My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts

exactly what I thought it would be 3.5/5

Ailienljud

Album no available

It's experimental and weird and very Talking Heads-esque. But it has its moments. It's very far from that garbage you find on Metal Machine Music and etc. It's listenable and somewhat interesting. Not a favorite, but ok.

This album is amazing. Eno and Bryne complement each other building from their work together on Talking Heads 'Remain in Light'.

5.5/10

It's just noise. Oh no! I sound like my parents!

No.

Really wanted to like this more

sampleception

Somehow funky, chill, and cerebral. Little bit like me 😎

When you're stealing other people's music, the sky is the limit. And when you're white, they let you do it.

Hell yeah, I’m all about this

yeah good but some of the songs gave me anxiety

I thought I would enjoy this; I've really enjoyed the other Brian Eno albums this project has given me. This, being a collab with David Byrne, was a bit too out there for me.

super weird. obviously expected from these two but still worth noting. cool stuff here and there but mostly good as background noise

Dream collab, as always. Such a masterpiece!

Understand why it may have been advanced for its time, wasn't that into musically.

Weird but in a good way. Kind of funky. Very arty. Some cool slashing guitars with pulsating rhythms. I dug this and will listen again.

It’s not fair to say this isn’t interesting, but being interesting doesn’t make it enjoyable. This was sort of somewhat organized chaos.

Thought this would be a good choice to help me get some work done today, but it really wasn't. Influential or not, it just sounded like noise. 2/5

Two musical geniuses/pioneers… one bland/forgettable album.

Wasn’t sure at first, but this turned into a great album to listen to in the background while doin stuff around the house!

joar paar nice ideen aber auch echt anstrengend artsy

Definitely weird music.

The only collab I've heard from them were the Talking Heads albums. And you can really feel that vibe on the very first track. The rest to me is more Eno than Byrne. The album was 50/50 but ultimately rather interesting 3/5

I liked the vibe and a lot of the different types of music used but this didn’t hit as a whole for me unfortunately

Not bad. Some I had to skip over, but mostly a good listen.

Funky groovy and cool. Thats it. Its annoying how sparce it is. Its annoying how there is no vocals, just samples from and infinite source. Its annoying that Brian Eno has as many albums on this list that he does. And its annoying that I don't love David Byrne as much as I should. But whatever man.

I'm sure it's influential, I can almost hear it. Doesn't make it great though.

Not as enjoyable to listen to as it was interesting. A lot of bleep bloop really.

mucho mé

Never heard this before. Didn’t know what to expect exactly, but expectations weren’t particularly high. I’ve read some reviews and I can see why this is not for everyone, but I really liked it. Sure, these aren’t conventional ”songs”, but the sounds and the repetitiveness combined with the occasional groove drags me in. Regiment - wow! 5/5

Considering the two artists involved in this, I really expected a lot more. Brian Eno's style (which I absolutely love) feels like it has absolutely no presence. And as much as I also love Talking Heads, this album just feels like it's trying way too hard to imitate that sound, and leaves David Byrne's contributions feeling like he is lacking a sense of identity in his material away from the band.

Really nice

Bunch of some pretty interesting instrumental tracks.

great album from 2 diverse musicians..mostly David's ideas but some of Brian's can be heard in the background

Two interesting artists but unfortunately this is a pretty boring album

These dudes are just... trying too hard to be weird. This isn't good. At all.

Ambient music isn’t my thing

I sat up seeing that this album was by Eno as I have recently come to have a new found appreciation for his talent after paying attention to his work with Roxy Music. I wouldn’t say that the albums they made after he left were bad, but I feel his contribution led to some of the most intricate and interesting songs of their work. But here is the rub – David Byrne – Not really a fan of Talking heads and it feels like he is the dominant partner here. I don’t mind songs that don’t fit into the traditional mould but this felt cold to me hence the score.

I’m a fan of David Byrne, I’m increasingly becoming (thanks to the generator) a fan of Brian Eno, and I’m even a fan of some of the twisted grooves served up on this album, like on the wonderfully deranged Mea Culpa. But I don’t think I’m a particularly big fan of MLITBOG as a whole - the impact wears off after a few tracks. It’s still worth hearing as a document of then-revolutionary sampling techniques, but to these modern ears it doesn’t sound like anything special today. 2.5

A sonic engine that runs out of steam just before the finish line. Best track: "The Jezebel Spirit"

I don't like this as much as their other collaboration, but I'll give a 5 to anything David Byrne is involved in.

Two guys messing around with their soundboards. Some of these would be good intros or instrumentals. I think the idea was Byrne would bring the creativity and Eno would bring the production and it just didn't culminate in anything. I didn't like it.

This was great precisely because it was weird. This is accessible experimental music. There aren’t going to be singles in here that you come back to, but as a whole it’s really a work of art. Though vocal samples are absolutely everywhere now and common even, I can’t imagine what it was like hearing this for the first time in the 80s. Every genre would ultimately take from this album, from hip hop to edm and everything in between. I know that tape tricks and even a bit of sampling had been done before but this is really something that bridges the gap between pure tech-flexing and regular popular music. Byrne’s songwriting comes through wonderfully with the love instruments and Eno’s touch is unmistakeable in the production. If I had to pick a favorite it would be “mea culpa” but I really do think this should be enjoyed as a whole, especially if you are an artist or musician yourself, even a dabbler. Also, headphones or a good sound system are mandatory. Really good stuff.

Like it. Great bass. Really really good.

How much noise can we make and still get away with calling it music? Not for me. But not entirely unlistenable for avant-garde rock.

Solid background music but nothing too particularly exciting.

Some real earworm grooves in this one. Great work music...really able to channel and get in the zone. 4/5

I'm sure they enjoyed making this but it's pretty much shit to listen to 1.8

day 17: super interesting, adore lots of these soundscapes. autism overload brian eno and david byrne, literally the combo made for me. really love all the rootsy/afro-inspired tribal vocals and Eastern production influences, just beautiful mix of all sorts of inspirations. gonna study the hell out of future shit with this one.

I’m sure this is influential, but it’s also disorganized and hard to listen to in parts.

I just dont get Eno.

I appreciate Brian Eno's contribution to modern music via his collaboration, but his solo stuff...I don't know. I think Kraftwerk was more melodic. I enjoy them more.

