Reviews (page 6 of 8)
Most songs here are pointless and boring, but inoffensive. Zopf: Milk is annoying. Mostly instrumental pieces, none of which move me, even though I appreciate the violin throughout. The Sound of Someone You Love… is okay, nice background music until the violin takes a left turn
This is a cheesy 90s movie soundtrack. pirate penguin ninja laser beams I'm so random omg pew pew
Laid back, relaxing, experimental, orchestral, instrumental and some lyrical. Will be interesting to revisit at some point in the future
I tried but nope. I don’t get it.
Really enjoyed it
A friend who'd already had this on their list told me to listen to it again to give it a proper appraisal. So I did. And now that's 90 minutes of my life I'm not getting back.
I never heard of this until it popped up yesterday. I love this record, and can't even begin to explain why I do.
# 348 : Boring as f@ck. When your only claim to fame is you are on this list, it is no surprise I haven't heard of these guys before.
I don't think I've ever wanted to like an album more upon seeing the cover. As I listened I imagined this peculiar, charming music being created entirely by penguins scraping their flippers up and down the instruments.
Good background music for working.
Well, this was a lovely and atmospheric album that I didn’t expect.
Best Song: The Sound of Someone You Love Who's Going Away And It Doesn't Matter. Maybe the most "coherent" track on the album. Feels buoyed by its title, which really does evoke a very specific emotion that you can then try to interpret from the track. Worst Song: Zopf: Milk. You can really feel the "experimental" here. This is music in a technical, literal sense, but is also just sucks to listen to. Chaos for chaos-sake. Overall: Not altogether unpleasant background music, even if it does take an ugly and unnecessary descent into experimentalism in the middle. Can't imagine in what context I would want to listen to it again though.
I would rather watch happy feet
Describing this as “music” feels generous. Imagine an entire album composed by a couple of penguins hitting random keys and you’re 90% there. Repetitive and directionless, listener satisfaction fell from 30% to 10% over the album’s duration.
Mfs really said "lets make a concept album" with no concept of what they were doing (idk if it is a concept album but it must be because of the goofy ahh songs they have on here)
I feel nothing towards this. Milk and Pigtail are the best tracks !
Interesting
Weird classical-ish album. I didn't get it.
Dette ble all over litt for eksperimentelt for min smak, men de siste låtene var ganske fine.
Great album
Afslappende
Aldrig hørt om det før, men super fedt! Lød ikke rigtig som noget jeg har hørt før, der er godt nok mange 70er-gems derude
Why do I have this strange feeling that I've heard the Penguin Cafe Single before? Not bad, just more Brian Eno..
Pleasant enough.
Generous 3... Some good bits, some bad bits, spme easy to listen to background music. Quite interesting though imho
Started out fairly interesting but the further into it I got the weirder it became until it reached the point of nonsense on occasion. Afterwards I researched it and saw Brian Eno was affiliated with it and it all made sense.
Wes Anderson Music
Having an incredibly special moment listening to this surprising, beautiful, peculiar penguin music. If you listen while staring at the cover art, it really makes sense. Is profound, even. Music is always going to find a way to reach people when made honestly and from the soul. My heart is full. Bless you, penguins!
This was a weird one. I don't know if I would ever listen to this again. Sorry guys but 1 star.
This album changed my perspective on this entire project of mine. Wow. Just wow. Such a beautiful gem of an album that sounds like the most beautiful piece of lost media until it hit my ears for the first time.
Onirique (mais pas dans le sens mièvre). La musique est narrative en soi, inventive, tour à tour caressante, lyrique et inquiétante.
Classical instruments in a different mode. Felt I should have enjoyed this more than I did but rounding it up to 3 because the name is great.
3 out of 5. In a weird week with this list this album was the good kind of weird. Slight lull in the middle but overall not bad. Exactly what I expected from an album cover like this.
Turn between 3 and 4? Quirky, charming, at times frustrating, and at other times beautiful.
This was pretty. Naturally, nothing with the word orchestra is ever going to make me personally jump for joy however this album was medic and peaceful and I quite enjoyed it.
I've loved getting 2 instrumental albums back to back - first the post-rock of Tortoise and now the.... how do you categorize this? Apple Music says "rock" and I politely and firmly disagree... Brian Eno was executive producer which might mean nothing more than "I'll pay for your studio time" but "Eno" should be a category because that would track here. I love it - it's ... Penguin Cafe Orchestra, I don't know if there's a better description. I was familiar with their later track "Perpetuum Mobile" which is a favourite but am not sure I'd heard this album. Highlight: keys (Fender Rhodes?) on the longest track "The Sound of Someone You Love Who's Going Away and It Doesn't Matter" Different and weirdly unpredictable. 8/10 4 stars
I'm somewhat familiar with Penguin Cafe, but not this album. The tracks here seem much more experimental and at time a little irritating (e.g. "Zopf: Milk", and "The Sounds Of Someone You Love Who's Going Away And It Doesn't Matter"). The rest of the album is decent, but I think it comes off as a disappointment to me because I like their other work so much more, the stuff that is more orchestral and chill. Interesting that it was produced by Brian Eno. I guess that fits.
Not bad, per say. Just back ground music.
Definitely more like the noise-scape noodlings I expected from Brian Eno. But enough of this was purely orchestral that it was largely pleasant listening--with the occasional distracting bee boop thrown in.
