Reviews (page 2 of 8)
I hate this kind of music. Its not relaxing, it just builds a kind of “GET ON WITH IT” anxiety
There’s a reason I wear headphones in airports. Absolute garbage.
I wanted to like it because I've heard this album referenced before and I think it was kinda new or influential for it's time. Was painfully boring for me to listen to.
it's difficult to rate ambient music because I wouldn't vibe to this but maybe it would be nice for sleeping?? idk I've heard way better ambient sounds than this
Otra vez Brian Eno? Ideal para echarse una siesta, uf
I guess I don't get this. I do like Ambient music on the whole, but don't really get this. I also admire Brian Eno for work he's done elsewhere. But this just sounds like somebody randomly hitting piano keys intermittently. Why? Should I be doing drugs or something?
The reviews that hate on this album are funny. Most 1-star reviews are pretty funny as a general rule, though. My reviews are really boring by comparison. Whatever. I love this. Happy chill Father’s Day. 5 stars.
PERFECT!!!
It is so influential it has a whole genre named after it. It still sounds great, despite its age, and is a lovely way to spend 40 minutes of your day.
At this point I have listened to this album countless times. Like the best ambient music, the environmental context it is being listened to significantly changes the listening experience. Yesterday, it was playing in the kitchen whilst my two kids were running in and and out of the house like loonies and jumping in and out of a paddling pool. Eno’s album helped give pause for thought on the experience, as if slowing it down to take a snapshot of that moment, reminding me that these experiences are transient and will change as we age, and that moments like those should be treasured and savoured rather than ignored. Cue me jumping in like a loonie with them as this album faded into the background. I’m not sure many other albums can help frame my mindset in quite the same way.
Full mousterpiece, I listen to it every day
By coincidence I played a later work of Brian Eno, Reflection, last night quietly to help me drift off to sleep. It could easily have been this album or many others in his catalog. Eno’s music fulfils this function admirably. My one regret is that I didn’t discover this album until I I gained an interest in generative ambient music and the album Reflection a few ago. I listen to ambient music to accompany many daily events and not just for nodding off to. So it is as become a big part of my life and regret many years lost not experiencing its beauty. 5/5 9/6/26
One of the astonishing things about this album was the mindfulness created by the 17 (give or take) seconds of silence that conclude each track. I found myself curious each time, wondering if my spotify link was broken, worried my headphones died or something, then giving in and waiting. The music was presenting a calmness I long for. This is a soundtrack to a life I long for, one that maybe, over time, can silence the cacophony of nonsense that rattles around this dusty mind.
I’ve sunk HOURS into this album, Eno is a legend.
The benchmark ambient album. It’s perfect. I’ve spent many hours listening to this while studying
One of the greatest ambient albums of all time. Puts you in a state of calmness and this isn’t AI. Great stuff.
Stunning
climinha perfeito pra chegar em congonhas 4h25 da manhã e enfrentar o liminal space total que é aeroporto vazio e seu voo das 6h da manhã atrasando pq a latam é incapaz de fazer um embarque decente (e ainda assim não estressar
So soothing, very cool sounds. Good for studying or sleeping, but also for more intense listening it’s very good and interesting. I would say that Brian Eno has better (ambient) albums, but this is still among his best for me so far.
Absolute ambient perfection. Brian Eno has made an album that ticks every box for a great album in this genre, and to have done it so early on in the genre's history is even more impressive. His use of synths and electronic arrangements is so ahead of its time, and he uses it all so seamlessly. The whole album perfectly walks the line between having just enough substance to not be boring, but still keeping things calm and dreamy enough to be super atmospheric. Without a doubt one of the best ambient albums ever made, and it's insane how well it holds up considering where it is in the genre's timeline.
Ambient music is one of my favorite things, and Airports and Airplanes are maybe some of my least favorite things, so this was bound to be a masterpiece on so many levels. Ambient music in general has, a few times now, saved me on long, miserable plane rides. And it's kept me calm during those claustrophobic treks through germ-filled airports that are always much longer and less convenient than they need to be. And this was Eno's exact ethos behind this album, making awful environments more bearable. And that sort of became the mission statement for ambient, at least in my relationship to it; it's music that I can so easily close my eyes to and be transported to another place for a set period of time. And while this isn't the greatest ambient album of all time or anything, it certainly lacks the lush, encompassing, reverb spaces that many later ambient albums (and even Eno ambient albums) have, it's an incredible start to the genre. '1/1' contains maybe the most iconic ambient melody of all time, and while it isn't a super layered track or anything, it's still striking in just how welcoming it sounds. The sparseness and gleeful nature of this piano melody with that subtle synth layer in the background is all this song really needs. The simplicity of it all feels so primal and pure, like you're a baby staring out into a large, empty green meadow, where the sky is blue and wind turbines line the horizon. It's so perfect. And while '2/1' is maybe a bit too repetitive and one-note, the main reverb-choir-type samples come back in the following '1/2' with this newly established layer of piano, which makes for a far more meloncholic atmosphere when compared to the opener, almost dreary and sad, but never too much to get a negative reaction out of me, I still generally feel at peace listening to this part. '2/2' is maybe the most traditional-sounding piece here, with fat, swelling analog synth leads and luscious pads just floating along with no real discernible melody, which is really ambient in its purest form. A song that I throw on to remind myself of all the loved ones in my life who make everything worth it and to feel like a single balloon floating through that same meadow from the opener. I love ambient music; it's so important to me. And this is where it (mostly) started, at least ambient as we know it today takes many notes from this four-movement masterpiece. It's rare that you can pinpoint an entire music genre's origins to one single album that's literally named "<name of genre> 1", so I find it amazing that this thing exists for that exact reason. Whether you're trying to sleep when you have a heavy snorer in the same room, or trying to make it through that awful plane ride, or just feeling anxious in general and need to disassociate for just a little bit - Eno's got an album tailor-made for you.
Amazing
The title gives anyone an idea what it's about, even though it's best described as excellent music for relaxation.
Ages since I listened to Eno, like it, wait, love it, off to find more
I don't know how to properly judge ambient music, but I'd imagine your listening environment has a lot to do with it and I had a perfect listening environment for this album. This album was the perfect compliment to my rainy commute to work and quiet solo time while I set up my classroom for the day. At times it made me feel like I was in the opening credits of an overly artsy movie (meant in the best way possible). I don't know if I would be rating this album as high if I had a different listening environment so maybe it got lucky that I got it when I did. I think next time I listen to it I will have to try it in an airport terminal to get the full experience. 5/5
A classic
es buenisiml
This one's been in the staple rotation for years in the category of "don't know what backround music to chuck on". Just serene. There's this liminal tranquillity to it, simultaneously timeless yet entirely of its vintage era. Smooth as silk, it's an auditory poetry while layers upon itself simply, letting you linger in the soundscape without adding too much complexity, a mantric aum. Fav tracks: 1/2, 2/1
This is quintessential background music by design. While Eno didn’t invent ambient music, he solidified it as a genre in its own right. Put this album on while studying or meditating or doing anything that may be stressful. It will calm you down, guaranteed.
Looked at this in the kitchen at 9:45 PM on a Saturday on the way up to bed and said “ohhhhh yeah!”
It’s like a giant installation in an art museum ever present but also in the background. It adds to the experience without being the center of it
I've spent hundreds of hours with this and in all of my attempts to find other ambient albums that hit me the same way, I've come up empty. It's sparseness is fully engrossing. I dare say something spiritual is happening.
Beautiful and I love it. Instant 5 stars for depth and breadth and value. This album has beautiful soundscapes, and I listened to the whole thing probably 5 times in a row.
