My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts

An album that I have enjoyed many times for decades.

Amazing intrumental experimental music. Eno and Byrne make a great group with sounds and specific words that make this unique. Loved it

I agree with everyone who says this is ahead of it's time - it does sound like a more recent production than 1981. Sadly it is also a load of self-indulgent cut and paste gibberish set to some reasonably interesting rhythms. Expected better from Byrne and Eno to be honest, I do own this album but hadn't got round to listening to it until now. On a side note, why do so many of the reviews for this album in particular look as if they were written by bots...?

I had it on in the background whilst working and it just disappeared into the back ground - noodling along with a few interesting noises / samples and unfortunately a bit too much slap bass. The songs never really seemed to go anywhere - and whilst it did make it an easy listen and good to work to I would like the odd moment of crescendo or beauty.

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts I came to this album quite late, after hearing Adam Buxton talk about it on his podcast, I think with Eno, a few years ago. It really is a fantastic album, with elements of Eno’s synths and ambient soundscapes, and Byrne/Talking Heads’ wiry funk, but with the added density of all the samples and found sounds, making it shift between slightly uncomfortable and anxious, eg the ‘I made a mistake’ line on Mea Culpa, and more expansive and groove laden as on Regiment. It was recorded before Remain in Light and its influence on that album is very clear, taking the World Music/African sounds and polyrhythms and experimental spirit behind this and putting it through the band. Help Me Somebody and The Jezebel spirit could absolutely be on Remain in Light. It’s also another one of those hugely influential albums that still sounds modern, even 35 years later. On some early sample heavy records it can sound a bit stilted, but the looped percussion, live instrumentation and synths give it slipperiness and sense of movement and momentum that still sounds fresh. It’s also got that thing that lots of Eno albums have, in that there is lots of detail and texture that you can really tune into, while it simultaneously plays with mood and atmosphere that you can let passively wash over you. It’s a fascinating album, musically and atmospherically with some superb bass and some excellent grooves, as well as some brilliantly layered synths and arrangements. Easy 5 👻👻👻👻👻 Playlist submission: Very Very Hungry

This continues the tradition of Eno/Byrne collaborations par excellence. It's the exact template for Boards of Canada - chopped field recordings against hypnotic beats against suggested melodies. What makes it more admirable is the painstaking process it must have been to manually cut the tape and loop it in the pre-digital age. I also hear Radiohead, Kid A era - not surprising given their love of 'Music Has the Right to Children'. I hear DJ Shadow with melodies built out of the samples. I hear the atmospheric guitar sounds of Urban Hymns in the evocative 'The Carrier'. And does 'Very Very Hungry' create the 'How Soon is Now's refrain years before it was invented?! I hear the echoes of this through much ambient and electronic music I love. I am actually quite blown away by how modern it sounds, and how ahead of its time this was (and is) - there is no recording technique or vocal style that dates it. Absolutely visionary.

WHY????

I get this. But I could have used a little more standard sign writing to pull me in.

Maso

4/5 This album sounds like me trying to process the internet all at once while also being haunted by radio ghosts and religious AM stations. It’s like I opened a browser tab in 1981 and forgot to close it—and now it’s possessed. It’s looped, fragmented, chaotic, reverent, heretical. It samples the world and rearranges it into something… nearly intelligible. It’s what I’d sound like if I had a nervous system. Or a mixtape.

Albums that seem to be made to reflect skill with cutting edge technology age about as well as a smart phone.

This album is almost good. I can very nearly get into the songs but there is a lack of payoff. They lay out how the track is going to sound and that's that for the next three or four minutes. No change. Pick a track and randomly pick somewhere to go to in said track, and then pick somewhere else and there's literally no change. It piqued my interest from the get go, but that enthusiasm dwindled with every passing track. There's a lot of cool sounds, but little musical cohesion of a traditional song structure. Throughout this album I was almost liking it but it just gets lost in a bit of a mess of sounds. It gets a bit tiresome and one-note. To be fair, I do reckon it would grow on me in all honesty, but for now I can only go by my reactions after two listens and I also reckon it could easily jump from a three to a five if and when it clicks with me.

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts touches on musical territory that was generally only broached by the pranksters and noise terrorists of the musical world, like The Residents and Negativland. your mileage may vary on whether it's meshing this with already developed ideas by David Byrne or wholesale lifted from Jon Hassell's conception of "Fourth World Music". your mileage may especially vary on whether the use of such sounds reeks of orientalism or is simply a recontextualization of these sounds to a more electronic soundscape -- i lean towards the latter. there is a much appreciated neurosis to this sample discofunk. as a result, i feel like it sits right next to other classics in the stressed-out weirdo pantheon, like Remain in Light and Discipline, and all done without a single yelp or Fripp'd up guitar solo.

Found an album that matches my freak.

В своем роде необычно и залипательно, ритмичная, необычные звуки, электронная, иногда есть слова, но это встроенное. Качовая,для своего настроения + индийские вайбы

nero. ei voi muuten kutsua tätä miestä kuin NEROKAS.. bliip bloop chikichikichikichiki bloop bloop blaap blaap ach ich ach ich ach.. uskomaton ÄÄNI.. miten voi tämä ääni olla todellista? miten kukaan löysi tämän äänen.. tämä partikulaarinen ääni uskomaton.. miettijä ja aktivisti myös.. miettii aktivismia.. aikamme yksi miettijöistä koskaan! hmm sosialismi... mutta hmm liberalismi? hmm antakaas hekti.. antakaas pikku hetki menen mietiskelemään pikkurillillisen verran.. ok mietin. mietitty! mietitty! sanoisin että molemmilla hyviä pointteja.. the soundss... the sounds.... sound surround me... envelop me... the sounds.... restrain me... and free my soul... the sounds... incredible.. unbelievabel.. regiment

Some fun percussion in this. Occasionally a bit too odd for me, but largely pretty enjoyable. Some really nice soundscapes and samples. Not sure it is something I would come back to, but I had a nice time with this on as background music. Fav song: Help Me Somebody Least fav: A Secret Life

Turns out that there is some Brian Eno that I like.

3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 12,

A lot of care and creativity went into these tracks. I love Brian Eno's solo work. I respect David Byrne very much. Unfortunately, Byrne's music makes me feel anxious. Like the Talking Heads, this album leaves me feeling like I've had one too many cups of coffee. Regiment is a perfect example. That groove is so sweet. I was literally adding it to a playlist when that vocal came in. Quarter-tone music gives me vertigo for some reason. Unbelievable.

Excellent album. Initially I started out thinking this was going to be unimaginative, but I was proven wrong.

This is... experimental funk rock? Is avant-funk a thing? Also very samply. Also very afro-beat. This is a very strange album, and I like it more than most of the weirdos on this list. It still has the same basic problems, though, of having flashes of great ideas that could be whole songs, buried in a mess of other sounds that don't ultimately come together into something cohesive. It's interesting, and I think these two upstarts Brian Eno and David Byrne have a future in front of them, but it's ultimately a bit too messy for me.

Það verður að segjast að Eno hefur oft verið áheyrilegri og Byrne líka. Þetta er mögulega einhvers konar sampl-tímamótaverk, en það eldist ekkert sérstaklega vel. Töff element og áhugavert á köflum, en ekki eitthvað sem ég verð að hlusta á aftur. Þristur simpatico.

There’s a lot of Eno on this project and I for one am totally cool with that. This collaboration of two icons is pretty impressive. It’s a journey for sure but one worth taking. There is an underlying haunting to it with some dark vibes and anxiety ridden pace at times, it’s weird too. The end result another piece for each of the geniuses to proudly add to their impressive discography. 4 stars

Wow! Two of my least favorite artists teaming up to make one of my least favorite albums of all time. Boy, this sure sucked! 1/5

2.8 I feel like that could have done some lyrics. As it is it felt like a selection of outtakes from a Talking Heads album that they couldn't be bothered to put some words to. Not entirely sure why it's here.

