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Brian EnoAlbums ReviewedHere Come The Warm Jets (1973)Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) (1974) Another Green World (1975) Discreet Music (1975) 801 Live (1976) Before and After Science (1977) My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts (1981) Passengers: Original Soundtracks 1 (1995) Here Come The Warm Jets(1973)Eno's exit from Roxy Music after 1973's For Your Pleasure has been attributed to Bryan Ferry's domination of the group, refusing to allow Eno to contribute material, while Eno made the final decision to quit after an on-stage realisation that he was more conscious of his laundry at home than the performance. While he's nowadays accepted as a respectable elder statesman of rock, Eno's image in this era is far edgier; what are now endearing eccentricities seemed far more subversive in Eno's glam rock, eye liner days. The title is a reference to a pornographic act, pictured on the cover in a small shot from Eno's extensive pornography collection. A lot of Here Come The Warm Jets' appeal comes from its warped sensibility; most of the melodies and structures are fairly conventional and accessible, reflecting a fondness for mainstream pop like The Beach Boys and Beatles, but Eno's arrangements and lyrics are far more unusual and idiosyncratic. The infusion of straightforward pop with a more avant-garde sensibility is an endlessly fascinating combination, and very much a continuation of the experimental spirit of early Roxy Music. Eno plays basic guitar and keyboard parts, and his "snake" guitar style is distinctive, but his biggest instrumental contribution comes through the way that his technological devices treat the sounds of his collaborators, creating unique and identifiably Eno tones. Guest musicians include most of Roxy Music, along with King Crimson members Robert Fripp and John Wetton. Debut Here Come The Warm Jets is also a surprisingly eclectic record, jumping from glammed up rocker 'Baby's On Fire' and Roxy Music parody 'The Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch' to the proto-ambient 'Some Faraway Beach' and The Beach Boy's tribute 'Some Of Them Are Old'. Compared to later records it does tend more towards chaos, with Fripp and Phil Manzanera's guitars treated into imposing chunks of noise ('Blank Frank') and spinning into unconventional solos ('Baby's On Fire'). The album opens with 'Needle In The Camel's Eye', its melody referencing the opening track from The Velvet Underground's debut, another key influence on Eno's music along with avant-gardists like La Monte Young and Steve Reich. Eno pulls off a nasty Ferry impersonation on 'Negro Blowtorch', and alternately monologues and wails through the piano groove of 'Dead Finks Don't Talk'. It's hard to find too many critiques of this album; it's not quite as enjoyable as Another Green World, yet it's packed with ideas and Eno's trying something different with every track. Brian Eno's not primarily known as a solo recording artist, yet his run of vocal albums through the mid seventies are some of the most fascinating committed to vinyl. 
Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)(1974)For his second solo record, Eno devised a concept record about China, giving this album a more unified feel than his other seventies vocal records. This unity, however, doesn't work in the albums favour; while his other records dip into glam, funk and ambient, Taking Tiger Mountain is restricted mostly to sluggish mid-tempo rockers. Additionally, it's based around a much more consistent group playing throughout, and the brilliant contributions of guests like Robert Fripp are missed. The core group includes Manzanera (who is also credited with arranging and production) and Soft Machine's Robert Wyatt on percussion and backing vocals. Phil Collins plays on 'Mother Whale Eyeless' while the Portsmouth Sinfonia, a notoriously inept classical ensemble whom Eno produced, guest on 'Put A Straw Under Baby'. There are also guest choruses of backing vocals, giving some of the tracks an off kilter, sing-along feel. While Taking Tiger Mountain is my least favourite of Eno's seventies vocal records, it's still perfectly enjoyable, full of idiosyncratic writing and creative arrangements and textures, and it's surprisingly undated, at times sounding like a 21st century Indie record. Highlights include the dynamic 'Third Uncle', based around some impressive bass work from Brian Turrington, and the slow trippy 'The Fat Lady of Limbourg', where Andy Mackay contributes some oddly eerie horn lines. The tunes that vary most from the formula are the oddly lullaby like 'Put A Straw Under Baby' and the title track, which starts as a soothing piano instrumental before opening out into another perverted sing-along. Manzanera spits some nasty leads in 'The True Wheel', which provides the name for Manzanera and Eno's side project ("we are the 801s"). There isn't any particularly substandard material on Taking Tiger Mountain, and if it wasn't overshadowed by the exceptional albums that surround it, it'd possibly score more highly. And while I'm not impressed by its relatively homogeneity, this characteristic may endear Tiger Mountain to other listeners as Eno's best record.
