Before And After Science

I love the 4 "song" albums he made in the 70s. This is the last of the 4 and contains beautiful textures and contrasts that hold together as a whole. Thoughtful brilliant stuff. 4

cute, calm. great sound, but don't think I'll listen much...

Art rock, art pop, avant-pop, experimental pop. Un 4 por las últimas canciones, son más tranquilas, relajantes y preciosas.

Eno is an artist I _SHOULD_ be more familiar with. I only really know him as the producer for Talking Heads and a few others, as well as a collaborator for certain key albums. Vocals remind me a good deal of David Byrne's, especially "King's Lead Hat." But I am sure that was what he was going for, so... The instrumentation is interesting, I have to wonder what made him choose any grouping for each song. To go even further, I wonder how he chose what songs made the cut. Wikipedia said he had over one hundred tracks to choose from. I have to wonder why each of these ten made the cut. Furthermore, there's an imbalance of the sides. Side one is a good 4 minutes shorter than side 2. He could have easily put another song in there, bt chose not to. I wonder why. As for the tracks themselves, there is a range, but with Eno's voice being a bit limited, the songs started to sound very much the same. That's never good. Still, I dug it, and it's definitely something I want to give more time to.

Odd or ironic to get Eno one album after getting Bowie's Low. I don't view it as trailblazing as Bowie, but it is certainly as eclectic, which is par for the course for Brian Eno. So I don't totally understand why it was selected of all the things he's done, or weird but cool stuff people did in the 70's. But I liked it. Side one was a lot of fun (my favorite might be Backwater), as was Here He Comes on side two - perfect follow-up to the catchy King's Lead Hat that ended side one. The rest of side two sounded like the background music in Minecraft during daytime sequences (played a lot of it with my kids) - especially By This River. Is that why it has so many listens on Spotify? But sure, I can get behind that ambient approach. It reminds me of some more recent stuff done by artists like The Neverending White Lights - eclectic but cool, maybe Eno was their inspiration. I'm sure this album is not for the average person but I kind of dug it.

Brian Eno fills the A side with nervous funk, rock, new wave and art pop to switch completely in style and then fill the B-side with ambient songs. And even though I keep coming back to this album, I never really jived with this album, but I've switched in my preference over time. It's now the B Side that I appreciate much more than the A side. The A Side is a good idea where Brian Eno and David Byrne would take The Talking Heads later. Fun sidenote: King's Lead Hat is an anagram of said Talking Heads. I'll say 3,5*

By this river - what a beauty. Enjoyed the slower songs more than the 1st half of the album.

Two Eno projects in a row, what are the odds! Not my favorite Eno (or Eno-adjacent) outing. It's a little too mainstream and "normal" for me. He is at his best when he is at his most quirky, and I love all his ambient albums. As usual, I think this gets credit for sounding like the 80s in 1977. Considering the somewhat mediocre albums I've had this week, I think this gets another bump for just not being more of that.

The weakest of his first four, but damn there's some beautiful stuff on here. And King's Lead Hat is officially a banger. I love bops and bangers. Gimme a bop? I'm happy. Hand me a banger? My day is officially MADE. Thanks for the grooves, Bry-Guy.

I love Brian Eno, but I’ve never loved his vocals. That’s how I feel about most of this album.the one standout is “By this River” which is quite beautiful and suits Eno’s voice perfectly.

I like the ambient synth driven tracks. The album is pretty tame overall.

Was familiar with his Ambient music, not with this album. You can hear the Talking Heads influence already, and Part B of the album nice beginning of ambient work that would follow. Loved this album

Pleasant surprise! Knew the name but otherwise Brian Eno was a gap in my musical knowledge. I missed listening to this album the day it came to me and put off doing a makeup listen because I thought I wouldn't like it. But I was wrong! King's lead hat is vaguely familiar but otherwise all songs were new to me. The vibe on the album shifts from beginning to end but I enjoyed the transition. Favorite song was By This River. Simple but the melody sticks with you.

This stuff was kinda weird. Good. But weird.

Very very good!

It's pretty good. It feels a bit trapped between Talking Heads new wave, and Eno's later ambient music, and consequently doesn't really reach the heights of either style imo. Still fairly catchy, enjoyable, and tranquil towards the end. My key criteria of an album creating or transporting you to a place is kind of met, as Eno mentions it's an ocean album, which I can dig. 1/11/22

Another great find, Brian Eno surprises me with the scope of genres in which he works. Very cool.

Highlights: Backwater, Energy Fools the Magician, King’s Lead Hat, Here He Comes, By this River Lowlights: Kurt’s Rejoinder, Through Hollow Lands

This is very good and amazingly fresh for being almost 50 years old?

