My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts

I’ve liked everything from Brian Eno up to now. Not sure what this is. It’s not terrible, but I can say it’s good, either.

I think the loops went on longer than they needed to. Otherwise the samples were great and really influential it seems

thrilling

This album is Talking Heads in all but name. Not really bad, but also, not entirely my cup of tea either. 2.5/5

I was worried that I was not going to like this at all. But I was pleasantly surprised.

ADHD music. Fine for blasting through work with a huge caffeine buzz. I don't think I would sit down and actively listen to this album.

If this album generator keeps spitting out absolute trash like this, I’m gonna quit it early. What the fuck.

Add Eno to my controversial artist list, because this is outstanding. I am rating the original realease minus the 6 bonus tracks upon remaster. Maybe it's the David Byrne involvement, I love the afro beats and odd percussions. Beautifully layered soundscapes and it even, dare I say, was catchy at times

what is music if not organized stimming

Some cool songs, others less so

Cool atmospheric album! Some standout tracks like Regiment

Annoying

A great creative effort from both Eno (a personal fav) and Byrne. Sounds like influenced from Laurie Anderson (Who IS an Artist with a capital A. I hope her albums made the list - especially "Mr. Heartbreak" since when you consider some of the crap I had to listen too...)

Not sure how I feel about this one. Brian Eno is bringing many awesome sounds together, and it sounds like the specific precursor to Remain in Light. But it also sounds like it's the homework to the final exam. It's a work in process. Innovative, maybe, but I think capturing his sound in something more complete, like his Talking Head albums that are already on this list, is more appropriate for a list like this.

Experimenting and pushing boundaries is good, but shouldn’t always be packaged and sold as music. Some of this is legit good, but I think they front loaded the album. Highlight was the bass line in Regiment.

I’d heard enough of this after like 3 songs. Then there were 14 more to go and they were all the same thing.

I finally get to clear this off my queue 😂 By product of accidentally adding this entire album to my day-to-day, new-to-me rotation, Ive listened to pieces of this album on and off for at least 3 months now (this and the elvis album 😅) I confidently say that I dont get it 🤣 if apple music collects skip related stats, im sure im in the top 1% of listeners who start any of these tunes and skip within 20 seconds…. Every. Single. Time. To make this more fun, I decided to give this album a real shot again today and it still hasnt caught any neural traction in my brain. Thank you Brain and David. You guys changed the world of music, but this album is dog shit to a 31 year old in 2025

What a cruel move to put this right after Simon & Garfunkel. Why is this album on this list.

Ended up liking this more in the end than when I first put it on. Fun sampling, obviously experimental for the time, and foundational for stuff to come. Found myself grooving a bit to a few of these, especially the ones that sound a little more like Talking Heads - Regiment, Help Me Somebody. Good background music. Torn somewhere between a 3 and 4 on this but will pull back because I realistically won’t come back to this - but enjoyed the ride and happy I heard it. Now more familiar with Eno beyond the crossword puzzle.

C’est drôlement ce à quoi je m’attendais de la part de David Byrne et Brian Eno: c’est weird, avant-gardiste et surprenamment groovy

🎧Thriller followed by My Life In The Bush of Ghosts. Hard to think of two more different albums. And they were released a year apart from each other. This is sone bizarre shit, innovative for its time, and still a fascinating listen in 2024. Favorite tracks: The Jezebel Spirit and Very, Very Hungry

Love this album! The combo of Eno & David Byrne is amazing. Definitely going into my favorites list!

A couple of musical geniuses creating together doesn't automatically make it interesting.

Captures some sort of vibe. Sounds goofy at points. I like it.

Much respect to both of these individual artists. This bored the fuck out of me. 2/5

Two artists I've recently been getting into are Brian Eno and Talking Heads, so this is a match made in heaven for me. I only recently discovered this album's existence and have been looking forward to it arriving. The first half in particular is a great companion to Remain in Light, before gradually becoming slower and more ambient towards the end. The album hasn't aged a day in my opinion. Yet another masterpiece from the incredible 1977-1981 period. Not up everyone's street I'm sure, but this is definitely forming part of my collection.

No notes.

Two GOATS. This album is so cool. The sampling is just insane, and the end result is just such a satisfying jammy psychedelic feast. Love it!

Very weird but funky

Weird but fun. Exactly what I would expect from Byrne and Eno

Enough Eno - not really something worth my time

Liked a couple of songs better than the previous Brian Eno album, but most others were too experimental for my taste.

Not more Brian Eno. And David Byrne? Some good, not great stuff. He needed Jerry Harrison and Tina Weymouth. Honestly. It’s like Neil Young or cult sixties albums. Way way over represented and after you’ve heard one you’ve got the idea. If you like it chase the artists up but on your own time. Django Django broke me. This is pissing on the pieces. 0 stars on general principle. (Album actually not awful but I’m on a crusade here. Sorry Brian and David if you read this. It’s not you.).

It's definitely impressive for being both listenable and extremely "OUT THERE". It is more than a collection of unusual sounds, it's quite musical. Reminds me a lot of TALKING HEADS but it's more off the beaten track even. A quality album. Interesting and I would listen to it again for sure. I am surprised to say all of this. Despite liking ENO a LOT, I expected to write "why do we need so many Eno albums here to introduce different styles to people? But then I heard this. It's surprisingly groovy and cool without being alienating experimental bullshit. So yeah surprisingly it belongs on this list. And now to read what others wrote about it.... Curious ....

This is a long time favorite of mine. No real _songs_ on the album per se, but I really like the sample collage over tight early 80s funk. Many have pointed out that the use of samples as a vocal lead was revolutionary, it is now so commonplace as to not be as surprising. The use of samples was not unprecedented or unsurpassed; this lies on the trajectory from Steve Reich through to Public Enemy. Arguments could be made regarding cultural appropriation and/or stripping the source samples of their cultural meaning (noting that the track Qu'ran was removed from subsequent versions of this release following complaints from the British Islamic Council). As a listening experience, I still enjoy this record because of the taut funk, featuring an all-star line-up of drummers, percussionists and bass players (plus Robert Fripp) to create a repetitive and funky atmosphere. Again, not really _songs_, but I enjoy listening to it. Today I listened to the expanded version on spotify, which has a large number of tracks not on my original vinyl copy. They have a similar feel, although are not always as focussed, and I can see why they weren't included on the original album. I can hear the way that the recording of this album helped blueprint the approach for Talking Heads' "Remain in light" album, which is their best work, in my opinion.

