Reviews (page 6 of 8)
Eclectic and folky, sometimes slightly off-kilter. Interesting stuff.
Soft and reassuring
Interesting.
Background music without a doubt, but it was a fun listen.
Soundtrack for a film never made, or instrumental music meant to accompany a Snoopy and Woodstock B-story. Nice, light listen.
Enjoyed big chunks of this but it often got a bit distracted. Can music procrastinate? If so I think this album does that a lot (and I know a thing or two about procrastinating). Can definitely tell Brian Eno played a part in this. Nice background music with some really good parts and interesting sections, if you knocked about 15mins off I think this would be a 4 for me. Will probably listen to it again but mainly to try stop me procrasti
Quirky, whimsical, oh Eno produced. Got it
A cool mix of folky music that blends in a lot of Eno's ambient ideas. Would get a 4, or maybe even a 5, from me if not for the few times that it veers into "1970s New York Performance Art Piece"; this trend is at its worst on "Milk" P.s. Happy #700!
It's a nice album. Not really sure it belongs on this list, but I did enjoy it. The best elevator music ever. :) 3/5
Interesting. I’ll admit I’ve never heard of them.
Nice melodies and a nice album to work to. A pleasant surprise!
A little box of surprises.
Quite a departure from most of the typical styles and genres. Most of the tracks caught my ear, and I must admit I didn't really get into whether I liked or didn't like it. A good signal of how different it is. And some of it is really beautiful.
Música muy cómoda de escuchar. Sin mucho aliciente. Sin vocalizaciones. Instrumental y melódica
ihan kiva mutta yksi kysymys... miten :.. VITUSSA VOI.. PENGVIINIT OLLA ORKESTERISSA???? HAHAHHAHHAHA HULVATONTA!!!!! joo mutta tota noin ei mikään kummonen vähä rupes jopa vituttaa jossain vaiheessa... mutta yks biisinpykälä nimittäin the sound of someone you love who's going away and it doesn't matter aika paska biisin nimi mutta siis mestarillinen teos yesmäinen mahtisuoritus... nostattaa yksin parilla tähdellä... muuten vähän PASKA
Never heard of this project before. Certainly unusual and unexpected in terms of the feelings this music evokes. Beautiful and unique, sort of ambient, sort of new age, nice work from a group of obviously talented musicians.
those penguins do be composing that music though
This is actually not the first time I’ve heard Penguin Cafe Orchestra, as I already have a song by them in my liked songs. My favorite off this album was The Sound of Someone You Love Who’s Going Away And It Doesn’t Matter, but some of the album was a bit too weird.
This is a weird one but it’s grown on me. I’m not in love but I don’t hate it either. It’s also hard to describe but I imagined the whole album being played by a bunch of penguins which is kinda cool. Ukelele, harpsichord, strings, electric piano, suicide, violins, guitar, “The Queen is dead”. Zopf: A Sydney Motel gave slight Elliott Smith/The For Carnation. The whole records feels all over the place. It’s out there and never boring
It's like King Crimson was forced to play a very fancy wedding.
From the aublime to the cor blimey! So.e beautiful violin and some grating noise. Interesting but confusing
Nice. Maybe someday i'll play it again.
This was weird. Sometimes good and sometimes strange. I don’t know how I feel about it.
Unlike anything I've ever heard. Weird, wacky, artsy, quarky... I prefer the ones NOT labeled "zopf".
I don't really understand the importance of this album. Kind of a modern classical thing. Nothing too challenging or impressive. A mellow, easy listen while I was working. Not going to listen to more from these guys but I was ok with the time I spent with them here.
It's nice and pleasant, but nothing that special. 3 stars.
It's a totally unique sound and, in places, pure ear honey. Still not sure I like it though!
i love penguins and everything about this pleases me
not bad few songs a bit out there
The first track is derivative of every pop song in the late 60’s early 70’s that had orchestra backing [See: Beatles]. The sound of Someone You Love was quite lovely, but a lot of the record wasn’t very interesting. In fact the most interesting part of this was the name of the band. I… didn’t hate this. Not that I liked it much either.
I liked this pretty well, and points just for being well off the beaten track... the pop got a little too avant- for me in several places though, shading well into annoying territory. But I’d be up to hear more from this project.
I liked. Nice and relaxing. No idea of what is the art value to be in this list.
Not bad, but overstayed its welcome.
eyyy clezic
Good as background music, but gets a bit repetitive. Nice textures though.
Nice chill stuff, would listen again
-I swear I recognize like 5 riffs from "Penguin Cafe Single" -A lot of wonkyness but also some bass action in "Milk" -It was kind of interesting, but mostly weird. The strongest song was definitely "Penguin Cafe Single"
Áhugaverð plata. Fín að hluta inn á bakgrunnsplaylista.
Decent
Really pretty interesting album
I can see the appeal, but I don't think it will be more than background music for me.
Imagine the faculty of a college music department congregating for a Summer BBQ party. After setting up the grills and cracking open a few cold ones a musician emeritus slides a fiddle case across their lap and quizzes the rest of the revelers, "Who wants to back me up with a little jam session?" This recording is quite an free thinking ensemble of instruments and styles that might rarely combine, like chamber orchestra, choral voice and classic rock rhythm section. The fusion ends up being specifically none of the above, but it works well. Harpsichord, ukulele and electric bass together? Why not. There really ought to be more than just orchestra, wind, jazz and acapella for imaginative students and faculty to play around with convention.
I enjoyed this, it was very chill.
One Iv never heard of before, very weird and wonderful, glad I listened to this, but don’t it will make my frequent rotation, maybe for background music when I’m working.
I had no idea what this was but I enjoyed it.
Quite different sounding - 1976, but seems timeless. Really different, but in a good way.
Folk instrumental inglés. Ni fu ni fa.