An interesting experiment of an album. The pull of all kinds of music can be felt across this record, and I definitely feel Byrne's influence on it as well.

Arrancamos la semana con un disco de dos bestias de la música como son David Byrne y Brian Eno. Álbum hipnótico, para estar en trance. Muchas gracias y hasta mañana.

Didn't like it, too chaotic and too many elements. Made me feel anxious.

Interesting but don’t care to listen to the whole album.

One hour of noise and musical rambling. Somewhere someone is sampling parts of this album and hopefully making it better.

Weird and unique

When I saw this album was in collaboration with David Byrne I was very excited. Unfortunately didn’t live up to expectations as I found the patterns repetitive and the sampling to be abit lacklustre.

This feels more like an interesting experiment than a fully fledged album. It's not unpleasant, but nothing really goes anywhere. I really prefer music to soundscapes.

I think this might have been an influence on Radiohead, given its experimental sound. I liked it but not that much.

Weird, nice and calm.

459/1001

The beginning of "Mea Culpa" made me think of StarFox on SNES. I tried, but I couldn't get into it. There's a certain 'je ne sais pas' about it, but overall it wasn't for me. I did find "Regiment" quite good though. 2.

This is very much my kind of album. Bit of a weird one to review because sometimes I give an album 2 stars because it’s not for me but I understand why it’s on this list. I think this is the opposite, there are better entry points for this type of ambient/electronic music, hopefully they’re also on the list!

Kept my interest throughout but wasn’t as instantly rewarding as any Talking Heads or solo Eno records I’ve heard. Definitely worthy of further listening.

Interesting.

Actually enjoyed 80% of this quite a bit

Hard to complain about Eno but this wasn't the one for me.

This is really high concept and out there. It's pretty inaccessible but it is interesting.

I'm getting into the track Mia Culpa. This album, it would seem is here for how influential it was. Seems like a direct path to Moby (give Gregor back his CDs) Felt more like a technical demo or an educational field trip than an enjoyable listen.

It’s really just a collection of interesting soundbytes — little sonic sketches that never quite become full songs. If I were a musician, I take some of those bits into full songs or albums. However to listen to this multiple times is kinda of challenge. It's really a 2 but given the sheer volume of this it has to be higher.

I enjoyed most of this. Atmospheric to energetic. Sounded exactly what an Eno/Byrne collab would be expected to sound like.

They tried alot of stuff on this one. Wasn't bad but i don't see listening to it again.

Sounded like the soundtrack to 3 or 4 different movies that I don't really care if I ever see. There was some interesting stuff in here, but I was bored.

This was entertaining. Definitely as much David Byrne as Brian Eno.

Rating: 3.5/10 Not good...what a disappointment.

eugh

Had low expectations. I like the more poppy Talking Heads songs, but when David Byrne gets into his bag, I start to lose interest. Probably not cool or smart enough to understand. But man, I was wrong about this album. It was just so weird and interesting.

For as much of an Eno-head as I may claim to be, I've actually never heard his collaborations with David Byrne (aside from, obviously, 'Remain In Light'). The two always seemed like very like-minded individuals, so I was interested at the very least to check this out - and it's honestly pretty neat. For one, it plays out a lot like a groove-based instrumental hip-hop album in a way, though with the samples, be they religious sermons, chants, or political ones, sort of just hovering over these very tightly woven instrumentals. The type of instrumentals that you would very much find on 'Remain In Light', just airtight, polyrhythmic, world-music influenced things that are just indescribably infectious. Really liked the song 'Mea Culpa' early on; it's the most intense thing here. The Middle Eastern-themed 'A Secret Life' also struck a chord with me, and 'Come with Us' sounds like primitive Autechre or something. The field (or non-field) recordings used, while not always comprehensible to me, certainly add to the sort of surreal effect this album is trying to cultivate. There seems to be some anti-imperialist overarching message here? IDK, but I get that vibe off the very world-music themed drive in the album + that obviously politically charged opener. Pretty neat, and another one of Eno's million albums checked off my list.

Cool concept and interesting layering of the sample with the guitars. Wish I could give it a 3.5.

I love David Byrne for his originality, uniqueness and innovation and this is all of those. What it's not is entertaining, interesting or fun.

Interesting... but I'm no longer interested.

David Byrne is one of my faves, and I certainly respect Eno’s contributions to music. I can see how this would be influential at the time but in our modern age it feels frustratingly simple, repetitive and overlong.

Didn’t care for it I thought it was unique tho

Better than music for airports

Previously rated (Brian Eno): Before And After Science (3/5) Another Green World (3/5) Here Come The Warm Jets (4/5) ************************************ What am I to feel when listening to this? There were sounds made, some were interesting, but not *that* interesting that I needed to hear it before I die. What did David Byrne contribute? Not bad, but very forgettable.

Day 50, 8th record I own. Another easy 5 I’m guessing. Will spin it when I return home. Probably my favorite record from ‘81 but I could dig deeper into the year. For the wiki (or anyone to state) its influence on “later sample based music is debated” is naive. It came out nearly half a century ago and the internet has existed most of that time. I think I’ll have to give this a 4 because side B kinda gets worse as it goes along. Still a buncha 4 out of 5 tracks though. Long day, don’t much feel like writing about individual tracks.

Wow. So much better than I was anticipating. There are some truly interesting sounds coming out of this album. I hear nin, Moby, and most of the electronic scene. It's just really annoying how they fight so hard against their pop inclination. Just be pop guys. You don't have to be obtuse all the time.

Omnämns ju ofta som ett referensverk för den tidiga samplingskonsten. Man förstår varför, och det är väl också därför den är med här. Användningen av samplingar för att bygga musiken är både imponerande och banbrytande. Huruvida musiken som kommer ut är bra kan man dock ha synpunkter på. Det är en skiva som kräver en del av dig och några lyssningar för att komma in i den. Jag har gett den fem varv och den växer fortfarande. Det innebär ju också att den faktiskt är intressant. Den funkiga ökenbluesen i "Regiment" är väl den mest öppenbara låten som tilltalar en direkt. Men här finns fler som utkristalliserar sig efterhand, exorcistpastorn i "Jezebel spirit" är inte dum. Mot slutet får Enos ambienta struktur mer utrymme och då ändrar skivan lite karaktär, "The carrier" med sin arabiska chill-out är riktigt bra och avslutande spåret också bra, spåren däremellan är dock helt hopplösa. Den behöver ännu mer tid den här skivan men en stark trea för nu

Nej, det här går inte.