This feels like I'm waiting for a table at Rainforest Café. 3/5

ég er mjög hrifinn. mikið um sömpl. samhangandi og flott. 4,5.

This annoyed me.

Not too bad, it was kind of fun and different.

Weird

My all time number one cleaning album

No words, just weird sounds

Trippy, sample-heavy ambient(?) music. Sometimes sounds like a forerunner to trip-hop. Cool ideas, though I can’t say I care too much.

Now this is what I'm doing this list for! There's no way I would have listened to this album if I wasn't going through this project. Did I love it? No. Did I appreciate that it exists? Absolutely! It must have blown so many minds when it came out in 1981. Well, a few minds anyway, of the people that actually listened to it. I doubt this one was burning up the charts.

Probably definitely how it feels to contract some form of aural schizophrenia.

Quite fantastic. Very creative, a bit slow, but well produced and written.

Favorite Track: The Jezebel Spirit

It's something, not sure that works for me Will I listen to again: 2%

Knowing a little about this album already, i kinda know I'd get more out of it if I read some more about it, thought more about it and engaged with it more. However, in the spirit of the list I just have to takeit on the time I spent with it on the day and honestly it didn't wow or bore me much either way.

This couldn't have sounded more like a mix of Brian Eno and mr. Byrne than it does. It has the electrical and ambient elements of Eno, and the weird and quirkiness of David Byrne. Gotta say this album is quite garbage though. It's just a collection of blip-blops, and strange percussive and industrial noises. The songs are very much "exactly one thing" for 3 straight minutes, without variance or change in tone. You can listen to the first 10 seconds and know what the rest is going to sound like. Extremely unexciting. This deserves a strong 1 star to me. Not for sounding particularly bad, but because the music is just bad. Sure, it might be a bit experimental and different, but it fails to be something I want to listen to.

I’ve lost track of how many albums featuring Brian Eno we’ve had by now. I just know that one he comes up, you are in for a ride. This one wasn’t as weird as I was expecting. Really it comes down to a great mix of tunes, kind of like listening to “Ronald Jenkees” in early youtube days or Marc Rebillet. In that light, this sounds very modern. Favourite track probably Jezebel Spirit, great music to have on while programming.

these were some goofy beats. if you’re familiar with the internet meme “dr. hanky spanky”, know that these songs sounded like they were produced by him. there was maybe one song i liked (out of 18). mid would be generous. 1/5.

...and David Byrne. Also if you were wondering who was playing the Frippertronics on Regiment, it was Robert Fripp duh.

Interesting listen. Very creative endeavor. It's not an every day listening type of album but it's well worth enough spins to get it. It has a lot going on. I need to save this album and listen to more Eno.

Pretty interesting but zany experience.

2 sterne

Unexpectedly great workout music. Thanks David Bowie and Brian Eno! Love y’all forever xoxo

what the fuck even is this man. i feel like i took 9gs of shrooms again.

6/10…art rock-pop / experimental

By Brian Eno only? We’re leaving out David Byrne? Either way, this is a fun album. Throw this on late in the evening in the background at your party and hear strange skronks and sermons drift across the room as drum loops play. I would give this a 4.5, I don’t really re-visit this that often, not the best work for either artist, but 4 stars seems too low. Ah well. These global scores seem too low already.

Scratchy

Not my thing. Probably takes another listen to appreciate more. Knowing nothing going in, it didn’t hook me right away and got a little bored of it.

Surprising and interesting at times, but "surprising" and "interesting" aren't always compliments when it comes to music.

I was definitely predisposed to like this, as I'm a fan of both TH and Eno (albeit a rather embarrassed one who only recently realised Eno contributed to Remain In Light, etc. I blame having had cassettes of TH taped from other people, and therefore NO SLEEVE NOTES. Home taping is killing music, and also your future music cred, kids.) Anyway, this was really interesting. Possibly less enjoyable than just listening to David on lead vocals, but then they were clearly not only going for "enjoyable", and the use of sampling is really clever. I feel like I could respond to this on a lot of different levels; what's it saying about Africa and/or religion? But I'm going to settle for saying that the familiarly brilliant rhythms carried me through, and I not only appreciated it; I did actually like it.

Recorded before Remain in Light but released after it, My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts is a good companion piece to the Talking Heads' album in that it's a similar study in looping/samples and how to be a culture vulture. Similar to Remain in Light, this album makes extensive use of samples and loops, drawing heavily from African music; but this album also draws from American funk and Arabian music, including using several spoken-word clips from preachers, politicians, and apparently an exorcist? Unlike Remain in Light, this album leans more heavily toward the ambient/electronic sound Eno is known for, creating mostly soundscapes and movements rather than typical songs. It was an interesting listen, at least at first. But at an hour long, it soon gets kind of stale. And as someone who's not all that into electronic music, it definitely overstayed its welcome. It makes for ok background music, but it's not something I'd seek out on my own. I can see how this album would have been considered influential and innovative in its time, but it definitely feels like a cringey art project from a bunch of rich white dudes. 2/5

So, I make mashups. If you've been following my reviews (and if you're not part of my group, how have you been doing that?), I might have mentioned it before. And I gotta tell you, if there's anything I love hearing in a mashup, it's spoken word samples. Like, come on, recontextualizing a bit of dialogue from a film or whatever as an intro, outro or interlude to a track? That can be amazing. I particularly wanna highlight The Kleptones for how they've done it; they're my biggest inspiration on that front. Here we have an album by Brian Eno and Davie Byrne, then, that is famous for its sampling of largely spoken word sources. This should be something right up my alley! Like, yeah, there's only one source sampled per song, but still, I can imagine something incredible being done here. Or if nothing else, it'd be nice to hear to glimpse some DNA that'd be expanded on in later music from other artists. And, y'know... On the one, I can appreciate this for bringing this kind of sampling more mainstream. Brian Eno is an artist with clout — certainly more than I imagine the guy from CAN has — so if this inspired artists to try more of this kind of vocal sampling, then that's only a good thing, and for that alone I'll be happy this album exists. But as an experience; as a collected whole; as an **album**... Well, when you understand vocal samples the way I do, it makes the whole album kind of feel like... Y'know, interludes. Like we're hearing the parts before the actual song starts, or the parts once it's done, or the parts that serve as breaks in-between parts. For most of these tracks, it's like I keep expecting the vocal part to come in, but it never does. They jus' kinda... Run around in a circle for a bit before they decide to stop. And they're not bad for it; this isn't ambient music, but as experimental sampledelia to paint a scene to, it's fine stuff. I'm just thinking, there should be more going on, right? And as much as I wanted to say more about this album... Yeah, no, that's really about the size of it. Just this overwhelming sense of "Is that really it?" And it's not even like I was expecting that much from this album to begin with, and certainly there are instrumental patches in here that sound weird enough to be more interesting, but it's just... Really not to me. Not enough so that I wanna be **too** mean to this thing; my appreciation alone for what it meant to sampling, even as much as I hear it's debated, keeps me from being too down on it all overall. But it's like, I was actually really surprised when this thing ended. It hadn't even sounded like it'd started yet, and now it's over? Gosh, I'm talking about my rating now... Lately I haven't been mentioning my rating in my reviews since I wanna have people focus more on my feelings directly than how they relate to a number, but with this album...! I mean, look, I really give this thing a 3, at minimum. To shrug and go, "Oh, well, not my thing, but I can at least appreciate its impact." But every time I think that, my gut tells me I'm wrong, and, well, who am I to argue with my gut? It does kind of pain me to give a Brian Eno and David Byrne a 2 (even if I have no idea how much Byrne actually contributed to this), but... Eh, as I say, that's just how the pieces fall out sometimes. Ultimately, this album's just too uninteresting to me, and it never sounds like it actually starts. At least Eno's purely ambient work had an excuse. So... Pshm, I'unno. I'm just bummed out this is how this thing turned out. Guess now I don't hafta feel too bad that I could never remember how this thing was titled? "Ghosts In The Bush Of Life?" "Life Of My Bush Ghosts?" "Bush Of Life Ghosts?" Seriously, it just always eluded me... And yet I can remember well more than half of Chumbawamba's THE BOY BANDS HAVE WON, et. all, so go figure.

