The Lost Pieces - Definition

The Lost Pieces (1993) is an album by the American ambient musician Steve Roach. It is a collection of pieces composed between 1988 and 1992 that have either been lost and temporally forgotten in Steve Roach’s personal archive of tapes or released on limited edition, multi artist compilations.

The album begins with a dark atmospheric piece reminiscent of Roach’s later album The Magnificent Void titled “Eclipse”. This track was recorded on the night of a full lunar eclipse for the ECHOES Living Room Concerts radio series and was one of the last pieces recorded by Steve Roach in California.

After that there are three more active and structured pieces. The first of these is “After the Dream”, which was recorded shortly after the completion of Dreamtime Return and is a follow up to that albums track “Towards the Dream”. Next is a piece called “Mojave: At the Tree”, which was recorded at some time between Western Spaces and Desert Solitaire after a visit to The Joshua Tree National Monument. Next is a melancholy piece titled “Since We Are Away”, which was recorded at a time when the artist was separated by great distance from his wife Linda.

After that the compositions become slow and atmospheric again. “Three Reptiles Wait at the Opening to the Underworld” was recorded live in concert in Tucson, Arizona in May, 1992. It features chorused tribal percussion similar to Roach’s later albums Origins and Artifacts. The album ends with an expansive chord progression titled “Closer” which was recorded at midnight December 31, 1990 - January 1, 1991.

Track listing

1. ”Eclipse” (3:38)

   (Recorded live for the ECHOES Living Room Concerts series and broadcast nationwide.)

2. ”After the Dream” (6:31)
3. ”Mojave: At the Tree” (6:06)
4. ”Since We Are Away” (7:43)
5. ”Full Moon Prophesy” (9:59)

   (Originally released on Selected New Music, Volume 3: Inner Landscapes, 1991)

6. ”Red Shore” (4:55)

   (Same as track 5.)

7. ”Repose” (4:49)
8. ”Three Reptiles Wait at the Opening to the Underworld” (11:05)

   (Originally released on From Across This Gray Land No.3, 1992.)

9. ”Expanding Again...” (4:37)
10. ”Closer” (9:51)

See also

• Steve Roach
• Ambient music
• Electronic music