Hero Worship
Vol. I:
Eno
In his heyday, the man couldn't sell a record. Today, he is almost universally recognized as one of the most important living figures of popular music. Join me this week as we begin a new sub-series of the list obligatory devoted to the undeniable heroes of modern music and take a look at the undefinable and historic career of Brian Eno.
Eno has been everywhere over the last few weeks. He released a record of his own, produced the newest album for superstars Coldplay, served as the keynote speaker for Moogfest, debuted a new multimedia art installation, and has been interviewed on almost every major music program in America. Then, this happened...
For however brief a moment, everything was right in the world. I couldn't resist any longer, Eno had to have his own list. First things first, I know that there is no right answer to approaching an Eno list. Do you include every production he had a cup of coffee during? How much do you weigh historical importance against innovation or listenability? I know going in that this is the sort of list that is going to make everyone angry before I even start. Sounds like my kind of territory. In true list obligatory fashion, I'm not applying any rules at all. Wanna join in? Without further ado, my top ten albums that Brian Eno had some sort of impact on in some fashion that I may or may not feel the need to explain at a later date. Don't like it? Then give me your list below. Also, don't forget to check out our playlist on Spotify to celebrate all things Eno. Now, let's do the dirty business.
10. U2 - Achtung Baby, 1991.
Perhaps the reason why Eno became a household name, his work with U2 revived the band and is generally considered by the critical community to be the best period of their career. Ranked by Rolling Stone and Best Albums Ever as one of the best albums of all time, Achtung Baby is an absolute standout. The sounds that Eno created with the band here will probably forever define U2. "Wild Horses", "Even Better Than the Real Thing", and "Mysterious Ways" absolutely owned MTV and radio in the early nineties and are among the only classics of that period that didn't originate from Seattle. As good as those songs were, the song "One" will forever standout as an almost perfect track.
9. David Byrne & Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, 1992.
More than a few people will wonder why I would include this album and not My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. The first answer is easy; its my list, go make your own. I think Everything was one of the very best albums made in 2008. For me, MLitBoG was a much more experimental record. It is a successful one, but in comparison to Everything it isn't nearly as listenable. This was a grande return to Pop for both Byrne and Eno, celebrating their mutual love of African American dance rhythms. The album is perfect in almost every way and shows that either guy could easily make a best-selling record, if they wanted to.
8. John Cale - Fear, 1974.
Eno's first producing credit came from the person I consider to be his most direct progenitor, John Cale. Having become one of Eno's idols in the Velvet Underground, Cale had forged out onto his own only a few years prior when the two worked together on this album. On Fear, you can easily hear Eno's solo career taking shape all the way up to and including Before And After Science. I think Cale is one of the more under-appreciated musicians and songwriters in the world and it shows here. This wasn't the only time the two would work together, but it yielded the best results.
7. Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!, 1978.
Amongst all of Eno's various credits over the years, his production on Are We Not Men is perhaps the one most usually (and oddly) unmentioned. But if it wasn't for him, this seminal work wouldn't have ever been made in the first place. While doing some silly amount of work in Berlin, Eno came upon the demo tapes for Devo. Along with David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and Robert Fripp, Eno was interested in producing the group's first album. Perhaps because Bowie was busy working on filming a movie at the time, Devo chose Eno as the producer. The problem was that Devo didn't actually have a record contract. So, Eno paid out of pocket for the group's travel expenses and studio time. A fresh listen to Are We Not Men proves that Eno's influence was undeniable. Those interesting Kraut Rock time signatures and giant, borderline Funk bass riffs could be pulled from almost any of his solo work from this period. Just take a listen to their cover of the Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction".
6. Talking Heads - Remain In Light, 1980.
Considered by many as the jewel of the Talking Heads catalogue (though not me), Remain In Light was the breakout commercial success that the band had been building up to. Aided by regular airplay for the incredibly strange video for "Once In A Lifetime" on MTV, this is the album that made the Talking Heads a household name. The third and final Eno production of a Heads album, this record channeled the group's experimentation with African percussion from Fear Of Music into Pop songs that were radio and club friendly. This is undoubtedly a great record, I just think there still one better.
