Absolutely love Passengers. Really surprised it isn't getting love. Songs from this LP frequently make my Eno/Chill mixes. Needs a vinyl release.
Before all that they tried to get Conny Plank to produce them: "In the 1980s he met U2 with a view to producing what would become their Joshua Tree album but decided, “I could not work with that singer”."
I recall a later (than where we are now) Eno interview, probably after working with another band of colossal bores, where he said it is more interesting to work with the biggest bands around and try to get them to think differently. You can sort of see how he's done that with James and U2 despite the forgettable results.
I think he's also put it that he prefers to work with acts that need him, rather than ones who already have a fully formed artistic vision that he'd just be facilitating. This is why he decided he couldn't work with Scott Walker, no matter how much he admired him, and found his one-off collaboration with Elvis Costello frustrating. Apparently he also told XTC (in their very early days) that they didn't need him and should produce themselves. He'd rather be a creative catalyst than a glorified engineer.
I read an article in The Guardian around this time that suggested that Eno was not really a creative catalyst, more a management consultant and safe pair of hands that record labels could trust to deliver product on time.
Passengers I've listened to this a few times and am flicking through the songs now. I feel that I should engage with this album more. The production is very good and the arrangements of the tracks very good. I think that if this album was primarily sung by Brian (or fully sung) then it would be more interesting for me. Bono sings fine, but I find that his voice somehow doesn't excite me. I can imagine how people who are bigger fans of U2 than me would love this album as it takes various aspects of U2 further. The album also (expectedly) seems to have more Eno on it. There's nothing wrong with any of the tracks, and there are some very nice melodies married to the interesting highly electronic instrumental backings. It's good in all ways. It's just that I don't feel inspired to play it very often. I'm pleased to see the posts by the people who love the album. But, in terms of Eno produced U2, I much prefer several other albums over this one. Particularly Zooropa. Perhaps Original Soundtracks 1 is less commercial, and that would normally make it better to my ears. I think it's one of the albums that I need to be listening to on high rotation as every time I play it I like it more. But, because it didn't immediately captivate me, it doesn't get the plays it deserves. I've owned the album for decades now. Hearing this album back to back (thread time) with Wah Wah really makes them sound similar in style and aim. And, this album was definitely done after Wah Wah. Somewhere I have a copy of Holi's album that, if I remember correctly, she recorded with ex-members of the bang Japan. I didn't find it engaging at all. Not sure why - the production is very good. Maybe I just need to play that one more.
Thanks for the discussion everyone. For the next two days we will discuss Spinner by Brian Eno and Jah Wobble. Released in October 1995. Spotify link (Expanded Edition): Spinner [Expanded Edition] Youtube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l8nM_svITbIRoPduYZXM4YH8u68Wc1fvg Discogs link: Eno / Wobble - Spinner Wikipedia link: Spinner (album) - Wikipedia Track listing (from Discogs): All initial compositions by Brian Eno; tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 9 and 10 with additional credit to Jah Wobble 1 Where We Lived 3:00 2 Like Organza 2:44 3 Steam 3:16 Guitar – Justin Adams Sounds [Atmospheres], Keyboards – Mark Ferda 4 Garden Recalled 3:21 5 Marine Radio 5:06 Drums – Richard Bailey 6 Unusual Balance 5:23 Vocals – Sussan Deyhim 7 Space Diary 1:51 8 Spinner 2:54 Drums – Jaki Liebezeit Sounds [Atmospheres] – Mark Ferda 9 Transmitter And Trumpet 8:41 Drums – Jaki Liebezeit Guitar – Justin Adams Sounds [Atmospheres] – Mark Ferda 10.1 Left Where It Fell 7:02 Sounds [Atmospheres], Percussion – Mark Ferda 10.2 (silence) 5:00 10.3 Untitled 8:41 Here is an interview with Jah Wobble where he talks about his collaboration with Eno. Unwelcome Jazz : Jah Wobble Talks Bass, Brian Eno and 25 Years of "Spinner" : Aquarium Drunkard It wasn’t until an unexpected introduction to Brian Eno in the mid-1990s when Jah Wobble found himself deep in the throes of musique concrète. Eno, always elusive and invariably busy, had his hands in a number of projects at the time. He met Wobble backstage at the London Astoria after an Invaders of the Heart gig with a proposition to develop his most recent film score into a record. The sparse and jarring music in question was composed for the late Derek Jarman’s poignant final film Glitterbug, and Wobble was given free reign to manipulate and build upon the compositions as he saw fit. There were no production meetings or deep conceptual conversations, just a simple exchange of the tapes and a few letters of correspondence faxed in its final stages. And thus, Spinner was born, a collection of music Eno would pertly refer to as “unwelcome jazz.” There is too much relevant stuff in that interview to quote.