I think this is the epitome of achieving exactly what the artist set out to do. I loved it. Fuck it, five stars.
i implore anyone listening to this record to forget "piano for study" ai-generated spotify playlists and yoga lesson background music, to leave aside their presumptions and step into the world Eno allows us to inhabit. this is a record of great textural beauty, warm yet removed, intimate yet stately, a synthesis of very acoustic sound - finger on piano key, vibrating vocal cord - with the mechanical grandeur of tape loops. Eno intended this to be functional music, which sounds like a dirty word these days, when you think about vibe-based playlists and AI smooth jazz, but this has none of the anesthetizing qualities associated with its most craven offshoots. it's music that heightens, not flattens. i find it invites me to lean into my emotions - if i feel calm while listening to Ambient 1, i might breathe that much more slowly. if i'm happy, i'll be attentive to the music's liquid warmth. if i'm sad, the feeling contained within might be near overwhelming. in this way, spending time with Eno's ambient is a meditative practice, a canvas upon which i can put my own feelings. this may be functional music, but its function is to amplify, reflect, engage. i can't overstate how different contemporary music would be without this series of records, and how glad i am that they exist, a gift to anyone really dedicated to the foundational processes of listening
Great background stuff which is an underrated thing
This is a good example that a record will have its time and place to be understood. I never liked it but while studying listening to it made perfect sense.
A profoundly peaceful and calming record that's always been a big hit for me. The first and final tracks especially are so beautifully crafted. Music doesn't always have to be catchy melodies or sharp guitar tones.
Client feedback: "I'd want this album playing for my final breaths...so peaceful and transcendent"
I needed some peace and quiet after listening to so much heavy and hard rock the past day so what better thing to put on then the OG ambient project, Ambient 1: Music For Airports. I have in fact listened to this album in an airport and I have to say it is very fitting for the polished colors and stoic environment. This album makes me think a lot, in ways I never really thought to, with my noise cancelling headphones it removes and replaces my hearing so I have to rely on everything else for whatever I decided to do. When I am in that state I look at things differently, from the homework I am completeing to the colors of the room I am inside of. I think of how small I am compared to my surroundings and how everyone else around me is reacting. This album makes me nothing more then a spectator with as much time in the world to simply observe. I should also mention how relaxing this album is, truly immersing you into a world of your own with just yourself being there. This album may not be anything more then a piano and some choir vocals but god damn it this album gets you in your feels, it can bring out any emotion it wants to and release it in the same breathe. This may go up or down in the future but nothing will change how beautiful this project is to my ears.
On dirait qu’il faut pas comparer ça à tout autre musique. C’est fait exclusivement pour écouter dans le background. Et en ce sens ça réussi parfaitement. Ça tellement influencé de musique de ce type. Ça me fait penser un peu à la musique d’ambiance de Minecraft que je jouais sans les débuts. En plus le cover c’est une carte, et je suis un maphead.
Genuinely forgot how good this is
pretty perfect
Wonderfully calming.
God some of the reviews that are questioning its inclusion because it’s merely background music kinda irritates me. Like, if you don’t like it, that’s one thing. No album is for everyone. But this is exactly the type of album that should be included in a good 1001 list. I know that a lot of people were complaining about the minimalism of this record but like, that’s the point. Ignoring that aspect of music would be incredibly foolish because there are people who think that this is a great album like myself.
I really liked this, it was exactly the sort of vibe you want at 3:00 in the morning. I still sort of expect minimalism with ambience, but there were some really nice piano lines in here, it was just a very comforting listen. It made me want to put it on again.
Has my heart
Utter bliss.
I love Brian Eno (mostly for the U2 sound), and I hate airports. So this was perfect. I know it sounds like a lot of stuff that's available on calming apps or NPR after 10 pm in smaller markets now, but I do actually appreciate the trailblazing aspect of this, which I don't always do when it comes to historically important but not currently interesting albums on this list. Ambient on Brian Eno!
OG dross
Not even Eno's best Ambient album
This was my first ambient album and I will never not love it.
I don't know how you rate something like this. It's clearly an inflection point in music. Everything that came after it knew this existed.
the vibes are immaculate
Fun soothing music
perfect ambient album, love ambient music right now
The best ambient album ever made. This music has a nearly medicinal effect on me.
to sie nazywa trafny tytul plyty ambient numer 1, muzyka dla lotnisk, to chyba najlepsze co slyszalem z tego gatunku do tej pory, plyta z 79, ktora dala poczatek serii ambientowej w dyskografii pana eno, o ile zazwyczaj jedynie narzekam na muzyke elektroniczna, to ten pick pokazuje, ze jak maszyna w dobrych rekach i osoby o odpowiednich uszach potrafi stworzyc muzyke potrafiaca poruszyc, bo wykorzystane zasoby na tej 42 minutowej plycie sa tak skromne, ze mozna je wymienic w dwoch zdaniach, klawisze aktustyki i elektryki, trzy wokale, gdzie wokalami sa praktycznie pojedyncze nutki, syntezator i rekorder tasmowy do tworzenia wielowarstwowego brzmienia, ktory sie zapetla, jak cos tak prostego moze stworzyc brzmienie ktore jest tak dotykajace, zwlaszcza pierwsza polowa slucha sie wrecz transowo, a najblizsze skojarzenia to pustka, nicosc, no i halo, bo jedna nutka spiewana brzmi jak poczatek theme muzyczki, ale tak czy inaczej pierwsze 2 traki, wiec 25 minut plyty slucha sie samo, jesli pierwsza czesc byla hipnotycznie transowa, to druga jest wybudzieniem z tego doswiadczenia i calosc ma spojna kompozycje, ale zeby koncept muzyki ambientowej dla lotnisk przekuc w cos tak niezwyklego dla ucha, nie ma co dodawac na plejke, bo caly krazek zasluguje ma miejsce w biblioteczce
one of my all time favorites. this is the album that introduced me to the genre. love the concept of music as ambiance as adding to the feel of a moment in an interesting way. background music should be art.
I find it hard to rate ambient albums in this list, as other genres feel a lot more formulaic. This however is a near perfect piece of music that soothes the soul and quiets the voices of doubt and anxiety
My go to relaxation album.
I knew this was great, but it's nice to revisit an absolute classic. I listen to so much ambient music so it's nice to go back to one of the originators of the sound.
Great!
For years I’ve listened to Brian Eno and played this music at airports and it’s made traveling so much better. Love this album a lot.
I listen to this so often and easily that it’s hard for me to remember that it was pathbreaking. Just seems like what you’re supposed to hear.
This is a lovely album to chillout, relax, take a nap, meditate, do focus work or creative pursuits... the list goes on.
Этот альбом не даётся не за что зацепиться, он словно тяжёлый, тягучий воздух, лишь задаёт некое музыкальное пространство. Он дал мне совершенно новое представление о музыке и том какой она может быть
For what it is, this is the end-all, be-all.
Robert Johnson. Igor Stravinsky. Rocket 88. Hendrix at Monterey. Sometimes change is an explosion. Other times it's barely audible.
Another album I can't help loving as soundtrack to my life. I listened to everything Eno touched in those days. He invented ambient music, so I think of this album as one of the prototypes, soon crowded out by Windham Hill bland folk music with waves in the background. Before Spotify, every public place either had top 40 radio playing over the PA or Muzak - commercially created bland shopping music, pre-AI slop. So Eno wanted to try more interesting background music to be ignored or not. My 5 is both for my love for it, the innovation, and for the massive influence.
Nice focus music
Nailed it Brian, I did feel like I was at an airport waiting for a long connection.
This is an album that saves lives. One of the most perfect ambient albums I’ve ever listened to, possibly my favorite find from this entire project.
J. D. Considine wrote in The Rolling Stone Album Guide that the record defined the ambient aesthetic while providing a name for the genre. Plus now I feel super chill.