Another Green World(1975)Eno was immobilised for long periods of time leading up to this album, suffering a long illness then being hit by a car, the time off resulting in a calmer approach to record making. There are four or five vocal tracks on Another Green World; the remainder of the record is devoted to ambient instrumentals. I'm not particularly excited by Eno's full scale ambient records, but Another Green World is altogether different, based around short fragments with innovative instrumentation (guest appearances are still very influential on the sound of this album, as are Eno's treatments) and melodic motifs. If anything drags down the record it's the vocal songs, which feel slightly out of place (especially the perky and sincere 'I'll Come Running [To Tie Your Shoe]'), although leaving them as part of the album was the correct decision, as they're all individually excellent and make the album far more accessible for a pop audience. John Cale guests on viola, while Fripp and Phil Collins also make distinctive and important contributions, although Eno plays far more of the instrumental parts than previously, reflecting the less song based nature of the album. The standout track of this album, and arguably of Eno's entire career, is the magnificent 'St. Elmo's Fire'; Fripp's fantastic solo is merely the icing on the cake of an extremly impressive mini epic. Aside from Fripp's contribution, Eno plays the entire track solo, contributing organ, piano, guitar, bass pedals, and percussion. The calmer 'Everything Merges With the Night', referring to the Chilean revolution of 1973, is another standout, its gentle strummed guitar a long way from the nasty chaos of 'Baby's On Fire' two years early. While it's kind of stretching it to describe the instrumentals individually, they do have distinctive identities, and they're extremely palatable in their concise forms; highlights include the gorgeous title track, which spends most of its short running time fading in and fading out, and 'The Big Ship'. There are strong arguments for each of Eno's four major seventies vocal records being his best, but Another Green World is my choice for the pick of an excellent bunch.
Discreet Music(1975)A month after Another Green World was recorded, Eno went back into the studio to create a full scale album of the ambient areas that his previous album hinted at. While Another Green World is still within the realms of pop, Discreet Music is altogether outside these boundaries, a conceptual piece which is designed to function as background music. In the liner notes, Eno describes himself as taking a passive role as a planner rather than as a performer, relying on technology and chance to provide the details of the piece. The first side, one half hour track, is made up of two extremely simple complementary synthesiser loops, played simultaneously against each other. The second side consists of simple variations on Pachelbel's Canon, with members of the orchestra playing small repeating themes which overlay against each other in random ways. It's difficult to assign a rating to Discreet Music; it does function effectively as background music and is conceptually interesting, but it hardly inspires me to want to hear Eno's other ambient works.
801 Live(1976)Strictly speaking this doesn't belong on the Eno page, since it's principally a Phil Manzanera project, but Eno plays an important role as well and it's difficult to imagine an Eno fan not wanting to hear this record. This live album comes from the last night of a three night stand from a band assembled from Manzanera, Eno, Curved Air's Francis Monkman on keyboards, slide guitarist Lloyd Watson (who won a competition to be part of the backing band) and rhythm section Simon Philips and Bill MacCormick. The resulting set, consisting of sixties covers and Eno and Manzanera tunes, is one of rock's more indispensable live albums, since some of the material is unavailable in studio versions and because this combination of musicians sounds terrific, with a fluid and creative rhythm section and a detailed and inviting sound. The Eno songs are also substantially different from their studio incarnations, as he's unable to treat all the instruments in the same way in a live setting, and they sound more conventional if no less excellent. 'T.N.K.', a cover of 'Tomorrow Never Knows', is one particular highlight. It's more organic than the Beatles original, and obviously lacks its sheer ground-breaking nature, but it's just as strong, stretched out to a six minute jam with a driving rhythm and strong bass line, topped off by Eno's beeping and vocals. The cover of The Kinks' 'You Really Got Me' is also idiosyncratic, adding more complexity without sacrificing the song's natural drive and charm. The most interesting of the Eno tracks is Another Green World's 'Sombre Reptiles', which is made into a longer jam, with the band augmenting the original's austere riff. 'Miss Shapiro' is an Eno vocal song that originally appeared on Manzanera's 1975 solo album Diamond Head, and although it would have fit fine on Eno's solo records, its main feature is Manzanera's aggressive riffing. 'Rongwrong' comes from Manzanera's pre-Roxy Music band, Quiet Sun, who were able to record their material in the wake of Manzanera's success with Roxy. This live album's fascinating to anyone with an interest in the seventies British art rock scene, although some of the longer jams are hard to follow, which does take it down a notch or two. The 1999 reissue of the album includes two extra Eno songs, 'Golden Hours' and 'The Fat Lady of Limbourg', and I assume it's the version to go for.
