Search and Destroy Brian Eno's pasty white English ambient ass

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He's certainly got a big catalog, doesn't he? Pare it down a bit, hopefully a little more than the "rock" albums, Music for Airports, and On Land, please.

― Josh, Wednesday, 25 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Nope sorry, it's the rock albums, all four of them are the best rock has to offer (smart, sonically inventive, nice melodies). Not sure which of the rock albums you should search in a "I only want one" scenario, although I gravitate towards "Here Come the Warm Jets". Then yes boring, boring but the obvious ambient albums: "Music for Airports" and "On Land". Though "Music for Films" is also good, and "Thursday Afternoon" is very nice. "Apollo is very good expect for two tracks which combine an awful guitar-twang with some standard DX7 sounds. Mmm, seems I've checked all my Eno albums :) Sorry about that.

Destroy: My Life in the Bush blalbla...very, very overrated.

― Omar, Wednesday, 25 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Sorry - but I'm only into the first four albums obsessively - why would you listen to the other stuff - that collaboration with Cale was particularly shit. He's one of those blokes who you like what he says,writes etc then he puts out 'Neroli' and you can tell the journos wanna praise him but you know hes yesterdays man - HIS PARADIGM IS WELLOVER AS kUHN would say (Iz I studious or what). He works better in collaboration, I like THAT jAMES wah THING . I find the Eric Tamms book a good read on the tech side.I remember Chris Roberts doing a great lookbackateno in MM -and slagged the ambient stuff- so I went out and bought the lot - Fucka was right.Eno should produce Samantha Mumba.

I is currently almost listening to Ravi Shankar/Phillip Glass - 'Passages' while watching a porno with enoish synth miasma

― Cheeba Wizard, Wednesday, 25 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Cale collab underrated - has some very nice Cale songs especially "Cordoba". Bits where they try to 'go pop' are a bit naff. The sleeve is also one of the worst ever.

Still think "Bush Of Ghosts" is terrific - refer to T Heads thread for why.

The best albums are "Before And After Science" and "Another Green World". Not rock in many senses of the word, but gentle and lovely and funny which are 3 things rock could do with more of. The first two brain-glam albums turn me off though, so I'd say destroy "Warm Jets" before any of the ambient stuff which just sits and is.

I used to own a copy of Nerve Net, which fitted G.Racer's description above.

― Tom, Wednesday, 25 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Eno is better in principle than in practice, but there are certainly high points. I'd take Warm Jets, if only for the opening sqwronk of "Needle in the Camel's Eye". As for the ambient side, I quite like Apollo.

― Sean Carruthers, Wednesday, 25 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Eno is best as a collaborator. I like the first four solo albums, but I like the first two Roxy Albums even more. Add the Bowie, Talking Heads and David Byrne collaborations and why Eno is always going to be important becomes clear.

― Guy, Wednesday, 25 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Music for Films - Morning Star with Robert Fripp - Remain in Light (Producer) . There's quite enough Eno dissing

― K-reg, Thursday, 26 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I delayed investigation onto Ambient Eno for some time due to being entirely bored by most of the first two records, excepting the title songs. 'Before and After SCeience', on the other hand, was revelatory - such explicit formulism in rock music! Such odd, Stockhausen-like staccato rhythms. 'Discreet Music' is a particular favourite - such subtle variations of such a tiny bit of music, without ever losing detail over a full half hour. Plus the Pachabel variations with bizarre electronic loops over this luxurious classical romantic music.

I'm not a fan of his most famous work, though. the sound when you start up Windows 95.

― matthewjames, Friday, 27 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

two months pass...

My favourites are: - Another Green World: Absolutely classic masterpiece. Half way to ambient. Eno invents a musical world on its own. He still sings here on some tracks.

- Music for Films: Underrated, this is actually the search item in the original definition of s&d. Instrumental of course.

- Before and after Science: Very interestinmg album. Side One is rock , side two is calmer more meditative instrumental stuff.

- Taking Tiger Mountain: His second album. Quite strange surreal story. Somehow gripping. With singing.

Destroy: here come the warm jets, ambient 1-4, discreet music, drawn from life

― alex in mainhattan, Tuesday, 17 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

three weeks pass...

Destroy everything he's ever done. Jim O'Rourke is the 90's version of Eno and his stuff should all be burnt too.