Konstpop! Till en början känns det mer intressant än vad jag väntat mig. Det går emellertid över relativt snabbt. Andra halvan av skivan känns totalt meningslös. Ni kan göra konstiga ljud med era maskiner i studion. Jaha, det är noterat. Var det något annat? Nähä inte det. Då går vi vidare till nästa.

Som en instrumental syssling till Bowies Lodger. Eller som ett soundtrack. Det är idéer till låtar som aldrig får blomma ut. Blir väl bäst i Regiment även om jag inte är särskilt förtjust i den arabiska sången.

Lots of very interesting ideas, but not a lot of musical cohesion.

This was quite strange but not in a bad way.

I'm fully in the bag for both Eno and Byrne so this was unsurprisingly up my alley. One of those few records you hear and see the release date and immediately know just how many artists it influenced. 4/5

Not for me - bit to 'experimental' not a relaxing listen

I’ve been meaning to check out this album for a while, and it turned out to be more experimental, and more enjoyable than I expected. Going into it, I was assuming it would be David Byrne singing over Brian Eno’s music, but that wasn’t the case at all. Instead of traditional vocals, the album is built around samples and found sounds. Everything from exorcisms to Arabic chanting, to political speeches, all spliced, looped, and repurposed in really creative ways. If anything, this album probably ended up influencing a lot of early dance and hip hop producers in the way it showed how samples could be used to create something totally fresh and different from their original context.

I can objectively recognize that this music is good. It's just not for me.

It’s not bad, it’s just not what I enjoy listening to. I think if it was more of a traditional album with a couple of these thrown in, I would appreciate them more.

Brian Eno working on a trilogy of David Bowie albums and then collaborating with David Byrne only 2 years later? Man was collecting Davids like they're infinity stones

Eh...

Parts are funky which is really cool but it’s also just a bit too weird

it feels built upon a novelty that is no longer novel

Quite a collaboration between two strange guys. Mostly spoken word / speeches rather than singing.

Współczuję członkom zespołu, granie tego musi być strasznie nudne

Tired of Brian Eno please give me anything else

1981?! That was incredible and hasn't aged. I'd never knowingly heard any Brian Eno tracks before today and it was great. I'm curious how it is possible that the average for this is below 3.

Funky, experimental, well paced, and most importantly, super fun. This has got to be one of the earliest instances of sample-based electronic music.

какие-то интересные звуки космические, но удовольствие чисто одноразовое. на постоянке я бы сошел с ума нахуй

Listened Before? N I'm curious why this album is listed as only being by Brian Eno when David Byrne is just as heavily credited. Anyway, I found this really interesting. An album made almost completely of samples. Rap producers do this a lot these days, and I'm going to call this influential to that style of production. I really enjoyed it. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Regiment

Lyssnade bara på originalalbum. Till needle-låten. Mycket bättre än tidigare Eno-album. De tre sista låtarna är dock inte alls bra. Men i övrigt sköna kompositioner. Minst tre. Men nog inte tillräckligt för mer.

Börjar eventuellt förstå storheten hos Eno nu. Det här albumet är verkligen före sin tid med alla samplingar och trots (eller tack vare) att det är så okonventionellt och skruvat så lyssnade jag med stor behållning. Av samma skäl är det nog inte jättesannolikt att jag kommer sätta på den här skivan framöver, men vill ändå ge den ett bra betyg för att jag gillar hantverket och för att jag är svag för samplingar. Bästa låten: Regiment

Okay, I like Brian Eno. I like David Byrne too. And together they've made some incredible music. But this? I'm really not sure what to make of it. It's like an ambient instrumental album, which is the best way I could put it. Favorite track: Solo Guitar with Tin Foil

Unfortunately one of my least favorite albums of this project. Few songs had the nice progression of themes that I'm used to in more housey songs. Not for me

*two white guys travel to africa and the middle east and have the great idea of making an album with those sounds* the rest of the world: is this the birth of modern day music??

Even though I skipped quickly to the end of tracks that I felt were going nowhere, I regret that I will never get that time back.

I wanted to like this more than I did. I thought it would be more ambient and a little more "odd," but seeing the year it was made does explain why it still has a lot of the same DNA as the later Talking Heads with a lot of funk and R&B, filtered through Byrne. It is good but not something I'm going to go back to much, if at all.

Extremely weird, most of it too much for me, but I liked a couple songs

Really good experimental analogue/electronic beats and sample music. Forward thinking and ahead of its time. Truly enjoyable but a bit too much of a curiosity to warrant five stars.

The album is worth the cost of entry simply for the track Regiment—possibly one of my favorite tracks of all time. A whole album in that vein would be phenomenal! Alas, the rest of the album is, I don't know, jaring? There's other good stuff mixed around, and none of it is really bad. It's very experimental, so it kind of takes going in to it with a particular mindset. The feeling changes back and forth enough that it can't quite disappear into the background for focus work, so I guess that's something. I still keep this in my collection, but it doesn't get as much play as other Eno albums.

Part of me says "This probably deserves at least a 2. It's not for me personally, but I shouldn't let my inability to enjoy this album drag it down to a 1. It's definitely a unique sound, and I'm sure some people think it's brilliant." Another part of me says "Nahhhh, let's be real. I powered through about half of it, but couldn't force myself to finish it. Different != Good. This is not good music, it's just some sounds smashed together."

two legends of the game doing some experimental shit but man i just dont connect with it

Brian Eno? The man is essentially an expensive screensaver in human form. His “ambient” music is what you’d hear if an airport tannoy system took a sedative. He’s less a composer and more a furniture salesman for sound: bland, flat, and only appreciated by people who mistake boredom for intellectual depth. Eno isn’t the future of music — he’s the sound of your computer freezing in 1987

I love this kinda weird stuff that's like, what is this? Seems like everyone is anti Eno these days for unknown reasons. The man is a genius

Favorite: Moonlight in Glory

A funky, world music infused tour peppered with novel vocal samplings (at the time), awesome percussive grooves, and Eno's trademark sound explorations. These aren't songs in the traditional sense - they are grooves supporting a wide ranging palette of sonic discovery. You can hear the influences of both Eno and Byrne throughout - making it a really effective and evenly balanced collaboration. This is music at its most creative, interesting, and challenging.