Heel vreemde en opvallende hoes, en ook titel. Geen idee wat te verwachten, maar de rustige folkmuziek kon ik wel smaken. Maar de nummers met vocals vond ik minder
The album floats along merrily with a few ripples but it never really p p p p picks-up.
What the fuck is this? P-p-p pick up a penguin. Erm...it was actually decent. 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧 Up the penguins.
Well, this album was delightfully weird. I absolutely loved a lot of the instrumentals, but the tracks with vocals on just didn't land as well for me. From the colonies sounds like it could soundtrack one of the jokier spaghetti westerns and it will be a while before I can get it out of my head! A strong 3, but a 3 nonetheless.
After the previous classic rock posts, this one came as a surprise. I had not heard the Penguin Cafe Orchestra so this was a first time listen. At times, the music was fresh and uplifting and this sometimes came across as a experimental orchestral soundtrack score. I can't say I disliked it and actually it's very pleasant background music, but as a "must hear", I'm not so sure.
Toen ik de albumhoes, de albumnaam en het terugkerende woord 'zopf' zag, had ik hoge verwachtingen. Jammer dat het sombertjes was. Zitten wel echt mooie stukken in.
Un album avec de la jusique et de super musicien. Pour le contenu je ne suis pas certain de ces quoi vra8ment. 3
Pleasant but I didn’t love it.
It’s fine for what it is, but it’s not for me. I’m glad someone is thinking of the penguins though.
6/10 don't think I'll listen again but it had some really pretty moments and was creative and well produced.
It's a nice album but I couldn't for the life of me figure out how it got on the 1001. Then I realized that Brian Eno was one of the three producers and I remembered one of the rules is that an album is automatically included in the 1001 if Brian Eno does as much as sneezes on the album.
I was surprised to see that this was released in 1976, a decade (or two) before I had first heard of these guys. It sounds like a folk-tinged version of Michael Nyman, though Nyman and the big minimalist names were still pretty obscure in 76. Some pleasant pieces. I prefer side two with it's longer tracks vs. the shorter avant-garde tracks on side 1, especially the ones with weird vocals.
was alrighttttt
Produced by Brian Eno. Something really good about this album. At first, I thought it was just another boring (mostly) instrumental album, but this one caught me by surprise. I really enjoyed it. Like to hear it again. 3/5 Standouts: Penguin Cafe Single
Teraz z calkiem innej beczki piczek, bo jesli pamiec mnie nie myli jest to pierwszy reprezentant muzyki klasycznej na liscie do tej pory, wiec oczywiscie jestem totalnym ignorantem w tak wysublimowanym gatunku, trzeba dodac ze jest to muzyka klasyczna w stylu contemporary, a zatem wspolczesnym, roznica polega przedwszystkim na tym jak bardzo wykorzystywane sa komputry w celu uzyskania boskiego dzwieku, wiec nie same klikanie klawiszy, czy pociagniecia smyczkow stanowia o brzmieniu calosci, ale wazna role odgrywa takze producent, a co do producenta, to jest nim nie kto inny jak pan Eno, ale tym razem tylko w wydaniu executivowym, wiec raczej za kompem nie siedzial przy minksowaniu materialu, co do samej plyty, to zastanawiajacy jest motyw pingwinowy na okladce oraz nazwach plyty i bandy, sama banda Penguin Cafe Orchestra sklada sie z 4 czlonkow Helen Liebmann na wiolonczeli, Gavyn Wright na altowce oraz skrzypkach, Steve Nye na organach elektrycznych i stanowisku inzynieria projektu oraz czlowiek orkiesta Simon Jeffes, czlowiek orkiesta, bo jego wikiowa lista instrumentowo wokalna zawiera electric guitar, bass, ukulele, cuatro, spinet, electric piano, mouth percussion, sheng, ring modulator, vocals, to jest orginalny sklad, ale traki od drugiego do osmego byly wykonywane w formacji zapisanej na trakliscie jako zopf, dochodza tam grajkowie ukulele i wokale, ale tych wokali jak na lekarstwo na albumie, bo przeciez to muzyka klasyczna, wiec jedynym trakiem od poczatku do konca okraszonym wokalami bedzie coronation, wokale brzmia jak wokale w muzyce klasycznej, ktora jednak nie jest grana na koncertach, ale w studiu, troche dziwne uczucia mam z tym zwiazane, jesli chodzi o brzmienie jakie najbardziej mnie uderzylo z tego 45 minutowego materialu, to polaczenie gitary elektrycznej ze smyczkami, zwlaszcza na otwierajacym penguin cafe single, jesli nazwa traczka nie jest przypadkowa i byl to singiel promujacy krazek, to zdecydowanie byl to dobry wybor zeby sprzedac ten album, bo kawalek zawiera skompresowana reszte albumu, nie ujmujac calej reszcie ten jest naprawde dopakowany, kolejnym traczkiem wartym uwagi jak dla mnie byla najdluzsza kompozycja calej plyty numer 9 na liscie liczacy ponad 11 minut, tutaj glownie za sprawa tego, ze czuc motyw przewodni kawalka z samego instrumentala, czego nie bylem w stanie doswiadczyc na innych numerach, ale tak to jest jak jest sie ignorantem w kompozycjach klasycznych, chociaz pewnie malo co taki album ma z muzyka klasyczna i bedzie to raczej instrumentalny folk, tak jak podpowiada wiki, dwa wspomniane traczki laduja na plejce, tym razem na plejce z instrumentalnymi klasycznymi ostami, bo nie wiem gdzie lepiej by byloby je zaklasyfikowac, a nie bede tak bardzo sie rozdrabnial w nowe plejki
Eccentric, but in a nice way
Not really my thing.