Spinner is OK, I like the 3 longer tracks at the end, especially the 'hidden' bonus one. The smaller tracks just end too quickly to make an impression IMHO. The longer ones allow you to engage more fully with their vibe. I'm thinking of making a mix of those 3 together with the all too brief Headcandy music, I think they might enhance each other and sit nicely together.
I'm a bit behind as I'm traveling. The Passengers album is a nice set of chillout tunes and I like it better than most U2 albums. I would have liked it even more if Bono weren't singing. This is the first time I listened to Spinner. Doesn't do much for me. Perhaps it needs more spins to sink in.
Spinner - I'd never heard a note of this album until yesterday. This is another one I've avoided due to low ratings and coming out in the 90s (though I have to say that Entertainment Weekly, of all rags, gave it a pretty great review and they usually fry everything with a flamethrower). Once again, I just don't understand where critics are coming from most of the time, because I enjoyed Spinner quite a bit, especially after reading up on it some. I like the idea that these were "complete" pieces that Eno offered Wobble to do with as he pleased, etc. The end results aren't always what I would seek out or choose to listen to, but all of them are at the least interesting but more often than not, very much enjoyable as either soothing ambient soundscapes, or free form angular jazz workouts. Along with Nerve Net, this is another overlooked and wrongly maligned gem that I'll be keeping an eye out for.
There are more credits for the album than I posted this morning. Bass – Jah Wobble (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 to 10) Composed By [Compositions By] – Brian Eno, Jah Wobble (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 to 10) Design Concept [Front Cover Concept] – Brian Eno, David Coppenhall* Design [Cover Subsequent Design] – David Coppenhall* Drums – Jah Wobble (tracks: 3, 6, 10) Engineer – Mark Ferda Illustration [Cover Image] – Brian Eno Keyboards – Jah Wobble (tracks: 5, 9, 10) Mixed By – Jah Wobble, Mark Ferda Producer [Additional Production By] – Jah Wobble Producer [Assistant] – Mark Ferda Producer [Initial Recordings Produced By] – Brian Eno Sounds [Atmospheres] – Jah Wobble (tracks: 8, 9) Synthesizer, Effects [Treatments], Liner Notes – Brian Eno That's from discogs, and the following explains the same but is from Wikipedia. Brian Eno - synthesizer, treatments Jah Wobble - bass (on all tracks except 1, 4, 7), drums (tracks 3, 6, 10), keyboards (5, 9, 10), atmospheres (8, 9) Mark Ferda - atmospheres (3, 8, 9, 10), keyboards (3), percussion (10) Justin Adams - guitar (3, 6, 9) Richard Bailey - drums (5) Jaki Liebezeit - drums (8, 9) Sussan Deihim - vocals (6) Production Brian Eno - initial soundtrack recording and production Jah Wobble and Mark Ferda - additional recording and mixing, final production Mark Ferda - mixing, assistant recording and production Brian Eno and David Coppenhall - cover art Spinner was created through Eno giving music he had created for Derek Jarman's last film 'Glitterbug' and Wobble, completely independently of Eno, changed the music to a greater or lesser degree. Here is the Derek Jarman film itself. EDIT: Oh, please click to go to YouTube to view.
Catching up… Passengers is mostly pretty good. Again if you like U2 then you should like this a lot more than if you don’t. And frankly Eno isn’t terribly obvious here in my opinion. Some stand outs - the marvellous squelchy drums and shimmering keys on Slug, arguably the most successful song here. Your Blue Room is terrific too. And I love Miss Sarajevo, with the Pavarotti guest vocal / superb string arrangement giving me goosebumps. The rest is a mixed bag. Spinner is an album that did little for me back when it was released. I found myself wanting to hear the pure un-wobbled Eno tracks. But these days I enjoy the album a lot more. It’s still, at times, an uneasy mix but when it works it can be terrific fun. The calm of Eno’s atmospheres counterbalance Wobble’s dirty bass very well. Incidentally the final hidden track is an edit of Iced World, which will crop up in much longer form on The Drop.