Repeat listen
I think Brian Eno is one of those guys that fly's under the radar (pun intended), but has had such a huge impact on music. The father of ambient music, coining the "ambient" term with this album. Without this, would we have modern day lo-fi, chillhop, trance, EDM etc? These genres are so widely appreciated today for work and study spaces and it's awesome being able to listen to the albums that started it all. I've listened to Brian Eno's Before and After Science, which I really enjoyed, but learning a bit more about him, he's really up there in GOAT status in the music world. I really enjoyed this album exactly for the reasons why he made it. Calming music that is just kind of there while you contemplate. It's the same reason why I enjoy trance music (also thanks Brian for your influence on that.) Anyone that says the music is "boring" is missing the point of it. In today's world, it's common for people to turn on the tv or have a podcast in the background while they're not paying attention to it. Why? There's some psychological and emotional comfort in having some type of noise. The audio stimulation helps people relax and reduce anxiety. Queue ambient music. It provides this stimulation without needing to listen to lyrics or interpret the meaning behind songs. It's just there, supporting you while you go about your business. My co-workers have white noise machines that they use at their desk to break the silence. While I sleep, I play audio of rain and thunderstorms. These are all ambient ideas that originate from this album. It's not in music form, but the exact same idea all originated from Brian Eno, and this album coined the term. Just really cool to find the source of something that you've never really thought about.
I love life. After getting home from one of the most annoying performances I've ever been in, I get to forget about it and listen to ambient music. "As ignorable as it is interesting" was a really good way to describe this album, thanks Wikipedia. Music For Airports is a really bland-sounding idea but it really goees in some excellent directions. I love the repeated piano lick in 1/1, especially.
accurate title
Enjoyed this immensely on this immensely sad day. Soothing after a big loss.
Omg I love this album. Back to back bangers. The pre cursor to FredAgain’s ambient sound.
Aerial smooth
Beautiful. Simple. Inspiring. Still sounds fresh. Hit just right for my mood today. Although in other moods I might give this one star.
This is 5 stars because it’s calm and kept me super chill while cooking. It’s not 5 stars as in I will play it at the next party… but I will play it again while reading.
Seminally important album and holds so pleasantly. Beautiful in the background or to sit in contemplation. I feel he finds his stride in later albums but this is still fantastic
Это реально мощно. Очевидно, не добавил ничего в любимое, потому что это странно. Но это все равно очень мощно -- порой я куда-то улетал. Где-то грусть, где-то сосредоточение. Очень хорошая музыка как фон для работы.
Okee Dokee... I am and always have been a fan of Brian Eno. I love electronica and yeah, godfather status goes here. But (!) considering the vast amount of music out there, dwelling on one musician or even a few has never been my style. So I have a couple of his albums but am not in the know of his whole catalog. I never knew he made ambient music. Turns out he does, and it is frickin' stellar!!! O. M. G. Music for airports? IDK, maybe? But this is s o much more than that... I am not used to those long pauses between songs but that is to do with my DJ weaving obsession... Nevertheless, damn... Wow. Just wow!
I have heard this album many times before today, so this isn't new for me. It is indeed as ignorable music as it is interesting, as Eno said. He invented ambient music with this album and deserves all the praise for it. Usually I am against music that is background music but this is such a soothing, calm experience that I absolutely love it. It still sounds fresh and new almost 50 years after its release, which is really mindblowing. And it should totally be played at airports instead of all the nervy pop music they have nowadays.
Important for me personally and I would argue important for music history. An interesting story, a unique perspective and a wonderful artifact.
I don’t know how this community will rate this one, and I could see arguments for being overrated or whatever. But I know that this album executes perfectly what it set out to do and was a groundbreaking project in studying ambiance and the space between notes of music.
Brings me a profound sense of well being.
Pretty solid. I enjoy Ambient albums in general so it is my kind of vibe overall
An album I have played many times.
Not my first listen to this, so I know it relatively well. Amazing how influential this was and how early it was. Listened on a drive home and it was perfect. Eno truly deserves all the praise for inventing ambient music.
Interesting, I accidentally had the first track set on repeat - I wasn't sure at first, I might have listened to it all the way through twice before I figured it out. That said, this is sounds and music that I enjoy. Not all the time, not while I'm driving, for example, but I appreciate ambient and minimalist music and compositions. This is one of the grandaddys of that style. Wonderful.
A classic.
This album is great. Is this the mother of the millions of relaxing / ambient youtube playlists I've listened to? 2/2 had a lot of Bon Iver energy in it. I floated through this album very pleasantly. It was relaxing. I feel like I should have been in a pool or sensory deprivation chamber while listening. 9/10
Masterpiece
Repetitive for some, but I find this album excellent in building a unique space, expressing various emotions. This is not merely background music. Perhaps most impressive is how I feel as though I'm listening to a classical or jazz piece rather than something inorganic.
- impactante, bem diferente dos álbuns recentes - acho que artistas consolidados no mainstream se baseiam muito em artistas menos famosos fora da bolha musical, esses artistas deveriam ser mais reconhecidos - mesmo assim é um álbum muito influente em várias mídias, filmes, jogos
Brian Eno defined a genre of music with this album. I will be the first to admit it’s not a great listen if you are only focusing on the music. But it was intended to be a part of the ambiance and it set the bar for a reason. Great for reading or a quiet walk
Loved every second.
The music is stunning, beautiful, ethereal, whatever else you associate with Eno's discography. The downside is, there's nothing here that an individual "must hear" before they die. It's background music meant for ambience, or, as you might assume, to put on in your headphones and tune out the busy sounds of airports. Please ignore my rating on this one. It truly does not matter. Listen to it if you need some heavenly sounds to get lost in.
Depart your mind on ambient’s arrival.
MUY LINDO.
Tranquil
It’s like Windows 95 is starting up for 48 minutes. Loved it.
While I am not comfortable saying this is the most important ambient album of all time, it is certainly in the conversation. Eno's concept behind Ambient 1 effectively serves as a mission statement for ambient music in general. He sought to place beauty and true artistic integrity into what would be effectively considered "canned muzak". The idea is that the resultant piece is something that is enjoyable at any level of listening. An album whose nooks and crannies can be front and center, or which can fade into the background and serve as an atmosphere of faint blissfulness in a public, tense space: say for example, an airport. I for one have some history with this album, I've read to it, written to it, driven to it, but on this listen I thought about it with more intent than usual, and I must conclude that it is truly successful in accomplishing the goal it sets out to achieve. The best first listen to this is probably as background music, but feel free to let it draw your attention now and then. The compositions here are surprisingly detailed, the textures are varied and intriguing and the atmosphere is light and ethereal, while being as all-encompassing as you let it be. 1/1 is probably the most "iconic" track here, but my personal favorite is probably 1/2. It is still just as able to be ambient set-dressing as anything else on the project, but it kind of sneakily ramps up the detail and density of sounds, and if you let yourself give into it a little, it is incredibly enchanting. I wasn't sure when I started, but yeah, I am gonna give this a 5. It is so influential, so successful at its stated goal, and so (surprisingly) enjoyable that it has completely won me over.
exceptional, amazing, love the ambient, thats the origin
Calming, and wildly effective in inducing a trance like state.
One of the first ambient albums, and certainly the one to codify the sound - and still one of the finest. Brian Eno manages to create captivating pieces that are interesting enough to latch on to for active listening while also fading perfectly into the background. It's not often that someone invents a genre and almost immediately gets it right, but Eno is built different.
Loved this one for 25ish years. Great for engaged or background listening. Insanely influential.
Wow. This record improved my focus at work, made me feel very calm, and also made me start reflecting on life and specifically some good memories. It reminded me of when I went to New Zealand with my wife and parents for some reason. It reminded me of some very peaceful meditation sessions I've had while grappling with existentialism and the meaning of life. Who thought that such simple noises could do such a thing. I guess that's the brilliance of a project like this.
Really liked this. Could never sit down and listen to it. But in the background it created a marvellous aura of peace and calmness.
Chill time.
calm
имба, сохранил. очень приятно стало во время прослушивания, даже несколько раз.
listened like 10 times in a row in an airport and on a flight. delivers on its promise. slowly and persistently works its way into your head.
Definitely an album for certain situations. It definitely calms and gives you a sense of peace. Cool arrangements.
I would definitely agree that this album is a blueprint for a lot of modern ambient and electronic music. I remember back in the mid 90s when I first got into underground dance music, I was already reading about how so many of the artists I liked at the time were heavily influenced by this album. Brian Eno is an amazing musician all around. From his work with Roxy Music, to the rock albums he produced in the 70s, to his ambient series, and even his more experimental and film score style projects. This guy is truly a master of sound.
