You’re No Good

Until 2001, I had always followed the mainstream view: experimental cut-ups, remixes and other manipulations were fairly recent innovations. It all started with Christian Marclay and John Oswald, and that was that. Or it was, until the release of some lost and largely forgotten works by minimalist pioneer Terry Riley. Here’s You’re No Good, a live performance using moog and tapes from 1968. He takes Harvey Averne’s r&b song of the same name and cuts it up, layering and multitracking parts above and below.

I know it’s something I always write, but this really is extraordinary stuff. First of all, it’s Riley being years ahead of the game when it comes to what we now think of as plunderphonics. Secondly, he’s doing this in live performances. Terry Riley as the godfather of turntablism, anyone? Were it not for the fact that he’s working with tape rather than vinyl, I think he’d have a great claim. Was there anyone else doing DJ work like this at that time?

Here for your pleasure is all 20 minutes of You’re No Good. It starts with a reminder of why the moog was such a great instrument, a massive crescendo which builds and builds only to be released into the main r&b theme. Riley pulls you away from this several times, mesmerising you with rhythmic intricacies before allowing it to resurface unalloyed. Part way through, he reintroduces the keyboards, layering extra levels of dirt upon the sounds. Never mind the historical significance of this recording, it’s also great listening.