Weird but good for what it is. Nothing particularly memorable
What a peculiar and unique album that mostly defies categorization. Experimental but still pleasant (some decent instrumental hooks) with a lot of emotion depth, just a unique way form of musical expression. Violin, cello, keys, and other instruments play around each other, occasionally against each other, sometimes in song form, sometimes out in space. They sweep you up in their tornado and bring you along for a ride. Occasionally they lose me or I drop attention for a bit. But overall it’s interesting music that rewards a deep listen but would shit a background nicely too. Appreciated hearing something with a different and unique sound…my morning listen was a 2 but I’m glad I had time to hear it again and bump it up - I experienced it more strongly the second go. There some other unique albums from this list that I didn’t love, but they still stick out to me and I like to revisit them to try to better grasp these new ideas (looking at you, American Gothic)…does that make it good? Probably just makes it something I need more than a day with.
Interesting, but I guess you have to be in the mood for it to really appreciate it. I wasn't.
this was like listening to clips from movie soundtracks - not altogether unpleasant, but I'd never buy this cd. I'd never heard of them
Hmmmm, I'm not sure about this one. Milk is quirky, and Pigtail was catchy. I did enjoy The Sound of Someone Who's Going Away and It Doesn't Matter...although, to me, it sounded like it mattered.
Do these guys have two albums on here? This one is interesting but lacks the innocent and wondrous spirit that would inform the next album and beyond. A soundtrack to an unproduced film the be watched on a rainy day
Unexciting but not in a bad way; it's experimental but at least it's music, I guess? (Looking at you, Einstürzende Neubauten)
a little weird.. but different
This was interesting and pretty. Nothing I’d listen to again, but I appreciate the talent and creativity.
Bookended very nicely but goes a bit wonky and weird in the middle.
This is hard to rate. At first I wasn’t sure if I like it his at all and after I had listened to the whole record I still wasn’t sure. But some songs were really good and I enjoyed them. Hard to say if I like it or not.
Really interesting and creative
I liked ths songs with instrumentals versus the ones with lyrics. Overall, this was soothing and relaxing.
This was a nice, chill way to get through the work day. I kinda liked it.
It was really nice music and sometimes it told stories through the melodies. Really good
LOVED IT!!!!!! This concept is executed to perfection. I love the artwork, the mythology, and most importantly, the music. Each song is a perfect match to its sentiment. I always get so emotional listening to pure instrumental. I was tearing up during the Sound of Someone You Love Who’s Going Away and It Doesn’t Matter. Reminded me of fado. The raw power of music, ladies and gentleman! This experimental folksy stuff is my jam, and I hate to even try to characterize it as such. It’s a genre bending album with international influences and pure creativity. Food poisoning will do that to you I guess. But The Penguin Cafe sounds like love and harmony and I’d like to go there someday.
I resisted the temptation to Google this album and artist before the review..... Never heard this music before but it feels nostalgic and familiar.... What an amazing sound. Vibrant and youthful. Sumptuous strings and cranking keys. Sounds like some sort of amazing theme tune to a TV show or semi Avant Garde film.... This is what I came to this list for! To be exposed to good old shit that's new to me.
Refreshingly quirky, but sometimes a little lacking - experimental and free to a fault
The first track sounds exactly like the interstitial music from Summer Heights High, which explains why the album cover depicts a white dude pretending to be a penguin
I couldn’t tell you the amount of times I’ve seen this record on sale and dithered over buying it. My hesitancy was because I was only really familiar with Music From A Found Harmonium, which isn’t even on this album, but I do really love that song. Today, I can say that I’ve listened to the album in full and it is every bit as lovely as I wanted it to be. It’s hard to really buy a genre on Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Modern classical sounds like an oxymoron, but it’s where my mind went to. This will absolutely be getting many more listens.
Wow. Excellent. It's timeless, I would have expected this to be dated.
Oh fuck me, apparently there's 1089 albums now not 1084. All that pondering and reflection on the park bench yesterday for nothing. Ah well, the voyage continues for five more and I'm glad for it. Regarding this album - Someone call Pingu cause this shit slaps. The Eno special sauce might (or not) have something to do with it. The Sound of Someone You Love was particularly and surprisingly moving. Noot noot indeed.
Reminds me of that Robert wyatt album but more likeable.
how lovely
Obscure indeed
Ganska svårröstat. Lite för experimentellt emellanåt. En stark tvåa
I was surprised how much I liked this. Chilled, jazzy, a great background album but one that is surprisingly deep with it.
Raro pero mola
Soy un hombre de palabra al que le apetece ir al Penguin Café.
I guess I shouldn't have been surprised based on the cover art for this record, but there were sections of this album that were a little bizarre for my tastes. I do find some of the free-form jazz stylings mixed with psychedelic rock of the day to be intriguing though. In a way it's also surprising to me that this album is from 1976 since a lot of the experimental portions of this record are reminiscent of sounds that didn't really come into vogue until the 80s. While I don't particularly go out of my way to listen to that kind of music, I appreciate when artists take big swings like that. Aside from the more jazz-like sections, the more Grateful Dead-sounding portions were very pleasant and beautiful. And I will say that if nothing else, this record certainly kept my attention which I cannot say for every album I've listened to for this project. Overall, I have no regrets in taking the time on this album today. Notable Tracks: - Penguin Cafe Single - Zopf: Surface Tension - The Sound Of Someone You Love Who's Going Away And It Doesn't Matter - that's a Fall Out Boy-ass title; also first 2/3s of this were good, then it got weird, then back to pretty-sounding - Hugebaby 5/10
In the course of listening to this album, I ran through a wide gamut of emotions ranging from partially relaxed, to ambivalent, to bored, and back to relaxed. 3 penguins out of 5 🐧🐧🐧
I don't really get it.