Gotta love Eno pushing things as far as he can. This was really solid.

I like it more than I thought I would. At times ambient, at times almost industrial. Pretty solid.

Very interesting album.

Just tiresome. Seemed to go on forever just for the sake of going on.

This is everything I wanted it to be when I saw it was Brian Eno and David Byrne. It’s eclectic, psychedelic, funk at times, electronic at others. Varied as fuck, and as unpredictable as you could hope for. And weird. It had to be weird. The fact one song has linear notes stating the involvement of an ‘unidentified excorcist’ is about as weird as you can get. I love it.

Brian Eno is clearly very talented and there were a few songs in here which were class but a lot of this felt like it was unfinished to me. There were a few bits with a decent core of a song which didn't seem to develop. I think the Eno solo album we had before was far better and the more angular guitar songs on this album seemed to be getting towards that album. It wasn't bad, there were lots of parts I liked but as an album I don't think ill come back. 2.5.

I liked this album overall, but my main gripe is that the samples are too "loud". The Jezebel Spirit - the knocking drumming (toms?) completely overshadows the exorcism, and makes it slightly too difficult to make out any changes or progression through the rest of the track, leading to boredom. Samples were cool, arrangement of the samples I didn't like, and I preferred the Before and After Science.

Was excited by the protect of another Brian Eno offering but worried by the presence of Byrne! I feel like I could easily tell which tracks or bits were Enos influence and which were Byrnes.....I much preferred the Eno stuff (I think). Again Byrne is a bit too out there and artsy for me. I do think the latter half of the album seemed less influenced by Byrne generally and I preferred it. Overall I enjoyed this way more than I expected and it's more than the sum of it's parts. Can see that it was influential. I liked "regiment" and "mountain of needles" the best I think. Would've given this a higher score if Eno reigned in Byrne a bit more! 3.5 but 4

Weird. Political statements that still last, but sounds like Indian percussion in space.

The sampling is experimental for sure, but the album overall isn't interesting. Mumbling lyrics, too many sounds layered over the top. Difficult to get through. Got boring fast.

Thank you, next

non ho ancora ascoltato un album di Brian Eno che non mi abbia abbondantemente scartavetrato le palle. basta, vi supplico.

Excellent

realized while listening i accidentally listened to the deluxe edition which is another ~20 minutes. luckily the extra songs really represent how insane i felt like i was going for having to listen to this for an hour

I liked movies more

I just kept waiting for this to get good. Halfway through the album I gave up.

I mean... Brainic Eno and David 'batshit' Bryne together in a studio... MASTERPIECE. Just give it a listen. 8/10

Very, very interesting. And very international. Interesting in that the songs are very similar and yet so different. International as in Deep Forest visits the Middle East and goes electronica with spirits and ghosts. I give it a (2.8*s)

What do you get when team up two musical genius weirdos? A collaboration of kings that produces a genius weirdo album. Started off worried with the 1st two tracks but it picked up and by the end I felt like I had been on a wild adventure through an electro-jungle. I expected more singing from Byrne, maybe he was doing all the ghosty triballing? Some classic old school electronica that paved the way. I'll take some more Drian Beno from the list please...3.4.

I respect the hell out of Brian Eno's work as a producer as he has engineered some incredible albums by some of my favorite artists. The shallow dive into his solo work thus far has shown me that he may be at his best when he goes a little experimental but has a band/label reels him in. This is too artsy and experimental for me to care after a couple of songs. A little too much Eno, not enough Byrne. Getting a little worn out on experimental noise albums. Not sure I need to hear more of these before I die. 1.13 stars

Background music - of no .usical interest or importance whatsoever. Not unpleasant, just pointless.

Again another album from my top ten of all time - superb collaboration with Talking Heads’ David Byrne

Interesting stuff, idk if it'll go into the rotation but i liked it and it scratched the "new music" itch for today.

This album is quite interesting but I'm not sure it's suited to listen to for a day and move on to the next one. It's experimental, incredibly well produced and contains some great moments

Boy, what a bunch of quirky yet funky grooves, if only two extremely talented vocalists were attached to this, it would be better with actual lyrics. Shame no one was available.

Delightfully weird.

Whoa. Okay, I've listened to this at least a dozen times already. It hypnotized me, and I would just sit and listen 2 or 3 times in a row while working on projects. I'm only familiar with the expanded version that's on Spotify, but I truly love it. Definitely best with headphones.

strange, charming, and a bit ahead of its time, this world-funk fusion collection pairs creative instrumental music with various found speech samples. it's a weird poetic showcase on the creativity and absurdity of humanity, especially with some of the samples that are played and replayed throughout the course of the album. the album's concept is interesting too, telling the story of a lost mortal in the world of ghosts... it's creatively made, but it's not totally my thing.

There's too much Brian Eno on the list. Some of his work is good, but this is him doodling again.

No

This album is basically music porn. It's innovation and sound "real" music critics and musicians can point to as being very special and that's why only they can understand it. So of course, this one is going to be in this book, because music critics chose the albums, and this is one purely for them. This work is very innovative and it's an incredibly high concept record. It's necessary to understand this is an indulgent album, which does not mean it is a bad album. I don't know if I would ever listen to this album for any reason other than to show others what an indulgent album it is. I enjoyed the last Brian Eno album I heard and I like the Talking Heads. This one isn't for me.

honestly i didn’t like it and then i loved it and then i hated it and then i was okay with it soooo 2.5 rounding to 3

Very cool. Like the precursor to Orbital and Fat Boy Slim and all the electronic music of my era. Though the song it reminded me of most was "It doesn't matter" by the Chemical Brothers because of the way the sampled voice is repeated and stuttered.

Interesting experiments which when they hit the mark are pretty good and provides Eno with bank of ideas to take forward and reuse and adapt in subsequent production work….

Yes! And no. But mostly, yes

I liked Very Very Hungry, rest of the album was okay.