Step aside Malcolm McLaren, this is how you make a plunderphonics album borrowing from various cultures, without it coming off as a cynical attempt. None of this should work in tandem - but it does, and that's the entire point of the genre, rather than just mindlessly mishmashing samples and themes together until you end up with a gigantic ball of ruined Play-Doh. We get a wonderful array of samples, not least the religious chants / sermons and tribal percussion, re-contextualised into electronic soundscapes and underlined by David Byrne's customary angular playing. It's an unpredictable headfuck of an album - can you dance along to it? Not really. Is it passive listening? No. Is it laden with earworms? Also no. But it satisfies the "I like weird things" receptors in my brain and makes for a strangely spiritual, exhilarating experience. I am perhaps slightly more likely to gravitate towards Brian Eno's ambient works than this one, but it more than has a place in my library, and will be getting a purchase if I can find a decent quality copy of it. Brian Eno even had the decency, unlike a certain someone, to remove the track "Qu'Ran" from the album's original tracklisting as it was deemed to be in bad taste by the Islamic Council of Great Britain. Listening to the track today (which is available on YouTube and on certain physical versions) - I wouldn't say it's any more culturally invasive than the rest of the album's religious sampling, containing sacred readings sung by a Muslim cleric, but it shows that Brian Eno wasn't fuelled by self-interest and had a high measure of respect for the corners of the world that he sought from.

Starts off interesting enough but quickly outstays it's welcome just like that distant cousin who seems quirky, so you invite him over for lunch & it turns out he's just batshit crazy not quirky.

There's some absolute bangers on here but a lot is a little too experimental

There are some albums that people say are influential and that seems like they’re trying to justify why you’re listening to bad music. That is not the case here. Its influence is obvious and still important. And for how strange the tracks are, they’re remarkably listenable.

I've seen this called "important" and "vital" and who knows how many other words of inflated value. It's a decent enough album but the experimental sound combinations aren't really my thing. It's always hard to rate things that are THIS far outside one's wheelhouse. This record, to me, would make good background noise, but I'd never reach for it off my shelf to actually listen to for entertainment.

A promising start but loses interest in the middle of the album. Top track: Mae Culpa / Regiment

and David Byrne!

First of all, this is not a Brian Eno solo album, it's a collaboration with David Byrne (from Talking Heads). The album consists of a number of samples, including radio phone-ins, a sermon, and an exorcism; add to this the eclectic styles of both Brian Eno and David Byrne and you get this haunting intriguing album.

Live footage of the inside of David Byrnes head.

Pretty interesting! I didn't really know what to expect

Influential? Significantly. Important? Sure Listenable? Not in the slightest.

Very few people know just how much Len Houmous and Brian Eno don’t get on! Even after Len released his hate record ‘What Does ‘e Know’ people still didn’t cotton on! 3.2 3/11 Regiment

I love both David Byrne and Brian Eno, so the prospect of a collaborative album seems exciting, and judging by their previous work together on three amazing Talking Heads albums, this one was bound to be great too, right? WRONG! For this, and Byrne's first non-Talking Heads album, they decided to put together the a collection of aimless, vaguely African-inspired tracks. It's all style over substance, and style isn't even that good.

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by David Byrne and Brian Eno [1001 albums]: 8/10, Off-kilter experimental plunderphonics mixed with new wave, absolutely ahead of its time and strange. This is a funny album for me because I have a lot of respect for both artists despite never really getting into either of their music. David Byrne, with this being his first album outside of the Talking Heads, is a very interesting artist and creator of some amazing songs but I've yet to listen to any of his albums really. I also know of Brian Eno as the inventor of ambient, a massively important genre to me and a lot of artists that I love. What stands out the most to me about this album is the plunderphonics of it all, the sample work is crazy and amazing, especially for the early 80s. You could tell me this album came out last year and I'd believe it honestly.

Intricately produced but not super fun to listen to.

Great combo of musicians and song writers.

Drugs? Drugs.

You know at EPCOT's Journey to the Imagination where there is that floor and you step on a different tile and it plays a different instrument sounds? It is designed to all play together and flow in the same general direction but it is just a complete hodge podge of everything ... This is an hour long album of that

Decent listen.

take horse to slaughter house -quaran

Have no clue what I just listened to but it had some really good parts in there. Fave song: Regiment

Not exactly sure what I just listened to. The first half songs all had a unexplainable ick, and the second half was just weird. Despite that, I honestly actually quite enjoyed this one. I think if I listen to this album like 10 more times it will become a 6. I also find the fact that Regiment and The Carrier wasn't available to me hilarious as it is imo the 2 best songs in the album. Favourite Song: Regiment Honourable Mention: The Carrier, Help Me Somebody, The Jezebel Spirit

i love it. i expect to be crucified for this rating

I've learned I don't appreciate music that much when there isn't much lyrics with some songs. That's why only a few stood out with this album. Enjoyable music, but not something I would listen to in my everyday.

A bunch of decent song ideas and fragments presented as complete songs. Not for me. But ok. 5/10

3/10

Felt like sketches rather than anything finished

Pretty abstract; quite interesting at times, but a bit of work to get through

Clearly a product of its time with samples being in their infancy. But a lot to like, and makes me want to return

Eno and Byrne are not my favourite musicians, so I was a bit sceptical. The start was a bit bumpy, but then the album grew on me and I quite enjoyed it. It reminded me of the early records of The Art Of Noise.

Rock

Funky, experimental

So cool

Definitely experimental and pretty interesting. It probably isn't something that I'll listen to again but I can see what they were trying to do. My understanding is the heavy use of sampling like in this album was pretty revolutionary and influential.

De esos discos experimentales extrañísimos que aunque no me la paso mal y tienen tracks bastante curiosos, no pienso volver a escuchar jamás. Y no porque sea malo, vaya, están ahí Brian Eno y David Byrne, pero el experimento se sale mucho de mis gustos. Interesante, sin embargo,

Highlights: America is Waiting, Help Me Somebody

Well, it wasn't boring. But a little more melody would have gone a long way. Still, one of the more listenable Eno projects for me.

First listen

It don't really sucks. But anyway nothing that hooks me or that I even enjoyed. Whether it has been influential or not. Weak two stars for all those colorful, horizontal stripes. 1,5

This was about what I expected based on who made it, and the cover. Weird stuff, but it's amazing to hear how sampling existed even before it got mainstream.