Interesting, eclectic new classical. Some of it’s very out there, some of it’s kinda blah, but it’s all a chill, well-rounded, listenable attempt.
This was good, nice, and completely inoffensive. I enjoyed parts, but there is way too little going on to give it anything higher than a. 3/5
Whew I don't know what that was but I dug it! 3.5 and on the "to buy" list
There is a sort of happy magic in this album. I love the elements of classical and whimsical pushed together. It brought me a touch of joy while I worked. That’s worth 4 stars for sure.
Very interesting.
Niet slecht, maar ook niet goed. Teveel muzikaal behang, alle nummers erna door Spotify klonken hetzelfde.
I liked the first couple songs a decent bit. The rest still didn’t do much for me besides a few pretty sections here and there. Still a great album to start your morning with. Not surprised at all Eno produced this. Rating: 3.2
What interesting, experimental song structures and productions... aaaaaand of course Brian Eno was involved.
Slightly more sophisticated but just as avant as its successor, Club Penguin.
Easily the best album cover I’ve seen so far. The music is a mixed bag. I like a good chunk of it, the opening song rules, but then it’s got that zopf part that’s kinda lame and boring. Probably 3 stars tbh.
Indeed, a relaxing cafe vibe
2/5 whatever
At times a truly beautiful and jaw dropping experiment into the power of lesser-known instruments to create wonderful soundscapes, and at other times an overly long collection of material that juuuust barely overstays its welcome.
I awoke from a dream where I visited The Penguin Cafe and desperately tried to fall back asleep.
Well that was cool. Some tracks stood out more than others. Some stopped me in my tracks to listen closer. Some were a bit weird, and I'm not sure if it was good weird or not. I've known about this music as a fan of Erased Tapes, but hadn't taken the time to listen to an album of theirs, so I'm glad I did finally.
nothing much, jusr decent vibed
It's weird, it's unique, it isn't making my daily playlist despite being more deserving of being on this list than a lot of albums so far. 3.5
Something something Wes Anderson soundtrack something. Cover art 8/10. (ntm.)
I'm guessing that the Penguin Cafe is not very busy? What a load of musical nonsense!
45mins of my life I won't get back
Not my thing but was decent enough
Interesting - but not my thing
magic at 33 revolutions per minute
Original petit album instru, j'aime bien
Might not be my cup of tea but cannot deny it’s well done
Completely new to me. Was really nice to work to, interesting but not dominating. More of a background album IMO - but I've found myself going back to it a few times already, especially while I read or work.
I wanted to get past the weird before forming an opinion. But damn, it is weird. Not enjoying it at all, even in a curious way.
This is exactly the kind of pretentious wank from the 1970s I should like. But it's just annoying and tuneless and souless.
Not really what I was expecting. Pretty boring.
Great album cover, bad music. 1.5
I loved the lush songs on this one. The harmony that the e-organ, guitar and strings create is immaculate
Experimental, but in a way I enjoy a lot more than some others. Funky or calm one minute, and eerie the next. The Sound Of Someone You Love Who's Going Away And It Doesn't Matter is a perfect song name.
Went into this one completely blind which is always a gamble. It's categorized here as Pop but that's definitely not it. I really enjoyed it. I could see playing this album in the summer while just hanging out in the afternoon or having people over for cocktails. Very interesting arrangements and, once you listen, it's actually a lot more intricate than it first seems. It makes sense that it was produced by Brian Eno. I'll probably keep this on regular rotation for a while and will totally buy it if I see it in the record store. Also, is this the greatest album cover of all time? Perhaps... 4/5
This album varies between a Disneyesque playfulness and an eerie carnival, with a wide range of other emotions in-between. It's weird and experimental, and just the kind of thing I want from this list.
Tulee mieleen muutama hyvä artisti tätä kuunnelessa. Kiva.
This is the first time I can recall a pop/orchestral/classical album listed. It's fine for background music.
An album of all time
Album cover is awesome and had better hopes for it. 2.5 stars
This is exactly what I want from this list. Something different that I would have never found on my own.
Odd and lovely. Serious but doesn't take itself seriously. Confident but never arrogant. Fun but not wacky, It feels like a score that should have more motifs to latch onto, but is too happy creating a delicious atmosphere to care what you think. Gorgeous and unique.
Not bad. Interesting parts Standout song The sound of someone you love whos going away
why
Pleasant
Very enjoyable! 3.5/5
Nice instrumental, it exceptional
I give 4 stars, because it is era appropriate, and credits the string players. Not a party.mix, for sure.
Hahahahaha
nooo ._.
70’s
Boring. I gave up listening after 4 tracks. 1/5
Pretty weird new age. Interesting though. More like this!
No sé ni por dónde empezar. No es que sea un mal disco, está lejos de ser ese el caso. Es una propuesta brillante, divertida, inteligente, bien ejecutada. Pero siento que el alma de esta obra está en su brillante ejecución (un alma muy intelectual), pero le falta algo de emoción (al menos eso siento yo). Tiene piezas buenas, que realmente logran ambientar el nombre que se les ha dado, pero por eso mismo es un disco un poco inconexo. Es distinto. En particular, no creo que sea malo (sin duda es bueno y valioso), pero creo que no logró conectar mucho conmigo.
