Sometime when I was in my teens (circa 1978), I realized if I listened to an LP at such a low volume (and had my ear toward the turntable as to be almost indistinguishable from the amplified music and the "acoustic" sound being generated just from the groove and stylus meeting ... there are (under?)tones you can hear / experience. This was well before I was introduced, formally, to ambient music. It was a cool discovery.
Thanks for all the contributions everyone. Today we start on the album Before and After Science. Wikipedia: Before and After Science - Wikipedia Discogs: Brian Eno - Before And After Science YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nRhRN9GE6oNJx-Dl1bTxhZAnMrgl7MqfU Spotify Playlist: Before And After Science Track listing: No One Receiving Backwater Kurt's Rejoinder Energy Fools the Magician King's Lead Hat Here He Comes Julie With ... By This River Through Hollow Lands Spider and I All lyrics: Brian Eno's Before and After Science -- Lyrics including "by this river" Personnel (from Wikipedia): Brian Eno – voices (on all tracks, except 4 and 9), piano (tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 7), synthesizer (1, 3), guitar (1, 7), synthesized percussion (1), rhythm guitar (2, 5), brass (2), chorus (3,4), 'jazz' piano (3), keyboards (4, 9, 10), vibes (4), metallics (5), CS80 (6, 7, 8), Moog (6, 9), AKS (7, 10), Minimoog and bell (7), melody guitar (9) Paul Rudolph – bass (1, 2, 5, 6, 7), rhythm guitar (1), harmonic bass (7) Percy Jones – fretless bass (1, 4), analogue delay bass (3) Phil Collins – drums (1, 4) Rhett Davies – agong-gong and stick (1) Jaki Liebezeit – drums (2) Dave Mattacks – drums (3,6) Shirley Williams (Robert Wyatt) – brush timbales (3), time (9) Kurt Schwitters – voice sample (from Ursonate) (3) Fred Frith – modified guitar (4), cascade guitars (9) Phil Manzanera – rhythm guitar (5), guitar (6) Robert Fripp – guitar solo (5) Andy Fraser – drums (5) Achim Roedelius – grand piano and electric piano (8) Möbi Moebius – bass Fender piano (8) Bill MacCormick – bass (9) Brian Turrington – bass (10) Album title anagram: Need traffic on beer case
And, straight on with No One Receiving. Spotify link: No One Receiving - 2004 Digital Remaster Lyrics: Brian Eno – No One Receiving Lyrics | Genius Lyrics Personnel: Brian Eno: voice, piano, synthesiser, guitar, synthesised percussion Paul Ruldolph: bass, rhythm guitar Percy Jones: fretless bass Phil Collins: drums Rhett Davis: agong-gong and stick
After the self-effacing front cover for AGW, Eno returns to the front cover for this release, looking thoughtful and ready to shrug off any pop/glam baggage. But as we will discover, this ambition isn't quite realised in the contents of the album.
"No One Receiving" -- 4/5 Before And After Science springs forth with this ditty about a Ship ultimately going awry. Not sure if the Ship is one made for an 'Earthly' sea or a 'Cosmic' sea. - The end result is the same, I suppose. In any event ... it's a fantastic start to what would become Eno's last vocal-oriented album for quite a long time.
Good god, its been 13 years since Sheppard's book came out, so its been that long since I read it. My copy is a couple hundred miles to the west, so I can't refer to it. But my recollection is that Eno struggled mightily with BAAS, wasn't satisfied with many aspects of the many pieces (and good god, there must be a Deluxe Edition to be had here), finally surrendered, assembled the least unsatisfactory bits, and shipped it. Amend my shabby memory as needed. Point being, No One Receiving doesn't sound like a guy who's flailing. This is a confident track, combing a potent yet cryptic lyric, assured singing, with instrumental backing that was at least slightly ahead of its time. A strong opening track, a declaration of some sort, yet maybe missing the sparkle that marks his finest work. **** 1/2 Hey, I just noticed that Amazon is selling the Kindle edition of On Some Faraway Beach for $1.99. At that price, I just might have a copy for my iPad.
A track that seemingly invents the Talking Heads next 2 or 3 albums. It's got a groove which locks it down but the playing is interesting and there are subtle little changes and elements appearing and disappearing. I am a fan of Eno's voice, ok he's not a great singer but I just love his tone and delivery. I think the fact that he's sung sparingly over his whole career has meant he hasn't over play it. What a great start to an album with. This track would get a 5 but because of what follows can only get 4.75
No One Receiving. It’s catchy, has a peppy tempo, interesting instrumental bits, reliably beautiful Eno vocals, burbling Percy Jones. It more than fulfills the function of getting us in the mood for the album. But I feel also that there’s no wow factor to it…and that this is the start of Eno settling into a routine. Nonetheless, the young teenage version of me that heard this was thrilled and loved it and part of me still does.