This was a bit too experimental for my tastes, sacrificing quality for the new. Maybe I’m too shallow of a listener for Brian Eno but I just don’t get the hype.

Overall: 5/10 I hate to give an album made by two one of my favourite producers and one of my favourite musicians such a low rating, but this didn't wow me the way I was really hoping it would. There's lots of cool sounds being explored here, and moments that remind me of the best parts of both artists. I just can't get behind all the chanting. Maybe one day I'll enjoy it more, and I admittedly need to listen to more of Brian Eno's solo stuff, but for now it's a pass from me. Fav Song: Moonlight in Glory

Rock experimental atmosférico. Hipnótico

There is a lot of interesting stuff here, and a lot of good snippets. It definitely has the prominent base and jammin percussion of the Talking Heads, but I found myself mostly wishing that I were listening to the funkier and more danceable Talking Heads. Additionally, I’m not so sure about three songs sampling Black preachers. Doesn’t work super great coming from two white guys post 2020 etc.

Jesus Fucking Christ. It's Eno again. This is going to be painful. If this is better than 1 star I'll be amazed! Had to skip track 1 after about 30 seconds, it was a new low - even for fucking Eno. Track 2 was no better. Randomly selected snippets from the next few tracks were equally as bad. I can't listen to any more of this so it's 1 star. It's now getting close to the point where I may not even give a chance to any album with an Eno involvement!

2 out of 5. While Avant Garde isn't my thing I enjoy David Byrne's music and wanted to give it a chance. This album does have parts with great world music beats but there isn't enough to really sustain me.

Not my thing.

One minute in and I knew this was not my kind of 80’s. It’s a chaotic mash of random radio voices, clanging percussion, and grooves that go nowhere, like being stuck inside a possessed shortwave radio. Whatever groundbreaking magic people hear in this, I just hear noise.

Not my favourite 2/10

No

I was skeptical going in. Then first few sings were fantastic and I thought I'd find a gem. Then the rest was boring and self indulgent. Oh well

You're kidding. 1.2.

This was very hard to get through and was a bit of a tedious listen, though I can understand its importance. Personal enjoyment: 1/5 Relevance to this list: 4/5

Meget besynderligt

After this I am very excited for the generator to throw some more Brian Eno my way. Beautiful soundscapes with just enough use of vocal samples to keep things interesting. Top tier album. A couple tracks (Regiment and The Carrier) weren't available on Youtube Music. I definitely recommend checking out at least Regiment as it is available on compilations. It is my favourite track on the album.

Brian Eno ran so Moby could trip on his dick

Weird space and all over the place. 1.5/5

I’m just not a huge fan of this type of music.

I like Eno and I love Byrne… I don’t like this at all.

I mean, it's Brian Eno and David Byrne. In what world would I not love this? On one hand, you've got Brian Eno, one of the most acclaimed music producers of all time. He is an undeniable legend of the music world. On the other hand, you've got David Byrne, the frontman for one of the greatest bands to ever exist. He'd probably be my favorite autistic person if it weren't for myself existing. Of course, this is not the first time that these two eccentric musical powerhouses joined forces. Eno had already been producing for Talking Heads for a few years by the time My Life in the Bush of Ghosts entered production, with this album being recorded just before the masterpiece that is Remain in Light. Eno and Byrne were on a bit of a hot streak at this time, so how did this project of theirs turn out? Pretty great if you ask me! This is a fascinating album! Musically speaking, this album focuses on two things; funky instrumentals and weird vocal samples. The instrumentation here definitely reminds me of Remain in Light, and you're doing something right if I'm positively comparing your work to Remain in Light. It does have some things that make it different though. The synths are excellent here. I especially love the song "Regiment." It's got so much going for it. An awesome bass groove, a cool vocal sample, Robert Fripp. Great stuff for sure. Speaking of which, the samples are what really make this album interesting. Between the wordless vocals taken from a number of cultures and the found sounds of radio shows and speeches of sorts, the album has a very unique identity in regards to the things on here that come from human mouths. I really like the multicultural elements of this album. Unfortunately, it seems as if some people disagreed, including the Islamic Council of Great Britain, who forced the song "Qu'ran" to be removed from the album. Damn. It's a shame since that song is pretty cool in my opinion. Whatever. Overall, I really liked this album. It's obviously not as good as Remain in Light, but the number of albums that are is incredibly slim, so I'll still appreciate this for what it is, that being a number of things. It's a fun side project from musical legends. It's an innovator in the sampling world. Most importantly of all, it's a light 4/5.

Just not really my thing

Interesting.

Amos Tutola's novel is set in the middle of the traffic between the real world and the mythic mystical world, it's about multiplicity and transformation, hallucinatory subverted expectations and the substances like palm wine that lubricate metaphysical traffic. Taking its name from Tutola, this album is thematically similar - full of polyrhythms and multi-layered pulsating textures that shift and slip as they take shape, funk grooves and afrobeat patterns that hit an infinite repeating delay loop, chants and dream like samples and snippets. It's magical stuff, imaginatively conceived and perfectly executed.

Some cool tracks but overall a bit meandering.

David Byrne and Brian Eno are cool.

Ugh! Did not even sound like music.

Sounds for an art installation? I understand that it's important, but it's not something I'm going to want to put on. There are moments of enjoyable rhythmic musicality, but for the most part, it just feels like sounds.

strange to my ears.

A bunch of noise. 1/5

This is strong for the first 8 or so tracks but it outstays its welcome at over 1 hour long, else it might have made 4 stars.

Interesting but a tough listen compared to other collaborative works with eno.

A bit psycadelic and weird but mostly nice to listen to.

This style works for me when its just David Byrne,....this just isn't hitting. Feels silly and all over the map. Couldn't get thru it.

Cool that they used sampling, but I feel like it could have been executed a lot better? It almost sounds like they’re trying too hard to be weird.

David Byrne shows he's better at music when he shuts the fuck up. A bit too long for it's own good, which is understandable for an ambient album, still makes it boring at times.

didn't like it, me dolía la cabeza al escuchar este álbum

Rating (1-5): ✩ Higlighted songs: None This sucked ass sorry

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts presents an intriguing soundscape and demonstrates an impressive use of sampling throughout its tracks. Yet, despite its experimental charm, the album frequently dips into unpleasant territory, and when it doesn't, it simply left me unimpressed.