Incredible ambient music with even more incredible cover art. It just makes me happy and want to stay at the penguin cafe for as long as I want
is this some kind of high-art shit about subverting the expectations of a listener? i dont know if i just didnt get it, but it felt really boring and repetitive there are a definitely more significant albums than this NNN
Very interesting. Sometimes pleasant and sometimes strange. Liked it enough to buy the CD.
Definitely kept thinking of this one as “Club Penguin Orchestra” and not its actual name… The longer pieces really standout from the shorter ones here. The compositions are best when they have time to build and layer, to really create a feeling or mood. The shorter ones are fine, but honestly feel like filler at times, like a vehicle to release the longer tracks on a full length album. They aren’t bad, just not nearly as interesting. What’s good here is beautiful. Really thoughtfully and genuinely put together pieces of music performed by a group of obvious talent. My only reservation is, as it has been before with debut albums, I wonder if this is the best it gets for them. I wish this book didn’t have so many debut albums because I refuse to believe so many artists peaked right away. But we’ll see. Three stars. Standout tracks: Penguin Cafe Single, Zopf: Giles Farnaby’s Dream, The Sound of Someone You Love Going Away And It Doesn’t Matter, Chartered Flight
Really interesting. Not an everyday listener. More of an indie film soundtrack, I guess. Excellent writing.
Fine, but basically Muzak.
Why? Never heard of this. Background music and nothing more.
This was fine background music but I don’t know why this album needs to be here or what its significance is. High 2.
Tickling and mysterious, but the Penguin Cafe Single is the best song of the album, and while the rest blend well together, then seem as if they should be long 20 minute jams as opposed to their own songs.
I was initially dubious about this one. But it's much better than many other albums on the list. A very solid 3 stars!
🎧The Sound of Someone You Love Who’s Going Away and It Doesn’t Matter is stunning.
Wow! I had no idea what this was going to be like and in the end, I really did love it. It sound very much like soundtrack music. It’s odd but very musical….a little dark at times, and sometime whimsical. I may have to listen to this one again.
It was interesting. Did not mind the lack of vocals, but some of the songs had some interesting choices.
I was having fun in the Penguin Cafe and then they lost me at double suicide. Needs more cafe. 3.
I was looking for more penguins. Personal enjoyment: 2/5 Relevance to this list: 2/5
Lovely at parts, others not so much. Never been a huge fan of the advante-garde scene, so we when enter that phase of the album on ‘In a Sydney Motel’ and ‘Milk’, it kinda lost me. But all in all, it’s got some decent parts. Probably a 2.5 for me, but not enough to push to a three. All that said, one of the coolest album arts we’ve had.
I tried with the Penguin Cafe orchestra in my pretentious teenage faze and like now I couldn’t quite connect.
Hit and miss for me but The Sound of Someone You Love Who’s Going Away And It Doesn’t Matter is a vibe.
This is cool stuff. Like an early Wes Anderson film, full of quirks and things that grab your senses.
I liked this mix of genres. Nice album Ive never heard of.
Exactly what you would expect from the "Peguin Cafe". Chill, cartoonish, and artsy.
A gem! Playful composition which take from folk, classical and avant-garde to make something quite unlike any of it’s influences. I discovered this album when I first read through this books many years ago, and it’s always a pleasure to return to.
Tufft
Top album/band name and album cover. I expect great things. I swear I've heard the melodies in Penguin Cafe Single before. Reminds me of the Beatles in some ways. Really enjoying Zopf: Milk. This is some enjoyably trippy shit. Hugebaby is wonderful. The minor progression + the screeching strings are ominous/unsettling and yet the song remains pretty. I really enjoyed this album after a single listen -- diving right back in. It never escalates too much, but makes for enjoyable and interesting background music. I am a simple man -- the sounds make my ear vibrate good. 4 / 5.
What the fuck is this album. It sounds like it's scores out of a movie about two penguins on the wildest acid trip you could possible imagine. The guys who made this seem musically talented but weird as fuck. I didn't mind listening to it and I liked the change of listening to some nice violin and other orchestra instruments but it's not exactly an album I would put on regularly. 3 stars.
I gotta say that this is a delightful album except for the discordant parts. I think I understood the back and forth, but I still don't really care for it. Probably tops out at a 4 for certain songs, but the lows are equal to the highs, so I think it averages right as a square 3.
Never heard an album be so cheery yet so creepy at the same time. MILK! woah what a weird song. Made my hairs stand up. The whole Zopf section of this album was crazy. What an absolute wild ride of crazy strings and electronics that didn't make up conventional songs at all but was still wildly enjoyable. I am glad the spooky songs were surronded by pretty beautiful tracks or else this would have been a hard album to listen to. But because there was a mix that made it a pretty dang good album. This music is not at all what I expected from a band called Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Well done to them for making an extremly unique album. High 4
ENO This is strange. I recognize something in this song but not sure where from. The middle of the first song reminds me of Willy Wonka the movie for some reason. The sound of someone you love who's going away and it doesn't matter is an insanely good song I loved that weird shit. Really loving the second half of this. This was a pretty solid 3 until the second half bumped it up. Highly enjoyable stuff. Never really know where it's gonna go which I appreciate.