This was an album I'd always seen in my local record shop when I was at uni - it seemed odd just from the cover and the music is definitely skewed towards the odd even though it's using traditional instruments. Mostly instrumental, slightly odd and it's ok for that - still, I'm glad I didn't buy it. Best Tracks: Penguin Cafe Single; Zopf: From the Colonies; The Sound of Someone You Love Going Away and it Doesn't Really Matter
Interesting sounds, clearly pulled by Eno to an ambient direction. Was a good listen for exposure, but nothing to really return to again.
Interesting instrumental full of psychodelics and ambience
Ok this has a dumb name so I'm expecting something silly. Maybe prog? The timeline is about right... Ok, this is pretty spacey. Not prog, it's... avant garde? They weren't lying when they used the word orchestra, but it's way stranger than the name implies. I don't think I'd ever listen to this willingly, it drags on a bit and some of it heads into anti-music territory (at one point it sounded like R2D2 having a stroke), but I gotta give it a tip of the hat for being weird and unique without pissing me off too much. 3/5.
Weird! I liked. I didn’t fall over.
Fav song: the sound of someone you love
I was expecting either stuffy chamber pop or elevator music. It's a small victory that this was neither. Some weird avant-garde stuff, but nothing too out of the norm. The best track features a reinterpretation of La Bamba, which was fun. Best track: Giles Farnaby's Dream
Interesting
Relaxing.
Alright, later albums are far better
A relaxing and pretty yet also perplexing orchestral album. I especially enjoyed the string work on this album and while I found some very peaceful, beautiful work here; I was also left scratching my head more than once. It's an interesting look at what 70s orchestral music was dabbling in, but I'm not sure if it worked well enough for me as a whole piece (even if a few of the tracks will be definitely going into my ambient/insttrumental playlist).
Including The Who below here. I wish I could like them but just can’t. It always sounds like generic rock to me. Keith Moon’s drumming is definitely distinct and noticeable but doesn’t add anything for me. Opening with Baba O’Riley and ending with Behind Blue Eyes is iconic but the rest was forgettable. Penguin Cafe was interesting. I guess i would describe it as more interesting background music. In particular liked track 3.
Huh. I think this took a while to grow, but it did grow on me. A variety of musical ideas swimming about but the trade off is in coherence. Still, it gets better after the first track. Favourite track: "The Sound of Someone You Love Who's Going Away and It Doesn't Matter"
Early version of their rock chamber music
Mal was komplett anderes. Folksy, jazzy, entspannt, eso
Listenable but not super engaging for me. Very ambient and experimental in parts. Really disliked the songs with vocals. Progenitor of bands like Air, who I like better, but I recognize the Eno influence and respect the vision to make a record like this.
Just not my thing I suppose. It's more like an interesting collection of sounds than music.
Weird and not quite good enough to make it work, I think. I learned that Zopf means pigtail. I liked Giles Farnaby’s Dream ok.
Not that fussed, but did prompt me to listen to their second album which is quality. Gave an extra star for that
You know, I actually really enjoyed listening to this whilst cooking, it lifted my mood. I found the bits where it was suddenly high pitched, and where is got kind of experimental, were too much for me. It was a bit spaceshippy at points which was fun, and I like that theres a song called hugebaby 😆
A surprisingly contemporary genre-defying oeuvre from 1976 that blends elements of chamber orchestral music, psych-rock and others. Reminds me of The Books.
Instrumental a veces más interesante otras veces algo menos.
Bonito mas não devo voltar a ouvir
Relaxing
Kann man hören, muss aber nicht. Viel instrumental, Titeltrack ganz nett
"The band's sound is not easily categorized, having elements of exuberant folk music and a minimalist aesthetic occasionally reminiscent of composers such as Philip Glass." - From their Wiki page. Would be good as background music
Wish I could give a 3.5... Mostly quite fun and relaxing, but then some jarring shit towards the end
Pleasant orchestral folk. 6/10
this one was an interesting listen-to, but not my thing
it was nice to listen to.
It has several enjoyable pieces, Chartered Flight, Giles Farnaby's Dream, but it also gets dissonant frequently and loses it's charm. An interesting listen.
I dunno
not your typical orchestra
7.1
light, breezy vibes. instrumental.
Fav song: Zopf: Giles Farnaby's Dream
I like this. nice and chilled and good for working. Classical music for people who dont like classical music.
It was wild.
Strange, reminds me of Brian Eno's work a little bit, good background sounds.
listened to a few songs, typical first album stuff. Great concepts and song ideas but musically its not there yet. The debut is admirable, i wanna be swept away and then be cuddled by a handsome penguin. That was not the case we only got passed dinner and a walk to my car. night penguins
Meandering but really chill
A little quirky at times, but mostly enjoyable to listen to.
Quite artsy. As expected of any album with "Cafe" in the title. King Krule type beats. Standout Tracks: Penguin Cafe Single, Coronation, The Sound Of Someone You Love Who's Going Away And It Doesn't Matter
If I wanted to listen to chamber music, I would listen to Brahms or Beethoven, not this. It clearly sounds like the intent was chamber music but with a more modern sound. Early electronic influence courtesy of Edgar Varese. I don’t care for that kind of experimentation. It doesn’t work for me. Cool album cover though. 2 stars
I feel mixed on this. The instrumentals are lovely and interesting in parts, but then other parts are irritatingly experimental and random. Overall it's not soothing enough to be background music, but is too soothing to be anything but. Standout tracks: Penguin Cafe Single, Chartered Flight Rating: 2
Groupe inconnu. L'instrumentation est originale, violoncelle et violon sont rares dans les 1001 albums ! Certains morceaux sont totalement instrumentaux, ce qui est tout aussi rare. Ceci dit je n'ai pas trouvé le résultat très captivant ... un peu trop long, pas assez rythmé, trop pseudo classique. Je n'ai pas envie de l'écouter de nouveau. =>2/5
Unusual, I'll give them that. Faded after a bouncy start.
What is going on here????? Where am I????
This is certainly (maybe, I'm just inferring) innovative for its time. OK background music. Not something to come back to eagerly.
