POLL: Best Track on Eno & Cale's "Wrong Way Up"

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A couple of decent tracks on here; I've included the two bonus tracks (that I know of) that they recorded around this time.

For me, best track is easily "Spinning Away" with "One Word" as the runner-up.

Poll Results

OptionVotes
Spinning Away 9
Cordoba 3
Empty Frame 2
One Word 1
Crime In The Desert 1
Lay My Love 0
Grandfather's House 0
The River 0
Been There Done That 0
Footsteps 0
In The Backroom 0
You Don't Miss Your Water0


Joe, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 19:54 (seventeen years ago)

My favorite Eno album. I could listen to "One Word" and "Empty Frame" on loop all day.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 20:02 (seventeen years ago)

o bugger! cannot pick just 1, nohow. i love nearly all o'them.

t**t, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 20:06 (seventeen years ago)

And there, as the world rolls round
In the stars, in the stars
I draw, but the lines move round
In the stars, in the stars

One of the greatest pieces of music ever put on record.

Curt1s Stephens, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 20:06 (seventeen years ago)

Sugar Ray did a far-from-embarrassing cover of "Spinning Away" for The Beach soundtrack.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 20:08 (seventeen years ago)

yep, they did. it was the only sugar ray song i knew at the time - ehich got me thinking that their other stuff might be equally decent :)

t**t, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 20:12 (seventeen years ago)

I had no idea "Spinning Away" was a Eno-track! But I remember really liking the Sugar Ray version, like a "guilty pleasure". Feels good to know I had cred all along.

A friend played me this in his car recently. That plus this poll plus the raving review on AMG forces me to buy this album.

sonderangerbot, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 20:50 (seventeen years ago)

I wrote a little something a while ago

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 20:52 (seventeen years ago)

I truly love this album.

Davey D, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 21:03 (seventeen years ago)

Oh, and "Spinning Away" is the jam for me.

Davey D, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 21:04 (seventeen years ago)

Worst album cover art ever, though.

Davey D, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 21:05 (seventeen years ago)

"Grandfather's House" is an amazing little story delivered so emotionally by Cale, I often wonder if there's a backstory.

Mr. Odd, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 21:15 (seventeen years ago)

spinning away is a great song, I can't believe sugar ray covered it, that is weird. I've always felt this album was very very underrated and I seem to remember it got very lukewarm reviews on release, not sure why. The cover art is deceptively awful, sadly.

akm, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 21:18 (seventeen years ago)

"Cordoba", although Cale did it better on 'Fragments'

baaderonixx, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 21:30 (seventeen years ago)

I saw Cale in concert around the Fragments of a Rainy Season era, and I recall him saying that the basic lyrics to "Cordoba" and (I think) "Grandfather's House" were taken from practice exercises out of a 'learn a foreign language' book.

Joe, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 23:53 (seventeen years ago)

Cool review, Alfred

Joe, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 23:56 (seventeen years ago)

spinning away. i find the production on this record such hard going though.

electricsound, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 23:57 (seventeen years ago)

spinning away for me with lay my love close behind. this album made me such an evangelist, I was making mixtapes for friends just to put "lay my love" on the tape.

J0hn D., Wednesday, 2 April 2008 00:49 (seventeen years ago)

i find the production on this record such hard going though.

how's the production a problem? My God, I could listen to those whirling gears, percussive clinkety-clanks, and Arabian keyboard melodies ALLL DAY.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 2 April 2008 01:08 (seventeen years ago)

"Crime in the Desert" - Barrelhouse minimalism!

("Spinning Away" a close close second.)

Hideous Lump, Wednesday, 2 April 2008 01:30 (seventeen years ago)

On Sugar Ray's "Spinning Away" cover, Mark McGrath adds these call and response harmonies not in the original but honoring Eno's intentions. I know McGrath's supposed to be a rock trivia expert, but, wow, it took real digging and gumption to cover this.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 2 April 2008 02:05 (seventeen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

ILX System, Saturday, 5 April 2008 23:01 (seventeen years ago)

I'm hearing this again now...it's weird cause it's an album I actually do know the songs on but I wouldn't have necessarily realized that until now. I used to work with a guy who played it over and over.

I'm a sucker for Eno's voice. It sounds great so far. I'm on track 4 now.

Bimble, Sunday, 6 April 2008 04:54 (seventeen years ago)

Album? More like Spinning Away and nine b-sides.

f. hazel, Sunday, 6 April 2008 10:24 (seventeen years ago)

McGrath's supposed to be a rock trivia expert

he is? it is just mr. access hollywood host to me now

akm, Sunday, 6 April 2008 16:07 (seventeen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

ILX System, Sunday, 6 April 2008 23:01 (seventeen years ago)

More like Spinning Away and nine b-sides.