Better than I thought weird music
Using classical instruments to play modern music is pretty cool. But I can't say I vibe with the sound too much, and the album doesn't appear to have any kind of theme. Their album covers are definitely interesting though (there's six including a compilation album and all have these weird penguin people).
Eh this was ok but I don’t think I would want to listen to it again.
Interesting project. Soothing to the ears at times, harsh at others. At one point it did calm my mind a bit which was much appreciated. I don’t love it but I definitely don’t hate it.
Perfect example of a band’s name fitting their sound. One can picture penguins performing most of these tracks, relentlessly cute, until one sort of tunes them out and forgets they’re there.
Taking ok music and making parts dissonant does not make any of the music better. Poor philosophy that others glommed onto.
Some lovely music interspersed with annoying noise.
It's Penguin Cafe, what's not to like? Definitely some more "out there" songs than I expected and seemingly Avante Garde for the 70s, but still an enjoyable album.
3.5/4
Gear: DCA ÆON 2 Noire Artwork: 🐧❤️🐧🏖️ Mix: 🎧😘🤌 Musik: "A Surprise To Be Sure, But A Welcome One!" Wertung: 🐧🐧🐧🐧/5
This was so enjoyable. The mixture of string instruments with beautiful guitar. This wasn't juet an instrumental either. A few songs had some vocals to add to the great layers this record has. I truly felt like I was on a journey through this record. A lot of emotion conveyed in instruments.
boring and weird.
Not particularly stand out classical type music. Just sorta there as background noise. No wonder I never heard of it.
what an absolute delightful surprise. bangers wall to wall love the instrumentals and songs with singing alike
Very interesting. I am glad I listened to it but I will probably never hear it again
I would LOVE to visit a penguin cafe (even if it would smell very fishy). Penguins are just super cute and mega cool. I think it's the way they move. I can just imagine them sat around in a Shoreditch cafe, sporting hipster moustaches, with this record playing on the vintage grammphone in the corner. A deliciously weird, avante garde, atmospheric, orchestral, dream-like little number. Rating: 3.5/5 Playlist track: Date listened:
I listened to this whilst making a pear crumble it was a bit intense but I enjoyed
not for me - 1.5
Weird but actually quite good.
What the hell is happening. Why is there a penguin cafe, and why does it have its own soundtrack. Also can I go to the penguin cafe and meet one of the penguins for science. That aside, this was kinda cool. Weirdo classical prog? I dug it as like… background music but it had some unsettling moments lol. Gonna have to research this one a bit more.
I'm giving this minimum 4 stars no matter what based on the art alone. But, really, for being a more calm album, it still goes through different and ambitious ideas. I'm able to clearly picture in my head activities and interpretations as done by penguins, fulfilling the mission. Wait, that's not the mission? Shouldn't have been so penguin forward. This is an album by penguins, for penguins.
Mostly this is the soundtrack to browsing one of those little boutiques in tourist towns, that are filled with "local" art that no one would buy if they weren't on vacation. There are some experimental moments peppered in here and there, and I really wish there were more. That seems to be when they are at their best. Nothing terrible here, just feels very "in the background" too often.
I think the best way to describe this album is quaint. It was a pleasing mix of electric ambient noises with a little bit of strings thrown in. I can see why it would be difficult to classify, but it did remind me of other albums, just ones from at least two decades later. For me, this falls somewhere between a 3 and a 4, but I'm feeling generous as it was just what I needed on a Sunday, so it's getting 4 stars.
lowkey FIRE
Wild and lovely and entertaining, experimental folk-tronica, but with live musicians. 4 stars.
The first song was interesting, reminded me of Eleanor Rigby, but from there it kinda just didn’t work for me. Interesting concept though.
Holy cow, really loved this one. An interesting blend of styles, veering into almost classical territory with the traditional instrumentation. A good chunk of this album is presented as a musical suite too, which is something I always enjoy. Not sure what else to say, but this is some kind of hidden gem. Wikipedia doesn't have much at all about this one, but I'm really glad we got it. Favorite tracks: Penguin Cafe Single, Surface Tension, Milk, The Sound of Someone You Love, Chartered Flight. Album art: Really, really dig the cover for this one. A guy pretending to be a bird (not doing a great job of it) hanging out at the Penguin Cafe and trying to blend in with the locals. A painted art piece, the colors are great, and the bold blue framing is great too. Just a really solid and memorable piece of art. 4.5/5
Mostly quirky. Calming and sweet at times. Jarring and experimental. Very, very interesting.
Chill album. I think I liked the non-Zopf songs more, but they were all pretty good. I didn't care for the vocals and think those songs would have been better without them. 4/5
I really liked this record. It not only sounds like some of the good experimental groups that also came from the 70's, but even reminded me a bit of some more modern acts like Sleepytime Gorilla Museum at times.
Never heard of this, but really liked it. I'd be into listening to more of these guys. Too bad the main dude died at 47 :( 4/5
Brian Eno is a fraud and must be stopped
This sounds like it could be the soundtrack of a sad romance movie.
I recognize the album art for some reason, but no idea why… This album has been more enjoyable than any of the other purely instrumental albums we have listened to so far, in my opinion. It has a feeling of light heartedness and whimsy, which takes me away from the problems of the real world. Oh, I guess there is also singing (From the Colonies), which is very depressing. I liked the lighthearted parts, but could barely make it through some of the terrible squeaking on string instruments. Just… why?