Avaliação um bocado ingrata porque provavelmente no mood certo eu teria gostado mais e daria melhor nota
Weird. And not in a good way.
This album was very pleasant. There are familiar themes throughout I could almost put lyrics to but the floated away too quickly. Pretty good.
Weird in a Deep Breakfast kind of way but for me not as enjoyable.
Very weird electronic music
"The Sound of Someone You Love Who's Going Away and It Doesn't Matter" is a masterpiece. Rest of the album is terrible.
Sound of a band trying out synths to see if they can make orchestral sounds. A bit wildly a bit tosh.
I was driving around today listening to this album and I stopped at a drive thru to get something to eat. When I went to pick up my order, the worker said to me, "are you listening to the Penguin Cafe Orchestra?" I was stunned. I couldn't believe they knew who they were! How? Just then, the worker took off all of their clothes and put on a penguin mask … and I woke up in a cold sweat. In truth, if I went up to someone and said, "I'll give you 10,000 guesses to name the artist I am listening to right now and if you get it right, I will let you slam me in the ass with this largest dildo you can find," let's just say I'd feel very confident that I wouldn't have needed to stop off at the Diddy compound beforehand. With that, a quick look at a few albums released in 1976 not on this list: Summertime Dream by Gordon Lightfoot Night Moves by Bob Seger Turnstiles by Billy Joel Agents of Fortune by Blue Oyster Cult Let's take first album on this list, which has one of the great songs of all time in The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Let's presume the rest of the Summertime Dream album is crap. I mean just down in it awful. The worst shit has ever been shat. Like, you are sitting in the stall next to someone who is taking the wettest, most painstaking crap of their life. So bad they are loudly moaning and can't control it. Maybe even whimpering a bit. I mean, so foul and noisy that you exit your stall as quickly as possible, in fear of catching whatever the guy next to you has. So awful that you hold your breath as much as possible while washing your hands as hard and with as much soap as you can manage until you are ready to pass out. Finally making it out the door, with barely enough air to warn the dude ready to go in there to go to another floor to do what he needs to do. So hideous that the two of you decide to call for an ambulance and when the EMTs arrive, they walk in for about two seconds, turn around, come back out and say, "we're just going to let him die." What was my point again? Oh yeah, let's assume the rest of Lightfoot's album is that level of shit. I mean, take away his recording contract bad. Arrest him if he picks up a microphone ever again bad. Kick him out of Canada bad (and think about how nice Canadian's are). Even then, that album, with the Edmund Fitzgerald on it, would be better than this. Which begs the question, why is this here? Also, while I am at it, I get that some people love Brian Eno, but I just don't get it. Everything he touches is like the prep work for a colonoscopy. No substance but leaves you trying to get everything out of your system that you have just taken in. And that cover. "Yeah, I really am a penguin. I promise. That fur down there? It's just a minor thing I am seeing a doctor about. No big deal. Speaking of small things, you wanna get out of here and play with what's inside that hairy patch?" Somewhere, someone thought, "we need something that will catch people's eye and really bring them in, maybe we go with beastiality?" Don't do drugs kids, don't do drugs. I mean with all of that, there is no other possible rating. P.S. - The Sound of Someone You Love Who's Going Away and it Doesn't Matter was pretty cool. A bonus star. 2 stars.
I like experimental music more than most people, but this didn't quite grab me. It was a little too esoteric or something. Still, it was different from anything else I've heard, and that's no mean feat.
I know some of this from various Charlie Brooker vehicles. Bit silly, bit sinister, quite glum. Sounds more and less modern than it is, which feels like the intention. It’s beautiful but I don’t know if I’m particularly enjoying myself - like The Great Gatsby. Christ, this is sad. Could we have a bit of a laugh, please? I feel like I’m on a comedown. Some optimism from the final track - too little too late I’m afraid.
I appreciate the experimental aspect of this album and there are some beautiful moments but there are also some very annoying moments that take me out of enjoying the music.
Fine soundtrack, but not a good songs.
One of those 'important in the history of music' albums. Certainly not one with strong hooks, emotional intensity, groove, or lyrical payoff. 2/5.
Wanted to like this. Disappointed.
Starts off engaging and listenable, but drifts into noise/jazz exploration further in. Interesting, but not for me.
Good except when it was hair raising
Very eclectic and had a hard time keeping my attention despite not having anything 'bad' about it
I was going to give this a 3 because I felt like I should like it more than I did, but then I realized it was only 45 minutes long and felt like 2 hours, so it's gotta get a 2. Sorry
Listened Before? N Man, the 70s were weird. I'm not sure WHAT this is. I don't hate it, but it feels like elevator music from a mall where smoking is allowed in the corridors. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Penguin Cafe Single
Not a huge fan of experimental music but the Sound Of Someone You Love Who's Going Away but It Does Not Matter was beautiful. Second star thanks to this song.
2 1/2 Stars: Pretty innocuous album. Not terribly offensive. But not terribly memorable either. Really need this project to pump the brakes on the experimental recordings lately.
Very strange sounds—sometimes soothing, other times completely off-putting & surreal.
Orchestral music but avant garde. Not impressed. Penguins are not listening to this shit.
Beautiful sometimes, but some parts were like nails on a chalkboard
What a curious music project, I was only familiar with the album cover. I really like the instrumentation, but i couldn't get into the songs. Cool experimental chamber background music.
Some of this was ok and sounded a bit like pink Floyd and godspeed. Some of it was total guff.
4/10
Not my thing
hmmp Nice.