Very superior b-sides.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Sunday, 6 April 2008 23:02 (seventeen years ago)

I really don't get the love for Spinning Away. Feels pretty throwaway to me

baaderonixx, Monday, 7 April 2008 08:11 (seventeen years ago)

Yeah, if I'd been around I would have voted for "Crime in the Desert." It never occurred to me that Spinning Away dwarfed the competition.

There was an EP that came out along with this album, but now I can't remember what the non-album songs were. I spent a lot of time looking for a copy, and I don't think there was anything earth shattering on it.

dlp9001, Monday, 7 April 2008 15:23 (seventeen years ago)

I've got that CD single - it has "Grandfather's House" and one other unique b-side, both added to the reissue.

Mr. Odd, Monday, 7 April 2008 15:30 (seventeen years ago)

"You Don't Miss Your Water" was the other one.

Actually all the album tracks deserved at least one vote. What a gem of an album.... I always thought Crime in the Desert could have come off Before and after Science.

Sparkle Motion, Monday, 7 April 2008 17:21 (seventeen years ago)

I've never heard those extra songs.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Monday, 7 April 2008 17:24 (seventeen years ago)

I would've given love to "Been There Done That." Here's how that song developed. Eno to Cale: "Shit. I've spent the 1980s creating moonscapes. I better catch up on what's been happening in music. Hmmm. Let's see. New wave. That Tears For Fears is pretty good. The Cure too (at least when they're not too bummed out). House. Oooh - lovely piano hooks, Marshall. Gotta have those. CHR. I can make a record as bright and chirpy as the last two Scritti Polittis. Et voila! Been there. Done that. Now back to moonscaping."

Kevin John Bozelka, Monday, 7 April 2008 18:11 (seventeen years ago)

I luvluvluv the production on this album – it's SO deliberately artificial and clanky. It's as if not hiring a real band freed these two master soundscapers to use everything they've learned about keyboards, MIDI technology, Fairlight programming, and sextuple-tracked vocals.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Monday, 7 April 2008 18:30 (seventeen years ago)

I think the other songs were on the single for One Word. You don't Miss Your water is on the reissue (which I don't have) along with another one I've never heard, "Palanquin". Looks like the reissue gives another shot at less-terrible cover art as well.

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=&sql=10:djfpxqrsld0e

(2xpost)

Sparkle Motion, Monday, 7 April 2008 19:30 (seventeen years ago)

three months pass...

Just listening to this today. Man, that "You Don't Miss Your Water" cover is fantastic.

Can't believe no one voted for "Lay My Love."

clotpoll, Tuesday, 5 August 2008 02:48 (seventeen years ago)

I can't believe three people voted for Cordoba!

sleeve, Tuesday, 5 August 2008 03:18 (seventeen years ago)

"Cordoba" is classic Cale and fairly well-known due to his outstanding solo piano version on Fragments of a Rainy Season.

Naive Teen Idol, Tuesday, 5 August 2008 13:38 (seventeen years ago)

eight months pass...

<3 <3 <3

shocked that no one voted lay my love---might be my favorite

i'd still like to hear an Aeroplane cover/treatment of spinning away

i like to fart and i am crazy (gbx), Thursday, 16 April 2009 15:14 (sixteen years ago)

one month passes...

'spinning away' is possibly my favorite song of all time

iatee, Saturday, 13 June 2009 21:50 (sixteen years ago)

also, alfred's stylus review (upthread) is really good and def worth reading!

iatee, Saturday, 13 June 2009 21:57 (sixteen years ago)

six months pass...

this album!!!! god

iatee, Monday, 11 January 2010 21:21 (fifteen years ago)

<3 <3 <3

shocked that no one voted lay my love---might be my favorite

i'd still like to hear an Aeroplane cover/treatment of spinning away
--i like to fart and i am crazy (gbx)

can I just

everybody's into weirdness right now (gbx), Monday, 11 January 2010 22:46 (fifteen years ago)

one year passes...

this record is hilarious, forgot about it for years. middle-aged dudes get funky!

velko, Wednesday, 15 June 2011 17:11 (fourteen years ago)

im surprised spinning away won in such a landslide. even the CD sounds like it was encoded as a 128 kbps MP3, and spinning away suffers the brunt of it

frogbs, Wednesday, 15 June 2011 18:03 (fourteen years ago)

I don't follow either of these comments - hilarious? Sounds like 128kbps mp3s? It sounds frickin' great, both content and quality, to my ears.

Gerald McBoing-Boing, Wednesday, 15 June 2011 18:14 (fourteen years ago)

It IS funny! "I am the termite of temptation"?