No, gracias.

The nice thing about this is I can just give David Byrne the credit for all the good things and Brian Eno the credit for the bad ones. 5/10

Super cool. Avant- garde. If that’s how you spell it.

2 GOATs combine to make a not GOAT album

I am so happy I got this album, I am seeing David Byrne live in October but I don't really know much of his solo stuff. However, after listening, I doubt he Is going to play anything from this album since it is mostly instrumental. Very enjoyable album, I like the funky songs they feel like peak era Talking Heads. I think this album drags a little in the middle but overall is really good. I think this is a high 4 rounded up. Low 5.

Dang, this is great. I’m considering setting a monthly reminder to listen to this album. I remember seeing this album a lot in music stores back in high school and college. Too bad I didn’t take the hint back then.

I haven’t revisited this in a while. It’s very Eno Talking Heads which is some of my favorite stuff, and the sampling is cool and works well. Not sure if I’d come back to this very often but as a curio it’s winning.

It was alright. Not typically the type of stuff I like, but pretty cool.

Not for me, this one. Two legends of the game combining to produce something significantly less than the sum of its parts. My overall view is that it doesn't know what it wants to be. Is it Eno, is it Talking Heads, is it a perfect combo? Not sure.

Pretentious foonk hell.

interesting album....Will probably revist this to see if I like it more, but there were definitely a few songs I enjoyed straight away, Regiment, The Jezebel Spirit, Moonlight in Glory.

Look ma! Samples! An exorcism! Is it good? Well……….. This isn’t as bad as my 1 star albums, so I’ll round up 1.5 to 2.

Regiment is such an awesome track

I always appreciate the new sound textures that Eno brings to his collaborations. Mea Culpa was pretty rad with the driving percussion and deep droning vocals, reminded me of some of the newer indie-electric bands I've heard (Check out "Wow" by Young Fathers). As you dig deeper into the album it sort of diverges into sonic "experiments" more than songs, often times slamming discordant noises together just because they could.

My review from 2019: I don't know how to rate this one. I understand it is 'good' and an innovation at the time, but it also doesn't really do anything for me. Tracks 3, 4, 5, and 8 are the strongest, to me. But it's a 3 star album, maybe 3.5 2025: I wanted to like this more than I did. Could be just the day I'm listening, but I didn't get much out of this. I did like the back half (the Eno half?) more, which might put me in the minority, not sure. But my favorite track was The Jezebel Spirit. Love TH, love Eno, so I will revisit this and see if it was just a bad day. A 3 for now.

It was ok. Good Background music. I was excited for david byrne, but it didnt seem like he put much into it. It was mostly Brian.

Good background music, but nothing more in my books 1 - would not listen to again 2 - if some one played it, I'd probably just zone it out 3 - didn't hate it, didn't love it 4 - saved some songs from the album 5 - would buy the album or already own it

Started off super strong, I thought. Sorta overstayed its welcome towards the end.

I was taking the escalator up into South Station when Mea Culpa was playing and everyone was running around like insects.

I wanted to dish out a 5 on this one, but didn't.

Enjoyed this more going into that I thought I would. Lots of weird sounds, but overall really fun.

I enjoyed this experience. Would listen to again but not sure how often. Good for focusing or wanting to get lost in thought. I enjoyed this while sweeping floors and doing dishes on a Saturday morning.

Exhibit A on why Eno and Byrne are one of the best pairings in music. Sure you could say its just all weird sounds but man I could listen to this on repeat and enjoy it every time. Some great rhythm and samples. It just sounds so cool.

When the songs hit, boy do they hit. Neither artist is hiding in this record, instead their are clear indicators of their musical styles intermeshed throughout, performing a delicate transmutation that brings forth some of the best parts of Eno's and Byrne's styles. Whether it is the unmistakably Byrne-esque pushing base line and guitar trills in "Help Me Somebody" or the more abstract stylings of Eno on songs like "The Carrier" the songs still carry a bit of the personality of each musician. I think the greatest fruition of this collaboration comes together on "Regiment" which is undeniably a banger. I can also see that this album definitely likely had an influence on the inchoate industrial scene that would slowly come into prominence toward the end of the decade. The use of samples and sounds on songs like "New Feet" were clearly engaging with bands like Einstürzende Neubauten, while "Defiant" is just a few more guitar heavy riffs away from being a Ministry track. My first gut instinct was a 4, but based on a second listen of the back half, I have to go with a 5.

Deliciously atmospheric. Wonderful for both background music while you work or do chores, but also eclectic enough that you could sit and focus on nothing but the music itself

Well, this just sucked. It's like my 5 year-old nephew got a hold of my Casio and a mic and pumped out some random sounds. Then a studio turned it into an album and people pretend to like it because it makes them feel cool and different. News flash: it's terrible.

meh, this might have been better if I was rolling

Wasn't super familiar with Brian Eno's work but could immediately hear David Byrne's influence and I'm a big Byrne fan. I liked a lot of this. It was weird, silly, but a lot of it was catchy. On the back half of the album I felt like it slowed down a lot and I lost interest but the first half I probably would have given a 4/5

This was fun to listen to and I felt that way for the whole hour

Big fan of this. I think it struck a good balance between experimental and approachable, and it was a solid listen. I did kind of have it on in the background whilst exercising though, so perhaps a more active listen would have changed my feelings about it

Just shy of the halfway mark of this project, I can say with confidence that I just don’t like Brian Eno. He’s produced a few things I don’t mind, but things that are more of a solo or direct collaboration I just can’t stand. This is no exception. He described this album as a “vision of a psychedelic Africa” and that tells me all I need to know. Him and David Byrne really thought they were doing something here, but instead they decided that as two white men they should make an album sampling music from artists around the world and take the credit for it. It’s colonizer shit, and they thought they were so clever. It just makes me angrier the more I think about it. It’s not even good either. They also took this title from a book they didn’t even read. What a goddamn mess. Writing this review actually made me like this less than I already did. It just takes a lot of audacity for two white dudes to do something like this and think they have something to say. If we need an album on here that does groundbreaking sampling, put a rap record on here. Not this cultural appropriation abomination. And if you’re going to do something like this, at least make it good or interesting. This was just sounds. I was going to give this 2 stars, but as I write this, no. Fuck that. They don’t even deserve 1 star, but that’s the lowest I can go. David Byrne, I am disappointed. Brian Eno, I am not surprised.