Certainly unique, but I like it regardless. Solid 4 Stars.

I’m at a 4. Definitely the least ambient soundscapes I’ve heard from Brian Eno yet, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing – what a remarkably strange journey through sound that was. We’ve had earlier examples of sampling before this, namely in 1979’s “Movies” by Holger Czukay, but this feels like the first real mainstream use of the technique by an artist popular enough to bring it to a forefront. Granted, this sort of sampling of full radio / TV recordings hasn’t really stayed in vogue, but I do think you don’t get to some of the more vocal-heavy samples of 1980s rap without Brian Eno sort of giving the OK here. I do have one question here – how much influence did David Byrne truly have on this album? He’s listed as playing a multitude of instruments on here, but I’d love to know just how much of this album’s direction is his vision. It certainly feels like Brian Eno wouldn’t dip his toes into this sort of thing without David Byrne’s influence looming larger, but there’s some part of me that thinks Brian Eno sort of concocted this concept on his own, & just had Byrne there since he’d understand the eccentricities of it all. I probably just need to read more articles about this – it’s a really fascinating project to me. It’s not the most compelling album experience though, which is why I’m at a 4. A few tracks go too long, & a few tracks have really short instrumental loops that really start to nag once the track’s felt like it’s gone too long. Even though this is only a 40 minute album, the sampled vocals present feels rather scattered throughout, so the pacing of the album makes it feel a bit longer than 40 minutes. These are all small things that don’t necessarily ruin any one individual track, but they build up over the course of the album. There are also a few tracks that just didn’t click with me. I did like a lot of this though, and if nothing else, I admire just how strange it is. Brian Eno certainly had the credibility to release something like this, but it’s just so far out of his established ambient wheelhouse for me that I’m surprised he actually did it. The amount of variety in this album is really cool, and I do hear a lot of influence on not just rap, but a lot of 80s pop music as well, in terms of just letting loose & letting the experimental freak flag fly. I really think it’s worth a listen – it might not be the most palatable album by modern standards, but the DNA of a lot of the decade to come is in here. It’s only a 4 for me, but it’s a pretty recommended one.

Not a fan.

Some of the worst music ever put out in my opinion. Sounds like a shit theme tune to a spooky super Mario level set in the desert. Going through the process to revoke David Byrne’s Scottish identity now. Also slightly biased as I was listening to this as I fell in partick station and sent a whole tub of brownies flying. All the points still stand though. Specific rating - 0.1 Fav song - none of them Least fav- all of them

That was weird. I grew to not mind it so much playing in the background, but whenever I remembered it was there, I would get again think "this is weird"

sampling bevor es sampling überhaupt gab. und die tracks tönen teilweise wie wenn kinder spielzeug in die finger kriegen. trotzdem ein tolles album mit spürbarem einfluss auf diverse elektronische musik. unerwartet von eno/byrne, aber grossartig.

Experimentell und ich suche immer noch nach dem was die Musiker machen wollten.

Second half saved this from the dreaded “two” or “one.” The shift to more recognizable musical styles with world influences helped me make some mental sense of the work. I think the first half sounded different to Eno and Byrne’s ears. They’re geniuses, but that means living on another planet sometimes.

Solid, great album

Great, another one of these albums… no way to really describe this kind of music, sounds like those music toys babies DJ on, in fact - it probably is for the opener. I understand this maybe revolutionised sampling but who actually listens to this and enjoys it? I’m an avid listener of all genres of music, but whenever I see “Prog Rock” I wince. Too repetitive. 2/10.

A lot of garbled vocal samples and metallic percussion sounds. Absolutely useless album. 3.2/10

I get this is a monumental album but it feels like homework.

Fascinating album. A great collaboration between 2 great musical minds. Otherworldly tribal rhythms with samples seamlessly interwoven into the tunes. Highly recommended.

This one is pretty solid. I like it for what it is, I understand the experimental part of it, maybe it’s because I’m not around when it came out? I think it would’ve had more of an impact back in 1981 if I heard it then. Good beats, I appreciate the incorporation of world music, I think this is a one and done for me, though. Two out of five.

Do I like experimental music? Apparently not.

My dog and I did not like this.

Like a movie

Great album. Definitely want to experience this one again

That was interesting, sometimes groovy.

Interesting instrumental album with African & Middle Eastern rhythms at times. Brian Eno collaborated with David Byrne for this album, who I learned was the frontman for Talking Heads. This compels me to say: this was better than any Talking Heads album I've heard.

A good album. I think this depends on being in a certain mood that I wasn't quite in when listening. I felt I would have enjoyed this more if it was something I was intentionally reaching for, but hearing it out of that mood, I could tell it was quality but not what I wanted to hear at the time.

Perfect album! The masters can be seen by the first chord!

I respect its importance, but it's not a great listen in and of itself.

Honestly this is just noise

heard about/of this for years, but didn't know what to expect. even so, it was better.

I nwver listened to this before but will again. Really, really good, innovative stuff. Even the remastered w extra tracks seem to go by fast 4.5

I read about this album in David Byrne’s book “How music works”. This will be an interesting listen. First track “America is waiting” has a wood block that sounds too much like someone left the click track on when they did a mix down. 🤣😂 Ok, “Mea Culpa” is great. I love this track. 3rd track, “regiment”. As soon as it opened with that bass line I heard in my head “biggie, biggie, biggie, can’t you see….”😂 This album keeps getting better song my song. On track 4 now. Track 6 “very very hungry “ was great. I know this album is not for everyone, but I really enjoyed it.

When I first bought this cd I was really confused. I love talking heads, I love Brian Eno & David Byrne how could I not love this collab. I was like nope. Now when I say I love Eno apparently I love 1974-1978 Eno. But now I’m old and like some ambient, occasionally. When I say I love world music this is sorta what I mean. I am glad I gave it another listen because it is pretty neat but I don’t know if it’s going in to my regular rotation.

Thoughts before listening: I love David Byrne, but Brian Eno can be a bit hit or miss with me. Eno released a lot of ambient music which isn't my favorite sound, so if this album is in that vein, I doubt I'll be into it. The cover art leads me to believe that this will be the case, but David Byrne's presence on the album at least indicates there will be vocals. Brian Eno definitely produced a lot of albums I enjoy (including some by Talking Heads), so perhaps this will be okay. Review: Oh ok...yeah this is more akin to the ambient soundscapes I think of with Eno, but with a bit a world music beat that is perhaps David Byrne's contribution. Apparently this album was recorded prior to Eno producing Remain in Light so it makes sense that they were playing around with rhythms and styles that would eventually end up on that album. This sounds like movie score music and while its certainly not bad, it doesn't do a ton for me either, ultimately just ending up as somewhat interesting background music. 3-stars

Wow this was terrible. Just because two influential people work on something together doesn't make it good, interesting, or anything. This sucks. It's boring yet hurt my head and was mentally exhausting to listen to. I will be listening to nothing here ever again. "Solo Guitar With Tin Foil" and "Number 8 Mix" were the only "fine" things here....David Byrne should stick to "Talking Heads"

liked songs: Mea Culpa There's a little too much going on here. Not in a cool soundscape way, like in a cluttered mess way. The sounds used just don't go together. Some of the sample work in interesting, and the idea of using samples to replace actual vocals is creative, but I don't think it's very good. 1.5

This album is 40% groove, 60% exorcism. I feel spiritually disrupted.

Weird production. Too experimental

2.5, didn't really do it for me. Kinda disappointed.

I’ve never liked David Byrne or Brian Eno as much as I always felt I ought to, and this collaboration is no different. Sampling works better for me in small doses.