5. Roxy Music - Roxy Music, 1972.
It seems almost impossible to believe that Brian Eno and Bryan Ferry were in a band together. Just to have been a fly on the wall for the banter between those two must have been worth the price of admission. Yet, there they were, at the dead center of Glam Rock, making some of the absolute strangest music of the decade. Eno only stayed with the group for two albums before making his own way, but the mark left by those records will last forever. In particular, this first Roxy Music record is nothing short of fantastic. Classic tracks like "Virginia Plain", "2 H.B.", and "If There Is Something" will forever help to define that genre and still stand up today (just listen to the fantastic version of 2 H.B. done for the film Velvet Goldmine).
4. Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy), 1974.
While I am not personally a fan of Eno's ambient or latter experimental solo projects, picking a favorite from his first four records is an almost painful task. Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) is a nearly perfect work, with Eno stretching himself well outside the bounds of Glam Rock, but not yet out into the ether. Eno took the title from a Communist Chinese opera of the same name because he found an interesting dichotomy between the visceral taking of a physical thing through the use of evolutionary human thought and pre-conception. Much of the record walks that same line, with heady sonics tempered by immediate punching lyrics. Completely devoid of singles, the album never charted, but was selected by the Village Voice as one of the best records of the year. Depending on the day of the week, it could have ended up number one here as well.
3. Brian Eno - Before And After Science, 1977.
I'll admit it, I was slow to come around on Before And After Science. I thought this album was goofy and Eno was a terrible singer the first I heard it at some unmentionable part of the 90s. Since then I've come full circle on this album. Eno was perfectly encapsulating the most unbelievable time period in music history. Experimenting with electronics, ushering Glam Rock into Punk, and redefining Pop, Before and After Science is one of the greatest albums made and is certainly the best of his solo catalogue. The guest appearances on this record are a who's who of revisionist Rock importance with Robert Fripp, Fred Frith, Robert Wyatt, Phil Manzanerra, Andy Fraser (Free), Dave Mattacks (Fairport Convention), Jaki Liebezeit (Can), Paul Rudolph (Hawkwind), Bill McCormick, and even Phil Collins making contributions. This record took over two years to make and includes only 10 of the more than 100 songs Eno had written for it. Unfortunately, Before And After Science was Eno's last true Rock solo effort. It's a shame too, because here you get the sense that only Eno really knows how to utilize all of that ambient droning for the powers of good.
Something magical happens when Brian Eno and David Byrne work together. They have collaborated on five albums and three of those found a home on this list (with the remaining two not being far behind). Buildings And Food was their first collaboration, and the Talking Heads' second record. This record is a perfect example of why they are so good together. The music here transcends the standard 'Eno sound' and yet is so different from the Heads' first record as to almost be unrecognizable. Songs like "Thank You For Sending Me An Angel" and the cover of Al Green's "Take Me To The River" are more refined and far removed from the punk pretensions on '77. This would be a standout record in an artists' catalogue, but here it helps me argue that the Talking Heads are the greatest American Rock band.
1. David Bowie - 'Heroes', 1977.
For me, this is a no-brainer. The Berlin Trilogy of David Bowie and Brian Eno is the stuff of legend. In real life, it was slightly less mystical. Having suffered through some rather unpleasant controversies and succumbing to a very serious addiction to cocaine, David Bowie's move to Brian Eno's home in Berlin was originally intended as little more than a vacation. Four years later the two would emerge having made three of the most critically well received records of all time. "Heroes" was the first David Bowie song I heard, and at the age of 10, he had me ensconced entirely in the world of that song. Before this record Bowie's work had never carried the full weight of sound that became part of his persona. Brian Eno changed all of that with "Heroes". Benefited by contributions from another Eno collaborator, Robert Fripp, this second installment in the trilogy was a wonderful Pop implementation of Bowie and Eno's new found love for Kraut Rock bands like Neu!. After this period both artists would change their career paths again, but they will both forever be remembered for this record.
No synthesizers whatsoever were used during the writing of this column.
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