Eno is a smart guy, but I've been to airports. They don't sound like this. This is a field recording of a wish or a dream, not a place you're stuck in or rushing through. 5 stars.
i'm a real newbie when it comes to ambient music, but as i understand it, this is sort of where it officially starts (at least in terms of a name). i've listened to other ambient music and enjoyed it, and i definitely enjoyed this. it's really sparse and calming and well, ambient. it's not something i would ever really listen to on repeat or anything like that, but for what it does, it does really well. it has a real calming effect that i think is neat.
This isn't sterile at all to one's ears, more like sacred-secular. Long a staple of contemplative/meditative early morning listening, easily the best ambient of all time, likely the best thing Eno ever did. Will never stop listening to this, may even request as one's last musical meal.
another entry from brian eno. it's music that's, you guessed it, made specifically in mind for airports to play. a quiet ambient album, the goal was to make pleasant sounding music that didn't interrupt any announcements. brian wanted to make the music not overtly cheerful, the kind of perky cliché muzak at the time made him want to kill himself. despite the very faint sounds, it's super relaxing to listen to. the synthy soundscapes make it perfect if you're needing some time to unwind. i also feel like this music would be appropriate for system menu music for, like... a video game console. it's minimalist music done right. props to eno.
Liked and felt it's easy to listen although not impactful enough for me
Me encanta la música ambiental de Brian Eno, tiene la capacidad de generar un resultado muy emotivo con pocos elementos y tracks de larga duración. Es relajante y contemplativo. La elección de los sonidos, los timbres y la calidad de producción son excepcionales
Ihana! 5/5
Ambient-levyjen klassikko eikä syyttä. Ilo aina kuunnella tätä kuulasta plattaa.
SO PEACEFUL REFLECTIVE
A genre creating album. As an ambient fan, this is like listening to a caveman strike flint and tinder together.
very calm i feel peaceful
2/1
Huge Eno fan. I have this on vinyl, purchased in the early 1980s. I love his more musical lyrical work, but he is a pioneer in the ambient genre, and he did amazing things with Talking Heads.
Absolute and timeless reference.
I think it actually really helps knowing how this album was made. That it's tape tracks of varying lengths looped together. So, it's the same melodic material, but when it loops in just the right way, you get new and interesting harmonies. The vocal sections don't do much for me, until they start getting really crunchy, harmonically. They've all but worn out my interest in them by that point, though. I do love the piano and keyboard percussion loops. What's really funny with this being today's album is that yesterday I was playing catch-up on some albums that I missed, and I listened to Sigur Rós, which is also a really atmospheric album. I honestly actually really love these kinds of ambient/atmospheric albums. It's a style/genre that I will admit is very much a personal preference, and there's a lot of people that do not like this kind of music. It's not a 10/10 for me, but it is an album that I'll save to listen to later when I'm looking for this kind of vibe. Favorite Song(s)?: 1/1, 2/2
Just finished cleaning up after a family dinner with lots of kids and chaos. HOW did you know I needed this album right now? Familiar with his name, but not his work. I absolutely love what I hear so far. The melodies are mending my tired ass
I really enjoyed listening to this album. There's a haunting, sad beauty to this that I find enchanting.
First of all, I’m burnt out and stressed to the max, and this was precisely the balm I needed to clear that up. Secondly, how did Brian Eno take an album meant specifically for airports and make it one of the most ethereal beautiful pieces of music of all time?? Anyway, the GOAT of ambient music, 12/5 stars.
This album is a great example of the genius and creativity of Brian Eno, and why he is one of the greatest thinkers and innovators in music. It really says something that this was a first-of-its-kind record, and still stands as one of the best examples of the genre.
Loved this
I got Brian Eno’s Here Come The Warm Jets a few months ago, and while I could hear its influence and the bones of future music it inspired, the album itself wasn’t very good. So when Brian Eno popped up again today, I was incredibly disappointed. But from the first note, I knew that I was in for something very, very different than Here Come The Warm Jets. I would have to say, that in nearly 550 albums, this one has been one of my top three or four most pleasant surprises. I’m a huge fan of the Ghosts albums by Nine Inch Nails, which I now understand to be a direct successor to this album. It’s simple, yet layered. Melancholy, yet hopeful. It’s haunting, yet accessible. It’s simply beautiful.
It does exactly what it says in the label.
Love Eno, love ambient, love this. Minimalism leaves no room for fluff and this is beautiful dresmscape.
I remember when I first looked through the book and saw this album. The title, artwork, and even the tracklist were so evocative that even before listening to it, or having much experience with ambient music, I knew exactly what it was going to sound like. And even then, it totally exceeded my expectations. The thing is, there a sort of nostalgia permeating this music, from a time I wasn't even alive for. I'm sure airports in the pre-9/11 world were a very different place than they are today, way less busy and stressful, unless you were afraid of flying, of course. So these four sparse compositions suit the environment perfectly, while also evoking a sort of post-industrial ambience but in a positive way. Key tracks: 1/1
Really lovely!
1/1 e ein av verdens beste sanga, hørre på den stadig vekk
I don't always resonate with Brian Eno's work, or with ambient in general, but something about this one feels special. It sounds like something I've heard before and know well, but haven't gotten tired of.
Music for airports, answering emails, cleaning the house, grocery shopping, walking to the gym, cooking and folding laundry — everything becomes more beautiful with this on
Instant classic
The world would be a little less crazy if we all spent more time listening to ambient music.
It's ambient. Before ambient was a thing. I mean, for background music, it's GREAT! But to put on rotation, maybe not. You need something to zone out to in order to get something tedious done, it's awesome. But I wouldn't listen to it on the regular for driving down the road or jamming with friends. Because I dig ambient for its purpose, I'm going to rate it high. But I still wouldn't listen to this album on the regular.
Tough Album Sparse and haunting Leaves you alone with your thoughts and feelings in between tones. Introspective and challenging. Don’t know if I’ll listen to it again but I enjoyed the challenges it presented
I love Brian Eno, but I had kind of avoided these ambient albums. And when I first started listening, I thought what in the hell is this? Then, I let it fade into the background as intended and you know what it did make me think pretty deeply and evoke some strong emotions. Touche Brian Eno.
Relaxing
Good to sleep to.
Nailed the concept. Also, I cant fully grasp my own logic here— but I’m fairly certain Pure Moods would have never happened without this album.
It;s not often you get to hear the birth of a new form of music. It’s far more melodic than a lot of the ambient music that followed, but this is pure musical genius. It remains one of my personal Top 10 records of all time
Great working music.
INcredible
I was in airports and airplanes almost all day yesterday and could’ve used this. But I already am quite familiar with and enjoy this and other ambient works.
Top album.
I’ve been waiting for this one! I have a lot to thank this album for. This was the first ambient album that I ever heard, and I fell in love with it instantly. It made me branch out my tastes and helped encourage me to try out new music, especially ambient and other genres. Ambient has become one of my favorite genres. But with that out of the way, is this still a good album? Yes! Brian Eno got the idea for this album from hearing music in actual airports and thinking it stunk. I’ve had the pleasure of listening to this in an airport with headphones, and it really does capture the atmosphere. Brian Eno coined the term ambient with this album, and described it to be, “as ignorable as it is interesting.” I think that fits this album really well. This album is just so meditative and calming. Its atmospheric loops, simplistic synthesizers and piano melodies evoke such a sense of serenity. 1/1 is just so iconic, and in my opinion one of the best ambient songs ever made. It perfectly encapsulates ambient music as a whole. 2/1, while being my least favorite track, has minimalist vocal samples and harmonies that are angelic and ethereal. 1/2 vocals combines those choir-like vocals with the soothing piano and synthesizers of 1/1, and it’s a fantastic combination. The final track, 2/2, has layers of soothing synthesizers that evoke a sense of wonder, like the other songs on this album. It’s an example of the fantastic minimalism to be found on this album. Ambient 1: Music For Airports is genre defining, and a pioneering work of ambient music. I highly recommend this for people who want a calming atmosphere, and want to get into ambient music. It’s a true classic, and I love it.