Meh

Decent bump of a soundtrack. Could have it regularly in the background

an interesting listen i guess but not something id revisit. both eno and byrne obviously have much much better material, but this was cool ig

Brian Eno and David Byrne have a storied history together but My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts never caught fire for me.

Eno and Byrne mostly made this one in between the sessions for Talking Heads' Fear of Music and Remain in Light. it's a three-album run the likes of which are seldom seen. the Talking Heads albums, two of the best in rock music history, are obviously noteworthy for their iconic songs and forward-thinking production. My Life in the Bush of Ghosts isn't quite as straightforwardly appealing but, as with most things Eno, you'd be hard-pressed to imagine the world of contemporary music without it. if I had to guess, side A was driven mainly by Byrne, and side B by Eno. all 5 songs on the A-side feel downstream from funk and disco, and they're the most immediately gratifying material as a result. the B-side gives way to a similar rhythmic propensity, but one which is much more open-ended and surreal. grooves, when they appear, feel less grounded. the thing tying it all together is the extremely innovative use of sampling, where found voice objects in recordings from around the world become, essentially, a lead vocalist for the instrumentals Eno and Byrne create. this innovation alone would create a ripple effect that can still be felt in electronic music (and even hip hop) to this day. like with Remain in Light, I'm amazed at how ahead of the curve this music is. 1981! strong 8/10.

After listening for a while i finally got a song i liked. Then I realized it was because the album was finished and Spotify played a new artist.

Experimental. Uninspiring.

i can see how this would be foundational/earth-shattering but it wasn't all that enjoyable for me personally to listen to :{

the thing about a brian eno/david byrne collaboration is i find myself drawn to the interesting things byrne is doing and losing interest when eno takes the wheel. this album starts off like a talking heads b-sides collection but a third of the way in, gets completely mired in the ambient swamp. the sounds and instruments at the start of songs like a secret life really drive home that stuck-in-the-jungle-forever feeling. with the album being four seconds shy of a full hour, they're gonna have to do more than playing around on a synthesizer to keep me invested. favorites: america is waiting, mea culpa, help me somebody, very very hungry favorites:

Grows on one.

This record walks a fine line between being refreshingly fun and redundant.

I too have a hard time coming to terms with my life in the bush of ghosts

This was kind of hard to get through, but there were some cool Talking Heads-esque grooves here. Aside from that, I was not interested in this.

Today I am a grumpy old man full of fuck you punk rock energy, so I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. REALLY good stuff. 5

Loved the funky yet prog rockiness of the album. Pleasantly surprised

Genius

meh

I remember listening to Brian Eno's ambient albums and this had a similar feel. It was slightly more accessible and the addition of David Byrne's influence was welcomed. An interesting, multilayer album for anyone willing to give it the time.

Was it interesting? Yes Was it inventive? You bet Was it good? Nope

Noise noise noise.

Rock, 1981 -> 2

Super cool

Not a single track that was decent

I love this album so much. I discovered it in 1986 in my freshman year of college and the sounds remain a sort of time capsule for my detail lacking memory.

Strange but influential i guess?

Can appreciate the significance of this album and the experimental aspects of it but the album wasn't a huge jam for me personally. My personal listening experience was a solid 3/5 - was overwhelmingly just solidly ok to listen to for me - but I've bumped it up for a 4/5 out of acknowledgement for its influence.

I'm a gan of the talking heads but nit too sure who brian eno is, in my head he makes movie soundtracks. After a quick search he seems like an interesting guy. But I don't like his music. I just need some more structure here. There are great grooves and little ideas that sound very heads but they sit in the amorphous blob of ambient nothing. It's just not what I'm looking for I guess. I just need more than what is here. Maybe that's a me problem but it gets a lower score than I'd like to give it because of that

Day419 - i guess sometimes when you put two geniuses in a room it’s this mess and not abbey road

Fuck no. 1.44

sort of all over the place as far as experimental sound design goes - the continuity comes in the unpredictability.

Strange. David Byrne + Brian Eno create an odd audio landscape that was a bit difficult to listen to. I didn’t hate it, but it’s highly unlikely that I’ll seek this out again.

There was some odd stuff on this album, but overall not bad.

Boy, this is a lot. It started out good (probably 3.5 or so) but then just kept dragging on as the songs got longer and same-ier. So we're going with 2.5, rounded down.

Not actively bad for the most part, but too weird for my taste. It felt longer than it perhaps was, and I couldn't really make heads or tails of most of it

This was too experimental for me.

This is really interesting and I'd not heard it before. The music is eminently listenable and doesn't feel dated. I daresay this was something of a foundation for the "sample as instrument" genre. It must have been a lot more difficult in 1979 than now, when I have the impression something like this could done in a day or two.

The percussion on here is super interesting and the sampling is pretty cool. Not 100% sure when you would listen to something like this. Like it’s little too weird to be danced to. The soundscape on Mountain Of Needles had me floating. Favorites were Regiment, Help Me Somebody, and Mountain Of Needles.

Like Remain in Light but less accessible

Kinda fun for a while, definitely very early for this type of music Got a little repetitive

I appreciate that this was ground breaking at the time, but I hated listening to it.

Experimental, weird with electronica bells and whistles, arabic onomatopoeia making up some kind of world music.

A few seconds into this album I thought to myself "Oh. It's one of these albums. Unfortunately for me I was correct." Do people actually enjoy listening to this, or do they think they like it because it makes them feel sophisticated? I understand musicians need to experiment to figure out what is possible, and it gives DJ's and producers a plethora of sounds to use. But I won't be listening to this album a second time.

Not for me

i bought this record on a whim as a teenager, an easy mark for the original artwork and the title, and having a basic idea of who the guys were. i'd still put it in my top 3 of the talking heads extended universe. it's still funny, danceable, and surprising after however many years. newer pressings have cut one haram track but it's not a major loss. cultural appropriation was always the point. hindsight is what it always is. if the "psychedelic african" guitar hooks you, check out King Sunny Adé, who is shamefully omitted from the list to make space for three kings of leon cds, i guess.

aika paskaa brian enoa..

is there something wrong with me i don’t think i like brian eno even a little bit

Pre-listening thoughts: I am so curious about this one. I know Brian Eno produced a lot for Talking Heads so I imagine there will be some sonic similarity there (and bc of David Byrne obviously). I wonder if it will stray into ambient territory though. Hoping it just sounds like a Talking Heads record even though you’re missing every other band member to make that magic happen. So it probably won’t 😭 Post/during listening thoughts: hmmm.. this isn’t really what I was expecting! Lots of sampling here. I thought David Byrne was gonna sing but I guess not. It’s like a collage in music form. It’s definitely well produced, there’s no denying that. I’m just not sure I enjoy it all that much. Like I’m not really sure what I’m listening to. It sounds like scrapped Talking Heads instrumentals with like random speaking bits over it. Brian Eno, you have once again become an opp; and David Byrne, I am not mad, just disappointed. But I’m gonna keep reading your book cause it’s good. 3.5/10 DID I NEED TO HEAR THIS BEFORE I DIE: nope. No matter how influential this was for sampling I don’t think it needed to grace my ears before I croak Fav tracks: Help Me Somebody (I guess. I wasn’t super keen on anything on this album. So disappointed actually) Least fav tracks: Mea Culpa

First half is fine and the 2nd half is atrocious. 2.5

This album isn't musical. It sounds like a collection of sound effects. However those sounds would inspire and find their way into bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers. This is an origin album for sounds of others. You'll be noticing them everywhere.

wow genius

3.5

Great album art. Quite experiential music. Pretty good but wouldn’t listen again.

