Brian Eno, On Land

Determining his creative pathways with the aid of a deck of instructional, tarot-like cards called Oblique Strategies, Eno championed theory over practice, serendipity over forethought, and texture over craft; in the process, he forever altered the ways in which music is approached, composed, performed, and perceived.

Born, May 15, 1948, Brian Peter George St. Jean le Baptiste de la Salle Eno, sometimes simply Eno, started his musical career with Roxy Music. He then went on to produce a number of highly eclectic and increasingly ambient electronic and acoustic albums. He is widely cited as coining the term "ambient music" in his Ambient series (Music for Airports, The Plateaux of Mirror, Day of Radiance and On Land). He collaborated with David Byrne, formerly of Talking Heads, on My Life in the Bush of Ghosts which was one of the first albums not in the rap or hip hop genres to extensively feature sampling. Eno collaborated with David Bowie as a writer and musician on Bowie's influential "Berlin trilogy" of albums, Low, Heroes and Lodger, on Bowie's later album 1. Outside, and on the song "I'm Afraid of Americans". Eno has also collaborated with Robert Fripp of King Crimson, Robert Wyatt on his Shleep CD, with Jon Hassell and with German Cluster.

Eno has acted as a producer for a number of bands, including U2 and Devo. He won the best producer award at the 1994 and 1996 BRIT awards. He is an innovator across many fields of music and recently he has collaborated on the development of the Koan algorithmic music generator. He has also been involved in the field of visual arts. In 1996 Brian Eno, and others, started the Long Now Foundation to educate the public into thinking about the very long term future of society. Brian Eno is also a columnist for the British newspaper, The Observer.

On Land represented a significant move away from the strategies Brian Eno had employed in earlier ambient releases such as Discreet Music and Music for Airports. Here he uses a more intuitive approach, creating dreamy pictures of some specific geographical points or evocative memories of them. It's quite easy to imagine these works as soundtracks to mysterious footage of imprecisely glimpsed landscapes. The music is unobtrusive, warm, relaxed, shining, earthy. The first piece, "Lizard Point," includes an early recorded performance of Bill Laswell on bass, and one imagines that his association with Eno was a crucial factor in the ambient directions his later work would sometimes take.

On Land remains a landmark event in the genre, as well as one of its high-water marks, and sounds entirely up to date 25 years after its initial release... Daze away


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Good post, makes me want to listen....strangely I have never heard Eno, and it sounds like he has worked with some major bands.

Was this album or others released in SACD? The format would lend well to the ambient theme.

More likely you've heard Eno and didn't recognize it. Yes it's in SACD, but I'm holding out for Blu-Ray audio formats.

Great post clint e.


2. "Sandwiches of You" – 3:17

This post has been edited by Susurus on December 23, 2008 09:10 am

Tanx guys.
His last work is a collaboration with David Byrne ( ex-Taking Heads) and you can listen and download a free song here:

http://www.everythingthathappens.com/

I've been on a bit of an Eno kick lately myself, with Roxy Music S/T, Here Come the Warm Jets, Devos 1st LP and Talking Heads Songs About Buildings and Food getting high rotation

Also i'd been listen to "Harmonia" a German band with some members of Cluster, Neu! and Eno collaborator Harold Budd.

The album is mix of keyboard shimmers and electronic washes, resulting in a piece at once both meditative and gently rhythmic.

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I love the free song, bought the CD, and so far just haven't been able to get into any of the other tracks! I hate to say it but the free download just feels like a juicy carrot to bait the horse into eating hay. Maybe it will grow on me in time... Anyway, unless you are a completest or a huge fan I highly recommend listening to some samples of the other tracks before you buy.

Nice review, BTW!

Interesting, because i find it one of the best pop records i'd listen in this past few weeks.

It's ok, I mean I didn't want to shine any sort of disparaging light on the release... I just sort of felt like the free song ("Strange Overtones") sort of felt out of context with the rest of the album. You didn't notice that at all? Again, maybe I just need to listen to whole thing a few more times.

Sorry, but i didn't notice it at all. Maybe for your musical taste you find "Strange Overtones" with a more catchy tune to the ear....

My favorites here are the two songs I feel best mesh Eno and Byrne’s interest in gospel with their lifetime of musical experimentation. “Wanted for Life” and “Poor Boy” both find ways to meld industrial-funk sounds, social commentary, and a sense of cultural revival into perfectly crafted pop songs.

Also imo, the music on "Everything… " is no celebration of the glory-days of the ‘70s and ‘80s. These songs are new and fresh, both a part of our current popular music and a few steps ahead in many respects and are instantly listenable for people of all walks of life.