Beautiful. Could listen to it for days.
About 500 albums ago when I got Eno's previous album to this one, I noted how I could get into the ambient approach he took on side two. I didn't know that this album was the first time he, or anyone really, would go full bore ambient. I absolutely loved it. 1/1 in particular is a masterpiece. I have friends who listen to classical music when they work or need to think but I think this is the style for me. Which is funny as I had been avoiding this album because I had some work I needed to concentrate on and wanted no distractions. I didn't look at the title of the album, just that it was eclectic Eno. What a mistake that was. This album perfectly does what ambient music is supposed to do - induce calm and a space to think. When I am done listening to this album on repeat (which could be awhile) I will have to listen to the other three albums in his ambient series.
This album has served as a little place of calm reflection and headspace, and I think much of the music I both listen to and make today can be routed back to Ambient 1/Music For Airports.
Baanbrekend, en mooi.
General impression: groundbreaking ambient that still holds up Detailed review: The fact that this album is seen as sort of an “origin” of ambient music may suggest that it’s rudimentary and has been surpassed. Not so. This is still one of the best albums in the genre and is honestly still the best gateway album for someone to get into ambient music. It’s hard to beat that beautiful and unparalleled piano motif in “1/1,” but the other three tracks differentiate themselves nicely. There’s comfort, there’s a little bit of eeriness, there’s piano, there are wordless vocals, there’s some cool synth work. It’s really all one needs for a nice ambient listen. Deeper thoughts (context): I said it above. This is like the Kind of Blue for ambient. Score: 5 Number of albums left to review: 952 Number of albums from the list I’d consider “must-listens”: 29 (including this one) Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 20
Gotta love someone that establishes a brand new genre of music. I enjoy having this on in the background while I am working. I know I have heard it in airports.
Well, what do you know… ANOTHER CLASSIC BRIAN ENO RECORD.
Wow... I did not expect this! What a great album, and amazing that he more or less invented this genre! Love it.
Does what it does very effectively. Great album, this is what Brian Eno does best
Beautiful. Classic. Created a new genre
Remind me to add this album to my roster of things I can do to mediate anxiety.
If you listen to this backwards, it fucking rocks.
I’ve been getting more into ambient music this past year or so and loving it. It makes for great background music while I’m writing. This album is one I discovered earlier this year and put into rotation. It’s also a great album to end the night with. I’ve sat out on my porch late at night listening to this. It’s really tranquil music. The piano melody on “1/1” is particularly gorgeous. And on “1/2” as well. I also love the synths on “2/2” that sound like sad, muted horns. Beautiful music and all the more impressive knowing that it was one of the pioneering works of ambient music.
Ahead of it's time.
Ambient perfection by the patron saint of Ambient. I couldn’t love it more.
Has taken me years to wrest this back from it's pigeonhole of 'music we put on constantly 13 years ago in desperate bids to get the baby to sleep.' Same as Satie's Gymnopedies. Perhaps it's the familiarity of those liminal evenings between sleep and waking that this music brings to me, that makes it so easy to just drift off inwardly when this music is played. Particularly 1/1 and 2/2. I could not disagree more strongly with the idea that this is background music. It's music to get lost in, swim around in, go on journeys inside your own head. I sometimes wonder if people who don't appear to appreciate that aspect to this music simply aren't that introspective. That might be harsh but if it's true it's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm sometimes jealous of that as it probably provides a much tougher exterior to the world around you, bad things must simply bounce off your psyche without you noticing. But on the other hand, yes, you can drift in and out of it and use it as a backdrop to get into a flow state while working. So it's simultaneously absolutely not background music and definitely is background music.
Felt more like a day at the spa than a day at the airport. Very relaxing.
I pressed play and within 30 seconds realized I have heard the opening track somewhere before… fairly recently… I think it was maybe an art installation - perhaps even at an airport. There’s something strangely interesting about this album. I played it driving in rush hour traffic and I’m sure it lowered my blood pressure as it put me in a space to just sit back and be. I think I love this album and will definitely keep it at hand for the upcoming election season.
I have listened to this album probably 100 times. The unofficial soundtrack to my doctorate. I always get the opening of 1/1 and Gymnopedie No 1. Mixed up in my head. This album is my personality.
Fell asleep at work listening to this, accidentally caught myself on fire
Ground Zero for Ambient Genre. Eno created a whole new thing.
I played a game of League and was very tilted. Then I put on this album. Tilt is no longer a word in my vocabulary. Such an incredibly peaceful album. There's not much to it, it's just a synthesizer and piano. Reading up on it, Eno wanted to make an album that diffused the stress felt in airports? Yeah, good job dude, you friggin nailed it.
The master of his craft. Old soar puss himself.
I remember this album from years ago - loved it then and still do
It was a very chill album
Beautiful ambient music, great for relaxing or meditation. Allegedly the first of its kind so it gets a 5 for that landmark.
This is exceptionally comforting while trying to work from home with a terrible head cold. I usually rage against electronic music and tracks with interminable lengths but somehow this is perfect. The ambient nature feels like I'm in a spa getting a massage and lightly floating between the awake/asleep consciousness. Lovely.
One of my favorites.
Listened to this on a very turbulent flight. It was very calming.
Very chilled out, practically sent me into a coma
5/5. Beautiful. Transcendent. A perfect relaxing album full of patience and quietness, it allows the listener to reflect and truly listen or ignore completely and let it follow your mindset, coming along with you on the internal journey. It's similar notes and patterns yet feel distant and with additional notes here and there, it never gets old or boring. A must-listen experience in the dark or laying down, or even with loud sounds elsewhere, it adds to what whatever atmosphere you find yourself in. Best Song: The Whole Album
I listen to this regularly, and just listened to it over this past weekend. This is an easy 5 bagger here.
I listen to this album and all of Eno's ambient music regularly. I really connect with the concept - of having some "music" in the background almost all the time, and I like to play these albums in my house when people are over for a casual atmosphere or when I'm cooking or cleaning sometimes. Eno helped create an entire genre that is growing even more today due to the way it connects people to another mental state.
Actually really Ambient music for airports. Also useful as Ambient music with crying Kids.
I’ve studied with this on in the background multiple times, and I loved it every time.
Before I listened to this album, I told my group that I wasn't gonna be listening to this album. Which is to say, I wasn't going to afford it the same level of attention I've given every other album on this list. It's ambient music, after all; it's not meant to be listened to in the same way you would other genres. And that's not a knock against the stuff, of course. That's just, bluntly, how it is by design. And I understand, for that reason, the frustration some have about the inclusion of an album like this on a list like this. Ambient music, to most ears, is essentially wallpaper. You put that next to ABBEY ROAD and THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON and TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY, and how does it even stack up? How does it even compare? For me, yeah, I kept my word. I didn't really listen to the album; it just kind of floated in and out of my attention as I did other things. But whenever I did catch it... Damn, it's some transcendental shit. Just, these vast, open, beautiful soundscapes. Heaven stretches before your ears. There's not much there melodically, true. If you're looking for it, I get the disappointment. But just for how it evokes for me a sense of safety and calm... Damn. A++ tape loops.