After having worked on a few Talking Heads releases, Brian Eno teamed up with Talking Heads frontman David Byrne to make something a little bit weirder. With heavy use of samples, Eno and Byrne craft a world of loose signals, accented guitars, and tight rhythms. My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts borrows from the funky drums and basslines of the Talking Heads as a foundation for the bizarre atmosphere of synths and found sounds. There's nothing else like it. Magnificent.

phew

Pretty interesting and cool at times. Unlikely to relisten to it but didn't hate it. Standout songs Mea culpa The jezebel spirit Moonlight in glory

I get what they are doing but don’t really care

4-

This guy noises!

Kongeniales Werk zweier Spitzenmusiker

Brian Eno confounds me, we had some bad Roxy Music, some good Roxy Music, some bad solo stuff, and then My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts which I did not especially enjoy. It's not outright terrible, it's a sampling and ambient electronica album from well before it became a big thing but I don't think it does an especially good job of it and doesn't warrant a place on the list just because it was interesting or revolutionary at the time. It's a 2, there's not much I liked on here, but also not much I actively hated.

This is technically impressive for its time, it's forward looking, but it's not very listenable, really. It's quite janky, there are a few good moments and the odd good track, but overall it's a bit of a tuneless mess. 2/5.

New Wave's very own Dark Side of the Moon. Blokes would nod sagely and tell you to listen to this on a set of really good headphones.

3.5/5

Hated it

I haven't listened to this album in years - either I liked it a lot more this time around or I forgot how good it is. The last time I listened to this was about 10 years ago when I read David Byrne's book "How Music Works" - I remember reading about his experiments with found sound sampling and rhythm sampling that led to the creation of this album and later "Remain in Light", including recording late night radio preachers as heard on this album, and how their stylized sermons influenced songs like "Once In A Lifetime" As a Talking Heads fan, this album is a perfect amuse bouche for "Remain in Light". Or maybe it's more like the unfinished Michelangelo sculptures that guide your way up to see the David at the Galleria Accademia. The iconic piece is amazing, of course, but it is just as interesting and beautiful to see the artist's process.

Experimental, but funky in a way that keeps it enjoyable for me. The various vocal samples in this worked to great effect, and some of the rhythms were so good I'm honestly surprised they haven't been sampled for beats before.

Well it grabbed my attention for the first ten seconds of the first few songs but then my attention wandered and I couldn't get it back. Hard to imagine I'd have trouble engaging with anything by Eno and Byrne, but there it is. Liked Regiment, though.

This is my favourite album of all time! Said no-one ever (who meant it)!

I find this music deliberately difficult and it just doesn't appeal. I read a glowing review about how this was a meld of a million genres and influences and all I hear is disjointed rhythms and barking samples that put my brain on edge.

Yeah, I don't know. There are some cool moments on here, but overall, there's a detachment to this that makes it hard for me to care too much.

This is a long beloved album in my history. Before I ever heard EDM, I played this a lot. (I was surprised that I could still recite the preacher's sermon verbatim.) This album is such a masterful blend of David Byrne sounds and rhythm with Brian Eno's avant garde.

Collaboration inconnue entre ces 2 artistes. Je trouve les morceaux terriblement répétitifs. Pas désagréable à écouter mais pas très intéressant. => 2/5

Not bad, and I gave it an extra star for being influential, but who has this as their favorite Brian Eno album on the list?

I disagree with Moby and anyone else who liked this

What the fuck did I just listen to. Waste of time.

This is like an album of default ringtones off a phone from 2006

Oh man, this is hard. I love David Byrne and the Talking Heads. I am historically... intolerant of Brian Eno's solo work. (Break for listening) So I actually liked this, mostly. It really smacked of Remain in Light, which is my least favorite TH album, but I still like it. I guess Brian Eno needs other people as much as they need him.

Some very interesting sounds and samples. I've heard some of them before. I can see why it was ahead of its time. But it dont think its an album i would come back to often if at all. Maybe i should be trippin more, then maybe i would. It could be something i put on in the background to focus on work perhaps. Other than that, i cant say i enjoy it.

Eno + Byrne = Rocky VII: Adrian's Revenge!

3.2 - I think overall I'm not going to go back and listen to any of this, but as a collaboration it's pretty interesting. You really can hear each of them in the tracks. I feel like David Byrne was a lot more serious and eery which was a bit strange.

Two of the goats, and yet to me this album is a little less than the sum of its parts. At times it feels like a slightly less accessible Talking Heads album, and at times it feels like a noise collage that is still trying to hard to maintain rhythm and structure. Fave Tracks: America is Waiting, The Carrier 3.7/5

Poor

first listen this is an acid trip

The problem is, outside of the innovative sampling and it’s apparently controversial legacy, the music just isn’t terribly interesting

I like this. Pretty experimental, but most of the experiments seem to have been successful.

Not for me

Super early ambient rock(?) very enjoyable. Might not be everyone’s cup of tea.

:S

Cool beeboops

This album pioneered sampling techniques, making found sounds like radio announcers and ranting preachers the lead vocal on top of a mix of Afrobeats and Middle Eastern rhythms. Eno and Byrne did take the time to clear the samples that were used, although a recording of part of the Qu’ran on the original release was removed from later pressings on grounds of religious sensitivity. This still sounds startlingly contemporary, despite coming out 40+ years ago

It's easy to get why this album was so influencial with its samples, loops and collages. I can't imagine how it sounded when it was released; nowadays it's probably much easier to listen to such a record, since many other artists built their sound from it. It may be experimental, but it's pretty easy to listen to because there is always a strong structure and melodies (OK, more or less) present to not lose you.

Two of the most interesting people in music combine for an album like nothing else before it. African rhythms are fantastic here and the whole album feels like a great jam session. There isn't a 'hit song' to my ears but that doesn't really matter, it's sometihng to put on and just smile.

Rhythm and world beat with amazing instruments and vibe.

Experimental rock, art rock. Weird wacky album that made for pretty fun and relaxing background music while working. 4/5

Unfortunately my music system seemed to play this backwards. Tea of cup my not. Or maybe the band forgot to turn up. But still better than rap and hip hop so a 2 for that as there is no foul language invading my living space.