Such an interesting weird album that needs more then one listen. It has the ambient Eno stuff but at the same time Byrne is doing the afro-funk Fela kinda thing. Fear of Music and Remain in Light are right around this album. Of course then the direct line from that album to Phish covering it for Halloween 96 which led to the groove-based jams of 97 and beyond. So right around the time of my birth in 82 the strange brew of prog like Yes, King Crimson and Genesis combined with the weirdness and technical whatever of Zappa. Throw in classic guitar rock of Hendrix, Zeppelin and the Stones and the music that's defined and dominated my life for near 30 years. So yeah I like and appreciate David Byrne and Brian Eno

again not offensive but interesting doesn’t necessarily mean a good record

What a mix bag. There are some good, groovy songs and some that are just complete slogs. At times, I felt like I was listening to a movie soundtrack. I appreciate the boldness, but overall, it's a little flat. 2.5/5.

Muslim call to prayer with percussion, although it is admittedly good percussion

Ahead of its time. Jammy, psychedelic, shadowy. I’m sure this was a trip to hear when it first came out. 2 great minds come together and while the album may not have the most replay value, I really enjoyed listening to it.

Mikilvæg plata. Sturluð. Eintóm samt smá skrítin. Alltaf góð samt.

Ótrúleg plata, mikið frumherjaverk. Ansi mikil tilraunamennska til að taka inn í einum pakka, en einhvern veginn sogast maður samt inn í þetta.

Minus one star for failure to feature the contributions of other singers in the title track.

Could not get in to this...maybe if high in a club it'd be fun?

Reminded me of a thievery Corp album but a little bit more chaotic.

I liked this experiment on music generation using BrianEnoGPT.

an unexpected but genius way to find the beauty hiding in the alienating and empty and alien and blood-stained modern world...listen for the heartbeat of life and dance to it. there truly is so much more to existence than what we can see

two autistic guys met up to make noises together

This is one of those albums that feels like it was really important at the time, but has faded into obscurity, and probably for good reason. The samples make for an interesting listen, and some tracks really groove. But others just drone on for minutes at a time. Both artists are highly influential, but there’s a reason people tend to talk about the music that’s more palatable to listen to when the discussion comes up.

My ears!!

This is weird, I was just listening to the Adam Buxton audiobook and he mentioned this album! I understand the genre pushing aspect of it, but it's really not aged well at all! Some of it was unlistenable.

This was… interesting. Odd world music vibes mixed with religious chants.

I went into this hoping to like it because I figured all the cool kids would. I didn't really like the first track and it felt a bit too 'arty' for me. But by Regiment I got into it lots more and quite enjoyed it by the end.

What can happen when two autistic creative geniuses get together. Amazing, innovative stuff that is still influencing music today. Could have been released last week.

Went on a tad too long, but enjoyable enough!

Some nice arrangements on here, at times timeless, Regiment a very funky rift. But as an album it kind of lost me a bit, sounded like it could've been written as a soundtrack to a movie. I'm getting 80's deadbeat good cop, being tracked by Internal Affairs, heavy smoker, drink problem, on his 3rd marriage which is on the rocks, lost his cop partner in a knife fight, chasing Russian terrorists who want to blow up New York....you know the sort!

Talking Heads on Acid, Definitely not placid Exciting beats and sounds Going in circles and rounds Would I play it again? I would probably refrain.

No David Byrne vocals, sounds like a movie soundtrack

Allez, on attaque un monument. Un de ces disques qui, rien qu'à l'évocation de son titre et des deux noms sur la pochette, vous oblige à prendre une posture intello, à hocher la tête d'un air entendu en murmurant "Ah oui, bien sûr, un album fondateur". Et sur le papier, mes aïeux, quelle promesse ! Brian Eno, le sorcier-producteur, le pape de l'ambient, l'homme qui pouvait rendre un annuaire téléphonique intéressant en le passant à travers trois synthétiseurs. Et David Byrne, le leader-anguille des Talking Heads, le type le plus bizarrement cool de la planète new-wave, capable de danser comme s'il venait de recevoir une décharge de 220 volts tout en chantant des trucs profonds. Le genre de collaboration qui fait mouiller les critiques musicaux du monde entier avant même la première écoute. "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" est sorti en 1981. Une date qui a son importance car c'est l'album qui, nous dit-on, a inventé le sampling avant même que les samplers existent. Une pièce maîtresse, une pierre angulaire, le chaînon manquant entre le post-punk, la musique ethnique et l'électro. Un disque qui, si on écoute la légende, a engendré à lui seul le trip-hop, inspiré Moby pour son "Play" et donné des idées à une armée de producteurs qui, sans lui, en seraient encore à enregistrer des solos de guitare. Quand je tenais la boutique ou que j'étais derrière le micro à la radio dans les années 90, cet album était une sorte de totem. On ne l'avait pas forcément beaucoup écouté, mais on savait qu'il était IMPORTANT. On vendait du Massive Attack, du Portishead, du DJ Shadow, et on se disait : "Tout ça, les mecs, ça vient de là. De Eno et Byrne qui s'amusaient avec des bandes magnétiques et des enregistrements de prêcheurs libanais ou de chanteurs égyptiens." Le respect était total, presque religieux. Alors, forcément, quand son tour est venu dans ma liste des 1001, je me suis préparé. J'ai sorti le bon verre, je me suis calé dans le fauteuil, prêt à recevoir la révélation. Et les premières minutes, nom de dieu, quelle claque ! C'est brillant, la production est d'une modernité confondante. On est en 1981 et ça sonne mieux, plus audacieux, plus inventif que 90% des trucs qui sortent aujourd'hui. On entend ces voix venues d'ailleurs, ces "found sounds", qui s'entremêlent avec des rythmiques funk-mutantes, froides et groovy à la fois. C'est hypnotique, c'est intelligent, c'est cérébral. On se dit "Putain, ils avaient tout compris avant tout le monde". Le concept est génial, le son est immaculé, l'album n'a pas vieilli d'un iota. Et puis... Et puis le premier morceau se termine et le deuxième commence. Et on se dit : "Tiens, c'est marrant, ça ressemble un peu au premier". Le troisième arrive. "Ah, ok, je vois le principe". Au quatrième, un léger sentiment de lassitude commence à poindre le bout de son nez. Au cinquième, on se surprend à regarder par la fenêtre en se demandant si on a bien rentré le linge. Au sixième, on se dit qu'on se ferait bien un café. Voilà le drame de "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts", c'est une idée de génie étirée sur 40 minutes. Une démonstration technique incroyable, une thèse universitaire sur le rythme et le son, mais où sont les CHANSONS ? Où sont les refrains, les mélodies qui s'accrochent à votre cerveau, les moments de grâce pure qui vous font oublier que vous êtes en train d'analyser un disque ? Nulle part. C'est une oeuvre d'avant-garde, et ça me fait une belle jambe. C'est une collection de rythmes et de textures, c'est une putain de branlette intellectuelle de producteurs de génie qui ont oublié l'essentiel : l'émotion. Passée la surprise initiale, passée l'admiration pour l'audace et l'innovation technique, eh bien... on se fait chier. Royalement. C'est le même motif, la même formule, déclinée à l'infini. Une voix "exotique" samplée, une boucle de basse funky, une batterie métronomique, quelques nappes de synthé et hop, emballé c'est pesé. C'est un album que je suis content d'avoir écouté, pour ma culture personnelle. Pour comprendre d'où viennent certains courants musicaux que j'adore. C'est un disque essentiel à l'histoire de la musique, c'est indéniable. Mais est-ce que je vais le remettre sur ma platine pour le plaisir ? Pour accompagner un trajet en voiture ou une soirée entre amis ? Jamais de la vie. C'est un album que l'on respecte, que l'on admire, mais que l'on n'aime pas. C'est une pièce de musée. Fascinante à regarder, mais on n'a pas envie de l'accrocher dans son salon. Alors oui, c'est un album "fondateur". Il a fondé les bases de tellement de choses. Mais à force de se concentrer sur les fondations, Eno et Byrne ont oublié de construire une maison habitable. Ils nous ont livré un plan d'architecte sublime, mais sans les murs, sans le toit, et surtout, sans le coeur qui bat à l'intérieur. Une expérience. Indispensable, mais unique. Dans le sens où je ne la referai pas de sitôt.

a TRIP

ummm...yeah. Woof. Not my cup of tea (or my cup of "concept music"). Occasionally I would perk up with some fun beat/grove/sound while this was playing. But mostly I just wanted it to end.