Definitely preferred it to the preceding album. Kinda felt like a anime soundtrack. Some of the melodies felt familiar, which made me enjoy it even more. I’m kind of tempted to make it a 3, but this is 1001 albums - gotta come harder.
Sometimes it was a movie score, sometimes it was background music at a wedding, and sometimes it was beeps and boops. Why is this on the list? A two because the album artwork made me chuckle.
I would have preferred listing to an actual orchestra. I liked the last minute of "Zopf: Giles Farnaby's Dream". That's about it.
Albums like this are why I’m doing this project. I had never heard, or heard of, this album before doing this, but I am really glad I’ve now been exposed to it. You can obviously hear Eno’s influence on it, but I also hear some Tubular Bells-type sections, which is always nice. This is just avant garde enough to make you feel like you are cool but poppy enough to be listenable. Good stuff.
3.5/5. Keep your expectations low and you’ll never be disappointed, actually wasn’t that bad. I do wonder about which demographic this music is aimed for. Guess it doesn’t matter.
Beautiful album. Great find since I never heard of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra before.
Very odd, in a good way! Feels almost more like a classical piece than most things on the list, with wilfully weird lyrics and gorgeous music
I want to like this a lot more than I do. It’s experimental, avant-garde classical pop which should theoretically appeal to me. But at its best, Penguin Cafe sounds boring or mildly pleasant, and at worst it’s harsh on the ears. At least other experimental groups like the Residents or Throbbing Gristle put some humor into what they do. Penguin Cafe on Brian Eno’s record label just really doesn’t inspire me.
Uhm huh
Started off decent enough, than vocals started and it immediately went full cringe. Not the worst British album that didn't deserve a spot on this list, but still pretty bad.
Nice music but grey
I like a lot of what I've heard here, and I really considered giving it five stars but it lacks that memorability factor that I look for in a five-star album. Still a very good and pleasant listen though.
Definitely an interesting and eclectic album
WUT
Strange one
It's pretty experimental. I like it.
That was a really good album. I loved the variety of styles and that it kept me on my toes. I definitely heard some Larks Tongues in Aspic influence in there. I also recognized some Godspeed You! Black Emperor in the song Chartered Flight. My only qualm is that the album was a bit too over the place which sacrificed cohesion. Still though, a great album. 4/5.
“The sound of someone you love who’s going away and it doesn’t matter” caught my ear the most here, spaced and reflected a little during it. Otherwise, kinda a mish-mash.
this is an album i wish contained no vocals! they weren't remarkable and were kind of drone-y. the music by itself could be good. some parts were jaunt-y or jazz-y or just plain pretty, but then you'd get such jarring violin screeches and my goodness. i don't think there was one song i liked completely, because the penguin cafe orchestra saw fit to ruin at least some part of each song.
I made the mistake of listening to this strange, ambient album right after listening to a strange, ambient Brian Eno album. So I think i was already all ambient-ed out. In any case, this didn't resonate with me as much, unfortunately. Love the album cover, though.
Loving the cover and didn't hate the album
Thoroughly enjoyed this! definitely coming back to this one
This seemed fine. Interesting even. I was a little annoyed at the idea that this 'concept' was somehow so unique and special when it felt to me like it was clearly so derivative of the later Beatles stuff... maybe coloured my view of the record as a whole. Overall though I think I would listen to this again if I needed to but I don't think I'll seek it out again.
A fascinating piece of avant-garde jazz. As I'm listening to this, I keep hearing snippets of tunes that I could swear I've heard before, even though I've never heard this disc at all. Then I saw that it was produced by Brian Eno and it all made sense. His atmospherics are all over this album. Some very nice playing -- quite approachable for jazz heads and newbies alike. I give it a thumbs up.
‘The sound of someone you love’ was very nice but the start of the album had an almost creepy quality
Cool stuff I thought!
A bit dull
Not bad but not my cup of tea
Stones. Beatles. Zeppelin. Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Not necessarily in that order
3.3 I kinda dug it. Will check out other albums. I think it might have been inspiring to indie bands throughout the years. Definitely hear some broken social scene, pixies, death cab etc in there.
Yacht rock music and Eno soundscapes.
Aprecio la intención y sin duda que es un disco digno de escuchar al menos una vez.
Avant-garde but not for me. I'm sure it's influential but I wouldn't listen to it again.
Completely unknown to me but strangely interresting. Added to favorites.
Pleasant enough as background music, but can't really see myself revisiting often. (2.4)
Cause its cute haha, and weird, but not good? Lol this music
Pretty sure I have heard a few of these on hold with AT&T or walking into a wedding reception. Abstract and somewhat interesting. Situational for sure, but it was not terrible. 2/5 1/5
Interesting album artwork. Even more interesting sounds. I enjoyed listening to this record. You can definitely tell that it has Brian Eno’s hands on it, no doubt why it probably gained more attention. If this is the music featured in life’s cafe I’d definitely like to go there.
This was like a fever dream. Wait, did I accidentally drop acid at work? Truly great album cover by the way. I might try to find the vinyl for that reason alone. I liked this, can’t really imagine sitting around one day and having the presence of mind to put this on.
Its fine. A good listen and interesting. Just not sure why it stands out.