I'm sure this was reveltatory at it's time but in 2024, this just sounds like something you'd randomly stumble across on soundcloud

kewl, but weird

Sehr experimentell viele Samples, nicht so meins

I didn’t find this very enjoyable.

Interesting.

Weird musical background noise. Not unpleasant. Stand-out: Very Very Hungry.

On muuten aika hieno levy! Leikkisä ja samaan aikaan manaava, just sitä mitä vois näiltä heeboilta odottaa. 5/5

Tää oli kova, enpä ollut edes kuunnellut aiemmin. Täytyy palata vielä, nyt 4/5

Kiinnostava levy ja kai aika uraauurtava samplausmusan genressä.

Toch een aardig duo, Byrne en Eno. Dat bewees zich natuurlijk ietsje later met de Talking Heads. Dit album zit vol Afrikaanse en Islamitische invloeden, en je hoort echt het Talking Heads geluid al. Leuk om te horen. Kan wel muziek zijn die lastig is om met volle aandacht in een drukke trein in de maandagochtendspits te luisteren en er iets boeiends over kunnen vertellen. Maarja, ik moet toch een weg door de reviewjungle weten te macheteren. Er staat nogal wat open. Al met al gewoon een geweldig duo. Je hoort de Talking Heads al zo duidelijk terug, en dat is leuk. Maar een heel album met deze muziek is een beetje too much. Ik vind vooral de afsluiter Solo Guitar With Tin Foil zo apart dat het grappig wordt. Rating: 6/10 Highlights: Regiment

De jaren 80 zag Brian Eno transformeren van een artiest van vlees en bloed naar een machine. Dit album, waarin ook de tot dan vaak zo organische David Byrne mee wordt genomen in deze metamorfose, is daar een goed voorbeeld van. Van start tot eind is het één lange weirdo jam, een soort futuristische gospel groove. Je kunt niet eens zeggen dat het voor z'n tijd was, want ik kan me weinig werk na deze plaat herinneren dat deep southern church mixt met Middle Eastern funk, verpakt in een post-apocalyptisch jasje. Het levert een bizarre groove op, waar ik bijzonder genoeg toch wel goed op ga zo op de zaterdagochtend. Of het nou de mystieke Perzische funk in 'Regiment' is, of het meer bekende "Remain in Light" geluid in 'Help Me Somebody', de mannen weten een ogenschijnlijk eendimensionale plaat, zonder vocalen en hooks, toch fascinerend te maken. Natuurlijk hebben deze artiesten - misschien wel m'n favoriete van die tijd - beter werk afgeleverd dan dit, maar deze detour beviel me aardig. Het einde verdwaalt een beetje in een bos aan ambient geluiden, die de evolutie van Brian Eno van mens naar machine voltooide, maar een sterke eerste helft seals the deal. 7,5/10 Highlights: Regiment Help Me Somebody The Jezebel Spirit

Wat een vreemd album is dit. Midden in het tijdperk Talking Heads en jaartje na het verschijnen van Remain in Light brengen Eno en Byrne samen een plaat uit. De Tom Tom Club deed haar eigen ding en het is duidelijk wat de 2 stromingen in de band waren geworden. Op My Life in the Bush of Ghosts hoor ik veel Remain in Light. Met name de structuren zoals in The Great Curve komen veel terug. Met name in Help Me Somebody. Het album experimenteert nog meer met geluiden en invloeden van wereldmuziek. Zoals de didgeridoo in Very Very Hungry. Zang zit er minder in. Al met al best interessant maar niet het beste van het beste. 7,5/10 Highlights Help me somebody

I feel like this is one of those albums that was highly influential, creating soundscapes with both live instruments but also cutting up audio, I guess done with tape and razor splicing. The thing is that decades later, with no many others taking inspiration, it probably doesn't have the same avant grade impact that it did back in the day. Appreciation is theoretical, like having to read the information card to fully understand a painting.

I like this a lot. Very cool collaboration from two of my favorite artists. Not enough to be a 5 but a solid 4 for me.

Sad excuse for music

dont remember it but it was decent enough 3/5

DNL

Just not nice to listen to

This one goes in the category of albums I appreciate, but don’t enjoy. These kinds of albums are always hard to rate, because it’s hard to separate the two. I love Talking Heads, and there are elements of the same things I like about them on here, but as a whole it’s a little too out there for me to fully enjoy it. With my enjoyment at probably a 2, and appreciation at a 4, this ends up coming in at a 3.

Uhm sorry David Byrne maar dit was niet het. Viel bijna in slaap

I understand the importance of this album, but damn. I couldnt get through half of it, i was almost able to like a couple songs, but never quite

Oh god what This is quite creative The song solo guitar with tinfoil set some expectations i expect to be followd theough on

rhythm!

Good album!

rhythm!

Feel the Byrne

I was dreading this - thought I would really not enjoy this one. Came away more than pleasantly surprised. Not only did I not hate it, I liked it a fair bit. Very interesting soundscapes, cool rhythms, funky instrumentation .. turns out, that is my jam now. ⭐️ the carrier, the jezebel spirit Really liked this tidbit from Wikipedia: The album title is derived from Amos Tutuola's 1954 novel My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. According to Byrne's 2006 liner notes, neither he nor Eno had read the novel, but they felt the title "seemed to encapsulate what this record was about". So: We didn’t know what it meant, we just thought it sounded cool. That’s how the whole album felt.

This sort of thing is my bag, baby. They ate with the cover art, too.

Dynamic but incredibly boring

3, echt nicht mein Fall aber gut

I do see how it blew people's socks off 43 years ago, but my listening experience here and now gives me a fairly big Whatever. Not helped by the nervously dry, brittle, anorexic musical contribution of the Talking Heads fellow.

This is exactly the type of album that belongs on this list. It's influential and experimental, and a good listen for contextual reasons. There are a few songs that I would return to, but overall this album is more of an "interesting experiment" than repeated listen.

remain in light part two

Good interesting album, deserves to be on the list, but not one I’ll be rushing back to, I’d rather just listen to talking heads.

Close to a 2 but I got sick of it

Give me some music with gd lyrics

This one's a snooze fest, no thanks.

Interesting enough for a single listen.

The second collaboration of these two Giants…“Everything That Happens Will Happen Today” is one of my favorite albums. And without this one it could not have been. Interestingly listening to it in the background does make sense. And one of the better titled albums.