Meget interessant konceptuelt album på en måde, men jeg synes ikke altid at det var så lyttevenligt, noget af det var lidt weird. Andre gange havde det nogle elementer der var ret fine og cute. Ville give 2.5
I think I was able to like violin like three times, but all I can remember was from that one David Bryne song. If this didn't have a violin I'd give it a way higher score because the songs were super interesting but egads were my ears on fire
Lets get this part out of the way... whoever decided this needed to be on this list of essential listening before dying is a pretentious, wanna be cool, wanker. Get over yourself. That being said there is about 18 minutes of really nice background music in this. The entirety of the Zopf section can do exactly what the person who put this on this list can do, fuck all the way off.
Maybe it caught me in a bad moment but I found this actively irritating.
Annoying
1,7 Highlights: In A Sydney Motel, Surface Tension
3/19 Forgettable
This music is pleasant enough. Good music to listen to while studying. It’s not groundbreaking. Am I missing something?
First track got my hopes up, and I thought a lot of the more pop-centric pieces were similar to The Smile Sessions (which I loved). Too many ambient tracks for me, though. I can’t handle a minute of random beeps being a “song.”
Kind of like subdued prog rock with some wobbly singing here and there, this mid-70s album from the UK is pleasant enough but lacks both the strong melodies or the experimental flair that would make it memorable.
Another of those I'll likely never go back to, but this was a nice listen punctuated with moments of complete strangeness. I liked it.
I feel no need to listen to this ever again.
Look I am a band kid but I really lost the plot with some of these songs. I am sure this group is more interesting in their live performances. 2 stars.
interesting but not my jam
Incredible name. Even better album cover. But soooo not for me.
Why?
If you told me this was a contemporary, procedurally generated, AI OST to a Minecraft mod. I would totally believe that. If I saw it in a charity shop I would pick it up on the name and album cover. Still, 2 points
Interesting. I liked it.
Penguins are fun, where was the fun it sounded tragic throughout
Mostly sounds like the soundtrack to a gentle early 80s sitcom set at a retirement home in Vermont, but then occasionally a deranged former avant garde artist gets a hold of the Casiotone for a minute. Laffs ensue.
I can be quite a fan of orchestral stuff but for some reason I wasn’t a fan of this and I really wanted to be because hello the penguin cafe orchestra, can it get any more fun than that !?!
"Semi-acoistic chamber music", decent in the background
Felt like I was listening to some version of the same song on repeat
Artsy
Pleasant. Pleasant orchestration with non-traditional instruments; bongos, ukulele, washboard, etc. The Ecstasy Of Dancing Fleas, are the dancing fleas in ecstasy? Or is it the observers of this wee circus? Or both? Either way, it’s the top track. Penguin Cafe Orchestra comes in at (2.48*s) Pleasant like a cup of lukewarm warm tea…
I think I recognize the opening track from these penguins. Not bad "classical" music that added a little spice to the baroque style. It's a weird album with some good tracks but also gets slow and boring at times. Not surprising Eno had a hand in it. Would not have expected this on the 1001 list but not mad about it...1.7 stars.
Not a bad entry for 1001. Unfamiliar with Penguin Cafe Orchestra and doubt I would have been exposed to them otherwise. What I got was mostly pleasant jazz fusion or whatever this genre qualifies as. Nothing special but I also wasn't upset in any way to listen to this. Decent background music to turn your brain off to. Some silly racy penguin artwork on their albums doesn't hurt I guess. 2.24 stars
Meh. Been getting a lot of nothing burgers lately…
Had moments but it was too weird and jarring for me.
Muzak 2/5
Okay sounding for - well - a cafe background, would not repeat listening to it a second time.
Weird Classic stuff with chembalo aber bis auf dass der Name witzig ist ist es sonst eher nervig..
Wikipedia's best guess at the genre: "Pop, chamber music, minimalism, avant-folk, chamber jazz, modern classical." Yeah, nobody knows what this is even supposed to be. Bonus star for the album cover where the crow is mansplaining something to the penguin, though.
definitely counts as noise
A handful of lovely moments but way too much aimless noodling, a record which doesn’t seem to have worked out for itself what the point is yet. Might have made a nice EP.
Weird but not weird enough.
I hate rating experimental music low, because I feel like it makes me seem like I can't handle it, but I just found this one to be mostly boring. The male vocalist is terrible, all of the songs feel super slow like they are being stretched out, and a lot of the zopf song feel half baked. There are some good ideas here and there though. I like a lot of the strong parts and the female singer is good. There are very few songs with a harpsichord that don't feel cringe. High 2.
Had some beautiful lines but generally too avant garde
Maybe I'm looking in all the wrong places for new music
ok
Background music.
Another one of those that makes me think the list should be 750 albums, or 501 albums. Not bad, but nothing i would ever seek out again.
Interesting, but not enough so
Bit bland for my taste. Kept waiting for it to kick up a notch but never did. There’s a few moments where it turns slightly sinister, but not often or for long enough. The whole thing put me in mind of a 70s sitcom… Will probably never revisit.
- nyt vaikuttaa erikoiselta - ja onkii vähä erikoista - en mä tätä välttämättä uudelleen kuuntelis mutta propsit erikoismeiningistä
A bit out there but it didn’t bother me.
17/1001 First listen. This one is unknown to me but seeing Brian Eno’s involvement made me optimistic. It was okay. Maybe another star if I spent more time with it. I’ll come back to this sometime though.
I always liked that long song and thought I should check out the rest of the album. I didn't miss anything.
I feel like I’m missing something…
Upbeat and fun at times but mostly giving melancholic vibes. It’s as if Glass, Eno and Fripp formed a chamber pop band obsessed with manic depression and suicide.
Странная хуйня
Paguine da frontian ulavune int um tee, orkesta u pam trea munda va indrollaget vu poft.