No One Receiving The funky rhythms and strange musical accents really make this song. However, the detached vocals don’t serve it very well, and the “in these metal ways/days” refrain bears a strong musical resemblance to “Tomorrow Never Knows”. That refrain takes me completely out of the song. 3/5
No One Receiving - A nice start, upbeat but also laid back, with the ever-percolating bass that keeps things interesting from a rhythm perspective. And it's really the rhythm that provides the foundation for Eno's melody, which I've always enjoyed. The "solo" section is my favorite of the song, showcasing many of the quirky directions he can take a sound. Still, though this is a strong start, it's not one of my favorites on the album, almost sorta there as a place holder or a warm up, but not quite reaching the same heights as other songs. 4/5
No One Receiving Proto funk Eno? Here Comes The Talking Heads? "No One Receiving" is a nice toe tip into the looming period of rich percussive influence but is also the sound of growning pains. I like it well enough but some transitions are more worthy of hearing than others. Ultimatly, for me, it's the sound of Eno saying goodbye. 3/5
I love this track. For me it's a great opener. I wish I'd discovered it when it was released, rather than more than 20 years later. A strange lyric set to a slightly strange, shifting beat. The image of a marooned, disabled spacecraft is a little reminiscent of Space Oddity to me. Major Tom lost among the windings of the metal ways. Doesn't sound like 1977 at all. Unless you count Low of course.
No One Receiving. A perfect album opener, driven by the knockout combo of the dual basses and Collins’ drumming. I’m sitting here in my BAAS t-shirt, wondering if this will still be my favorite Eno album in about 10 days. So far it’s looking like it will. Not the best song on the album, but still a solid 5/5. Lots more of these 5’s to come.
No One Receiving: Even more than Talking Heads, the music reminds me of My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts, and specifically "America Is Waiting". It's almost as if Eno used the multitracks for that album as well. In any case, I completely dig it. Both "No One Receiving" and "America Is Waiting" are fantastic songs.
Time has blurred the memories, but I feel like I discovered Eno about eight years after this came out. So it wasn't really "old" yet. Got into Low (my #1 Bowie album) and Talking Heads around the same time. No One Receiving seems to fit right in with all that material. Love it.
I had always assumed (incorrectly) that Before and After Science was recorded after Eno started working with Talking Heads. "No One Receiving" isn't too far removed from the sound of Another Green World but does seem to have more funk. 4.7/5.
You could probably level the same criticism of 801 live, but so much an album of it's time. Before this Eno was ahead of the curve and this is where it caught him up. I can take or leave Talking Heads funk-post-punk but this track is nice enough to get a 3.5/5, but that's as far as I'll go.
Really enjoying this thread. It feels like I've loved Eno's stuff forever and without consciously trying I find I've ended up over the years with 16 of his LP's! To this day I can't make up my mind whether this or AGW is my favourite. Whatever, its wonderful.
No One Receiving. Our man Eno creating more genre and sub-genres. Such a great opener and get's my feet's to tappin' 5/5
Well, what an opening track. Solid drumming. Weirdly lopsided but so insistent. Eno delivers a strong vocal. His range was never great but he uses what he has so very well. Still does. Mysterious lyrics which hint but don’t tell - what exactly are these metal ways? Ultimately the mood created is the main thing, but Eno does this in such a catchy way. The simple melody sticks with you after just one listen. Terrific song. It’s also one of the few ‘old songs’ that Eno has performed live. During the very few gigs he performed with J Peter Schwalm and the Drawn From Life band in 2001, No One Receiving was a brilliantly performed set closer. There’s a terrible quality web stream of the Mt Fuji gig. When Eno starting issuing the Curiosities discs (both excellent but the series stopped after just two) I emailed the EnoShop and asked about the possibility of releasing any of the Eno /Schwalm gigs and was told that this was being looked into. Twenty years on the lack of a release leads me to think that this remains just another of the many unreleased projects sitting on the Eno shelves.
No One Receiving I'll point out that B&AS is one of my favourite Brian Eno albums. Certainly my favourite vocal album. I was surprised to read that Brian found this album problematic and eventually released what he had. It seems perfect to me. This is a great opening track. Like Baby's On Fire, it sounds like it just alternates two chords all the way through. But, that never sounds boring. There are plenty of instrumental touches, percussion, guitar, and bass, that maintain interest. The wonky guitar solo also works great for me. 4.8/5
It's a great opening track for sure and is a definite forerunner of a lot of post punk white boy funk. The arrangement is the winner though because the funk elements are slightly lumbering - it reminds me a lot of the Gang of Four in their more stodgy moments.
Thanks for the contributions everyone. Today's track is Backwater. Spotify link: Backwater - 2004 Digital Remaster Lyrics: Brian Eno – Backwater Lyrics | Genius Lyrics Personnel (from Wikipedia): Brian Eno: voice, piano, brass, rhythm guitar, Paul Rudolph: bass Jaki Liebezeit: drums I was surprised to not find covers on SecondHandSongs and WhoSampledWho. I quickly found this fairly straight cover by the duo Barker & 'Artley. https://youtu.be/KenFN-iysmw I am sure there are more interesting covers out there.
No One Receiving - love this thing. In the yet-to-be made video (in my head) I see a montage of old public domain robot dancing clips. I like the metallic sheen of some of the percussion supporting the lyric "In these metal times". It may not be as light & nimble as other funky beats, but it still gets the job done.
