We'll All Go Riding on a Rainbow
We'll All Go Riding on a Rainbow is the third studio album by the Caretaker, an alias of musician Leyland Kirby. Released in 2003, it was the last of Kirby's "haunted ballroom trilogy", which spans his albums mainly influenced by the film The Shining. It features distorted melodies from the 20th century to recreate the ambience of The Shinings ballroom. We'll All Go Riding on a Rainbow was met with positive reception from music critics, who praised its themes of the paranormal. Kirby's next album as the Caretaker, Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia would abandon the haunted ballroom concept and install themes of memory loss.
Background
The Caretaker's first record, Selected Memories from the Haunted Ballroom, was inspired by the haunted ballroom scene from the film The Shining. Leyland Kirby, the English musician responsible for the Caretaker's album, was involved in controversy due to his V/Vm alias, under which he manipulated pop songs to create several noise releases, such as an extreme distortion of "The Lady in Red" by musician Chris de Burgh. Following the Caretaker's debut, A Stairway to the Stars found praise from music critics for its atmosphere. His first three albums under the Caretaker alias were later named the "haunted ballroom trilogy" due to their influence from The Shinings scene. Kirby's next release after We'll All Go Riding on a Rainbow, Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia would add several layers of complexity to the pseudonym, as it directly explored memory loss.Composition and release
We'll All Go Riding on a Rainbow explores hauntology, noise, British dance band, electronic, experimental, and dark ambient. Its 16 tracks sample ballroom songs from the early 20th century, Each track is made up of slowed and warped brass instruments, surface noise, reverberation, and pitch effects, meant to be eerie and atmospheric. Like in The Disintegration Loops by composer William Basinski, the record involves themes of decay, degradation, and deterioration. The album's atmosphere is similar to that of The Shinings Overlook Hotel, with hissing and clicks overlaying orchestras.We'll All Go Riding on a Rainbow was released on 1 July 2003. On the topic of a reissue of We'll All Go Riding on a Rainbow or A Stairway to the Stars, Kirby said: "I just need to work out what and when." The background noises and strange effects produce the Caretaker's signature sound. A track that differs from these patterns is "Contemplation", where by its sonar-like style uses several noises sourced from its sample, making it stand out from the other compositions.