Chance Encounters in the Garden of Lights cover

Chance Encounters in the Garden of Lights

Released

After the breakup of Be Bop Deluxe, guitar wizard Bill Nelson went out on his own, building a huge catalog of guitar-centric albums that often sounded quite a bit like his old band — but sometimes headed off into decidedly odd and sometimes explicitly spiritual ambient directions. Close Encounters in the Garden of Lights is the most successful of these, a two-disc exploration of Nelson’s gnostic/Rosicrucian religious beliefs delivered over a bed of mystically lovely instrumental music. Unless mystical spirituality creeps you out, this is one of the most relaxing albums ever made.

Rick Anderson

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