I mean, in terms of doing exactly what it’s supposed to do, I’d say it gets a 5 as an ambient album. In terms of the music itself… it’s like a 3.5, maybe, but the point of the album is almost certainly not to critique the actual composition – sure, there are layers to the music, intentional production decisions, and a general melody loop each track follows, but that’s not the stuff to focus on. It’s just about getting lost in the soundscape and going for it. Obviously, it would be dumb to go, “oh, it’s a 5, that means it’s as good as Illmatic or something” because it’s obviously not, but like… what else am I supposed to rate it, you know? The only knock I have is that 2/1 was probably the most “distracting” of the tracks, but it’s like complaining that a bird is chirping while it’s sunny outside. It happens. Seriously, I think I’m gonna go with a 5 in terms of keeping me focused, steady, and relaxed for its entire 48 minute runtime. If I had to go out of 10, it’s almost certainly like a 7/10 or something, but that’s just because it’s clearly not at the highest of high levels or anything. What a strange album to include in the 1,001 set, but like… I’m glad it came up, because now I have new focus/study music to add to my collection. Pretty good.
saying this album is bad is just plane stupid
This album is functionally good for a lot of things, but let me ask, have you ever listened to this in an actual airport? Crank this thing up on headphones, get to the airport early for your flight, dad-style, and move slowly through the airport. Stand on the moving sidewalks, speak to no one, take everything in around you while you let this 4 track collection rip. What results is a very calming, cinematic experience. The title is not just Eno being cheeky, this is extremely well designed music for the headspace you’re in just before travel, in the purgatory of society where nobody is exactly living their ideal life. For better or worse, we’re waiting at the gates of a complete reset of our circumstances, and Eno is there to give us some simultaneous reflection and peace of mind about that. The concept came to him in an actual airport, anxious before his own travel, which was not exactly eased by the top 40 coming out of the universal speakers. It was a new, beautifully designed airport, however, and why shouldn’t every sensory experience about it be as meticulously designed? This is, in part, why I feel ambient music today seems to be having another moment. It’s music architecturally designed for the optimum headspace for a variety of states. It’s a functional tool in your toolbox for being present in oneself, for reflection on the impact of the past, all in the service of an optimal future. Maybe more calm, reflection, and stillness is what the world needs more of in recent years, whereever it is we’re headed.
This is The Benchmark for ambient albums. I have probably listened to it thousands of times going to sleep at night over the past 30 years of my life.
Love the idea of this. Album definitely does what it sets out to do. The last movement is the most evocative of ‘airport’
5 stars. a favourite.
An album I've been meaning to listen to for years and it didn't disappoint
A chef's kiss of ambient bliss
Just went home and got this album for today! Very fitting cause I was gonna study for my exams and this will 100% help!
Amazing!!
I can’t really add much to Tom’s review. I think it might have been you that introduced it to me and I love it for the same reasons you do. It’s almost more of a well-being tool than a record, but it’s precisely the fact that it has musical value that lifts it above the kind of ambient pap you hear in any spa or masseuse’s office. It’s genuinely moving and hugely influential. The simple repetitive melodic figures are wonderful, but the beds he creates underneath them are amazing, there’s always a bass note drone or harmony note swell coming in or out, but it never feels cluttered and the mix is perfect. Doing this with the technology of the time is so impressive. You can tell how influential it’s been too - I imagine every member of Radiohead, Kate Bush, Daniel Lanois and Peter Gabriel have well worn copies. People go on about the healing power of music, but this is one of the few albums I could point to as evidence of it.
Ambient 1: Music For Airports I love this album and after giving Another Green World 4 I can’t not give this 5. I listen to it a lot, sometimes when I’m working, sometimes commuting or driving. The beauty of it for me is that I find it genuinely calming, and it works as background music or something I actively listen to. It’s slow and without distinctive melodies or structures, but it never feels slight or pointless. The more you listen the more you hear and connect and the better it gets. Of the four tracks 1/1 has the closest thing to a recognisable melody, and I really think it is a beautiful piece of music. The piano is obviously very Satie influenced, but for such a simple arrangement of just synthesiser and pianos it does an incredible job of evoking a mood and a feeling, while musically holding your attention. I like how 1/2 pulls together the piano elements from 1/1 and the vocal elements of 2/1 to create a kind of denouement or crescendo to the first two tracks before 2/2 is a kind of end credits piece, taking what’s come before and transposing the previous ideas and themes into synthesised horns. I really do adore this album, it gets better each time I listen and it genuinely has a physical and emotional effect on me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best ambient. Listen to it all the time.
If this played at actual airports air travel would be much less stressful.
I've grown into this album (and ambient music in general) in my middle age in a big way. Gorgeous.
The OG of ambience. I aspire to be this good.
Maat. Hoe dit ooit in de top 1001 is gekomen is me een raadsel. Maar dit is top. 5 sterren all the way.
Another great Brian Eno album - my favourite of all his ambient work.. Perfect for background music while working, but also great for listening to when you want to relax.
This one's a real banger. I've listened to this album a lot. I find this type of music helps me focus and stay calm. Mellow. One of my favorite ambient albums.
This is exactly what I needed today. And possibly every day. Fantastic job, album generator! A true gift. As the origin story of ambient music, this album clearly deserves inclusion on this list.
Once when to the Amsterdam Schiphol airport where this was played live, as it was meant to be! Music composed in a way it fits the airport sounds, "Mr Smith", last call for the flight to Athens" and it worked. Am into minimal music, and he is a pioneer as he is also in the popular music world: Roxy Music, producer of Talking Heads and U2, his African album with David Byrne. Full marks of course
Erinnert sehr an Arvo Part.
As someone who likes ambient music, it's nice to come back to where it all began. This isn't a terribly interesting insight but like Velvet Underground, it's revolutionary in its approach, but to a completely different end.
my mood is vastly improved from what it was before i clicked play
About as good as ambience gets. Still not an album or genre i'm likely to listen to often but inarguably perfect anyway.
Wonderful album that kicked off an entire genre!
The most chill music. I'm going to be playing this a lot.
An album that gets better the older (and sleepier) i get. I didn’t understand the point of this album when I first listened maybe a decade ago but now I have more patience and willingness to listen to this beauty. Kinda invented ambient music as we know it
Blue skies behind panes, A soul longing for relief In an empty hall. The first "ambient" masterpiece. No haiku ever uttered in any human language can do it full justice. Number of albums left to review: 353 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 294 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 154 Albums from the list I won't include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 206
This is the type of music I always have in the background while I'm at work.
This was my first Brian Eno album I think. I knew his name through the MGMT song but remember trying this one out while travelling for work and really enjoying the ambiance. It is very relaxing and makes me think I'm soaring above somewhere or just generally thinking about travelling. Angelic synths/choral voices and the title help set you in this outer worldly space. It makes me think about how there are so many of us going so many places and doing so many things and how there is some missed beauty in the chaos of all of that.
I love the shit out of this album; the end.
I remember buying this as a teen and having the reaction a lot of people probably had when it came out. I think I gave it to my brother who, funnily enough, ended up becoming a musician who uses ambient elements in his work. I wasn't ready for that kind of nuance in my music at the time, but it was absolutely lovely to listen to today. This is an elegant, minimalist masterpiece. I think the key to enjoying this album is finding it in yourself to let go. I mean, most albums we listen to have a bunch of songs, generally under 5 to 6 minutes each, so you're always anticipating something - a chorus, a bridge, a fairly speedy closure, the next song. This album forces you to sit with the quiet in it and not have expectations of what comes next. It fades away, it comes back, it pulls you in and releases you. Each new element becomes a surprise when you aren't waiting for it. It's transcendent in a way most music is unable to be. Ordinarily I dread songs that pass the 10 minute mark, but once I was able to just let the music be and not check on its progress like I'm cooking an egg or something, the whole thing flowed really smoothly here. I loved it, and can see myself coming back to it a lot. No favorite tracks, it was all pretty sublime.
Niet bij te houden hoeveel uur ik op dit album heb gestudeerd. Ambient perfectie, Brian Eno is een tovenaar
I listen to this kind of fall asleep music all the time, and it is amazing how little it has evolved in 50 years, Eno nailed it the first time
The most soothing album there is, I love it. From the first few piano notes on the first track it announces what it is: spare melodies, vibrating textures, slow, calming waves of tranquil sound and gentle dissonance that resolves quickly into the settled swelling of ethereal synths. Tune in or zone out, pay attention or let it course through you, it's reassuringly there, rising and falling like the sky breathing.
I'm sure everyone has an album on this list that speaks to them in a way that just doesn't seem to happen for many people. This is one of those albums for me. It's so simple, just the same soft themes repeating over and over again. A little piano, a little synthesizer, and little bits of silence. And yet, I love this album and listen to it with some regularity. This album is incredibly influential as well. It showed many musicians that they could do more by doing less. I love Brian Eno, and I love this album 5/5
This album marks the start of the ambient music genre. In retrospect the album title is perfect.