Best Song: Regiment

This would be a 1 if the production wasn’t so ahead of its time.

Not even done before im writing this but my god this fucking sucks shitty elevator music a disaster of sampling DJ Shadow clears this any day

The concept here was take two talented people who were near the peak of their creativity and put them in the studio together. Decent idea. If you like spoken word/chants over quirky melodies then this album is for you.

Gearing up for ANOTHER ENO album in this list. But glad to see David Byrne is part of it. Getting a bit bored and repeatedly non-plussed by this guy. Nothing groundbreaking. String some samples together, great. A little more ambient, sample heavy, funky than others, that grabbed me slightly but still nothing to write home about. Suppose it was particularly unique for its time and introducing sampling in a new way.

Artsy fartsy but come on

After almost 500 albums evaluated, I have no doubt that the author of this book, along with Brian Eno and Elvis Castelo, form a threesome. I've never seen a guy with as much ass as this author. It makes no sense to have five Brian Eno albums on the list, much less six by Elvis Castelo. Just a rant. Brian Eno was one of the things I had the greatest displeasure in meeting. It doesn't make sense, as I said, if the author formed a beautiful threesome with him.

This was an interesting listen. It sounds fresh and unique even if it was released in 1981 and I can see why it was a pioneer album at that time because of all the sampling and experimentalism. The songs themselves aren't that memorable or enjoyable, though. They are ambient, while some of them sound very much like Talking Heads songs. 3.5 stars at my first listen.

Too atmospheric ambient for me

Excellent

Bored me. Some interesting sounds. 2.4

Crazy to think this was 1981. Not something I can imagine listening to frequently, though.

Not the worst bleeps and blorps I've ever heard but not really worth listening to again unless I do a dissertation on the history of electronic music and the alientation of the self in our technological age.

Fantastic album, weird, interesting. Some of the tracks on here aren’t exactly tracks but they’re still odd enough to be enjoyable to listen to. Exactly what you’d expect by putting these two together. My cup of tea. Fav tracks: - All

Innovative and unique but still enjoyable

Cool sounds but boring and messy

I was really REALLY hesitant to listen to this album. I have no interest in hearing what I thought was folky ramblings of two old fucks. Yes, I know what David Byrne represents. Brian Eno, not so much. I haven’t felt much of a wow factor after the first few songs. The album to me has settled into its sound. That sound is heard on the first track. It’s consistent, sample driven and slightly odd. Almost a spoken word album but it’s a little too funky for spoken word. Choice cut: Mea Culpa

Trippy, leans too much on the whole "Arabic exotic world" as a trope, but I think this is a fine album.

Love the artists, hate the project. Self-indulgent crap.

Genuinely experimental and atmospheric. I’m surprised to see the ‘81 release date. This is truly ahead of its time. Slippery, strange, and a bit long. Innovative and all that, and I’m glad I listened to it, but I won’t be revisiting. It pains me to give a score this low to artists I admire, but I have to be honest about my personal enjoyment and listening experience. It's interesting but not listenable and I found myself wondering who this was for besides the people who made it.

Is the creator of this list friends with brian eno?

Really good chill music. I love the multicultural depth and use of so many different instruments. Feels like an album I could show my Dad and make him think that my music taste doesn't suck.

i'm admittedly not very familiar with Brian Eno or his work, so I had no idea what to expect other than the possibility that it may be more experimental in nature. i'll be listening to the original tracklist only America Is Waiting - 5/5 Mea Culpa - 4/5 Regiment - 5/5 Help Me Somebody - 5/5 The Jezebel Spirit - 4/5 Qu'ran - 3/5 Moonlight in Glory - 3/5 The Carrier - 3/5 A Secret Life - 3/5 Come with Us - 2/5 Mountain of Needles - 3/5 Average score - 3.6/5 (rounding down) this was pretty interesting to listen to. i'm almost certain that the fact David Byrne also worked on this album made it so. it kinda felt like i was just listening to some instrumental tracks off of a Talking Heads album, especially between track 3-6 (not that i'm complaining) i found the Arabic-inspired tracks by Eno & Byrne in the last half to be kinda cool, though i enjoyed them a little less. perhaps it's just not clicking for me in the same way. regardless, i think this was a nice introduction to his music

I didn’t finish this album and I’m fine with it.

60% Best: Regiment Must-Hear? No

Brian Eno and David Byrne take a lot of drugs and samples...lets see what happens. It was interesting to listen. A couple of tracks I really liked. Some with some definite David Byrne Influence. For the most part i would have preferred more traditional tracks, but It was ok to listen. 3.5 stars

Kinda weird.

Thumbs down

This album kicks off with what I can only describe as a torrential assault against my ears of springy samples. I.. do not understand how this could be particularly enjoyable, but we power through. The song “Mea Culpa” is actually kinda fun, there’s this spooky surf vibe to it, that if I ignore the bizarre vocals, works pretty well. Things don’t really improve from here though, the endless annoying percussion samples that persist throughout this record were outstandingly grating. The final track, “Solo Guitar With Tin Foil” is kind of a shockingly beautiful minimalist guitar track, and it felt like a beautiful oasis in the middle of a springy desert. There’s definitely some positives here, but they don’t come close to outweighing the annoying samples. 2*

I remember the first time I heard this album. I had recently discovered ‘Music for Airports’ and learned that Brian Eno produced some of the Talking Heads’ best albums, and listened to his 2008 collaboration with David Byrne, ‘Everything That Happens Will Happen Today’. But this album is the only one of those I specifically remember hearing for the very first time. And maybe I had heard quite a few things like ‘My Life in the Bush of Ghosts’, but I had never heard anything quite like it, either. As I’ve continued to listen to this album in the ~13 years since, I still feel surprised by it every time I listened to it every time. I think this is an album that really has to be listened to 5, 10, 50+ times to be fully appreciated. It is a masterpiece.

+1 for influence and concept. General appreciation, but probably something I wouldn't be able to pick out of a hat. Argument to be made about cultural appropriation vs appreciation.