Interesting stuff. A bit repetitive but cool rhythms overall

3 stars

вот это настоящий психодел, пожалуй нет

I can't give anything David Byrne does a 1, but I was really tempted.

not as good as his other work

Very stoked this is on this list, but shouldn't be surprised. This album is a masterpiece and is perfect in every way. Very thrilled to get it this morning.

This was interesting. Different, experimental and challenging. Not exactly easy to listen to. Not a background or mix kinda record. But there’s definitely some good work here.

Reminds me a lot of “Remain in Light” by Talking Heads. Very groovy, like experimental funk stuff. It kinda gives me a weird vibe when listening to it, though.

I'm not a great connoisseur of Talking Heads' work, much less David Byrne. I had never even heard of Brian eno. So all I expected was Psycho Killer type, but it wasn't. It was actually a very interesting musical experience. An experimental album that definitely has its value and must be enjoyed calmly. But it's not something I'll hear every day.

If you love Talking Heads then this is a lot of fun. Otherwise, it might get boring. Either way, Buster Jones' double tracked bass on "Regiment" is funky as hell and worth listening to with headphones on. That's one of those tunes I have to play twice before I can proceed.

Brian Eno *is* everywhere! I really enjoyed this album, especially considering when it was made and the technology of the time. You can hear aspects of this album in David Bryne's later solo work, as well as other bands, and I feel like the sampling is more sophisticated and true to the sources than a lot of later stuff by other bands and musicians. And I'm glad that while Eno described the album as a "vision of a psychedelic Africa," to me most of the songs didn't actually have that world-music vibe that I worried it might. I can totally understand how edgy this album felt in 1981, as it sounds a lot more modern (and interesting) than a lot of stuff coming out at the same time. And while I couldn't find an online copy of the short film/video "America is Waiting" by Bruce Conner, the short/video for "Mea Cullpa" is easier to find and worth watching for an added visual experience to that song. ("Mea Culpa"'s animation made me think of the end credits experimental films in the "Babylon Berlin" TV series, although I'm pretty sure those were from the 1920s and 1930s.)

Between David Byrne and Philip Glass is Brian Eno and this collaboration makes the chain complete. It is true that my 80s anxiety and angst came out with Mea Culpa and I almost had a nervous breakdown but this is part of the trip. Ah, good times... And with some serious funk making the avant garde bits more interesting than indulgent

Not unpleasant

For this review, I’m sticking to the track listing of the 1981 second edition, with no bonus tracks factored. From what I can gather, producer Brian Eno previously worked with David Byrne on prior albums with the latter’s group the Talking Heads. This album marked the first time the two collaborated separate from that group. Inspired by Eno’s trip to Ghana for a West African music festival, this album takes sampled recordings from around the world and puts them over funk guitar riffs and percussive rhythms. All this to say that it’s a very ambient album, where the samples take the place of lead vocals. It helps that the instrumental compositions in the background get pretty groovy in places such as on “Help Me Somebody”. Sure, some recordings sound a bit dated, but they never feel overwhelming in the mix. Not a lot of tracks stand out, but again it’s largely ambient and meant for the whole experience. Overall, I enjoyed this album a lot more than I expected. Give it a shot.

This is a really cool project, I’ve become quite fond of Brian Eno’s ambient work and I think David Byrne brings a very interesting ear to the album as well. The fun mix of odd vocal samples goes well with the energetic instrumental tracks and becomes percussive and new.

This was pretty weird, as expected.

This was my 730th album - and the 352nd one that Brian Eno was somehow involved in. Like the others - it's fine. David Byrne saved it.

just a collection of sounds, didn't interest me in the slightest

I just don’t really get it. This doesn’t really have any redeeming qualities to me.

I liked it. It was like ambient art rock.

All noise.

Apparently Brian Eno and David Byrne teamed up in the early 80's to make an experimental album consisting mainly of samples? It sounds like something DJ Shadow would have made 15 years later. A really unique, fun album with a couple great songs.

Klonk als een soundtrack voor een film, sommige nummers waren Bangers, sommige vond ik niks

Uhh ja uhmm oke. Doe mij maar talking heads

this is the worst album i’ve ever heard

Mostly noise tbh

God I love Brian Eno

A combination of Byrnes musical style and Zeno’s ambient sound. Ok

So annoying

Very interesting sounds. Some in a very good way some in way that is not for me.

Pretty crazy. Ambient, experimental. Not quite my jam but this was pretty ahead of its time.

It's primarily revered for pioneering use of samples, which incorporates music and speech from around the globe and the cinematic production. Fair enough. But the reality is, this is a hodge podge of ideas thrown together with no semblance of cohesion or central purpose. Art for art sake could be the argument for it. Again fair enough. But if it doesn't motivate or move me to dance or cry or laugh or anything, then what is the point? Maybe it's a new genre - Robot Pop

How many Brian Eno albums do we have to listen to. Seems like every month it's another one. Get it, he was influential throughout the ages, but then so was influenza! What to take away from this album. Too many buttons, too many ideas no coherant thought, down the rabbit hole of his mind, again for the millionth time. Not that interesting but what I am interested in, is did he manage to pay his mortgage with this fluff or did he have wealthy parents? In other words I know no-one ever, who has bought a Brian Eno Album!

Interesting, but Remain in Light was better. Great album cover though

Wonky sample nose by art-loving pretentious clever men. I mean, why not? It's not painful to listen to. The exorcism track is great. It just has "Interesting side-project" written all over it. As a teenager, I would pick this out of my step dad's CD rack from time to time when I wanted something different to listen to. 3.5 stars

God love the 1980s... an innovation of sampling and synthesizing experimentation, or an incoherent mess? You decide. Still "art" though init!

This album has some really catchy music and production and could easily be a 4 or 5. Unfortunately too many tracks having these annoying and repetitive sound clips mixed in that get very agitating.

Eno and Byrne. I expected it to be weird and outside my comprehension. It was. It was more engaging than I had expected in some songs. Particularly like the bass guitar.

