"Celestial Soda Pop" is a song written and composed by Ray Lynch for his third album, Deep Breakfast.
Composition
The song was composed in C♯ minor and features a repetitive progression performed on a synthesizer.[1]
Reception
In reviewing Lynch's album No Blue Thing, Keith Tuber of Orange Coast called "Celestial Soda Pop" a "monster New Age Hit".[2] Meanwhile, in reviewing Deep Breakfast, P.J. Birosik of Yoga Journal called "Celestial Soda Pop" a "wonderfully memorable little tune".[3] Steve Korte of CD Review referred to the song as "a standard that you've probably heard dozens of times in your local supermarket or dentist's office".[4] However, John Schaefer, author of New Sounds: A Listener's Guide to New Music, referred to the piece as a "vacuous title" and claimed that Lynch possesses "limited ability on the synthesizer".[5]
In 1986, "Celestial Soda Pop" was used as a theme song for the NPR show Fresh Air. The track was also featured in the 1987 documentary film, Downwind/Downstream.[8] On May 26, 1990, Joel Selvin of the San Francisco Chronicle commented that the use of the song by NPR probably caused Deep Breakfast to have a "considerable boost" in sales.[9] In 1991, the Stone Mountain Laser Show near Atlanta began using "Celestial Soda Pop" as one of the tracks in the show, set to animated shapes and colors.[10] In 2023, the podcast, Human Nature Odyssey, began using "Celestial Soda Pop" as its theme song.
^Tuber, Keith (August 1989). "No Blue Thing, Ray Lynch". Orange Coast Magazine. Emmis Communications. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
^Birosik, P.J. "Yoga Journal". No. November / December 1989. Active Interest Media, Inc. p. 102. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
^Korte, Steve (August 1994). "New Age Leaders". CD Review. 10 (12): 24. His 1984 Deep Breakfast disc (Windham Hill) is considered a classic, and his perky instrumental composition "Celestial Soda Pop" from that album is a standard that you've probably heard dozens of times in your local supermarket or dentist's office.
^"In and Out of Production". The Independent Film & Video Monthly. 11 (10): 37. December 1988. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
^Selvin, Joel (May 26, 1990). "Lynch Finds Gold in Marin Hills". San Francisco Chronicle. p. C4. That album got a considerable boost when National Public Radio's outstanding pop culture talk show, 'Fresh Air,' chose Lynch's 'Celestial Soda Pop' as a theme song.
^Thrasher, Paula Crouch (May 25, 1991). "Waves 'N' Raves". pp. L/20–L/22. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022. Then, until the end of July, the lineup is Charlie Daniels' "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," Bob James "Courtship" and Neil Diamond's "Coming to America." Rounding out the summer: A Beatles medley, Alan Parsons' "Pipeline" and Ray Lynch's "Celestial Soda Pop."