There’s not much chance of The Drop being rehabilitated for me. Don’t really want to get too far ahead of us, but I found it terribly dull and actually quite annoying. Spinner is much more fun.
The Drop is easily the worst thing he's ever done. Dull and annoying is exactly right. Incidentally, for those with an interest in all things Eno I posted a new thread here: Eno Candy + More
Spinner I would guess that my music collection is small compared to that of many people on SHF. However, one problem with a collection that's of a certain size is that some purchases can sort of disappear into it. I bought Spinner when it came out, but didn't really recognise the music upon listening. My memory is that the album was a bit like The Shutov Assemby, but there is a lot which has been enhanced by Wobble to be significantly different. At that time I was buying albums by Wobble's Invaders of the Heart too. The opening track 'Where We Lived' is rather Shutov-like to my ears, but 'Like Organza' adds a subtle Wobble bass line which takes it very slightly in a rhythmical direction and adds considerably, I feel, to the track. Despite it being only a minor change. 'Steam' (most certainly not a cover of the Peter Gabrial track) seems to have more Wobble influence/input, and it would be interesting to be able to have played the original Jarman film and identify the original tracks and compare them. Oh to have more time. There's quite a bit going on here. 'Garden Recalled' is definitely back into the Shutov zone. Or at least in the area where I have pigeonholed that album. I note that like 'Where We Lived' there is no Wobble writing credit here nor credits for instruments other than Eno. So, I guess (wish I had been able to look into things in more details) that this is another track more similar to the original film music. 'Marine Radio' is the track from this album that pops up all over the place. I'm not sure that Wobble had mastered slap bass, but the bass rhythm here is a simple but effective addition to the track and the use of echoes and what sounds to me to be additional reverb on some notes of the bass works well. As does the slightly hesitant but suitable drums. Compared to other albums by both Eno and Wobble what is here is subtle, but it's working for me. And, this is one of the tracks that find much more interesting on this album than my memory suggested. 'Unusual Balance' is definitely way out of Shutov land, and has beats and a jazzy themed melody and highly processed vocal that make this sound more like something out of My Squelchy Life from Eno's oeuvre, And, it would be a good track on that album. Perhaps this should be compared more to albums from Wobble, but we are in an Eno thread. The title track 'Spinner' is another track which I assume to be highly Wobble influenced. With the concept of this album being Wobble enhancing Eno's original tracks, it has worked in creating an album that's varied but which still has a unified vision. As well as the addition of bass and drums to many tracks, I suspect (don't 'know') that some of the original Eno tracks have been put through treatments. And, it works for me. The bass on many tracks is so dub that it could easily be missed listened to through unsuitable equipment. Certainly not an album for laptop speakers. (I'm using studio headphones for my current listen.) 'Transmitter and Trumpet' is another track with a lot of Wobble influence. And, I must admit that I'm finding the more (as I interpret them) 'Wobble' tracks to be the most interesting. I think it's a case of two heads being better than one. Oh, I'm listening to the expanded edition which isn't very expanded. No 'Iced World' here. But, at least a version of that will turn up soon on 'The Drop'. 'Stravinsky' is interesting but it doesn't really fit the album to my ear. Even more so for 'Lockdown', a track title that has changed its meaning. They are interesting tracks, but I would have been quite happy with the album finishing at 'Left Where It Fell'. In particular, I think that the expanded edition does not end on a high note. It's an interesting track, but not a suitable album finisher. Overall the album is still a bit Shutov like in that it eschews standard structure and development in the tracks, no 'verse-chorus' here. (Though instrumental music does often follow that.) However, particularly in tracks like 'Transmitter and Trumpet', there's plenty of development. Overall, I think the basic idea of this album is a very good one. As an album, this is Wobble going more ambient than usual for him, and making the Eno tracks less ambient than they were. The album like some other collaborations in the past and in the future (thread time) is very successful as the two creators bring their own individual styles, and the result is something that merges the two to make an album that is fresh sounding and enjoyable.