1. penguin - 1.5 2. coloniez - 1.5 3. motel - 2 4. surface - 2 5. Milk -1 6. Coronation - 1.5 7. Dream - 1.5 8. Sound - 2 9. Baby - 1.5 10. Flight -1
The rejected score for an episode of Randall & Hopkirk Deceased
Hmmm album you need to listen to before you die ??? Not sure about this one… it’s hard to describe … it sounds a little like a soundtrack to a PBS or “after school” movie. I listen to a lot of instrumental music but usually there is some virtuosity being displayed… this was like an album Of elevator music … pleasant enough, competent playing… but I kept asking “why?” 2 stars
This is an odd album. Very few vocals, eclectic instruments, and lots of dissonance. It almost seems more like a movie soundtrack than an album. It's just ok. Some of the themes are good, but overall it gets to be grating after awhile. I would not listen again, but glad to have heard it once.
Some orchestra songs. 2.5 not for me.
If it’s not country or jazz it’s fucking penguins. This list man….
Remind me to never go to the Penguin Cafe
I guess the tunes aren't bad but I'm in stark disagreement that this belongs on any curated best of style albums list. I don't understand why I'm listening to this.
i really wanted to like this (especially because one of my friends had sent me another one of their albums 2 years ago and i enjoyed it) but i just don’t :( a little too psychosis-inducing for me. also, The Sound Of Someone You Love Who’s Going Away And It Doesn’t Matter actually made me cry in the bus
This was fine, but weird and I don’t really get it. Brian Eno is great, maybe this had to be done to propel him to greatness?
харесвам шантави неща, ама това ми напомня на объркването ми като дете като се пусне нещо неразбираемо да слушам
This is a bit of a weird record to my ears, I want to like it but it doesn't connect with me, I guess it just feels a bit esoteric, austere, maybe just simply cold? The follow-up is so much better
This album was nothing more than Muzak.
Would not buy.
Really weird in a good way. 2/5
This was way too chill for me in a way?
This is a fun little oddity and there are a few really good songs on it, but it isn't really an essential listen
This was very strange to me especially the milk song. There were some disturbing, eery sounds, but I get that it’s by design. All that being said, I did enjoy most of it. Wasn’t the worst in the world, but I like music with vocals and without weird noises.
Sounds like a weird carnival soundtrack.
Seriously, why is this in this list?!
Like the idea of free flowing experimental minimalist music but not enough to hold my attention here
Penguin Cafe Orchestra is doing a lot. It may be doing too much. There’s no one element, in the band or the orchestra that grabs me, and all together at points I even find it off putting. Dialled down a bit it could be a nice background piece. What I can say for it though is that it sounds very modern for 1976.
Boring
omg ich wett au is pinguin café bis jz erinnerets mich chli ah musig wo im menü vomene game spielt. eig na gmüetlich, au wenn sich mier d wichtigkeit vom ganze nöd ganz erschlüsst (ussert natürlich, dass de brian emo sini finger im spiel gha het) joo iwie findis eifach chli langwilig? und es chönnt vill schöner sii mite striicher aber weiss nöd milk wenigstens chli speziell aber seeehr ahstrengend HAHAHAH giles dream erinneret mich ah das einte rayman spiel wo d salomé und ich amigs uf de wii gspielt hend pigtail fantastisch, grosse fan (hans ghasst) the sound of someone you love that's going away and it doesn't matter findi actually no schön! (sicher auchli wegem titel) find na cool, dass es immer wieder ufs gliche thema zruggchunnt glaub das album würd mier eso vill besser gfalle, zwar langi songs, defür vill meh ufd atmosphäre und zemmehäng bedacht statt 2-3 minütigi quirky "lieder" ok hugebaby lustige titel hahahaha hä allgemein die 3 letschte hend mier denn doch no recht gfalle, wiso isch zopf so scheisse gsi? eso wirds vlt knapp es 2
My, my, how the Mary Poppins penguins have fallen. Jolly Holiday to video game music. It was not the worst I've listened to, but it was weird and I'd be okay not listening to it again. 2 stars
This is probably pretty unfair of me, because I actually did quite like a few tracks on this album, but so much of it just bored me to tears. Several of the songs seem to go nowhere. Maybe this is better listened to as background music. I will say, it's always nice to hear the electric piano, it's a nostalgic sound for me. To be honest I was probably too tired to appreciate this properly, I may have to listen to it again. Can't see it getting a much better rating, though.
Some nice moments but a little too scattered
Snelle inhaal review #21: Dit valt denk niet te behappen met een enkele luisterbeurt. Het klonk op sommige momenten wel heel cutesy en vrolijk, maar andere moment bleef het volledig niet hangen.
Perfect album bij een koude winterse avond, boekje bij het haardvuur. Helaas is het hartje zomer, is er geen tijd om te lezen en heb ik geen openhaard
speziell gsi. esch wök so ochester style aber meistens ned so abgspacet und no easy. aber halt nor meistens. schlussendlich het zemli jede song meh oder wenig eppis komisches gha imo. het aber au sini moment gha. ewie no nice experience gsi zum inishc lose, aber wöri ned weder lose
Not for me.
This was pretty avant-garde or something. It sounded good but a bit strange and ambient.
this was a bit mad, some of the songs you could kind of start getting into and then they'd just change direction, bit too wacky for me
It was interesting, but not much more than that.
It's ok. Kind of same-y throughout. Sounds like background music. First song reminded me of a tv theme maybe. I didn't really find anything annoying, but nothing stood out at all. Can't imagine a time anyone would say, "You know what we should listen to right now? Penguin Cafe!"
"The Sound of Someone You Love" er et virkelig fint instrumentalnummer. Resten er mere meh, men det er klart instrumentalnumrene i starten og slutningen af pladen, der fungerer bedst.
Perhaps could have been a 3. I appreciate the idea of a quirky, mostly instrumental album but I just found this to be a bit too boring. Don’t think I’ll be revisiting, hence the 2
It’s alright, a little more modernized orchestral arrangements; just not my thing.
Avant garde easy listening? What even the hell is this? It’s not offensive to the ears exactly, but it’s doing nothing for me.
