No POLL on the Horizon: Post-Joshua Tree Brian Eno Productions

i wonder what would happen if he actually produced a half decent band for a change

Achtung Baby - U2 (assisting Daniel Lanois), 1991
Laid - James, 1993
Zooropa - U2, 1993

Great sequence.

Haven't thought of that Cale album in ages. "Do Not Go Gentle" was a track I remember liking a lot on it.

yeah that is a pretty great track. how much of hurricane did he produce? anyhow heard 'miss sarajevo' for the first time in forever earlier today, somewhat curious to hear passengers again.

passengers is a neat little record.

this is largely a lot of crap though.

Outside or Laid. also, he produced two songs on When I Was A Boy by Jane Siberry, which I'd rank up there pretty high.

He produced a few tracks on Slowdive's Souvlaki, which, on their own merits. I would rate above just about everything here, except for Achtung Baby

obvious choice imo - tho Zooropa.. those albums are really flip sides of the same coin

Going for "Viva La Vida" because too few others will (and because it's the best in the bunch anyway, even better than "Achtung Baby")

Btw. wasn't "Zooropa" largely Flood?

I only own/know:
Words for the Dying - John Cale, 1989
Achtung Baby - U2 (assisting Daniel Lanois), 1991
Zooropa - U2, 1993
Outside - David Bowie, 1995
Everything That Happens Will Happen Today - David Byrne, 2008
Hurricane - Grace Jones, 2008

Of these, I love Achtung Baby, Zooropa, 1.Outside and Hurricane. Can't come up with anything from Words for the Dying. I expected a lot more from Everything That Happens.... "Strange Overtones" is indeed great but nothing else on the record comes close. Its production rubs me the wrong way. It feels claustrophobic, I think a bit more 'space' would have increased my appreciation of the album.

Also, as Eno's far from a typical producer, I think the outcome of his productions are to a large extent depending on the people he's working with.

The latter sentence is OTM. Eno gets the best out of whoever he works with, and that is sort of his aim. He influences them to be creative, but at the same time doesn't take too much control in terms of forcing them to go in directions they don't want to go. The acts that work with him retain their musical and stylistic identity, while adding new elements to it within whatever boundaries they have of whichever new elements they want to add.

Listening to James' "I Know What I'm Here For" from Millionaires on Spotify right now -- great song, awesome arrangement, and according to Sound on Sound, Eno had a lot to do with it:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep99/articles/tracks.htm

Actually, this record may have some of my favorite stuff by James -- "We're Going to Miss You" is an awesomely creepy anthem. Eno's touch on these tracks (as indicated by the above article) is impressive.

Surprised to see so many Achtung Baby votes here. I'm actually not sure I voted!

Is there anything interesting in late-period James, from Millionaires on? I remember a couple of nice-sounding tracks on Pleased to Meet You. Spotify seems to suggest they're still putting out records? Has there ever been a proper thread on them?

So I had written this up back over Thanksgiving when ILM went down -- worth posting now, I think:

Today I went out to pick up a few of these records to see what I might have been missing (I was hoping to find Millionaires, but alas it wasn't to be). But I did track down two of the Swollen Appendices records -- Wah Wah and Passengers. Combined with Outside, which has always been a favorite of mine, one of the more interesting aspects of this era of Eno (and I can't remember whether he goes into it in the book) is that he was really into improvisation post-production -- getting bands in the studio and editing down and mutating the results.

For instance, the Outside sessions were initially several lengthy improvisations with Bowie creating characters and the musicians playing "characters" that Eno had prescribed for them (like, "You are a guitarist in an Afropop band in the 22nd century") -- a few of the interlude cuts from the final album were culled from these sessions (a couple of which can be found online). Wah Wah was, of course, recorded in parallel with Laid, the idea being to capture a different side of the band before the rough edges were sanded off (some have suggested the point of the two studios was to ensure the band got all the bullshit out of their system and didn't waste time while working on the "real" record; but Eno has always been too much of a provocateur--and too little of a company man--for me to really buy that). And, of course, the Passengers record was him doing this stuff with U2.