The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 15 June 2011 18:16 (fourteen years ago)

i'm talking mostly about the drum sounds. the beginning of "spinning away" sounds so compressed and full of recording artifacts.

frogbs, Wednesday, 15 June 2011 18:23 (fourteen years ago)

Has anyone heard the recent-ish reissue, wrt the sound of the album?

WARS OF ARMAGEDDON (Karaoke Version) (Sparkle Motion), Wednesday, 15 June 2011 22:19 (fourteen years ago)

one year passes...

Some great stuff in this thread.

I luvluvluv the production on this album – it's SO deliberately artificial and clanky. It's as if not hiring a real band freed these two master soundscapers to use everything they've learned about keyboards, MIDI technology, Fairlight programming, and sextuple-tracked vocals.

Completely agree. I'm obsessing a bit right now over Eno's late-80s-era production style, which this is in some ways an extension of.

I always thought Crime in the Desert could have come off Before and after Science.

Totally -- it's "Backwater" sung as a duet in a saloon.

the beginning of "spinning away" sounds so compressed and full of recording artifacts.

Eno treatments, dude. Go listen to "White Mustang" off Music for Films III if you don't believe me. He was into those kind of effects at the time.

I could listen to "One Word" and "Empty Frame" on loop all day.

It's true. I've read a couple of different accounts about how "Empty Frame" developed. One (Cale's),held that Eno laid down an incredible vocal that he was embarrassed by and insisted on re-recording it. Eno's insisted that it was just in a really high register and didn't fit the album, so he re-wrote the song completely after Cale left (at one point it was called "Waterloo"). Shame virtually no outtakes of Eno's work ever leak.

I would've given love to "Been There Done That." Here's how that song developed. Eno to Cale: "Shit. I've spent the 1980s creating moonscapes. I better catch up on what's been happening in music. Hmmm. Let's see. New wave. That Tears For Fears is pretty good. The Cure too (at least when they're not too bummed out). House. Oooh - lovely piano hooks, Marshall. Gotta have those. CHR. I can make a record as bright and chirpy as the last two Scritti Polittis. Et voila! Been there. Done that. Now back to moonscaping."

A lot was made at the time of how this record hailed Eno's return to vocals, given that he hadn't really sung anything for almost 15 years prior. But in reality, from Nerve Net/My Squelchy Life to all his background (even lead) vocals in James to Another Day on Earth (to Drums Between the Bells even), he's actually done quite a bit of vocal stuff in the decades since.

There was a great piece in Option Magazine that went into amazing detail regarding what a difficult recording this was. Doesn't seem to be online, however.

Naive Teen Idol, Saturday, 13 October 2012 03:37 (twelve years ago)

This is sooooo weird as I've been listening to this record on loop in my car.

the ones that I'm near most: fellow outcasts and ilxors (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 13 October 2012 11:22 (twelve years ago)

NTI, can you post a couple of those interviews?

the ones that I'm near most: fellow outcasts and ilxors (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 13 October 2012 11:37 (twelve years ago)

Here's one: http://music.hyperreal.org/artists/brian_eno/interviews/sos90b.html

the ones that I'm near most: fellow outcasts and ilxors (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 13 October 2012 11:45 (twelve years ago)

In his "A year with swollen appendices" book, there's a line where he says he had just licensed "Spinning away" to be used in a British TV ad (Burtons, iirc) for £50,000. Nice.

Rob M Revisited, Saturday, 13 October 2012 12:50 (twelve years ago)

Cale's side of the story of making Wrong Way Up is pretty grippingly written up, I recall, in What's Welsh For Zen:)

t**t, Saturday, 13 October 2012 12:55 (twelve years ago)

NTI, can you post a couple of those interviews?

Here's one: http://music.hyperreal.org/artists/brian_eno/interviews/sos90b.html

Cale's side of the story of making Wrong Way Up is pretty grippingly written up, I recall, in What's Welsh For Zen:)

I think that's right. The other one is the Option piece. I'll look at the Cale book later today. One thing that's kind of reassuring, btw, is that despite the challenge of recording WWU, they've continued to work together a bit.

It's interesting that the two of them were so inspired by "The Soul of Carmen Miranda" -- until recently, it was never a favorite of mine and generally representative to me of Cale's kind of monotone melodic style of the period (which continues to some extent on WWU). I like the sounds in it tho -- particularly the squiggly scratchy sound that stretches into infinity.

Naive Teen Idol, Saturday, 13 October 2012 15:42 (twelve years ago)

one year passes...

Just heard Sugar Ray's cover of "Spinning Away", surprisingly faithful. Anyone have the back story on this?

Gerald McBoing-Boing, Sunday, 19 January 2014 22:34 (eleven years ago)

Yeah that always seemed odd to me. The only thing I can imagine is that whoever did the soundtrack citation was trying to match a popular act with a personal fave.

Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 26 January 2014 18:57 (eleven years ago)

You walk towards the station.
I'll walk towards the bus

Bryan Fairy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 26 January 2014 19:01 (eleven years ago)

otm

LADsy (wins), Sunday, 26 January 2014 19:01 (eleven years ago)

one year passes...

I'd heard about the language-book lyrics for Cordoba - looked for the source today:

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=g8KlL80sQ-sC&q=%22according+to+his+father+he+is+very+ill%22&dq=%22according+to+his+father+he+is+very+ill%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiGkK6jv-DJAhVEbRQKHbiECeMQ6AEIHzAA

woof, Wednesday, 16 December 2015 13:42 (nine years ago)

that's awesome

La Lechuza (La Lechera), Wednesday, 16 December 2015 13:56 (nine years ago)

Actually more likely this one in the same series, given the dates:
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=R43FKpfjAEAC&dq=%22according%20to%20his%20father%20he%20is%20very%20ill%22&source=gbs_book_other_versions

woof, Wednesday, 16 December 2015 14:04 (nine years ago)

gah those are my favorite types of language instruction books too -- tons of drills, sentences that are written for their sounds, super old school methodology that's pretty useful when you're at the beginning stages of learning a language

La Lechuza (La Lechera), Wednesday, 16 December 2015 14:10 (nine years ago)

Love Spinning Away so much, but a friend sort of pooped it up a bit for me by noting the simple chord progression is pretty much "Hey Soul Sister."

Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 16 December 2015 15:04 (nine years ago)

four years pass...

ilxor Tom D. just pointed out that "Spinning Away" is merely a rewrite of "The Big Ship"...

but I'd like to chime in that "Spinning Away" unfortunately replaces the original's heavily distorted synths & Frippotronics with late 80s flourishes like gated drums & world music cliches.

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 16 January 2020 19:34 (five years ago)

Spinning away is beautiful

Baby yoda laid an egg (wins), Thursday, 16 January 2020 19:40 (five years ago)

yeah c'mon it's like top ten Eno

The Squalls Of Hate (sleeve), Thursday, 16 January 2020 19:43 (five years ago)

but I'd like to chime in that "Spinning Away" unfortunately replaces the original's heavily distorted synths & Frippotronics with late 80s flourishes like gated drums & world music cliches.

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli),

Your imagination unfortunately was replaced by heavily distorted farts

TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 January 2020 19:44 (five years ago)

Trying to imagine if Julien Baker* (or hell even Cale**) covered it on solo piano...

*a la her cover of "Accident Prone"
**a la his cover of "Frozen Warnings"

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 16 January 2020 19:48 (five years ago)

I love this album. Footsteps and been there are the 2 tracks I’m not so hot on, though I enjoy them - love all the rest

Baby yoda laid an egg (wins), Thursday, 16 January 2020 19:48 (five years ago)

Eno did a lazy lugubrious cover of “ring of fire” in the style of “the river” around this time, I love it just for giving me more of that vibe

Baby yoda laid an egg (wins), Thursday, 16 January 2020 19:52 (five years ago)

brb gonna listen to the oh-oh-ohs from "Empty Frame" again.

TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 January 2020 19:56 (five years ago)

Had I been around I might have voted for that one itp

Baby yoda laid an egg (wins), Thursday, 16 January 2020 19:58 (five years ago)

Listened to it today! Particularly love "Cordoba".

Frozen Mug (Tom D.), Thursday, 16 January 2020 20:03 (five years ago)

ilxor Tom D. just pointed out that "Spinning Away" is merely a rewrite of "The Big Ship"...

that's a cool observation, I think this tune fits in with those two as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xycTSIC0aCA

(not Eno though)

Spinning Away is absolutely classic of course (even the Sugar Ray cover is good!!) but I'm still bothered by the drum loop sounding like a 96kbps MP3

frogbs, Thursday, 16 January 2020 20:05 (five years ago)

It's a fairly standard chord sequence, probably been used lots of time. Eno only uses straightforward chord sequences, Cale often does too.

Frozen Mug (Tom D.), Thursday, 16 January 2020 20:08 (five years ago)

I wish I could vote on this to show Been There Done That some love

the public eating of beans (Sparkle Motion), Thursday, 16 January 2020 20:50 (five years ago)

I'm finally home (!) and am here to tell you that:

"The Big Ship"
C - F - Am - F - C - G/B - Am - F
I | IV | vi | IV | I | V* | vi | IV *inversion

"Spinning Away"
A - E - F#m - D
I | V | vi | IV

so a slight difference, but in Tom D's defense, the reedy/overdriven DX-7 preset sounds remarkably similar in both tracks.