This has always been one of my favorite albums of all time. The beauty packed into such brevity is unparalleled. And to think this is start of the genre, no exemplar to follow—outstanding.
it’s THE ambient album for a reason. truly amazing soundscapes, and i really love the movement each piece has. put this on while i was working and just vibed, great album.
So pleasant
Against the backdrop of an industry that's always chasing music that's faster, louder, and harder, sometimes you need to go quiet instead. Here Eno coined the term 'ambient music' and effectively launched a genre that's (in his words) "as ignorable as it is interesting". By eschewing rhythm and predictable patterns, the sounds can surprise and intrigue the listener, just enough to shut out anxious thoughts, while remaining quiet and calm enough to prevent new ones. The music is perfect for study, self reflection, or sleep. It's also a welcome change of pace when other music starts to all sound the same. A calm-inducing, and secretly chaotic, palate cleanser. In the words of John Lysaker, "it holds together no better (and no worse) than a cloud."
August 15, 2023 500TH ALBUM 🎵 Honk if you love the Joshua Tree 📯 Honk if you love the Spore soundtrack 📯 and the Minecraft soundtrack 🎺 and the Hyrule Field theme in BOTW 🎺 And looking up liminal space pictures at 3am 🎺 🎺 By my logic, this is an album that should be boring (no sense of progression, no percussion, not one single trombone) and is instead a haunting & beguiling experience for me. Though this is the 1st time I’ve actually listened thru the whole thing, I already have some regret at not seeing a live performance in my hometown earlier this year. It's a fitting album for #500, not only are its liminal qualities perfect for a pseudo-halfway checkpoint (I've heard about 40 more records that I haven't logged on this website, which is closer to the real halfway point), but I also feel like I'm dancing a liminal limbo in my actual life, while relationships, my job, and creative prospects all feel like they're on the precipice of change. HL: “1/2, “2/2” And now to celebrate this milestone, some albums that I feel I didn't appreciate enough the 1st time: Nas- Illmatic (no. 17) : listened when my rap vocabulary was very limited. one of the best hip-hop albums I've heard Lauryn Hill- The Miseducation of... (no. 18) : there's a few albums I didn't actually properly listen to- distractions, questionable speakers at times. Guess that's why I mostly ignored this triumph in gospel/soul/reggae/rap fusion Magazine- Real Life (no. 58) : a crossroads of post-punk, prog & glam that sounds better every listen Dinosaur Jr.- You're Living all Over Me (no. 93) : didn't really like this much on the first listen, but noise rock has grown on me and so has this Prefab Sprout- Steve McQueen (no. 120) : still not crazy about 80s sophistipop, but this might be the best example I've heard of it, or 2nd to Songs From the Big Chair Bowie- Blackstar (no. 127) : easy 5-star, felt wrong as soon as I gave it 4 The Pixies- Surfer Rosa (no. 130) : same reasons as Dino Jr. Spiritualized- Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (no. 143) : been on my mind too much this year to just be a 4-star Thelonious Monk- Brilliant Corners (no. 200) : 2nd only to Head Hunters in jazz albums I've relistening to Justice- Cross (no. 230) : recent listen-thru was still a bit exhausting, but some tracks ("Stress", "Phantom Pt II", "Let There Be Light") are excellent, and even "Tthhee Ppaarrttyy" sounded better on relisten
An album that has a gentle touch running throughout. It achieves that rare feat of passing you by, yet still being memorable. It also sounds modern, yet also analogue. Bloody love it.
need more composers so invested in being so hella specific. ambient my good friend ambient.
Thanks to Brian for making this and thanks to this project and Wikipedia for teaching me about the origin of Ambient Music.
Already listened to this
Weirdly enough, I got this album exactly one week after Another Green World, but given my enjoyment of that album (and Before And After Science), getting a third from him so quickly is a welcome surprise. Besides, this is a far different album from those two, leaning in completely on ambient music; in fact, I’m pretty sure it’s the only ambient album on the entire list (I know Selected Ambient Works 85-92 is on here, but that’s really more of an IDM album with ambient influences. Anyway, as ambient music, this is really just meditative, calming music, and I love that. The first song of the four in particular is nice, with the piano playing being something that brings it all together. Honestly, what more can I say? Anyone interested in ambient music should listen to this album.
Proposta ousada e perfeitamente executada. Som integrado ao espaço e em expansão.
Relaxing. Love the album
So good.
Ambient albums like this one miss that pop feeling so are not particularly exciting. Still, this is such a landmark album in the genre, it must be given 5 stars of course.
Puts you in a calm, meditative, mood. Never tried it at an actual airport, funny enough.
File under uneasy listening. As this album starts it seems ethereal and relaxing. It turns out it is hiding a dark secret where the noise below the sound grates and puts you on edge. Like an orchestra of nails down chalkboard. Amazing stuff really and responsible in many ways to a fair amount of technology and soundtrack work that followed
Music for Airports - and generally quiet environments. I tried to listen to this in a busy cafe with loud, terrible music (KLAXXONS) in the background, and it kind of ruined the serenity. But it's definitely a great album, and a very influential one. I love the repetition of motifs and the way it builds up layers. Hypnotic.
Este es mi disco para viajar en avión. Según registro de mi last.fm lo he escuchado entero más de 23 veces. Si os parece mucho, el Ambient 2 tiene registradas un total de 67 escuchas completo. En general puedo entender que no guste, es solo música de fondo sin ritmo ni orden pero me encanta. Además por ser el album que fundó la música "ambient" debe estar aquí sin ninguna duda.
Med første spor 1/1 ønske rueg å starte hver morgen med tøy og bøy. Kult opplegg med albumkonseptet, det har vist meg en ny sjanger. Det blir mer ambient musikk fremover!
amazing all the way through
Groundbreaking music that your can't dance to, can't sing along with, can't rock out with? Love it. Eno uses his toys to make music that is texturally fascinating, layering fragments of melody to build a place of comfort.
The ambition of many during the COVID lockdowns of 2020, that the extended free time and solitude would allow them to pursue hitherto neglected creative hankerings, oft proved overambitious. It turned out most lost themselves in chain-wanking and opening the first can of the day at 10am rather than nailing down chapter 14 of their epoch-shattering debut novel. Pointing this out is not to judge people; basically, most people aren't Brian Eno. In 1975, a taxi struck Brian Eno in New York, leaving him bedridden for several weeks. To ease his convalescence, his friend Judy Nylon brought him a record of harp music, leaving Eno alone when it began to play. But Eno found that the volume had been set very low, and that one of the stereo channels wasn't working anyway. He also found that he lacked the energy to change the setup, forcing him to listen to this hushed harp music mingle with the outside rain. Our Brian being a clever bugger, he realised that this accidental restraint meant that he was listening to music in quite an innovative manner, as a background texture rather than as a attention-demanding spectacle, as an ambient feature. Well, maybe "innovative" is a slightly generous adjective. The use of music as ambience may well be as old as music. Just think of the coffee shop pianist performing gentle, genteel trills to accompany the clientele's chatter. Those oddball good-eggs Erik Satie and John Cage wrote Dadaist pranks such as Satie's Vexations and Cage's 4'33" which inspired later ambient musicians. Satie's Vexations, a posthumously discovered work first performed by John Cage and a group of assistants, consists of a simple piano motif repeated 840 times: Cage and his chums didn't realise that such a performance would take 18 hours. Cage's own 4'33" is a three movement piece for any length of time and for any combination of instruments, the sole directive being that the musicians cannot touch their instruments. In other words, silence. Because of this, the John Cage Trust has claimed to hold the copyright on silence, and in 2002 sued Mike Batt (who wrote Art Garfunkel's Bright Eyes and was the mastermind behind the Wombles' music career) after Batt included a minute of silence on one of his albums and tried to claim joint songwriting credit with Cage for his silence (they settled out of court). These, and many others (American minimalists, Krautrockers, the raga ambassadors et al.) all pioneered the aesthetic which would become known as ambient, and that clever chap Eno definitely knew gulping portions of these. With these precedents, and his own incapacitated experience, our Brian codified ambient music as we understand it today, first revealing his formulation in 1975's Discreet Music, and cementing the name with his series of four Ambient albums, of which Music For Airports was the first. Our Brian has always been a nervous flier, finding airports generators for anxiety and disquiet. Hence, his goal of creating a musical backdrop which would seek to calm and mollify, not overwhelm and distract. I am not a nervous flier, indeed I relish flying, and the anxieties that fray me at airports concern tiredness and missing the flight, not fear of plummeting. That is, I find airports boring places, usually attended in some state of exhaustion, a purgatorial sentence before the heavenly delights of the heavens. Mind, I'm not listening to this in an airport, but rather on the sofa in pyjama shorts and with an enfeebled foot. Which I suppose is a convoluted way of saying that the listener need not heed the artist's intentions. One can treat this album as a wholly ambient experience, a sonic equivalent of a fireplace, an element to comfort oneself while one reads a biography of Harold Wilson, completes a crossword or writes a review of Ambient 1/Music for Airports. Yet our Brian was also clever enough to add a vital ingredient to Ambient 1/Music for Airports, without which the entire album would be a mere curio: he remembered to make it beautiful. One can just shut one's eyes and focus on the album, wallowing in the textures. The lack of direction becomes the central strength, allowing the listener to lose themselves without fear of missing some aspect. A still yet sensual pool of an album, and one that invites thought as well as serenity. Thoughtfulness is our Brian's hallmark, you know. Not everyone will embrace Ambient 1/Music for Airports. The meandering, the impassivity, the seventiesness of the record will bore and irritate many. This is no indictment on either them or Eno. What everyone should observe is that a preference is not a philosophy, and a fondness or distaste for ambient music is no more profound than a fondness or distaste for tomatoes. NoRadio, signing off.