Before and After Science(1977)The problem with a large collection of CDs is that they aren't useful for any wider purpose other than personal use. I could spin them at parties, but my taste is largely for introspective and archaic music. About the only CD that I own that could be used to create a pleasant ambient atmosphere is Eno's Another Green World, but only before the mood is shattered by 'I'll Come Running (To Tie Your Shoe)'. The only CD that I own which has any practical use, Before and After Science, is perfect as a sedative. For your pleasure, Eno has divided Before and After Science into two convenient portions; a sprightly side to burn off the listener's last remnants of vitality, followed by a mellow side to lull the listener to sleep. Not only is Before and After Science a very useful album, it's also wonderful. Highlights include the punchy 'No One Receiving' and 'King's Lead Hat' (an anagram of Talking Heads), and the entire second side which glides along gracefully through the country textures of 'Here He Comes' and the slinky keyboard grooves on 'By This River'. 'Julie With...' encapsulates the textures, moods and melodies that make Eno's work incredible, while 'Spider And I' brings Before and After Science to a warm and uplifting conclusion.
My Life in the Bush of Ghosts(1981)Created on the side between Talking Heads' albums, David Byrne and Brian Eno employed the then novel concept of creating musical backdrops for sampled vocal tracks on My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Most of the vocals are lifted from spiritual sources, mostly Christian evangelists and Islamic singers. This approach to My Life in the Bush of Ghosts is somewhat unbalanced; the Christian preachers come across as belligerent, while the Muslim contributors are limited to demure singing. 'The Jezebel Spirit' is particularly disturbing, featuring an aggressive exorcism. While the project is inherently fascinating, it isn't among Eno or Byrne's best work as My Life in the Bush of Ghosts lacks distinctive tracks. While 'America is Waiting', 'The Jezebel Spirit' and especially 'Regiment', which pumps up a Lebanese mountain singer with a funky groove, are fully developed songs, the remainder of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts is disappointingly shapeless.
Passengers: Original Soundtracks 1This album is a bargain bin perennial, and I finally gave in when I found a $3 copy. A collaboration between Eno and U2, as well as cameos from Holi, Howie B and Luciano Pavarotti, it's contrived as a collection of songs from soundtracks of hypothetical art-house movies. While this project received plenty of attention due to U2's involvement, it's not particularly interesting in general. Thanks to Eno's reliable touch, the production sounds terrific, but despite a few great moments there's little to get excited about. Chief among the great moments is 'Miss Sarajevo', hypothetically the central song for a documentary featuring a beauty pageant in the war torn former Yugoslavia. A reflective ballad, it's easily the best song here even before Pavarotti's show-stopping entrance. The Edge plays some nice organ on 'Your Blue Room', and Holi's vocal spotlight on 'Ito Okashi' is interesting, but by and large the invented film synopsises are more remarkable than the songs themselves. The music's too esoteric to appeal to most U2 fans, while it's nowhere as engaging as Eno's best work. 'Miss Sarajevo' is well worth hearing, but the rest of this album is largely negligible.
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Written 2001-2007, Graham Fyfe