My big takeaways: "The Big Ship" uses the same chords as "No Woman No Cry" & "Spinning Away" uses the same chords as "Three Little Birds".

Is Eno a closet rasta?

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Saturday, 18 January 2020 01:57 (five years ago)

Hasn't he just been working with Lee Perry?

Frozen Mug (Tom D.), Saturday, 18 January 2020 02:01 (five years ago)

two months pass...

I'm finally home (!) and am here to tell you that:

"The Big Ship"
C - F - Am - F - C - G/B - Am - F
I | IV | vi | IV | I | V* | vi | IV *inversion

"Spinning Away"
A - E - F#m - D
I | V | vi | IV

so a slight difference, but in Tom D's defense, the reedy/overdriven DX-7 preset sounds remarkably similar in both tracks.


I think you will find a lot of Eno tunes use I-IV-V-vi sequences – 8M, How Many Worlds, etc. Eno loves his English hymns.

One song that hasn’t gotten enough love here is the wry (and ribald) “In the Backroom.”

Naive Teen Idol, Saturday, 4 April 2020 17:25 (five years ago)

seven months pass...

bumping this thread for the "Spinning Away" chord progression soundalike... my wife's native ringtone:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW6gUttBqpM

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Friday, 13 November 2020 20:02 (four years ago)

four years pass...

I'm listening to this album on a train running through southern France. Ostensibly I am going to Nice to sightsee and meet up with an old friend, but really I'm going so I can sit on a train and look out at stucco walls and tile roofs while listening to John Cale and Brian Eno.

Lily Dale, Thursday, 10 July 2025 09:05 (one month ago)

The best album in the world.

hungover beet poo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 10 July 2025 09:13 (one month ago)

I had never listened to it before! I've always had mixed feelings about solo John Cale, so this is a wonderful surprise.

Lily Dale, Thursday, 10 July 2025 09:23 (one month ago)

Current vote for favorite track is "Lay My Love," but I haven't listened enough to know for sure.

Lily Dale, Thursday, 10 July 2025 09:28 (one month ago)

The keyboard groove and the Cale/Eno harmonies on "One Word" must be what the angels sing to God in His heaven.

hungover beet poo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 10 July 2025 09:34 (one month ago)

I'm listening to this album on a train running through southern France. Ostensibly I am going to Nice to sightsee and meet up with an old friend, but really I'm going so I can sit on a train and look out at stucco walls and tile roofs while listening to John Cale and Brian Eno.

Wonderful

TheNuNuNu, Thursday, 10 July 2025 09:51 (one month ago)

I'm listening to this album on a train running through southern France.

Kinda fitting, because I've always heard this (brilliant, beautiful) record as a retro-futuristic European simulation of a classic American pop record.

Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 10 July 2025 12:19 (one month ago)

Some of my favorite drum progamming.

hungover beet poo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 10 July 2025 12:38 (one month ago)

I was in Cambridge today, and on the long drive home, 'Spinning Away' came on as the sun fell across burnt wheat. It's a perfect song. 'I have no idea exactly what I've drawn' chokes me every time I hear it; I couldn't begin to say why.

I would prefer not to. (Chinaski), Thursday, 10 July 2025 21:49 (one month ago)

To date, literally the only song that ever made me pull the car over. This was back when the album came out and I was listening to it in the car on the way back from the record store, possibly in a CD player that plugged into the cigarette lighter.

Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 10 July 2025 22:09 (one month ago)

Interesting! I thought it the ultimate cult item no-one bought at the time

hungover beet poo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 10 July 2025 22:25 (one month ago)

I got the cassette in a reduced vin of a mall record store

hungover beet poo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 10 July 2025 22:25 (one month ago)

I bought it at Rainbow Records down the road in Wilmington, DE. I even remember where I was when I pulled over on the way back home!

Josh in Chicago, Friday, 11 July 2025 01:18 (one month ago)

I'm glad this album has had the staying power it has; in fact it seems to have grown in reputation over the years, as it should. Easily in my top 10 Eno releases, maybe even in the top 5.

I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Friday, 11 July 2025 01:33 (one month ago)

psssh. I could make a track by Spinning Away. You just need an inspiring melody, gorgeous harmonies, a string section that carves out a grander space without being syrupy, and some tropical guitar that fits with the percussion that you only notice as propulsive when you focus on it. I mean I could make three of those tracks before breakfast.

rainbow calx (lukas), Friday, 11 July 2025 01:37 (one month ago)

I love both these artists almost unconditionally, yet even still, this record conjures a particular sense of nostalgia in me that I’m still not sure I can fully explain. Perhaps it’s that Emo was 42 when he made this and is closing in on 80 now. Or maybe it’s because when I first heard it I knew that Eno hadn’t done any pop music under his own name in over a dozen years.