1001 attributes this to Brian Eno, but it was a collaboration between Eno and David Byrne. Because no one person could have come up with this alone. I don’t even know how two guys find all this stuff and figure out how to put it all together. What is the process like for creating songs like these? It appears to make use of a plethora of samples of “found” sounds, with some sparse instrumentation mixed in. The result is bewildering and unique and demands your attention.

Another +1 in the Brian Eno is a genius bucket. Dude rips. It starts out poorly with the 80s cheesy sound of America Is Waiting. But after that it’s great. I heard the expanded version and I like it all. At this point I need to go back to Ambient 1: Music For Airports because I may have misjudged it.

A lot of people mentioned that this wasn't really what they were expecting from a Brian Eno and David Byrne collaboration. I'd say this is exactly the outcome of mixing both of their styles together. Poly-rhythmic funkiness of Byrne/Talking Heads and the ambient and avant-garde sounds of Eno. Some of the backing instrumentals remind me a bit of Head Hunters-era Herbie Hancock (especially the track "Regiment"). I will say that some of the vocal samples can get distracting at times. I can see how this album would go on to influence future sample-heavy electronic artists or even hip-hop producers such as DJ Shadow.

It seems kind of ahead of its time for 1980 because it’s not synthesized all to hell but the random weird samplings from old recordings I guess or movies whatever they are. It’s just not working for me. Like, if you took out the samples and told me this was a Trent Reznor produced I’d believe you.

mir zu elektronisch oder zu "abgespacet" ... oder ich rauche zu wenig

I can see how this was influential, but it mostly ended up being background music for me.

Brooding, unsettling but somehow compelling stuff. The tribal drumming is the backdrop for the first part. Melodies are not overt but do emerge from the chaos. On Regiment, there is a more standard groove before a striking vocal hook and warbling synth come in. This definitely leans towards fusion, and it's greater than the sum of its parts. Come With Us is maybe the strangest track, cold and metallic. Mountain of Needles, and indeed the rest of the album, continues in an ambient vein. I find it hard to rate this, but it feels impactful.

Enjoyable but felt like most tracks never got started

Mostly reminded me of a 90s RPG soundtrack, very experimental but enjoyable

1001 albums really likes experimental electro. This has to be my 10th or 11th experimental electro album, which feels like more than enough. Anyway, onto the album itself. I was utterly unfamiliar with Brian Eno and David Byrne coming into this, so I was flying completely blind. And what I found was some quite melodic experimental electro not completely unlike some of the soundscapes from Tangerine Dream. This is more melodic and dynamic than that, but the groundwork is there. This album is quite interesting, fusing some very early hip-hop, industrial, and some early techno vibes together to form a somewhat cohesive album. If you're not into experimental electro, this won't be an album for you, and honestly it's probably not one I'll return to. That said, it was an interesting listen.

# 223 : sigh! I quit half way through! There's a reason why it was named 83rd best album of the 1980's! it all gets lost in a giant mess of sounds. have the people that rate something 5 stars actually listened/read/watched what they are rating?

The sound of two old white men tuggin’ each other off.

It's a modern art thing, huh?

Borde kanske gilla det här då jag gillar experimentell musik. Men det gör jag inte.

i'm sure influential on 90's dance but rating on how much i enjoy listening. so 1

I knew it was going to be weird, and it was.

Not sure I was a fan.

Loved! Great background noise for working, powered through my werk Standouts: help me somebody, the carrier

jesus christ. standout track: - mea culpa: (made me anxious bc it reminded me of the hell level in super castelvania IV) 1/5

En farlig kombination, men fungerer ikke så godt som hele talking heads

I’m gonna be really honest. I’m writing this review while I’m drunk. I listened to this while I was driving to work and it was pretty banging, but not super banging. It was pretty decent, but at the same time I don’t remember a lot of it. It might be because of alcohol. I don’t know. 6 out of 10 please mademoiselle.

Some of this is pretty out there, some it kinda bops though. Not sure how often I'll come back to it, but I liked it well enough.

1981 Genre: Avant-funk, funk rock, experimental rock, worldbeat, Afro rock, sampledelia Never heard of Brian Eno before this list... I'm a fan now. 3.5

Mea Culpa. So intriguing. 5/5

Lyrics are mainly background noise and very repetitive. Nothing much here interesting for me.

I liked it, especially the funk/world/electronic beats... they brought cohesion to some of the more noisy samples and sounds. For as novel as it was at the time, it's still fresh as ever (aside from the opening track). 4.0

It’s… ok. There was one beachy song I liked but otherwise I wouldn’t listen to this again.

Cool

2+

For those who like their music interspersed with hella vocal samples and soundbites - this is your jam.

A few classics but he is a tough hang for an album that isn’t thriller

This album doesn’t have enough songs about buildings or food.

This is a great collaboration of two amazing artists. I think it really shows a more experimental side with the sampling and found sounds.

The world music sounds of David Byrne are hit or miss. Overall a unique album.

To be fair I didn’t get past the first two because I felt like I was losing my mind

Ik dacht, ik ga even een dutje doen, en ik zet slaapliedjesgrossier Brian Eno op. Vergeet het maar! Deze plaat kun je beter instellen als het muziekje van je wekker. Bij vlagen hakketakt het in een zenuwentempo. Dan gaat het weer de kant van etnisch getrommel op. Sampletje hier, geluidje daar, ijverige percussie erbij, wat gebrabbel en wat gezellig gitaarspel ertussendoor. Ook vaag, maar een stuk interessanter dan de liftmuzak die ome Brian tot nu toe voor ons in petto had.

Man man man. Prima dat je een of andere exorcist opneemt hoor. Maar daaronder zit dan een jaren 80 muziekje met een geluidje hier en een geluidje daar. En samen telt het op tot niets... Hebben we het niet eens over de jengelgeluiden zoals op Regiment...1,5 ster.

