This 1988 release by Harold Budd epitomises the ambient genre. Each track has a similar, airy sound, which envelops the listener, and layers of legato keyboards make the music float. THE WHITE ARCADES is a subtle, minimalist work that seeks to create a picture of serenity, eschewing common song structures. This album is largely mono-dynamic, and swaddles the listener in warm blankets of sound.

Rovi

On the short-lived moment when Warner Bros. was distributing Opal records, this Harold Budd album probably reached more people than his previous work combined. One can hope so, at least. This album shows Budd at his most stylistically pure: nine pieces that rarely shift from their piano and synth instrumentation, all treated with much echo and coloration. Budd is after beauty, not menace, but with the mystery that follows it. From the pulse of "Coyote" to the grand thunder and rolling clouds of "Balthus Bemused By Color," this is a solid album, one for thinking, studying, or whatever one does when the ambient comes. ~ Ted Mills

Rovi