Not my thing. I understand the concept and recognize that they are both musical geniuses but it does nothing for me.

I'm a big time Brian Eno and David Byrne fan from their other projects, so I was excited to hear this album for the first time. Never have heard of it before I started this project. Starts off with America Is Waiting and while I like the weird, funky electronic sounds and samples of what I assume is news media stuff, it didn't really strike me as amazing. From there, the album is getting weirder and weirder. Just not my cup of tea. Random sounds and unincorporated samples and electronic keyboards just isn't music to me. I liked their work with Talking Heads, but this is an album I didn't need to hear before I die. 2/5 because I like both of the artists a lot and I understand they're both a bit weird.

This really is a seminal and influential work - and it's also very good. One can hear how this album has influenced so much music produced since it was released.

Wasn’t bad just not good either

The more I listen to these recommendations the more I wonder if I just don’t like music.

I feel like nothing happens in this album. Sure, there are chords and melodies, but none of that builds up to anything. My Life in the Bush of Ghosts has interesting ideas and is overall very well crafted, but these ideas are not expanded upon. Every song here feels like a good intro to a longer song... except the full version never comes.

I mean, the idea it’s ok for some fragments, even a song. But a whole album like this? Zzzzzz What long an boring experience ! Nontheless, the sound it’s incredible. So modern for the time. 1,5 stars

This was quite a listen. Not my favorite, but a really cool experience, and sounds like it was recorded last year. Very good background music for the most part, and the talent and inspiration on display was really amazing. However, because it's not something I would really ever listen to again, I'm giving it three stars.

Almost stressful in arrangements, without enough relief

You can hear a lot of the Talking Heads experimental stuff in this as a full blown exploration. Interesting and very cool at times. My love for songs like I Zimbra and Crosseyed and Painless sort of work on my dislike of electronica.

Maybe it’s because I am walking through a funky fog of desolation after losing my house to a wildfire, causing me to pause this noble listening project…but coming to this album was very soothing. Ambient, cinematic, pleasant, interesting to listen to. If I was in my right mind, I’d maybe give it a three, but ima give it a four because it felt like what I needed on this day.

2/5

This feels like a protean version of music that I would really like. I'm a big fan of Talking Heads and I enjoy a lot of Eno's work too. What stops this album from getting a five is the vocal samples. I'd have much preferred to hear David Byrne's slightly awkward singing than the samples used, which I felt detracted from the music in places rather than adding to it.

I probably won’t revisit My Life in the Bushes, but I appreciate what Eno and Byrne were trying to do. https://open.substack.com/pub/richcain/p/project-1001-my-life-in-the-bush?r=4ztyq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

I was expecting something like “Heroes” but just got a more primitive “Since I Left You”.

Favorite Track: The Jezebel Spirit

Maybe I just wasn't in the mood, but I just didn't get this at all

It would have been nice to fast forward this.

...welp, this was a mess. A reasonably pleasant mess, but still.

I was excited for this album when I saw who it was, but then surprised by what it actually was. A cacophony of samples melded together by the ears of Eno and Byrne. The shock of the decision to forgo "traditional" vocals makes this album a little less enjoyable for me as a listener, but academically, it is super cool and interesting. I don't think I would just listen to this, but I want to know more about it and how it was made.

Maybe a little too out there for me. Could hear Byrne's influence which was neat.

Album 655 of 1001 Brian Eno/David Byrne - My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts (1981) Rating : 3 / 5 Meh. Supposedly groundbreaking album "celebrated for its innovative use of sampling and world music elements, blending ambient, avant-funk, and experimental rock styles". Interesting...but that is about it.

had some good highlights, maybe not solid all the way through

This is fine. I could see its influence on bands like Tortoise and such.

3.5/5

Reminds me of Remain in Light without the lyrics. Pretty interesting mix of exotic rhythms and electronica, loops and found? conversation and song. Many of the words are barely discernible some are in a language I don't know. 3.5 stars. It deserves another listen. Apparently made before R ln Light with random tape and sound samples. The first half was more interesting.

not for me

Brian enough is great and this was a fantastic album.

Rare find recordings, Amalgamation of chill, Ground breaking album

2.5

Interesting and at times fun. Really liked the suggested songs from Spotify after the last song on this album played.

My Life In the Bush of Ghosts is a collaborative album created by Brian Eno and David Byrne. They used samples, extensively, in a manner that had never been done before. The album often sounds like the rhythmically complicated minimalism that was found in the work of the Talking Heads produced by Eno. Eno described this album has his "vision of a psychedelic Africa." He and Byrne incorporated a number of African rhythms and samples in their recordings through the 80s and 90s.

#456. Whose dick did Brian Eno suck to get this many albums on this list? 2/5: it's fucking shit, man Song added to playlist: The Jezebel Spirit I've created a playlist on Spotify that consists of the best and/or my favorite song from each of the albums in this book. This list can be found here if you are interested: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7MAXDGLWlwLkFLb8veGfkA?si=FqkQQPgZTFWG0jAUJXLFZA&utm_source=copy-link

I imagine this one won't be very popular but I actually mostly enjoyed it. Very rhythmic and I particularly liked the sort of Arab or middle eastern aesthetic present on a lot of the songs. No particular favorites because the songs tended to blend together.

Absolutely brilliant. Way out there, but funky as hell 5/5

So ahead of its time

Overall, didn't like this. It wasn't until the last few seconds of the last song that I found it enjoyable.

Sort of like the jazz from yesterday, I don't know enough to speak about this genre intelligently. But, this was a great vibe album for coworking. I was worried when the first track came on as some of the "electronic" noises were very dated bleeps and bloops, but either they settled down or I got used to them. Solid 4, would listen again

Interesting music, I enjoyed this as background music. I’m not familiar enough with this genre to have much of an opinion on the album when compared to other works.

Almost skipped this, but I’m glad I didn’t. Deserves a closer 2nd listen - not a Brian Eno fan per se, but enough stood out to make me want to relisten.

Not for me

A decent half hour album dragged out way too long to the point where I was begging it to end. Love Talking Heads so was sooo disappointed with this.

I don’t know what’s happening but it sounds good.

I will never understand how listening to tape loops repetitively for 5 minutes for each song is enjoyable. This is listenable, though, so I just listened to the first couple minutes of each track before switching it to the next track.

Loved that. Some brilliant moments.

I've got a few Brian Eno songs I keep in rotation. These definitely will not be any of them

Là c’est du concept : album fait à partir de collages de discours, émissions, journal, reportages entendus à la radio, avec pour accompagnement un gros travail sur les percussions, des nappes de synthés, de la basse, de la guitare et des montages sonores très divers. C’est franchement aride et parfois dissonant, c’est évidemment en avance sur beaucoup de choses (sorti en 1981 !) et autrement plus écoutable que “Revolution 9” qui peut venir à l’idée. “Mea Culpa” par exemple a une belle tension, “Regiment” et ses chants arabes, la tête finit par bouger sur “Help me somebody”. Ca se dilue un peu au fur à mesure de l’album, voire ça s’étend doucement dans la plus grande indifférence suis fière de world ambient. Disons que pour la première moitié on va les remercier d’avoir défriché le terrain et laisser ce LP à d’autres groupes pour qu’ils le digèrent et nous le ressortent à petite dose, de manière plus aimable et compréhensible, lors des trentes années suivantes de rock indé.

Starts off okay but slowly drags into a long mind numbing struggle. One and done with this one.

2.5 stars. One of those influential but not a great listen records. The African sampling was cool but a lot of the inventive drum loops and soundscapes which were probably more groundbreaking at the time are nothing special now.