On one hand, I think you can argue that all these "techniques" are a big load of pretentious bullshit. And it wasn't like much in the way of "classic" material came out of any of this (the Bowie comes the closest and its best songs were clearly composed traditionally).

But you can't forget that this was, after all, right around the time records started being tracked on computers as opposed to tape (or could at least be dumped from tape to computers very easily). And for a guy who kind of specialized in getting bands out of their routines and bad habits, you could come up with worse ideas.

Also, while it's pretty clear that Eno has always lived vicariously through the bands he produces, often becoming an honorary (if not always welcome) member, it seems to have developed into something of an acute condition around 1993 or so -- perhaps as a way of staving off old age and inertia.

Two other thoughts:

He began receiving writing credits sometime over the last decade for records he's produced -- I do wonder what might have triggered that.

I also wonder why he might have chosen these three, very Anglo, very earnest bands to hitch his wagon to over the last 18 years or so. I get that they may be very different from his own personality -- but by the same token, there is a very blasé quality underlying them. I don't quite get the attraction.

Also, I usually find pre- or post-peak eras tell you more about someone than their peaks. This would see to be a good example of that.

On one hand, I think you can argue that all these "techniques" are a big load of pretentious bullshit. And it wasn't like much in the way of "classic" material came out of any of this (the Bowie comes the closest and its best songs were clearly composed traditionally).

Agreed, but it makes for irresistible copy.

True.

BTW, here's a link I made a few months ago to a playlist of highlights of this era:

http://open.spotify.com/user/124420673/playlist/5zrCcPPzXhTf5VJBM9NGfT

Overlooked Eno assist:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr5EHyGBsgg

Also (though perhaps justly) overlooked Eno assist:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCVYG1AyNWg

'Nother good one here:

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

I'm a sucker for the Wall of Eno

Production notwithstanding, that Orbison song is like everything you feared he would become as he got older.

Takes a while to get going:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5_hcGBsgIo

Bosnian neo hip-hop produced by Eno? WTF?

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

I've never heard that Orbison song!

Interesting behind-the-scenes anecdotes and speculation.

That may be the first time I've heard Eno referred to as "a rock n' roll great." Despite my doubts this was recorded into a "boom box," interesting story and production. Has the DX-7 feel of a lot of Eno's work around that time -- albeit shot through with a sort of widescreen Memphis soul thing that I've never heard Eno do before. Wonder if someone else was responsible for it.

Man of many surprises:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEQBDyTjF7U

Literally, Eno doing Memphis soul.

Also for a movie soundtrack -- Married to the Mob IIRC. What I meant, tho, was that while this is guitar with the Shimmer Effect, the Orbison has all that organ and so forth -- production characteristics you don't really associate with him. And which I suspect may not have actually come from him.

I dunno. He's also been pretty forthright about his love of gospel.

I think I bought that soundtrack just for that track... or was it on something else?

... don't recognise the cover of the soundtrack album

He has been really forthright about it -- IIRC, he actually rehearses weekly with an a capella gospel vocal group (I think that Arena special showed them rehearsing a gospel "Pale Blue Eyes"). What I'm saying is that hasn't translated into him recording Stax-ish arrangements. It still seems curious to me -- and I think when you add the Will Jennings aspect to it, it makes you think that there may well have been more cooks in the kitchen than Eno alone.

"Married to the Mob" soundtrack is awesome, btw:

"Jump in the River" - Sinéad O'Connor - 4:03
"Bizarre Love Triangle" - New Order - 3:56
"Suspicion of Love" - Chris Isaak - 3:59
"Liar, Liar" - Debbie Harry - 3:01
"Time Bums" - Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers - 4:37
"Devil Does Your Dog Bite?" - Tom Tom Club - 3:40
"Goodbye Horses" - Q. Lazzarus - 3:08
"Queen of Voudou" - Voodooist Corporation - 3:39
"Too Far Gone" - The Feelies - 3:32
"You Don't Miss Your Water" - Brian Eno - 3:47

Note appearance of Q. Lazzarus, taste of things to come ...

"Liar Liar" is a terrific song. I own the 45!

'Nother weird overlooked '890s Eno detour:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6OhF8hoQNk