[6] In an interview with the Vancouver Sun, Lynch revealed some of the struggles he faced while creating the album, and said that it had taken four years to create. In regards to its delayed production, he said, "That's the problem when you love what you make, if you love what you make and care about it, you're going to struggle with it until its right."^[7]

Reception[]

Debbie Stover of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch praised the album for its use of instruments to recreate the sound of both the Baroque and Renaissance eras while also "managing to sound fully modern." Stover concluded her review by calling it "easily one of the year's best."^[8] Elisabeth Le Guin of The New York Times praised the album for evoking "the highly colored emotions of the classical tradition" and described the album's sound as "pop Dvorak".^[9]

Track listing[]

Nothing Above My Shoulders but the Evening includes the following tracks.^[1]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Over Easy"	4:53
2.	"Her Knees Deep in Your Mind"	6:18
3.	"Passion Song"	5:24
4.	"Ivory"	5:38
5.	"Mesquite"	6:18
6.	"Only an Enjoyment"	7:16
7.	"The Vanished Gardens of Córdoba"	8:22

Personnel[]

All music composed, arranged and produced by Ray Lynch.

Ray Lynch – keyboards and guitars
Timothy Day – flute and alto flute
Nancy Ellis and Nanci Severance – viola
Glen Fischthal – trumpet, fluglehorn, and piccolo trumpet
Julie Ann Giacobassi – oboe and English horn
David Kadarauch – cello
Dave Krehbiel – French horn
Daniel Kobialka – violin
Marc Shapiro – piano

Production[]

Ray Lynch and Daniel Ryman – engineering and mixing
Bernie Grundman Mastering, Hollywood, California – mastering

Charts[]

Chart (1993)	Position
Billboard New Age Albums^[5]	1

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Nothing Above My Shoulders But the Evening - Ray Lynch | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
^ Larkin, Colin (2006). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Muze. p. 384. ISBN 0195313739.
^ "New Age Leaders". CD Review. 10 (12): 24. August 1994. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
^ Christman, Ed (14 November 1992). "Windham Hill". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "New Age Music: Top New Age Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
^ "Career Update". Keyboard. 17 (8): 25. August 1991. New ager Ray Lynch will have a new album out during the first quarter of '92.
^ Strachan, Alex (October 19, 1993). "Love for music can be deadly". The Vancouver Sun. p. E2. His latest album Nothing Above My Shoulders but the Evening was four years in the making, and it almost killed him. "That's the problem when you love what you make," he says. "If you love what you make and care about it, you're going to struggle with it until its right.
^ Stover, Debbie (December 16, 1993). "Recordings". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. pp. 4G. The album features many instruments - guitars and keyboards plus wind, string and brass - and uses them all to create a sound that's strongly evocative of the Baroque and Renaissance eras, while at the same time managing to sound fully modern. Lynch plays both guitar and keyboards with quiet expressiveness and almost never allows the music to swell with too much sentimentality. This album is easily one of the year's best.
^ Le Guin, Elisabeth (July 31, 1994). "By Any Other Name, It Would Sound Sweeter". The New York Times.

[All-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Nothing Above My Shoulders But the Evening - Ray Lynch | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved April 2, 2017.

[2] Larkin, Colin (2006). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Muze. p. 384. ISBN 0195313739.

[3] "New Age Leaders". CD Review. 10 (12): 24. August 1994. Retrieved March 1, 2017.

[4] Christman, Ed (14 November 1992). "Windham Hill". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 17 August 2016.

[NewAge-5] Jump up to: ^a ^b "New Age Music: Top New Age Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 15 August 2016.

[6] "Career Update". Keyboard. 17 (8): 25. August 1991. New ager Ray Lynch will have a new album out during the first quarter of '92.

[Canada-7] Strachan, Alex (October 19, 1993). "Love for music can be deadly". The Vancouver Sun. p. E2. His latest album Nothing Above My Shoulders but the Evening was four years in the making, and it almost killed him. "That's the problem when you love what you make," he says. "If you love what you make and care about it, you're going to struggle with it until its right.

[8] Stover, Debbie (December 16, 1993). "Recordings". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. pp. 4G. The album features many instruments - guitars and keyboards plus wind, string and brass - and uses them all to create a sound that's strongly evocative of the Baroque and Renaissance eras, while at the same time managing to sound fully modern. Lynch plays both guitar and keyboards with quiet expressiveness and almost never allows the music to swell with too much sentimentality. This album is easily one of the year's best.

[9] Le Guin, Elisabeth (July 31, 1994). "By Any Other Name, It Would Sound Sweeter". The New York Times.

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hide v Ray Lynch
Studio albums	Deep Breakfast No Blue Thing Nothing Above My Shoulders but the Evening
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