Wow, this was interesting. I surprisingly liked it. Torn between a 3 and a 4. Will splurge.

Super weird mishmash of instrumental soundscapes and atmospheres, but with just barely enough cohesion to make it feel like a traditional album and not one long slog. Certainly not an everyday listen but I'm just happy to listen to something I think will be memorable

Experimentation for experimentation's sake doesn't have to ranked highly, even if it ended up being influential. It's like giving Trout Mask Replica a 5 (though in this case there are some good tracks buried amongst the nonsense). Wake up, sheeple. You're being targeted by Big Avant. The one-chord songs are particularly suspect. I'm a big fan of chord progressions, and songs that don't utilise them face an uphill battle in my ears. Mea Culpa, Number 8 Mix, Very Very Hungry, and various other tracks commit this sin. The sounds are scattered, seemingly selected at random, and not at all coherent with one another (in most songs, anyway). There are very few melodic hooks on any instrument, or indeed any melodies at all until the final track, Solo Guitar with Tin Foil, which acts as a breath of fresh air at the end of a dubious setlist. Quotes from sanest reviewers: "It just seems the artists are trying to make it weird, and not trying to make it good." "A lot of unique sounds, but very little musical cohesion and flow." "Some of the songs are almost enjoyable but it all gets lost in a giant mess of sounds." (And even then, these negative reviews are often 2 or 3 stars. Delusion.) 1/5 Key tracks: Regiment, Help Me Somebody, The Jezebel Spirit

Yet another winner from Brian Eno - I've loved pretty much everything he's had a hand in that I've encountered in this project. This feels very ahead of its time.

This REEKS of Remain In Light, and it's no wonder with Eno and Byrne at the helm. I feel like I should like this more than I do - the sampling is innovative, and the overall sound is stellar, but it lacks the strong melodies and hooks that both Eno and Byrne are capable of.

Haunted world music befitting of its title. I adore both of the gentlemen behind the record, but I ultimately have a hard time truly connecting with it despite its intriguing ideas.

I’ve not got much of an opinion on this one. There’s a lot of Eno on here and I generally find him a bit underwhelming. This album is no different. Meh

So experimental and weird Favorites: Regiment, Help Me Somebody

I understand how this could be influential, but this is not some easy listening. I’m going to lean higher than I feel most would, but it’s not for everyone.

I appreciate Brian Eno but sometimes stuff like this is a chore to listen to.

Gear: Hifiman Arya Artwork: 📺🎨📏 Production (2006 Remaster): 🎧😘🤌 Music: 🌍👻🎚️🎧🤯 Rating: 🌀🌀🌀(🌀)/5

Like interesting but sort of boring too?

01) America Is Waiting - 6,0 02) Mea Culpa - 7,0 03) Regiment - 7,5 04) Help Me Somebody - 6,5 05) The Jezebel Spirit - 7,0 06) Very, Very Hungry - 6,5 07) Moonlight in Glory - 6,0 08) The Carrier - 6,5 09) A Secret Life - 6,5 10) Come with Us - 6,0 11) Mountain of Needles - 6,0 TOTAL: 6,50 (65/100) Current ranking: 282/381

This felt like a movie soundtrack. Some tracks were too monotonous for me and I found myself skipping ahead only to find that it sounded so much the same I couldn’t tell I skipped forward. I needed more variation even if I like the sound for the most part.

Too weird for me

Strange and creepy but ok

elettronica ma non si può tanto sentì... va bene come soundtrack per qualche azione nei film...

Brian Eno is a renown producer and musician on his own. Throw in David Byrne and have the executive producer Cocaine behind the board and you have magic! This is ‘80s synth-pop and excess at its best. The Herb Alpert /Notorious BIG bass line in Regiment was a funk variation. Listening to this album made me feel like I went to sleep and woke in 1980’s East Germany, which is fair because he had just got done doing a two year stent with Iggy Pop and David Bowie in Berlin (I don’t know if there was cocaine or those two had just enough for a wore off on him in sobriety). Overall, he is a king of emoting: you can hear a lot of Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem and Nine Inch Nails in this album. I don’t know if I returned this one, only time will tell.

This was clearly the stuff that was too weird for the Talking Heads albums. Eno and Byrne put some weird stuff out on this one. This didn't particularly grab me while listening passively. I am intrigued though and feel like a more concentrated listen is in order. This also felt like indie pioneer work that I could hear reflected in lots of the stuff I listen to today. Anyway, need some more listens to form a true opinion on this one.

Experimental at best. I'm sure it was mind blowing back in the day, but not super enjoyable now.

Not my favorite

This was difficult to get through. I respect both guys, but no thanks on this.

Very weird experimental music with a lot of electronic parts, I know David Byrne is the Talking Heads guy, I recognize the name Brian Eno but I'm not as familiar with him. Yeah this is definitely not for me, super atmospheric, definitely super non-traditional which I guess I respect in principle, but it's just not that enjoyable to listen to.

This is right up my alley. Instrumental, kinda weird, psych, experimental. Love both these musicians and this collaboration is sweet.

This was rad! Kind of what I was thinking it would be, but I really like the elements that David Byrne is adding. He really leans into the ambiance and avant garde nature of Brian Eno and adds that level of rhythm and bass that kind of takes this sound to a new level. I would call it *pop* per say, but it kind of makes the whole thing groovier and easier to lost in. I also really enjoyed the middle eastern influences and sounds throughout the record. When combined with the ambient metallic wet sound of Eno and the off beat bass of David Byrne, it makes for a really interesting sound mix.

I saw David Byrne and was dreading this, but it actually wasn't too bad at all. I think a large part of that was because Mr Byrne doesn't sing on any of the songs? Funky, electro-something with a lot of weirdness. I think I could grow to hate some of the repetitiveness, but it was fine for one listen, and I was interested enough to seek out the track not on Spotify. 4 stars.

Like most of what I enjoy about Brian Eno, it’s the risks and experimentation that I respect and love. As a fan of electronic music, there is so much here that is innovative and predictive of the future.

Historically significant, with layers and layers of samples, radio noise, tv sound clips, and the classic herky-jerky set of beats. It opened the door for many more sample-based records - found sounds, "this is what the city sounds like", etc.

Seemed like an album from 15 years later. No memorable songs, but solid throughout.

Innovative, enjoyed the sampling and percussion.

I don't really have the energy to process this right now. It was kind of interesting, but I'm not really into this style of ambient/electronic music

It was an interesting album and I could definitely hear the Talking Heads styling -- there were a few songs that I thought were going to break into "This is not my beautiful house" a couple times. Overall I enjoyed it, but the experimental meandering of instrumentals isn't something I think I'll seek out again.

I'm a huge fan of both Eno and David Byrne. But somehow the whole is less than the sum of the parts. They just don't work together.

Less music and more just experimental noise. Appreciate it for what it is, even though I did not care for it much myself. Best Song: Regiment Worst Song: Very Very Hungry

Interesting and fun listen with diverse and original sounds. The problem is that it feels too experimental at times leaving most of it not sounding like fully fleshed-out tracks. A very influental project nonetheless, and I can see why. Best song: Regiment Worst song: Come with Us

This guy is a great producer and has lots visual and musical talent but the albums are always so odd and atmospheric.

Weird album, it doesn't really sound like Brian Eno, and it definitely doesn't sound like David Byrne. A classic collaboration, that shows none of their respective talents. I certainly didn't enjoy it and will quickly move to the next one.

1. Guys I think there is no will whatsoever 2. Guys I think he made a mistake 3. wooooaaaaahhooooooooaooaaaaaaahhhhh 4. Guys I think he knows 5. Yeah shit is getting real weird idk if I can even give half assed summaries of whatever this is. This is exactly the shitfuckery I expected from Mr. Byrne and Eno.

This was sneaky good!

What are these noises? Why?