Regardless, the songs were not only a welcome change of pace for me as a listener but clearly liberating and life affirming for him. And I only wish that Eno’s original, more unhinged vocal for Empty Frame were to surface someday. Supposedly Cale was elated when it was laid down but Eno was embarrassed and angered Cale by erasing it.

Some of my favorite drum progamming.

I sort of chuckle at this even as I sort of nod in agreement. Even at the time, Eno’s use of a Korg M1 to program the drums was a bold, even dubious choice, as it gave the “rhythm beds” he programmed before Cale arrived this very industrial THWACK that almost threatened to undermine the whole thing.

And yet, particularly when combined with Robert Ahwai’s rhythm guitar (another of the record’s secret weapons) and, yes, Nell Catchpole’s Wall of Violas, the drums not only work. They’re actually quite charming and essential to the slightly homespun feel. No other record sounds like this – because no one else combines these sounds.

Naive Teen Idol, Friday, 11 July 2025 12:14 (one month ago)

I can't imagine how to improve his "Empty Frame" vocal; when it goes into those doo-wop oh-oh-oh-oh-oh's over the outro it hits every one of my pleasure centers.

hungover beet poo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 11 July 2025 12:23 (one month ago)

Eno is barely in this, but it's still a time capsule of Cale at the time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awXiIpiBp38

And just in case someone hasn't heard it, this is the Eno/Cale product of that first collaboration that set the stage for "Wrong Way Up:"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBhBhvk6q_8

Josh in Chicago, Friday, 11 July 2025 12:39 (one month ago)

The Soul of Carmen Miranda is peak "All my 'treatments' are inside the Eventide H3000 now" Eno and Cale's then-current style of writing melodies that span about 5 notes. But I like it all the same.

By way of contrast, Eno's tune and vocal on Empty Frame are almost the polar opposite -- the two moments that have always stood out to me was the octave jump to "BA-BEE, we're going 'ROUND in circles" 2'00" and "And are/Any of our signals/Coming through-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-OOOH." It's really thrilling stuff and the most full-throated (and I suspect vulnerable) singing of Eno's career.

All that said, ever since I read that interview with them both in Option (sadly never online to my knowledge), I've wished I could hear what he initially laid down. Cale clearly took Eno's erasure of that original vocal as some kind of betrayal of the spirit of their collaboration. There's some good stuff in the Sheppard book and Cale's autobiography about it all.

Naive Teen Idol, Friday, 11 July 2025 15:52 (one month ago)

Poor Cale, playing second fiddle (nyuk nyuk) to Eno and Reed the same year.

hungover beet poo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 11 July 2025 15:54 (one month ago)

Interesting! I thought it the ultimate cult item no-one bought at the time

― hungover beet poo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, July 10, 2025 6:25 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

lol I'm pretty sure I bought this the day it came out.

Iza Duffus Hardy (President Keyes), Friday, 11 July 2025 15:59 (one month ago)

I bought this on cassette when it came out but best as I remember it was only to listen to "Lay My Love". I think WXRT had it in medium rotation at the time. Surprised it didn't get any votes in this poll.

Alfred, you posted about this album recently, yes? That post sent me back to this and "Empty Frame" was the stand out now. I like the description of Eno's singing there as "thrilling stuff"!

j.o.h.n. in evanston (john. a resident of chicago.), Friday, 11 July 2025 17:27 (one month ago)

great album
would have voted 'one word'

nxd, Friday, 11 July 2025 19:36 (one month ago)

Those harmonies!

hungover beet poo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 11 July 2025 19:39 (one month ago)

You’ll have your trousers down in no time in the backroom …

Naive Teen Idol, Friday, 11 July 2025 21:51 (one month ago)

Booming posts, Teen Idol.

This album definitely taps into the past in a way that defies nostalgia. It connects with older melodies and styles without being homage or emulation.

It has lost none of its appeal after all these years, the definition of timeless.

Gerald McBoing-Boing, Saturday, 12 July 2025 01:20 (one month ago)

This has always been “Córdoba” for me, but maybe that will change next time I come back to it

duolingo ate my baby (Jon not Jon), Saturday, 12 July 2025 13:13 (one month ago)

he's very generous Cordoban.

hungover beet poo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 12 July 2025 13:16 (one month ago)

This has always been “Córdoba” for me, but maybe that will change next time I come back to it

We walk toward the station.

You’ll walk toward the bus.