I didn’t mind this album. I appreciate the turn in genre from other albums on the list. That said, not sure why this is an essential album. My guess is Brian Eno’s involvement elevated its status and it wouldn’t be in this list otherwise. I could see myself putting on a station based on these guys. I’ll probably forget their name and look forward to asking Siri to “play a station based on that band with naked penguin/human creatures on the cover.” 2.75/5
Quirky with Eno production but likable
Very pleasant. Will spin again. 3.5
Sounds like a bunch of themes to BBC light entertainment programs. Not unpleasant, but not something to actively listen to either. OK to have on in the background as it doesn't disturb me while I'm working.
# Playlist track - Penguin Cafe Single # Notes - Super freaky and experimental, but with some nice, more accessible tracks to ease it off. - The opening track is kind of great. - Great instrumentation. - Only a couple of tracks are reeeeally hard to enjoy.
Folk instrumental inglés. Ni fu ni fa.
not too bad . kinda boring
Snoozefest
More enjoyable than I expected from such experimental oddity
3.5 - I liked parts but then it would throw me and I would question if I did or didn’t like it.
Nice nice love me some strings
ovo je zapravo fascinantno da je dobro, sviđa mi se
Àlbum divertido, de música instrumental con toques un tanto creepies.
Atmospheric, jazzy, experimental, chaotic, and somehow chill. It’s hard to even tell what decade this may have been recorded. I definitely loved the whole experience with the exception of the few noisy tracks.
I'd never heard of this but loved it as soon as I put it on. You can hear Eno all over it. Will definitely explore more their albums.
What an interesting concept, I love the album art and it immediately drew me in. I just imagined the characters on the album cover performing the music, sitting outside at a nice café on a lovely summers day, with onlookers sipping on some gorgeous spritzes and nibbles. Best: Penguin Café Single Worst: Coronation
Wouldn’t have listened to this otherwise. Probably never will again.
3.4/5 Best Track: Penguin Cafe Single
A really mysterious record. Had never heard anything of it but it was a really unique experience. Fantastic musicianship and really interesting arrangements. Will definitely work into my rotation
This was very nice and easy listening.
Some great moments
I enjoyed what I heard, but I also didn't realize it had ended for about 10 minutes.
Is this background music to a silent Wes andersonnmovie?
5 star, really like it
Música de ambiente. Bastante agradable.
Meh
The 70's were wild, man.
I like the cover art and a couple of the song titles and I sort of like Giles Farnaby's Dream. That's about it.
It was ok. I had it on in the background whilst working and I mainlyt forgot it was there.
I’ve never dropped acid, but if I ever do I imagine this is how every album will sound. Both going up and then coming down.
Well the Penguin Cafe Orchestra have waddled their way onto my list of acts I have been gladly impressed by from the generator. What a whimsically fun listen it was, starting with the joyful tones of the Penguin Cafe Single. They got weird too and I am not against that, Milk was excellent. The Sound of Someone You Love was gorgeous. I really enjoyed this experience, it was actually a really good album to work to as well. 10/10 album art too. I’ll absolutely waddle back the the Penguin Cafe. 4 stars
Full of playful dissonance. Simple string arrangements often become hints of urban strife. Often memory of a good old Windom Hill Sampler or at a few heights memory of the cyclic pleasure of Philip Glass.
Melodic radio 6esc
3.5
bangers
As advertised
Really really enjoyed the first song and added it to my favorites. The rest of the album was good as background music but won't be revisiting anytime soon.
Eclectic and interesting but not something I am likely to seek out.
This is so fun I listened to it again. Almost a 5 except the weird verbal interludes distracted a little.
this was a great album. I'd never heard of them before and ended up listening to the rest of their albums. I'm in with this group!
Música de ambiente. Bastante agradable.
Rating: 3.5/10 Mostly boring and overly meandering. This album is very unfocused, there is no clear theme musically. This should have been completely instrumental, the vocals totally threw me off and did not fit well with the music. The only consistent theme is the use of orchestral elements but every song feels so random; it feels like they wrote 11 songs with orchestral elements and called it an album instead of crafting something with purpose. Despite all of these faults, I found two songs to be great and there were a decent bit of good ideas on here, even though most of it seemed pointless. Favorite songs: Penguin Cafe Single, Zopf: Giles Farnaby's Dream, parts of The Sound of Someone You Love... Worst songs: the rest of the Zopf songs.
Very avant garde. At times melodic but at other times less accessible.
Idk how to feel sometimes chill sometimes v unnerving
I have a theory that there are two types of great artists: Experimenters and Consolidators. Most artists would like to think of themselves as Experimenters, but the work of the Consolidator is arguably more important; being able to take the weirder aspects of Experimenters art and recontexualising it to the extent that it becomes an established part of an artistic movement or form is difficult, arguably more so than ripping the rulebook up. Music From The Penguin Café is without a doubt a work of experimentation. An odd album made by a band who consisted of a guitarist, an electric pianist, a violinist, a cellist, and an occasional ukulele player and vocalist, it’s music is equally inspired by 70’s Sunshine Pop, Baroque String Music and Celtic Folk, with the odd bit of Atonality thrown in for good measure. It’s a mix that doesn’t always work. But when it does, it works incredibly. The best use is the centrepiece, the 12 minute long ‘The sound of someone you love who's going away and it doesn't matter’ which manages to perfectly balance all of the elements in such a way that it captures the journey from longing to acceptance and perfectly portrays the feeling of existential dread and the resulting panic attack. Ultimately, I enjoyed this album. It’s often beautiful, occasionally touching, and not as twee as the name would have you think (apart from the lyrics to Coronation, wtf were they thinking with that?) But I do also think that it ultimately fails as a piece of experimental art. One of the things that Experimenters have to do is ensure their work is Consolidatable, and Music From The Penguin Café has no successors, nobody attempting to reproduce it’s sound in a more recognisable context. But, for a piece of esoterica, it is well worth a listen.
interesting
I've never been entirely able to get into purely instrumental music, but I think I can respect the composition of these tracks. It can't exactly keep my zoomer attention span piqued but I still think it's decent.
