Ride

Released in Japan, Cosmic Carnival selects most of Ride's B-sides from the U.K. singles released in support of Carnival of Light. The only stragglers not included are the ones found on part one of I Don't Know Where It Comes From. That disc featured three songs from Ride's performance at Creation Records' 1994 Undrugged gala. Those who soured on Carnival of Light might be pleased to find that a number of songs gathered here surpass some of the album's weaker moments with spectacular ease. The disc also makes you wonder who was responsible for selecting the songs that wound up on Carnival of Light, and what drugs they took to impair their judgment. Andy Bell's "Let's Get Lost" features upbeat pep akin to Juice Newton's "Queen of Hearts" (no, really), accentuated by punching horns; Mark Gardener's melancholy but nonetheless breezy "Don't Let It Die" could have been put to good effect on Carnival of Light's lagging second half. A couple of other surprises come in the form of "Walkabout" and "At the End of the Universe"; bassist Steve Queralt and drummer Loz Colbert's "Walkabout" is a lengthy atmospheric dub workout that continues to beg for use as part of a film score, and the eight-minute epic "At the End of the Universe" (featuring Deep Purple's Jon Lord on organ) takes its sweet old time to build up, gradually turning into one of Gardener's best vocal moments. A trio of remixes round things out, but you probably won't have the inclination to listen to them more than once. Since copies of Cosmic Carnival aren't that easy to come by, it would better suit you to seek out the Birdman and How Does It Feel to Feel? singles, since they have all the essentials. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide