Brian Eno- Another Green World

Brian Eno is one of the great monoliths of modern music, and I have no real right to talk about him. He’s to big, he’s too complex. His music is as layered as the earth’s mantel and just as hard to dig through, and I’m an untrained archaeologist with a toothbrush trying to clean a buried finger bone. But I’m used to that situation, or at least I should be by now. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Mama didn’t raise no quitter, but she certainly raised a fool or two.

This is in the same category as Revolver, in that the production is the main thing on display. You get to watch as this musical wizard makes strange sounds from his studio. And also like Revolver this album is not perfect. Some songs don’t hit as hard as they could because of Eno’s vocal delivery. Paul McCartney he is not. Some melodies don’t appeal as much as others. Overall, good songs on this album are great, and the bad ones are still pretty good.

Where this album really shines is on the instrumentals. I won’t lie to you, it’s hard to offer any kind of analysis because these things are so ethereal, like the smoke from a blown out candle. The root of the word “nirvana” is “blown out state” and I get the sense that there is something divine in the inspiration here. Eno wants to elevate consciousness or at least interrogate something very fundamental to the experience of listening to music.

Eno is perhaps best known for his invention of ambient music, which you get hints of on this record, but it’s really more of a spice that gives the instrumentals some flavor, or rather clarifies them, like an egg in a consommé. The experience is both calming and invigorating, like a nice cup of green tea on a slow afternoon. I’ve heard it described as “joyful” but I think it’s only “joyful” as a hymn is “joyful.” It’s a serious joy, in other words.

4/5 The best parts of this album are better when expanded onto Eno’s ambient records. But there is still so much on offer here. Check it out by all means, but I think you should check out other records first.