The point Brian Eno was making with this album was that there should be a genre that could be played as background music, but that would still benefit from closer listening if the listener so chose. This first of his series of four Ambient titled albums is probably his most significant achievement in that genre. It is relaxing yet strikingly beautiful. Brian Eno struck the perfect balance to create something that did not create a demand on the listener while providing something substantial to the development of popular music.
4.5 stars, rating 5 for Drew's sake
Beautifully crafted ambient landscapes. Brian Eno will always get 4-5 stars from me.
The record that defined ambient as a genre, Brian Eno created this in 1978 and today it still sounds like it came from the future. I could actually feel my cortisol levels dropping while listening to this. Relaxing, but never boring. Beautiful, but still challenging. The heavenly choir on '2/1' is something else. From the liner notes: "Ambient Music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting". Eno fully succeeded in this - Music For Airports creates a space that allows you to alternate between being lost in the music and being lost in your own thoughts.
Ambient 1/Music for Airports is exactly as breathtaking and innovative today as it was when it was first released. Time simply flies by as you lose yourself in both the ethereal music and your own mind. This is genius. Pure and simple.
Dude's insufferable but also undeniable.
For sleeping!!!
Эмбиент база
Brian Eno is one of my favourites and so is this album. There are many no doubt who will be horrified by this and I enjoy reading their 'wtf?!' reviews but I'm happy it's found a place in the 1001. This is a cornerstone of ambient music and although I like Hendrix, Joy Division, Motorhead, Pet Shop boys and many more I also enjoy this and think if all music was the same life would be very dull. This is ambient.
Really beautiful ambient music, I want to check out the rest of his Ambient Series I wouldn’t really call myself an ambient fan, like I don’t really go out of my way to listen to ambient music But I think it’s really nice to listen to and I appreciate it when I get it Overall, it’s just very lovely, 9/10
Imagine a rainy day off work. It’s coming down decently hard but it’s early morning. So the rain is coming from above and the sun is streaming in the windows on your eastern side. Your cup of coffee is just at your elbow and you had a good night’s sleep. You can just kinda space out and watch the old dog dog at your feet breathe. Or you can read poetry from Lenore Kandel that fuddy-duddies were trying to ban for obscenity during the Summer of Love. Or you can try to figure some personal stuff out. Or you can rehearse your next argument with your politically awful relatives. And all the while, you can use the rain and the dog and the sunlight as anchors to the real world, or springboard for more abstract thought. This is kinda that.
Quietly beautiful. The more I learn about the experimentation behind its creation, the more amazing it becomes.
Longtime fan, easy 5. As part of my wind down for bed routine I listen to a playlist of songs created by Sigur Ros called Sleep. 1/1 and 2/2 are part of the playlist and instantly bring calm.
I know that these days, so-called 'ambient music' is a huge genre, so even though I do like it sometimes, I thought this album might suffer from being one of the countless albums in this area. I listened to it twice this morning as I worked. It's beautiful, and when I read about how it was pretty much the first album in the genre, it's all the more impressive.
Actually listened to this in an airport. Honestly so fitting and so damn good.
A beautiful, relaxing album. Paired with news of a family member passing today, this feels perhaps more somber and melancholy than intended. But I know that the memory tied to this will make this a comfort album for me regardless, and the music is just amazing. Great job, Mr. Eno. Favorite tracks: the whole thing, no favorites. Album art: It's a map, it's minimal, it's perfect. If it isn't, this should be ambient music's bible. 5/5
top 10 of this year
Ça me fait sentir tout léger
Juste envie d'aller prendre un avion.
Very cool album! Great atmospheric work.
airy
I don't know very much about ambient music. I got into it a while back. So this isn't my first time listening to it. I think it's the top-est of tiers as far as ambient music goes.
Hard to know how to rate this, as by design it’s not something to devote yourself to listening to. But by its own intentions, it’s a success.
First time listener, very interesting stuff.
One of the defining releases in ambient music (one of my favorite genres). This album is beautiful and interesting, while also being able to fade completely into the background - exactly as Eno intended.
I love ambient, but I don't know what blocked me from Eno for that long time. Nevertheless - that is something I searched for. I think I will get to know with more music from the father of ambient. Short, 4-song-album, but outstanding.
Chill, relaxing, calm...yeah, this is meditation music and that is so nice sometimes.
Absolutely classic
Do not listen to this album if you don't want to feel like you're in an airport
Tranquil loveliness! I am a massive fan of ambient music, so gotta give props to the album that started it all... Fave track "1-1", I guess - not that it makes sense to break the album down into tracks...
Elektro Jazz synfonie. Groß und besonders
I looooove Eno
I'm only two days in and this 1001 Album exercise has served its purpose. First though, the real job of a douchey music critic is to write reviews and say everything except how you really feel about something. But I'm going to shatter that and just say one word three times: "LOVE, LOVE, LOVE." I feel like we all have been listening to this album in our hearts since we were born, or at least since we hit puberty and experienced a wealth of emotion for the first time. I was two years old when this was released and this album plays as if it could've been released today. It's evocative, emotional, raw and unspoiled by the inter-workings of what a traditional album should be. I've heard this a million times since 1976, but this is the first time I've listened to Ambient 1/Music for Airports. This one pays dividends, I truly enjoyed it and is inspiration for me to find / listen / experience more Eno. Five stars for this album. Five stars for this exercise.
Dem dronez
Ein Hoch auf die Entspannung! Großartiges erstes Ambient Album
Interessant, ein Ambience-Album zu hören
ÄR så jävla bäst
really would enjoy this whilst studying
A bit plain by modern ambient standards, but effective as a thesis statement for the genre. Makes good use of space and restraint. I would probably be a little bit calmer in an airport if this was playing.
4 out of 5. Ambient music is so wonderful when the mood and time are right. First track was my favorite.
This is not the first time I’ve listened to this album. Amazing and warm for something so sparse. Really enjoy it in the right moments. Very inspiring
Ultimate ragebait would be hearing this in the airport while you’re shoving ur oversized personal item into the little baggage measuring thing
ou, combina bem com aeroporto/aviao. climinha pensativo, introspectivo. deu sono xd ambient eh mei chatim né mas reconheço a importância, muito bacana