Waste of time

Really pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this album. It's a perfect amount of engaging, weird, experimental, catchy, and everything in between. My only complaint would be that I feel the album really peaks with the first few songs and the B side tapers off progressively more, but a really fascinating and genre-bending listen that I definitely wouldn't have found otherwise. Top tracks: Mea Culpa, Regiment, The Jezebel Spirit

Eno and Byrne playing with a new toy is an academic interest. I understand why this is innovative, but have never found it an experience to linger over.

One of those highly influential recordings that just isn't that much fun to listen to. Being a total melody sap I much prefer Eno/Byrne's other collaboration "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today". Indeed, I would pick any of Eno/Fripp, Eno/Cale or Eno/Hyde instead, despite the unquestionable legacy of today's task (although, to be honest, it's made me quote "19" all day, if that's a legacy?). Stingy 3.

I have to admit that I started listening to this while mowing the lawn, which was a mistake. I couldn’t really get a good feel of it, I just knew it was different. Upon a re-listen, I will also admit that I had low expectations. What got me early on was not the creativity of what they brought into the recordings. Frankly, we can call that ingenious or innovative, but if it really only influenced future electronic music and nothing in the pop or rock realm, does it really matter? What I did like and ultimately drew me in to give this a fair shot was the rhythm of some of these songs. Sure there were some early misses like Help Me Somebody. Ok, a lot of early misses, with random screaming / narrative that might have had a place for others, but was totally lost on me. That said, songs like Regiment and Mea Culpa had something about them that I enjoyed. Unfortunately, as the album progressed, those pounding rhythms fell by the wayside, in favor of more and more randomness, which made this an opportunity wasted in my opinion. For those who might rate this a 5, I’d ask two questions: is this something you come back to repeatedly and is it close to a no skip record? I highly doubt you would find anyone to say yes to both. Anyway it’s very, very different and while different can be good, in this case it’s not. Interesting for sure, but I’m confused by why I had to hear it. Again, if it led to something that was huge, or if it was really influential on the direction of music, I could accept its place. But since it appears to have done neither, it’s just a departure that adds up to little more than noise save for a couple of highlights. Worse yet, its inclusion in a list of albums I had to hear at the expense of some tremendous records is really baffling. If you want instrumentals, do yourself a favor and go listen to something more influential and innovative that’s actually musical (and incredibly high level), like Joe Satriani.

i understand what they were going for

Needs another listen.

weird shit. but i like it

Early 80s Brian Eno and David Byrne. Sampled vocals and found sounds, African and Middle Eastern rhythms, and electronic music techniques. Random squeaks and voice snippets over beats and some kind of melody. Very experimental. Long and deeply weird.

NO

Dearest album generator, please spare me another David Byrne or Brian Eno album. Thanks.

Way too experimental for me I'm afraid

a few interesting songs, but generally odd, monotonous

pretty good sometimes, borderline insufferable at others. but still very creative and for that it's not a complete waste of time

The songs that were actual songs were good. The ones that were just weird experimental noises were not that good.

When I first heard this record 15+ years ago I found it challenging to parse exactly what I was listening to. It felt then and remains today a genre-less exploration that merges aspects of various musical styles from around the world into something novel and future-facing. Eno and Byrne pack many influences and experimental techniques into the creation of this album that it continues to inspire me with every listen. The grooves are infectious, the playing crisp and technically impressive, and the instrumentation playful and inspired. Through a contemporary lens, the music they created together here along with a handful of other collaborators sounds like they channeled the mid career experimental funk of Sly Stone and the unparalleled precision of Nile Rogers' disco adjacent proto-dance guitar playing and production through the hazy worldview of Madlib's more experimental projects. This would be a five-star classic for me were it not for the vocal samples peppered throughout — aside from high points like the distorted vocals in 'A Secret Life' and 'Come With Us', the inclusion of sourced, non-musical audio samples feels very dated. They were undoubtedly groundbreaking in the early eighties, but in hindsight it feels contrived, especially given this technique has been used countless times across many genres since, everything from indie and emo to hip hop and techno. In addition to this misstep, the runtime of the songs on the back half of the record are noticeably shorter than the first, and while the entire record comes across as mostly unstructured jams, the music on the back half feels especially incomplete.

Goddamn this went on forever. In some ways it can be cool and atmospheric but it trends into annoying and grating most of the time.

I've never listened to David Byrne outside of The Talking Heads. Brian Eno is a very famous name, but I couldn't tell you why. I'm assuming this is a Dangermouse / MF Doom type collaboration. "Mea Culpa" is unusual. It seems like this is going to be an experimental ambient type album, which I'm not a big fan of. Decent background music for reviewing code changes to though. "Help Me Somebody" is funky. The album puts my mind into 'ambient' mode and I'm not really paying attention to the words in the samples. This wasn't a bad album, but also it was just weird and didn't have many positives. It was occasionally interesting, but generally just ambient music. I listen to this in the same way as with my brown noise machine. 5/10

Album is cool. It’s odd and ahead of its time. Will return.

I wish I would have heard this the decade it was released instead of 44 years later. At times, hypnotic and at times just repetitive. I somewhat enjoyed listening to it, but doubt I’ll listen to it again in the near future. Maybe 44 years from now.

I like Talking Heads but this is a bit of a mess in all honesty.

Very electronic, Very weird , Very rhytmic, Very cool, Very instrumental, Very recommended

Weird stuff...but very interesting...unique...

Not impressed. Good background music/noise, but that’s about it.

Actually an interesting record. Not on the level of Remain in Light or other Byrne and Eno collaborations, but has a charm to it.

due to various reasons, today my life stopped making sense. like... me forgetting to remind my parent top up my school card for lunch. and she failed to doing it asap. so i got to the cafeteria late. so i just eat some cheap stuff. and i got this. weird. so: brian eno=awesome. david byrne=awesome. but this might not sound awesome on first listen. it... is the peak "how did i get here" experience. there's on-brand eno-ish ambient. there's the classic talking heads groove. and there's some plunderphonics and religious chant elements. so im not sure about the score... but i think i like it! 4/5

Very cool. Love Eno, love Byrne, love listening to albums foundational of certain styles or techniques. This isn't the catchiest or smoothest sample-based album to listen to, but it is never not interesting. Must-listen #152

I wanted to like this so much more than I did.

frygtelig digital/mellemøstlig kombi

One of the problems of listening to an album per day is there is little time to spend with the music. Some albums, like this, are more complex and need repeated listening to fully appreciate it. A grower I believe.