Thanks for the discussion everyone. Today we start two days on Music for White Cube. Discogs link: Brian Eno - Music For White Cube Wikipedia link: Extracts from Music for White Cube, London 1997 - Wikipedia Track listing (from Discogs): 1 Notting Hill, Feb 20 11:45 2 Old Brompton Road, Feb 20 3:09 3 The Oval, Feb 24 7:07 4 Regents Park, Feb 1 24:33 5 Barbican Station, Feb 24 1:39 6 Bermondsey, Feb 24 4:20 7 Kentish Town, Jan 29 2:39 8 Lavender Hill, Feb 14 6:57 9 Camden Town, Feb 24 6:18 Credits (from Wikipedia): Recorded By [Location Recording Assistant] – Marlon Weyeneth Recorded By, Mixed By – Ben Fenner Written-By, Recorded By, Mixed By – Brian Eno I haven't found an entire copy of the album in the usual online digital places, but here is one track 'Notting Hill, Feb 20'. In this case I think that the Wikipedia article is the best to quote to talk about the album. The music on the album was made for an Installation—a show featuring music and visuals—that took place at the White Cube art gallery in London, from 25 April to 31 May 1997. The gallery describes itself as "possibly the smallest exhibition space in Europe", and consists of a simple square room, painted white. During the show, white blinds covered the two windows in one wall and a suspended ceiling muffled lights that were suspended above it. Mounted on each of the four walls was a CD-player with two speakers on either side, playing random tracks. Eno created the music by selecting random sites situated within a one-mile radius of the White Cube and recording a variety of ambient sounds around him, such as crowd-noise, the ringing bells of clock-towers, weather and rushing traffic. On top of this he also recorded himself singing a single, long note at each location. Taking the raw recordings back to his London studio, he ran them through a variety of enhancement software/hardware to produce a series of time-stretched, compressed, equalised, reverberating compositions, which he burned onto CDs (8 to 16 tracks on each). These were the discs that were fed into the Installation players and set to 'random'. Eno says "I was thinking of the sound less as music and more as sculpture, space, landscape, and of the experience as a process of immersion rather than just of listening."
I thought I'd post something about the gallery 'The White Cube' itself. None of the videos I found on the gallery really introduced it sell - it's more of a background to people discussing, or videos that I find uninteresting for other reasons. So, here is Michael Armitgge at The White Cube discussing an exhibition of Kenyan art.
My first thought on listening to this album was, boy, London just kind of sounds the same wherever you are. "Regents Park" is the most "musical", iirc, but I'm not entirely on board with him stopping and starting the track apparently at random... also I think he may have missed a trick by not visiting the zoo, that would have been interesting! Maybe he did. I quite like this album though, it has some interesting sounds on it.
White Cube - This is a very interesting concept, and for that it gets full marks. I like it well enough, but it's certainly an "in the mood" type undertaking. Like several of the releases we've recently discussed, it's better in the background while focused on something else, like currently writing this post, or yesterday packing my son's things for a week of camp, or last week folding laundry (yes, my life is very punk). In a similar vein to Neroli, or more so Spinner, these would be excellent pallets on which to sculpt something more musical, with these found and enhanced sounds adding texture and obscurity either randomly or by design. The Chillout by The KLF does that rather well. And I wonder if the Caretaker picked up this release and that informed much of what he did, which I quite enjoy, but again, there is more melody and musicality. Perhaps at the end of the day this makes me a shallow pop kid more than an avant-arty deep thinker, but I'll accept that.
I can’t help thinking that this ‘music’ would have been way more effective at the installation. On its own, it’s just city sounds with no real context and as such falls rather short. It’s interesting up to a point but really not something I would listen too very often at all.
Metal Machine Music meets Tubular Bells? Am I right in thinking that the Notting Hill clip just gives a quarter of what would have been heard at the installation? The Wikipedia blurb mentions four CD players, so I imagine there would be four tracks playing. Or is the clip a recording of what the poor soul attending the installation would have heard?
I did wonder that too, but there doesn't seem to have been any visual aspect to the installation, so I don't think there was much more context to be had, beyond the fact it was happening in an art gallery.