Eno en Byrne samen, dat staat garant voor avant-gardistische gekkigheid. Gek doen omdat het kan, niet omdat het lekker klinkt. Kunst, omdat het moet. Kunst met een grote K. De muziek is experimenteel, qua geluiden en de samples die erin gebruikt worden. De basis van het middengedeelte is wel lekker funky, fijne baslijntjes en soms een Nile Rodgers achtig gitaartje. Het geheel wordt rijkelijk versierd (of ontsierd zo je wil) met tingeltjes, tangeltjes, synths, en alles wat Byrne en Eno maar in de studio konden vinden. Af en toe zitten er wel hele gave geluidseffecten bij moet ik toegeven. Op het einde gaat het rariteitenkabinet weer meer en meer storen. Gekke geluidjes, irritant gejengel uit het Midden-Oosten, teveel Eno ambient rommel. Voor het funky middenrif zou ik nog best een 3 kunnen geven, maar het geheel is mij te experimenteel. Zou ik dit liever luisteren dan Frans Bauer of Joni Mitchell? Ja, dat wel.

Well, I can't say that this was *exactly* what I was afraid of when I saw an Eno-Byrne album, but I definitely was afraid of the general theme of pretentious sounding art that doesn't really connect at all musically...this might as well be most of the other electronica tracks I've encountered on here: they all just sound like half-songs to me

3,5

Like both not this

I do respect Brian Eno, but his stuff can often not have much to hook you in, very 'ambient'. I find this an interesting album, has a groove to it, possibly David Byrne's influence.

A lot of sounds, not a lot of music

Just really boring

This was an odd little record. Didn't love it as much as some other Eno I have heard, but a cool flavour.

Eh. 2/5

It’s not music at all, just fuckin’ noise. Boo

I already know that Brian Eno can be artsy, but this is arguably his artiest work I have ever encountered. Naturally, this experimental album will be a wacky mess. I didn't appreciate the African and/or oriental music appropriation, but the track "Regiment" redeemed it by being such an uplifting banger. The only worth-listening song in the entire album, tbh. The rest is interesting at their best.

Didn't like it much

Gave it a start. Couldn’t finish. Need to be significantly altered to enjoy this.

Really interesting album, sounds amazingly modern for being from 1981

Great record

bellissimo, pieno di campionamenti e un sound elettronico ambient molto unico

# Playlist track - Regiment # Notes - Interesting but a bit too challenging for the casual listen. - I can kind of relate to how much of an impact this must have brought back in the 80s, but in my experience this album is more of a curiosity than anything.

4.0

Sounded a lot stranger back in the day…wonder what that means

I liked all the Talking Heads albums this this thrown at me, I liked the Eno album too, so logic dictates I should like this. I did not.

I quite like this one. Cool sampled 80s music without being repetitive noises. I've listened a lot to Brian Eno music, and I've definitely heard some Talking Heads music already. Good partnership.

What an odd yet engaging album. Such different sounds from multiple nationalities but a heavy African influence. Interesting to listen to but not something I would listen to again which is a shame as this app has got me into talking heads. I am not normally a fan of heavily instrumental music. This album had some good moments though and I understand the importance of this album. Favourite song: Regiment for sure Least favourite song: very very hungry Album artwork: Great cover I love it.

What a superb collage of sounds, from ambient to upbeat, from languid to dramatic.

1. america iz uuaiting - 0 2. mea culpa - 0 3. regiment - 0 4. help me zomebody - 0 5. zpirit - 0 6. hungry - 0 7. moonlight- 0 8. carrier - 0 9. zecret life - 0 10. come uuith uz - 0 11. needlez - 0 12. voltage - 0 13. 2 vz 3 - 0 14. neuu feet - 0 15. defiant - 1 16. number 8 - 0 17. tin foil - 0

Two pretentious freaks make flip glorp blip boop sounds

weirdos

Not an album worth listening to

For some reason, art rock liked to cosplay as world music in the late 70s to mid 80s. Peter Gabriel, Japan, Paul Simon, and of course Talking Heads prided themselves on using "exotic" (hurl) sounds and introducing them to the world. Maybe it was because as the synths became more and more prominent and rock more cliche, something was needed to keep it fresh. Maybe it was because samples were becoming a musical instrument of their own. Or maybe it was because Fela Kuti was that good. Anyway, I have to admit, this specific niche of music is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, and My Life In The Bush of Ghosts slots right into it. You get a series of sleek Funk instrumentals that build a great, unique mood. Mea Culpa is almost postapocalyptic, with distorted voice clips sounding like a barely transmitting radio broadcast. Help Me Somebody has delicious polyrhythms with that distinct 'Remain in Light' flavor. Regiment has Lebanese chanting trading off with Frippian guitar. The buildup to the ending of The Jezebel Spirit is great, and Mountain of Needles is basically Brian Eno showing off his nice synths. It's a nice album, even if it's influence is a bit overstated and you should be critical of whether those samples from Arabic sources were actually paid. Light 4

"My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" is the first collaborative studio album by Brian Eno and David Byrne. The album integrates sampled vocals and "found" sounds with African and Middle Eastern rhythms and electronic music techniques. That's a perfect description. This album was Byrne's first one without the Talking Heads. It was recorded before "Remain in Light" but released after due to legalities regarding clearing the samples. It did fairly well commercially hitting # 29 in the UK and #44 in the US. Critically, it has gained more favorable reviews over time for its influences in sampling and electronic music. "American is Waiting" opens things with a looped drum beat, weird noises and a guitar riff. The vocal sample is a guy talking on a NYC radio station. Hmmmm. Things get interesting in "Mea Culpa" with a very fast sample of an inflamed caller attacking a politician on a radio call I have no idea what they are talking about. There is an underlying African beat. Chanting eventually begins. The songs keep a little better and with "Regiment," there is a groove with the drums and bass. The Talking Heads' Chris Franz is on drums. Guitarist Robert Fripp joins the party giving a solo. The vocal sample is a Lebanese mountain singer. "The Jezebal Spirit" gets the funk out with the bass, drums and guitar. The song keeps building with keyboards and a guitar added. Apparently, the sample is of an actual Exorcist. Good luck picking that out. "Moonlight in Glory" is another funky song with congas. It sounds a lot like the Talking Heads' "Houses in Motion" from "Remain in Light." "The Carrier" slows it down and has a tribal beat and ambient vibe. Now, I'm thinking of early solo Peter Gabriel. I have to admit I was confused with the first listen of this; I really started to like it with additional listens by focusing on the rhythm and beats with all else in the background. The beats change from song to song - African, Middle Eastern, down tempo (before that was a thing), ambient and funky. And, several songs do sound like the Talking Heads' "Remain in Light" in their infancy. This album is not for everyone but if you're a big "Remain in Light" or ambient/down tempo fan, it's worth a listen.