Proper silly name and album cover, really love it.
Never heard this before. I should have. Quirky, weird, beautiful. Where is this cafe, I want to go there, like now?, please!?
Cool but not for me 3/5
Different, original... I loved it!
Favorite Tracks: “Penguin Cafe Single” “The sound of someone you love who's going away and it doesn't matter”
Look at album cover say, "this is gonna be weird". Ended up not as weird as I thought it would be so a bit disappointed. The whole time I was listening I created a documentary in my head about a penguin named Zopf. As a score to that nonexistent doc this would make sense. Otherwise it was just chill background music. And I swear I've heard the track "Milk" somewhere before! But where the hell would that have been!? Oh yeah, of course this was produced by Brian Eno
What a delightful and odd album this is. Chamber music with some weird singing thrown in, tons of abnormal rhythms and yet a very clean sound.
I don't understand how some of these albums make it into the top 1001.
first listen i found this extremely interesting, but not cohesive enough to rate highly
New to me, Great find
Interesting music, but just feels like ambiance. Not really for me
First, search for the album rather than follow the link, the 2008 remaster is complete rather than missing Pigtails. I know these mainly for Perpetuum Mobile, which is absolutely delightful and should be checked out even if you don't love this album. You've probably heard it on an advert, but deserves listening in full. Also check the Aussie film Mary and Max, which is where I first heard it. Beautifully used and lovely film. Never heard this record, and it's certainly more challenging in general than the albums of theirs I have given time to. Anyway, it's gorgeous sometimes, mental at others. Tick, and tick. Wiki calling this Pop is funny.
Surprisingly good. I liked some more than others. Will listen to it again. Possibly.
strange
jaaa chammer mache, bin nid wück en fan
interesting - plötzlich isch e saite grisse haha
Very pleasantly surprised - interesting, calming, nice to have in the background while working
Fantastic album… so many cool grooves throughout. Would definitely play again when feeling like a vibe.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra - Music from the Penguin Cafe This album is why I'm doing this challenge. Never in my life would I have found this album on my own. However, if I had, I would of listened to it based on the cover alone! This album is what happens when a musician from the 70s isn't sure what kind of music they want to make and decides let's do a pop/classical album and get Brian Eno to produce it. Equal parts chill instrumental/ambient music and extremely weird sounds & lyrics. At the end of the day, I enjoyed this one as it both lived up to my expectations (based on the cover) and left me scratching my head wondering how it even was made (and released). 3/5
Not for me, but I'll bump to a 3 because it doesn't sound like '76.
Beautiful and imaginative!
Surprisingly dynamic and interesting
Oh shit! I've loved this group for a very long time. My 43rd most listened to band since 2011. Not my favorite album from them but still love it and being the first I get it's relevance on this list. "... in the Penguin Cafe your unconscious can just be. It's acceptable there, and that's how everybody is. There is an acceptance there that has to do with living the present with no fear in ourselves."
Went from wtf to on pretty fast. 3 stars
Only instrumental music. Some of the songs are reachable to everyone, but others are not that much.
Ik hou wel van geinige instrumentale dingetjes, zoals Yann Tiersen en allerlei blije filmmuziek. En dit album biedt wel het een en ander van dat soort, helaas staat er ook nogal wat piepjanknor-muziek op. Ze moesten zo nodig kunstzinnig doen. Het verbaast dan ook niet dat ook hier Brian Eno er met z'n tengels aan heeft gezeten. Jammer.
Dan laten ze iets op de toetsen vallen, dan vinden ze de meest neurotische manier om een ukelele te introduceren en dan laten ze horen dat je met snaarinstrumenten ook kan krassen. Alles ter onderscheid. Alsof Brian Eno zich ermee bemoeid heeft...O, wacht....
Het begint als een soort psychedelische prog-folk, maar in plaats van met traditionele instrumenten wordt er geexperimenteerd met allerhande strijkers en toetsen. Vervolgens stapelen de experimenten elkaar op. Meestal mislukken experimenten, maar hier zit af en toe zowaar een geslaagde tussen. Deel twee heeft meer weg van sfeervolle filmmuziek, ik hoor af en toe ook wat Kraftwerk er in terug, Pink Floyd en zelfs Shocking Blue. Ik moet dit een paar keer luisteren denk ik om het op me in te laten werken. Het is sowieso best interessant om te beluisteren, al schuurt het soms. Ik vind de nummers gespeeld door dat Pinguin Orkest wel het beste, de Zopf nummers zijn mij iets te experimenteel. En ik schuw experimenten over het algemeen juist wel, dan heb ik liever gelikte en geproduceerde Taylor Swift countrypoprock af en toe. Ik had liever een hele cd van het Penguin Cafe Quartet gehad.