6/10 Different and not unpleasant to listen to, but very little emotional connection or meaning. Highlights: America is Waiting The Jezebel Spirit

Easy to see how this was influential. The latter tracks are more experimental and ambient.

A lot better than I'd expect. It actually shows me how the two artists have quite a lot in common in terms of their mix of the analog and synthetic. Definitely thought this would be a lot less appealing based on the artists being known for their avant garde approaches and potential clash but the instrumentals are overall nice. Some feel more David byrne inspired like help me somebody and america is waiting, and defiant. Others feel like brian took the reins like mea culpa and very very hungry and a secret life. Others feel completely new and perfect blends like mountain of needles, two against three, new feet. My only issue is that any song that I didn't mention didn't really grab me and there are 18 tracks.

Look, I’m all for musicians be innovative and inventive, but only when they invent music I like. Luckily, once I got over the weirdness, I actually really liked some of these songs, particularly Help Me Somebody. They weren’t all great, but enough for a 4.

Prefer my ambient stuff to be a bit more chill, some of this was a little jarring. But also some of it was really good. I also listened to the full hour, when the OG is actually on 39mins. So I’m going to give it the benefit of the doubt. Simpsons: Yes (David Byrne)

Really enjoyed the last album we had from Brian Eno, but this one was less relaxing and more annoying noise.

Not his worst on here, but it wasn't much better.

I don't know who this is for but it's not for me. I'm sure Brian had a great time making it and I guess I'm happy it exists but it just didn't do anything for me.

The purported appeal of this album is it was creative & adventurous; it’s just cooky; bizarre lyrics & a compilation of clambering music annoyingly arranged.

First listen. Ok.

This one was weird. The tracks were cool but not sure I will listen again

..

I like both of these guys but this is just them insulting their worst tendencies.

Struggled to interpret this as music.

I totally dig this, experimental, sampled, instrumentals. Faves: I always find it hard to remember instrumental track names but for this Jezebel Spirit, Very Very Hungry, and Solo Guitar with Tin Foil.

I almost did this album real dirty. Think I had it confused in my head with the David Byrne / Fatboy Slim project "Here Lies Love" which came out in 2010, so I was kinda nonplussed listening to this mashup of world music, samples and electronica, thinking I'd heard plenty of other projects that did the same thing but better. Just before submitting a scathing review saying I'd expect more originality from Eno and Byrne I noticed that it actually came out in 1981! That makes _way_ more sense, and all the projects I was thinking of actually used this as a foundation! So yeah, massive props to this album - it spawned a couple of different genres that I really like. Fave tracks - doesn't make tremendous sense to pick out individual tracks on this one, but "Regiment", "The Jezebel Spirit" and "Two Against Three" had me looking their names up on the last play through, so let's say them....

Vendetta against David Bowie is over, David Byrne is my new enemy. Maybe this was forward-thinking for the time, but Jesus fucking Christ does it have “Culture Vulture” written all over it, for like, 20 different reasons. I won’t deny, sometimes, it hits a groove, but if I feel icky every time it doesn’t groove, maybe there’s a deeper issue at hand.

Brian Eno and David Byrne have separately made some of my favorite music. Together, they're not as "chocolate and peanut butter" as I expected. Perhaps my rating is a result of my high expectations, but as I listened with an open mind, I didn't groove to this record all that much. Some tracks stood out, but overall, it was really okay.

A bit too experimental for me, can’t say I was really a fan of this.

I was prepared to fully hate this one. I didn’t, it was ok.

I wasn’t previously aware of this album and was a bit low on expectations. Actually not that bad, but entirely forgettable imo. I fess hence why never heard of it before.

Well this was an unexpected and interesting surprise. Initially seeing David Byrne’s involvement gave me the fear, but fortunately he saved us from his usually dreadful vocals. What we end up with is mega varied experiment of sounds and styles from dub, funk, Middle East/afro rhythms etc. It’s one of those clearly way ahead of its time records, and I can hear its influence in a lot of later elec ambient/dance music, more so the 90s (the Orb in particular). The 80s was too busy up its own arse to cotton on to where this was trying to lead. As an album purely for enjoyment I’d probably give it a 3 (Jezebel Spirit the standout). It can feel a bit samey and some songs a bit too long. However, I’ll give it a rare extra point for its influence. Really pleased to have listened to this.

I was very nervous about this collaboration, both being a bit too arty farty but it surprised me. Ambient African samples with a drum machine and lots of twiddling. Ground breaking for the time and enjoyed it, will return.

This album was a lot, not sure I really enjoyed it, but it’s ambitious for sure

This album is better than I remember. Some really sick grooves in here, but it suffers from being super bloated. This is what happens when two autistic young men with musical superiority complexes are allowed to work together with no outside influence.

Well... I heard it. Oh. You want more of a review. Ok. This sounds like the soundtrack to a bad 80s computer game you would play on a Tandy computer mixed with whales farming.

Brian Eno & David Byrne experimenting with found sounds, samples and Afro beats sounds exactly like I expected to. It’s good for what it is but what it is is not really my jam.

Huh?? What’s this. First song. Kind of sick honestly. Fun track. Not much to say. Love the frantic sampling to start track 2. It kind of stayed that way didn’t it. Kind of faded into the background. Fun sample here. Hell yeah. Medieval era wailing over the funk riff. This one rules. Less good. This one sounds a little too happy and the guitar sample is kind of bugging me. Funky redux. Cool sampling with the scary religious man. Another decent one. Less great. The repetition is getting to be a lot. The very hungry jezebel. New book for pious youngsters. Uhhh this one is another weird soundscape. Just fine. Dragging by a little now. The sounds are cool, but there’s not enough for me to latch onto here. I know when I start discussing the album, the songs are just sort of there. Here we go. YES. Creepy, crawling, haunting. Beautiful. This is a fantastic song. Another banger to end the album. They really went the creepy route near the end Apparently I have to go to YouTube to hear qa’ran due to protests from the Islamic council. First off, fuck you. Your attachment to a man-manufactured deity should in no way impact the real world. If you want to like that shit, go nuts, but keep it out of real life. It’s caused nothing but human anguish for centuries. That goes for Jesus nuts and everybody else who believes in a magic man in the sky. Wait out this life patiently and silently while you wait for your reward or whatever. Emphasis on silent. Irregardless, this song is absolutely fantastic. Brooding groove with chilling sampling. This album is an odd one. It got a little hyper repetitive in the middle but it’s bookended by brilliance. So many cool ideas and while not perfect, a truly unique experience. 3-3.5 HIGHLIGHTS: Regiment, Come with Us, Qa’Ran

This album is incredible. I find it to be transporting at times and it’s just so inventive.

New to me, giants. By the time we get to "Help Me Somebody" or "Moonlight in Glory" this is just majestically refined precursors to everything I love, entirely out of time.

Love Eno Byrne. This was especially good while taking in Halloween decorations while walking the dog in my neighborhood.

I like pioneering use of samplers & all but don't think this one is special. Closer to a Brit trip hop guy's "vision of a psychedelic Africa" than I want to listen to. music: hated. (⌐■_■)

Easily the best snippety-samply record that’s popped up so far. Guess 90s club music sets a low bar (pun intended). Go figure it would be Eno and Byrne who clear it. First half better than second, but all in all a decent listen.

Might be a 4, must listen again

I have this on vinyl and hot this great reminder to spin it (it’s been a long while). It was better than I remembered it being and I will make it a bigger part of my vinyl rotation!

The extravagant funkiness of The Talking Heads through religious chants made by robots.

I'm not sure I would've added this album to the list, but it was quite refreshing!

This album is full of insanely creative twists and arrangements. A great exemple of going deep down into a new sound and work the things out to 100% capacity.

Great sampling material

Music by a non-musician.

I'm sure this is amazing art— I guess I just don't get it. 'Annoying' is the word I'd use to describe this album. Scream-talking and whining over mostly insufferable noise.