― David, Friday, 10 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

three years pass...

i relistened to eno a bit recently and i have to admit that i was completely wrong about

"here come the warm jets" and "ambient 2: plateaux of mirror". those two are probably the most essential eno albums. "warm jets" is eno at his most inventive, sprawling with ideas. three minute songs with three distinctive parts. eno is jumping around like a kid which cannot sit calm for a minute.

"plateaux of mirror" is the first collab with the californian minimal composer harold budd. it is a gem of a relaxed instrumental album. music wrapped in cotton. satie revisited. gorgeous introspective impressionistic stuff. irresistible beauty.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Sunday, 22 August 2004 11:42 (twenty-one years ago)

S--the rock albums, esp. "Green World" and "Warm Jets." "Fourth World Vol. 1" is one of my all-time faves. I like the bootlegged "My Squelchy Life" a lot too. "Discreet Music" and "Evening Star" are good.

D--the Cale collab and most of his ambient stuff, which has its moments but overall, boring.

― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Sunday, 22 August 2004 15:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Eno did come up with (or bring from avant art school) some important ideas. Like, he was right to say that rockers used to have synths just play over the top, like organs, or appliaces, as I remember 'em. His thing, with Roxy, was to texture the overall group sound (synth as wide "envelope", and mixing board as extention of synth.) Did this live too, and would start singing, while sitting out there behind the sound board. Which immedialtely upstaged rest of band, later for overall group sound! Which I guess is why Ferry bounced him (they got back together for relatively recent Ferry album, anybody heard it?) I naddition to stuff mentioned above (mostly the rock, but also some like DISCREET, FOURTH WORLD, GREEN WORLD), I like the live 801, when he got back with Manzanera and friends, and there was a live (boot?) with his touring band the Woolies, from waaay back when he used to tour (and rock), anybody heard that??

― Don Allred, Sunday, 22 August 2004 16:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Don, you mean The Winkies. There's a widely circulated boot of a Peel session and live tracks called "Dali's Car" (no relation to the Peter Murphy off-shoot group). It's got fairly dreary audio quality. It must have been so cool to see Eno/Winkies at the onset of the former's solo career... He had what seemed like 50 projects going at once in 1973. Phil Manzanera's web site offers a great deal of archival info to support the assertion. Legend has it that Eno's Winkies career folded after her suffered a collapsed lung following a night of group sex. No wonder Bryan hated him!

No one has really mentioned Portsmouth Sinfonia yet. Although a Gavin Bryars creation, Eno's participation lifted them (to an extent) out of obscurity. Their two primary albums are extremely funny, and thought-provoking too. (While not a 100% photocopy, Polyphonic Spree owe a hell of a lot to Portsmouth Sinfonia.)

The "First Kiss" BBC boot really exposes the brilliance of Eno-era Roxy Music. Many of the takes on the album are, for me at least, unbelievably great. 1n late 1971/early '72, RM sounded decades ahead of everyone.

― Eye for an Eye, Sunday, 22 August 2004 18:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, the Winkies. Think the Woolies toured with Chuck Berry, after surprise hit "My Dingaling"(I swear! *also* in early 70s, a very hazed time). Yeah, Bowie credited Roxy as much as Kraftwerk with helping him get his musical perspective re-aligned (and after he had disco hits, black kids would come into store where I worked and check out Bowie/Eno, Roxy, Kraftwerk, other Germans etc.)I'll have to find that Roxy BBC; seen it online lately?

― Don Allred, Sunday, 22 August 2004 19:34 (twenty-one years ago)

I've only heard some of what Josh is already sick of:
Warm Jets, On Land, and his part in the Slowdive and U2 albums.
It's all pretty good, but search "Blank Frank".

― Stephen Stockwell (Stephen Stockwell), Friday, 27 August 2004 04:29 (twenty-one years ago)

Passengers, that collaboration with U2, was great IMO

― Gear! (Gear!), Friday, 27 August 2004 05:13 (twenty-one years ago)

five years pass...

is the white noise im hearing in the background of Music for Airports intentional or the result of shitty mp3s/dying headphones?

― nick (killah priest), Saturday, 15 May 2010 19:48 (fifteen years ago)

it's on my copy too

― hope this helps (Granny Dainger), Saturday, 15 May 2010 21:25 (fifteen years ago)

I have never heard white noise in the background on my LP or remastered CD, which track?

― bug holocaust (sleeve), Sunday, 16 May 2010 00:06 (fifteen years ago)

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