Naive Teen Idol, Saturday, 12 July 2025 13:33 (one month ago)

Pretty much every track gets a turn at being favourite but that might be my answer too on average. The lyrics are gorgeous readymades

Very glad to see the love for “empty frame” too, feel like it doesn’t get talked about much despite being the title track! Have always adored it

sideshow melt (wins), Saturday, 12 July 2025 13:38 (one month ago)

I'm listening to this album on a train running through southern France. Ostensibly I am going to Nice to sightsee and meet up with an old friend, but really I'm going so I can sit on a train and look out at stucco walls and tile roofs while listening to John Cale and Brian Eno.


ppl who have figured out how to live btw

sideshow melt (wins), Saturday, 12 July 2025 13:51 (one month ago)

been there
done that
been there don't wanna go back

hungover beet poo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 12 July 2025 13:54 (one month ago)

Having now listened to this album all the way to Nice and back (Nice was amazing btw, if I had truly figured out how to live I would still be there), I cannot possibly choose between Lay My Love, One Word, Empty Frame, and Spinning Away. I think there is actually something very fitting about listening to it on a train, because that's what songs like Lay My Love look like in my mind: the vocals gliding along with deceptive peacefulness over this base of frenetic propulsive motion that never stops.

There are so many moments on this album where a single line kind of floats free of the song and hits you in a way that's hard to explain. "Some kind of change/some kind of spinning away" is the one that is really getting to me right now.

Lily Dale, Saturday, 12 July 2025 19:34 (one month ago)

yes!

For me it's "I have no idea exactly what I've drawn"

hungover beet poo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 12 July 2025 19:36 (one month ago)

Remember this oil by Augustus John?
These are the ones I found in Rome
Very few things I keep for long
When does your plane leave for cologne?

sideshow melt (wins), Saturday, 12 July 2025 19:38 (one month ago)

There are so many moments on this album where a single line kind of floats free of the song and hits you in a way that's hard to explain.

“She won’t let it touch her anymore” from “one word” was always one for me

sideshow melt (wins), Monday, 14 July 2025 21:42 (one month ago)

Honestly I’ve loved this album ever since they let me design the cover on the school computer

sideshow melt (wins), Monday, 14 July 2025 21:42 (one month ago)

"Crime and punishment down in Tuscon" is such a great opening line

frogbs, Monday, 14 July 2025 21:52 (one month ago)

xp lol

rainbow calx (lukas), Monday, 14 July 2025 21:57 (one month ago)

I’ve never heard Spinning Away before and I’m halfway thru it and I heard the opening line and immed assumed it was a 1990 david byrne collab.

bloozmonica noodling inc. (Hunt3r), Monday, 14 July 2025 22:27 (one month ago)

I envy you

hungover beet poo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 14 July 2025 22:35 (one month ago)

That song reminds me so much of my childhood/teenage bestie that it’s forever associated with her. The poignance is amplified by having known her for so long and still relating to each other. I think the eno & cale friendship aspect of this album, but specifically that song, shines for me.

Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Tuesday, 15 July 2025 00:52 (one month ago)

Please don’t tell me they hated each other! I don’t know tbh and I’d rather not sully my memories.

Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Tuesday, 15 July 2025 00:53 (one month ago)

They didn't, but Eno was in a more powerful business position.

hungover beet poo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 15 July 2025 01:00 (one month ago)

i've never heard this. thanks to this revive i think i'll listen to it for the first time on a road trip to southern utah this weekend.

five six seven, eight nine ten, begin (map), Tuesday, 15 July 2025 01:13 (one month ago)

i'm enjoying lily dale's travelogue entries across various threads. my partner is in northern italy right now and i watch a lot of "cab view" train rides across france, italy and switzerland on youtube. resolution is an issue and watching a video is a far cry from the real thing of course, but i do enjoy pairing certain music with them.

five six seven, eight nine ten, begin (map), Tuesday, 15 July 2025 01:17 (one month ago)

"Crime and punishment down in Tuscon" is such a great opening line

The concluding “crime” committed in the desert is both hilarious and uniquely them:

Crime and punishment down in Tuscon
Back to normal in the sun
Playing blackjack in the drive-in
Shooting snake-eyes in the mud
And when the moonlight came out, we were gone, long gone.
They found a body on the race-track;
No identifying signs
In his pocket was a notebook
With a number inside
And Guadalajara's just a few miles down the line.
She adored the broken-hearted
And those who showed her a bad time
They didn't care for her body
They took advantage of her mind.
So they took her ideas and they left her behind.

Naive Teen Idol, Tuesday, 15 July 2025 04:50 (one month ago)

Please don’t tell me they hated each other! I don’t know tbh and I’d rather not sully my memories.

I don't think the recording the album was exactly stress free but then that's John Cale for you.

Posts That Witness Madness (Tom D.), Tuesday, 15 July 2025 06:42 (one month ago)

sextuple-tracked vocals
A+

willem, Tuesday, 15 July 2025 07:38 (one month ago)

Never heard Eno’s “Ring of Fire” before today – that cover is clearly the jump off point for “The River”. Actually, I don't know which one came first...