# Album Name: Music from the penguin cafe # Artist: Penguin Cafe Orchestra # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: Opens with the iconic penguin cafe single. Its a brilliant song. The rest of the album is pretty meh. Its quite out there and im not sure it exactly works if im honest. Mixed feelings on this one. Initially i am torn on this one. # Top Tunes: penguin cafe # Would I listen to it again? Yes, ill give it a second shot.
It’s okay - Although a little weird at times. I don’t know when I would put it on though
Felt like I was missing a visual while listening. I had vibes of a soundtrack to one of those quirky silent animations for kids where there’s an animal that acts curious and peculiar.
5.8/10
Initially intrigued, but interest faded very fast. I love weird and alternative shit, but this did not hit the right spots for me
Ok, creativo pero no creo que vuelva a escucharlo, pero no era mal álbum la verdad.
Not my vibe tbh. Not quite elevator music but not far off. It isn’t crap - I’m not just into this kind of ambiant music
I did not expect this. After this album played I kept listening to 🐧 and I liked some of their other songs a lot more than those listed here. There were some on this I enjoyed but overall it was a little too avant garde for my enjoyment. Glad I listened to it, enjoyed it somewhat, but not a fave. This coming out so early I can see the influence as well. Apparently they were quite popular in their niche
I liked The Sound of Someone You Love but found the album as a whole quite hard to listen to. Tried it a couple times and just couldn’t really get into it. But my favorite discovery is finding Perpetuum Mobile (on a later album). This is not only a great, really rhythmically interesting song in its own right, but it was sampled as the main hook on Avicii’s Fade Into Darkness. Love finding these connections.
Many of the songs felt familiar. Added a handful to my instrumental playlist; not sure I'll ever revisit the album though.
I appreciate the experimental nature of this album and actually some of the music is very good. Is it my jam? No, and that's why music is very subjective. While others may enjoy this immensely, I did not. I do give them 2 stars for musical ability. Not much more than that to push it above 2 stars though.
This album was weird. Don't really know how else to put it. When I was listening to it, I had several "what the fuck?" moments.
Music can set a mood, and you've got to be ready to be set in a mood with this one or you're gonna have a bad time. I've enjoyed Brian Eno's productions before, Music For Airports for instance. Not sure where this one would land in my "I wanna set a mood" lexicon, but it would probably require a select group with some time on their hands and a willingness to spend it. That being said, there's some nice moments in here, as I would expect from an Eno production. Most of those moments are sans vocals, so, again, if that's what you're looking for, this album might have some appeal. 9 times outta 10 I'm probably not looking for this, though for that one other time, this one could fit adequately into a space.
Music from the Penguin Cafe feels like the kind of album that exists mainly to be used in quirky radio intros or as background music for a BBC nature doc. And apparently, that’s kind of their thing — odd, artsy, slightly off-center instrumentals. Which is fine… for what it is. There are bits and pieces that are kind of catchy or interesting, but nothing that really sticks. It all just kind of floats by. Harmless, a little charming at times, but not something I’d ever throw on again. If you’re into music that sounds like it should be playing while someone explains how a hedgehog hibernates, this might be for you.
Fancy restaurant background music. It's not bad; but there's nothing particularly unique or noteworthy about it. And a couple or three tracks suck.
Okay
Nikakav efekt. Previše smireno.
Mostly nonsense, but some of it is beautiful.
I get that these last few albums might be genre defining and cult classics but I don't really get them. Feel like there is a lot of music I'd rather listen to and the impact of these albums are lost on me since I have no idea of the context they were made in or the future they inspired. Still cool elevator music I guess.
A total fine album that makes me think more about the possibilities of why this is on the list and its historical significance and not about the actual listening experience. 5/10 is what I’m feeling with this one. Not bad, just not for me.
A good album cover is wasted for an hour of seriously boring music. 2 stars or D-.
I just didn't enjoy it.
no. Great string section, but no. I was already skeptical and honestly intrigued until Zopf: In a Sydney Motel. They do a great job eliciting emotion, and highlighting my lack of patience for people fucking around on instruments (Zopf: Milk). I am good on never hearing anything from them again.
Not my thing
84/1089 - Sounds like your average classical composition major senior recital. I didn't enjoy this.
maybe if I was on a lot of drugs
1/11, 9%
Len tried to make an actual Penguin Orchestra. He spent days trying to get those poor little creatures to play the trombone. It was the hair that broke the camels back as far as Lens acid days! 2.3
Sadder than Sad Cafe
I had never heard of this band or album before, but with Brian Eno involved, I expected something interesting. This is easily one of the most bizarre albums I’ve ever listened to. Judging by the reviews, I must be missing something—there are plenty of five-star ratings out there. Unfortunately, it won’t be getting one from me. Musically, some tracks were undeniably beautiful. I really enjoyed Penguin Cafe Single, Zopf from the Colonies, and The Sound of Someone You Love. However, the songs felt like they dragged on endlessly without much variation or progression. I can appreciate its artistry, but ultimately, I found it tedious. Favorite song: The Sound of Someone You Love—a lovely piece, but it could have been 10 minutes shorter. Least favorite song: Tracks 3–8 didn’t offer much at all. Album artwork: The cover is certainly unique.
Not my cup of tea really, was expecting more from this band
Me caen muy mal los discos en los que al parecer la propuesta y el arte es hacer ruidos molestos o cantar canciones que solo dicen “MILK”. De esos experimentales fastidiosos que se siente duran una eternidad. Pensé que por la gran portada me la iba a pasar genial, pero fue una decepción.