I was kind of expecting more from these two's collaboration. Nothing really captured me.

Never really listened to anything by Brian Eno. I know of him. This is mostly instrumental music, sounds more like samples and other songs for background. pretty cool so far.

I’m sure I just don’t get it.

Interesting songs that I wouldn't necessarily listen to again

Liked some of it but not most

I find Eno hit or miss but generally really like Byrne. Overall I found this album better to "appreciate" than to actually sit down and listen to. 3 stars I guess.

an interesting exploration of soundscapes

4/5. An excellent collection of rhythmic beats and instrumentals with unique samples. It's interesting to remind myself this is made by two white guys. This is great music and reminds me of the instrumentals of Remain in Light by the Talking Heads. The difference in quality is unfortunately Byrne's missing singing. If these songs had singing, this would be elevated to best album of all time status.

Esperava mais, que fosse capaz de aproveitar as camadas da sonoridade africana.

1.5/5

I couldn’t get into this It felt like a soundtrack for an experimental art flick 1.5

A perfect merger of the sounds of both artists. I look forward to this growing on me as many projects by both Eno and Byrne do.

Hit and miss.

Ooh-er missus.

okay timbre

Liked this one a lot. It was weird at parts but it flew by.

Going into this I thought “surely Brian Eno won’t let David Byrne ruin an entire Brian Eno record” and I was right, but multiple songs sound like 5 minute long intros to a Talking Heads song and that’s just such a waste of the time these two had together I expected better

I thought this was really creative! Would I listen to this again? Probably not. Did I enjoy it? Kind of…?

i listened to this yesterday and have already forgotten everything about it. i liked a couple songs on spotify tho apparently, so it can't have been all bad. 2.5?

As compared to other sample-derived albums we've had, this one has a lot more of the things I like. There's almost always one unifying riff or melody per track, the tracks have different tempos and tones, some of them are danceable, and the samples are from a wide variety of media and origins. I liked The Jezebel Spirit and The Carrier the most off of the standard album, and liked a few of the tracks from the remaster as well.

I really don’t know what to say about this album. Like it definitely isn’t for me. It’s far too obtuse and artsy for my liking. A lot of it just comes off as noise. Given the talent here I’m not even mad at the songs because they SOUND good I just don’t like HOW they sound if that makes sense?

interesting sample sounds, seems to caricature Christianity. Overall good sounds.

Talking Heads on mushrooms. It's interesting but not something I am going to listen to a lot, or even occasionally. Good background music for something.

just cuz its ahead of its time dont mean its necessarily a good album

A very peculiar thing. I quite like it and might listen to it again - decent music for a long drive. And it's obvious where it's been influential. Not exactly full of bangers though. But following on from four scores of 2, it's clearly more likeable and playable, so 3.5 seems fair. Bump it up to 4 because it's different.

Boring, like everything Brian Eno does.

Menudo monton de ruido tu, la orimera es en David Brayne que es de una cansó que venia en el windows Xp (creo) prou mareante pa un divendres de mati (va a ser que no)

Schöne Covergrafik. Die Musik mag ich nicht.

Some wild abstract stuff. Feels like an experiment to take audio snippets from speeches and turn them into music, or even just a sonic environment. This shit be whack! It's an interesting soundscape but not something I would come back to.

Eno Jezebel spirit is cool Very very hungry is awesome. Love the wacky grooves and some interesting textures and rhythms. I’m sure it was super influential/ ahead of its time in its use of samples and loops. I can hear them developing some of the sound that they had on o”remain in light.”Cool but feels kind of transitional. I wish David Byrne sang on it this album would be great if it had some more melody and hooks. 3.5

This is original and innovative and everything but i just didn’t really enjoy listening to it. I like Brian eno and I do like some of their later collaborations but this one just isn’t it for me. Although there are some kind of cool guitar moments and textures. It’s good for what it is but it’s not for me. 2.5?

I really didnt like this.

Need more like this

I liked this but thought it was a bit boring overall. I felt like the songs bust kind of meandered around in existence with no real purpose or direction. Cool concept with fun moments.

This dude really sampled an exorcism

Chill, some nice grooves, atmospheric

Chill

A skip on this one honestly. It was loud and really annoying at parts. The random noises weren't cool and just got plain jarring to the point I was begging it to just end so I wouldn't have to listen to it anymore.

Not sure i get it

This album was very weird, but good weird, and that’s exactly what I expected from a Brian Eno and David Byrne production. A lot of the songs were easy listening and ambient while still being rhythmically interesting.

Them boys cookin. I don’t know wtf they were supposed to be cooking but this is aight (2.5/5)

On the plus side, it's way ahead of its time – 1981 does seem very early for sounds like these. On the downside, it's dry, experimental and mostly uncharming, with some of it sounds like Max Headroom. The found sounds are mostly fine, and intermittently interesting, but then dull and grating after a time. Plus they remind one of bits that Moby, Fatboy Slim and others of that annoying ilk would use decades later. The best vibe is on “The Jezebel Spirit.” Too much else just feels like mood-setting and exploratory noodling, or as they say in comedy “all premise and no punch line.” There’s a lack of lyricism and loveliness, or formal resolution at the end of the explorations that his best ambient work has (see “Music for Airports,” “Discreet Music,” “French Catalogues”). Even allowing for its influence and foresight re sampling and world music, it reads a bit stale and tired today. Ultimatey, it's just-okay Eno (maybe blame Byrne).

Objective I wish i was there when this album was made, and i wish i was there when people were hearing it for the first time. Minds must have been seriously blown. For 1981, incredibly ahead of its time. It’s easy to see the incredible influence this must have had on late 90s / early 2000s samplers. Groovy, creative, avant garde. Pushing limits in a very cool way. World drums had such a chokehold on musicians in the 80s. Personal You know when you walk into a music store and they have all the keyboards, drum machines, and hand percussion out for people to try? This sounds like a school bus full of toddlers got off at the magic flute and all tried all the instruments at the same time. I respect the art and the influence but don’t enjoy listening (save a few grooves). It’s been done much better since. These guys walked so dj shadow could run.