Please don’t tell me they hated each other! I don’t know tbh and I’d rather not sully my memories.

I’m quite sure the details in this great review by Chris O’Leary will only rewire rather than sully your memories of the proceedings :)

willem, Tuesday, 15 July 2025 08:51 (one month ago)

Thanks for the O'Leary. Well-written, loving piece!

TheNuNuNu, Tuesday, 15 July 2025 14:41 (one month ago)

he used to post in the Eagles thread as col. I miss him here.

hungover beet poo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 15 July 2025 14:49 (one month ago)

there is a reason the cover has daggers on it, they totally hated each other.

Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 15 July 2025 15:23 (one month ago)

fwiw the Johnny Cash cover was a flexi disc originally, I think. no cale involvement at all, as far as I know.

Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 15 July 2025 15:24 (one month ago)

Yes the O'Leary piece is fabulous. What a quote from another erstwhile ilxor, also.

rainbow calx (lukas), Tuesday, 15 July 2025 16:25 (one month ago)

Just listened to it again on a flight and suddenly remembered I used to have a giant subway promo poster of the album cover! Wonder what happened to it ...

Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 16 July 2025 11:00 (one month ago)

So, apologies for the extended diversion but I sometimes wonder if Eno would have followed this record with more singing along these lines had My Squelchy Life not been delayed by his label (and ultimately shelved by Eno) in the following months.

WWU was pitched as “Brian Eno’s return to singing pop songs” — and MSL was kind of the typically Eno-y followup, with a few standouts (“The Harness,” “Under,” and “I Fall Up” which is fun) set among a bunch of nerdy vocal experiments. Even if it wasn’t always successful, the “Eno is singing again” narrative would’ve held up had it been released.

Instead, Eno pulls the record and swaps it out with Nerve Net which has some vocals and shares some tracks but all of them are heavily processed (or in the case of “Ali Click,” rapped). There are really no traditional “songs” to speak of. At that point, while Eno is no longer as allergic to singing as he had been from 1980-1990, he mostly ditches making vocal records proper for another dozen years outside of the odd track like the vocoded “A Different Kind of Blue” on the Passengers album.

But by the time he gets to Another Day on Earth in 2005, the belter Cale brought out a decade-and-a-half earlier on WWU is long gone. While the record is quite beautiful in places and probably as winsomely melancholy as Eno ever got, the vocals often feel as much like another texture, with more layered harmonies, fewer thrilling octave jumps into his higher register and less carefree scatting. The same is true of the drone-y midrange stuff he has been singing over the last decade like The Ship, the one with “There Were Bells” — Eno describes those types of vocals—closer mic’d, sung more quietly and more guttural—as kind of a function of the aging process (the one exception on The Ship is “I’m Set Free,” which was recorded ca. 1992 and sounds like it).

The biggest “proper songs” record Eno released since WWU is the Byrne/Eno record -- all sung by Byrne. The record features some exceptional Eno backing vocals (“One Fine Day” is a big fave), but I can’t help but wonder whether Eno would’ve stepped out from behind the mixing desk and taken a few leads had the record been made together in a studio instead of patched together remotely. His vocals are a bit more energized on the Eno-Hyde records, which I enjoyed. I’m sure I’m missing something, but it’s probably not a coincidence that the closest we’ve come to Brian Eno: Pop Singer over the last 35 years is when he has had a collaborator there in the studio with him, nudging him to let her rip a bit and sticking around long enough to make sure he doesn’t erase it all later.

At any rate, if he actually gets MSL into the proverbial shops, does he do more songs like “The Harness” and “Empty Frame” in the Eno catalogue? Probably not. But maybe.

Carry on.

Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 17 July 2025 18:57 (one month ago)

This one was gorgeous, dunno when it was actually recorded:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9D2BJ5tv8o

Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 17 July 2025 19:22 (one month ago)

That is nice, sounds recently recorded.

Gerald McBoingBoing hepped me to the bonus track on the Record Store Day issue of My Squelchy Life in 2015, Rapid Eye, which has a rather slurry and over the top croon from Eno as well as a fat slap bass leading the musical charge. I’m not sure if that proves or disproves my theory posted above but it certainly is one of his more gregarious post-WWU vocals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rWwAHQV7xI

Naive Teen Idol, Saturday, 19 July 2025 04:14 (one month ago)

sticking around long enough to make sure he doesn’t erase it all later.

late lol

sleeve, Monday, 28 July 2025 17:25 (one month ago)

thanks to this latest revive for finally getting me to listen to this. i popped it onto my headphones while i did yoga in my cubicle at work - it was perfect.

five six seven, eight nine ten, begin (map), Thursday, 31 July 2025 23:50 (one month ago)


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