Such an odd sounding record with a few beautiful sounding highlights. Most of this is very 'Avant-garde', in not a particularly great way. As an experience, this album doesn't really end up anywhere or leave much of an impact. Some decent points, sure, but not particularly worth a relisten. Best Tracks: - The Sound Of Someone You Love Who's Going Away and It Doesn't Matter - Chartered Flight Worst Tracks: - From The Colonies Rating: 4.5/10
You know that feeling where you've watched through a long, LONG TV show, and one day you want to go back to it again? But when you do, season 1 just feels off because it doesn't have everything you remember from your most recent watch through - who's that again? Why is the theme tune different? Why is [X] being played by [Y]? This is that, but for music. I love Penguin Cafe Orchestra, I used to go to sleep listening to them - still do on occasion - but early I've only ever listened to their later stuff. Here the questions become, Why is everything so slowed down? Wherefore these electronic bleeps and sqwonks? WHY IS THERE SINGING? Wait, are they singing about suicide?? Yeah, this band is very much my thing, but this album isn't it. Go listen to their later stuff, they get better!
This was... interesting. I guess it's like a mix of like a chamber orchestra and a rock band, and the music was kind of okay, but not really mind-blowing for me. Some of it seemed a bit atonal and droning, and other tracks were nice background music that I could hum along to. I was ready for it to be over before it finished. Two stars.
Different…
Interestingly eclectic. This is not an album I would listen to again, but I didn't hate it. I am definitely not the target audience.
Very weird. Some songs sounds more like lovely classical music, but many had screechy, jarring components that were not enjoyable.
point9.
Chill but uninteresting
some songs were really grating and it brings the whole album down quite a lot
If Bluey came out in the 70s this would be its soundtrack. Very quirky, but not particularly interesting.
Once I saw Brian Eno produced this I knew I was a goner
The music is not so bad, but the violin is terrible
Is it uninteresting? No Is it interesting? Also no
kinda weird
I don't really like this album because it doesn't have any words. it is also kinda weird how the song kind of changes towards the end and has a lot of weird notes. I would not recommend it to most people because it isn't a song you would normally listen to.
Song: penguin cafe the song at first was good but now it is scary and it is weird i liked it before it was scary Song: Zoph i kind of like this song because it was kind of weird Song: Zoph2 i like this song because it is better than the other songs and it actually sounds better than the others i would recommend this one
In my opinion. this album is mid because the instruments sound well, but it just sounds like any other orchestra.
Why is there a penguin on the land it is supost to be in the antacrtica I don't like it because it does not have any words In song's there are supost to be words and i really don't like the beat No i would not recomed the song
I think this music is okay. I like the sound of all the istruments when they are played together but there's no lyrics. I don't like how slow it is, it makes me fall asleep. The song changes from slow to kinda fast and I don't really like that. The songs all sound different but personally I don't like them. I wouldn't listen to this by myself but I would recommend it to people who like orchestra.
Have you wanted to heard old type of music ever? Well then this album is perfect for you. In my opinion, I personally didn't really like this album. The first reason why I didn't really like this album is because of the no lyrics that it has. Another reason why I hate this album is because of the type of music genre it is and I also don't like how the instruments that they used sounded together. I probably would not recommend this album to someone else because in my opinion it's really bad and I wouldn't want some else to hear it and then have to go through the suffering while listening to it.
in my opinion I would not recommend the first one because I just don't like that it doesn't have any words. Second I don't like this type of style of music. Third its kinda weird. The second one I wouldn't recommend either because I don't like the way they mixed the sounds. Second it's just not really my music style. The third one I wouldn't recommend because I think it's too slow. second its boring.
why is it all instrumental. I didnt like this album becasue there no words. 2 reasons i didnt like this album is because theres no words and i dont like this genre of music. I dont reccomend this because its boring
Why is there a half human, half penguin on the cover? I did not like this because it didn't have any words. I also didn't like it because it just sounded like a lot of the same stuff repeating over and over. In the middle of the song it just stopped and got weird, it almost sounded like a song in a horror movie. I would rate it only one star. I would not recommend it because it's just really weird and has no lyrics to it.
weird but not in the way i like could i write poetry to this? n
It's best to be leery when Wikipedia shows an album's only accolade to be its inclusion on this list. Whatever this New Age noodling is, it certainly isn't my cup of tea.
Highlights: Penguin Cafe Single, Giles Farnaby's Dream. In a nutshell: the soundtrack of a penguin wandering around a field. This is close as we'll get to a classical album from this list, so we should cut the editor some slack. It's instrumental, baroque, chamber pop(ish), avant garde, kinda folk? It reminds me of VU&N, Sufjan Stevens, and a little bit of Mike Oldfield. Overall: 4/10
Okay, so, before they were let loose in a recording studio, I think that someone should have told these guys that an assortment of random sounds made with musical instruments does not necessarily constitute "music". Furthermore, when such random cacophonies interrupt those few moments where the musicians artistry actually shines through, it makes for an album that's notable only for its weirdness. Needless to say, if I feel like going out for a few drinks and to listen to some cool music, the Penguin Cafe is a venue that I'll surely avoid, especially if I have to strip and wear a penguin's head to gain entry.
Strange, not quite rock.
This album feels like it’s trying to do two different things, and consequently does neither of them well. The attempt to be artsy takes away from what would otherwise be inoffensive coffee shop music.
I only liked "The Sound of Someone You Love..." until halfway through it went into its weird sound. Not really a fan of things that aren't smooth.
it’s decent but not engaging
I like penguins but I don't like this album. It's too experimental which sometimes works but mostly fails miserably.
People just did whatever in the 70s... Amazing cover though!
Very odd album this. It’s sort of chamber pop but with classical, folk and prog mixed in. I don’t hate it, but I can’t say I particularly like it either. Some of the melodies are pretty nice, some not so much, and some of it seems purposefully obtuse. I’m glad I’ve listened to it as it’s like nothing else I’ve ever heard, but I don’t think I’ll be sticking it on again. Highlight: Penguin Cafe Single, The sound of someone you love whose going away but it doesn’t matter Lowlight: Zopf: Milk, Zopf: Pigtail