Brian ENO

[sinner]

Been re-discovering some Brian Eno albums now that I'm back to Vinyl.

I use to have them all of vinyl, then just on CD, but they don't sound like records, plus the art work is so much better. So happy I am able to find them again.

It's also funny how when I was young, I moved around alot, selling all my possessions (albums), then once settled had to re-buy all over again. I must have purchased all these Eno records over and over again at least a dozen times! When I would get them it made my new digs seem familiar and I was instantly comfortable and felt at home. Who knew then that some day (today) these records are hard to find and expensive!

My favorite Eno albums are:

Before and After Science
Here Come the Warm Jets
Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy
Another Green World
Music for Film (volume 1 & 2)
No ******footing (with Robert Fripp)


I think "Another Green World" is probably my favorite:

So many great ideas, nicely recorded, pop sweet cliche rockin'--it's all there!

Then, there's the collaborations and early work:

Roxy Music

Talking Heads

David Bowie (Heroes, Low)


Back when I was young I use to fantasize about having Eno produce one of my albums. I use to "try and think like him" when I approached writing and recording. It really helped think outside the box without violating the box.

What's your favorite Eno?

 

[trickness]

Thanks for this post, I love all of the above.

Do yourself a favor and pick up "801 Live". 801 was an Eno & Phil Manzanera project, their version of Tomorrow Never Knows is just mind roasting.

 

[Astronome]

if you like drifting off into other worlds with headphones on i highly recommend The Pearl with brian eno and harold budd.. probably some of the most tranquil and languid music ive come across.

check out Jon Hassell if you like eno. they made a few albums together called fourth world music. Hassell also contributed his crazy trumpet sounds to Talking Heads' album remain in light
I love music!

 

[mlt1214]

I'm a big fan of Discreet Music and Ambient 1: Music For Airports. Brian Eno sparked my love for ambient and post-rock music.

 

[Blanket Jackson]

Don't forget that U2 would not have had as golden a golden era (Unforgettable Fire through Achtune Baby) without Eno. And MY Life In The Bush Of Ghosts is a remarkable album.

"kilocycles, kilohertz, the progress of my life is measured out in shirts"

 

[Dexter.Sinister]

Eno brought some great performances out of a great rotating cast of players. I played his albums so much that I could hear side B from side A. Only sort of backwards. A bit.

DS

P.S. Some of Fripp's most inventive and free guitar work is on Eno cuts...

 

[dividedsky]

I like his ambient stuff a lot...Music for Airports and Apollo are my favorites.

 

[Simon Gee]

He's a legend alright... and to the OP, love the avatar. Watcher of the Skies... (can you believe I just now scrolled up and saw you had that typed in there. I swear I didn't see it the first time!)

 

[mondaythursday]

The first four Brian Eno records are some of my favorite music.

 

[Neill]

by far my favorite eno album is ambient 1: music for airports. but i love his early solo stuff (taking tiger mountain in particular) and discreet music.

for those who like early eno solo stuff, check out john cale's solo catalogue. i have a feeling if you're familiar with eno you're familiar with cale, though.

speaking of those two, that eno/cale album 'wrong way up' is great too. lay my love is just stellar.

 

[snarkle]

I admit it: I am a Brian Eno fanboy and have been ever since first hearing Roxy Music. (My first band covered Roxy songs...in New Brunswick, Canada...in the 1970s...that took some panache! We also covered the Velvet Underground, and the Allman Brothers. Those were different times, as another great man once said...)

Anyway, a big +1 to all the suggestions above. I'm also fond of the records Eno made with the German electronic duo Cluster, which have just been rereleased; Phil Manzanera's very overlooked Diamond Head, which featured Eno prominently; and his contributions to Robert Wyatt's Ruth Is Stranger than Richard and Shleep.

Eno's use of echo and radical filtering has made a big impact on own playing, both in terms of tone and sonic architecture. He's undoubtedly the most musical "non-musician" I can think of...

 

[jhvox]

I really like him as a producer. "Heroes" has some of the most amazing guitar textures. The intro to "Where the Streets Have No Name" is one of my favorite Eno treatments as well. I believe he is a genius.

 

[trickness]

The intro to "Where the Streets Have No Name" is one of my favorite Eno treatments as well. I believe he is a genius.

Let's not forget Daniel Lanois' work on that record too.

 

[kludge]

Besides how awesome his music is, Eno is great for thinking about music so creatively and sharing his thoughts with us. I consider him one of my best music teachers.

Anyone who can sum up the shortcomings of technology as "There's not enough Africa in it" is really on to something.

 

[chopsley]

I'll give a big +1 to everything people have said above. I've been an Eno fan for a long time now, he's definitely had a huge influence on the way I think about music and sound.

I don't think anyone else mentioned these albums, but I also really like Ambient 4 and Evening Star (also w/Fripp). Some of his newer stuff is pretty cool too, such as Textures.

 

[Tuberoast]

I have him on vinyl.
Beyond Space and Science is my favorite. He was so different from other artists from the early-mid 70's. Beautiful music

 

[mbargav]

P.S. Some of Fripp's most inventive and free guitar work is on Eno cuts...

Absolutely. I've never been able to enjoy Fripp outside of Eno despite my best efforts, but every time I listen to Baby's on Fire, it sends chills down my spine.

 

[mbargav]

I really like him as a producer. "Heroes" has some of the most amazing guitar textures. The intro to "Where the Streets Have No Name" is one of my favorite Eno treatments as well. I believe he is a genius.

Excellent producer, but Eno was not the producer on Heroes. All three Berlin albums were produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti.

 

[ROKY]

if you like drifting off into other worlds with headphones on i highly recommend The Pearl with brian eno and harold budd.. probably some of the most tranquil and languid music ive come across.

That one is always in heavy rotation, here .

 

[sinner]

Glad to see there lots of Brian Eno love around!

Besides the great music and collaborations, there is a way of thinking about music, musicmaking, recording, performance that Eno inspires in us. I mentioned in my first post how Eno helped me "think outside the box without violating the box." I've learned that the box is good, no need to throw it out--just that the box doesn't need to look like a box, or even function like a box to still be the box we have before us. We might even pretend that the box doesn't exist and go that way for awhile.

Still, we are human and the box is where we came from and where we will end.

(sorry about the stupid philosophy--who needs philosophy when art is at stake!)

PS: Just won an auction for the Eno Box Set! Got many of these but about half are new to me. Never even heard the "Rarieties", should be fun!

Brian Eno Working Backwards 1983-1973 Box Set on Editions EG (EGBS02) featuring 10LPs and one "rarities" EP.
The set includes the 4 solo "vocal" albums: Here Come The Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain (gatefold), Another Green World and Before And After Science; Soundtrack music: Music For Films and Music For Films Volume II (a special edition for boxed set and film directors only); Ambient 1: Music For Airports (with original ambient description/definition/inspiration inner sleeve), Ambient 4: On Land; Atmospheric: Discreet Music, Apollo and; a Rarities EP


PPS: changed the title of Thread to Brian Eno, so it would be easier to find in a search using more letters.

Also, it's a shame the word that is sometimes substituted for kitty-cat is censored here, because I'd like to mention Fripp & Eno: No Kitty-Cat-ing.