I first became aware of this album (and Eno) through the movie Dogs In Space. One of the people in the chaotic share house the film is based around would put this on as whenever he took a lady up to his room, much to the disgust of his fellow housemates. While I am not ready to admit if I used this album as the soundtrack of any of my adolescent fumblings, I did have a tape of this that I was played until warping on my yellow walkman

13th September 2022 Listened during the day while working from home. Ben and Nilisha stayed and we went to the oak. I loved this, it’s atmospheric and moody but playful at the same time with tinges of David Byrne.

81/100: Wow, what a unique sound on this album. My biggest gripe with this project so far is that, by virtue of the sheer number of albums, trends are pretty quickly identified. “Oh this artist sounds like a Kirkland Bob Dylan.” “These guys sound like a raw Led Zeppelin.” Things of that nature. I wish I could get my mind to stop making these comparisons—it’s true, comparison is the thief of joy. Brian Eno’s sound, though, puts my mind at ease on this front. His music defies comparison. I haven’t heard an album like this maybe ever (the closest I can think of is the Talking Heads but that’s such an off comparison, it doesn’t really work). I’d never heard anything by Brian Eno before listening to this album; in fact, I’d never even heard of Brian Eno before. But I liked this album so much, I think it constitutes the first true gem of an album that I’ll revisit and an artist I will hopefully dive into more in the future. This is the type of music you drift into, where if you close your eyes you quickly forget the orientation of the room you’re in, you forget how long you’ve been listening, you enter into a world of sound and melodies. I don’t know what this type of music is made of, I couldn’t tell you what features a song has to have to elicit that experience, but I know it when I hear it. Brian Eno has produced that type of music and fostered that experience with this album.

Interesante

Awesome album. Sounds like Talking Heads mixed with Bowie and John Cale. What more could you possibly want?

This is really really great. Post-punkish Bowie vibes that brings all the boys to the yard.

Nice Album. Brian Eno is very important in the history of music. He deserve a couple albums in this top.

It's undeniably an excellent album with great songs. The bass and synthesizer tones and playing are masterpieces on their own. Even if it's a pop record, I also like that the ambient music side of Eno stands out, like on the tracks "Through Hollow Lands" or "Spider And I".

11/10 animals collected

Fun great intro into genre

7/30/2022 - ALBUM #184 Today's Album: "Before And After Science" by Brian Eno - The first exposure I had to Brian Eno was through a collaboration he had done with Talking Head’s front-man, David Byrne, which was a strange collection of loops that although very funky and danceable, served little in terms of variety. Learning later that Eno was responsible for the production of many of the Talking Heads projects I have been made familiar with, I was excited to what he would sound like on his own project. I have to say, it’s about what you would expect from the producer of the Talking Heads. Similarly to how Allen Parson’s Project parallels the sound of Pink Floyd, I think Brian Eno’s music takes all of the quirky-ness of his work with the Talking Heads, but gives the sound the ability to shine outside of Byrne’s avant-garde songwriting style. The track Kurt’s Rejoinder is a really fun example of this, with this super expressive growling bassline backing a relatively tame tune with some crazy fast hand-drum over top. This track also shows off how much fun Eno has with the sound of this record; everything just has this bounciness to it that comes together to give a rather ominous tune a really urgent and fun tone to it. It also feels like Eno has a sort of knack for psychedelia and the sound strange design that comes with it, so his music ends up having much more of an explorative feel to it than the rambunctious groovy-ness of a Talking Heads project: see Energy Fools The Magician. There are still a ton of moments where the sound of this projects mirrors that of the Talking Heads (or even Devo) like with the song King’s Lead Hat, but there is still a clear difference in the way Brian Eno writes a chorus that seems to ground these strange sounds in a more consistent listening realm. Maybe I am just not a fan of the avant-gardism's of the Talking Heads, but it’s refreshing to have strange sounding music like this be so easy to digest. Overall, this is a really fun album both instrumentally and in terms of songwriting and serves as a great window into the mind that produced some of the strangest albums of the late 70s and early 80s. Give this one a listen if you enjoy the Talking Heads. Highlights: No One Receiving, Kurt’s Rejoinder, Energy Fools The Magician, King’s Lead Hat, Here He Comes, Julie With, Through Hollow Lands, Spider And I Score: 7.5/10 A solid standalone album from the mind behind the sound of the Talking Heads

Some classic eno really enjoyed it

listened to again

Ooh this is really good. Some of the funkiness of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, some of the rawness of Here Come The Warm Jets and some of the mellowness of the Ambient stuff. It's a really nice blend of all the stuff I'd go to Eno for.

Creepiness starting to filter in.

I do like how dreamy this gets towards the end. Funnily enough 1/1 is still my top played track over the last 12 months.

A playful album, maybe even tricky. Reminds me of Bowie, Talking Heads, that sort of thing, which is obvious. Highlights: King's Lead Hat, Here He Comes, Julie With, Through Hollow Lands, Spider and I. This might be my favorite recommendation of this whole project.

Really, really cool. There's some great songs on here (King's Lead Hat and By This River were my favorites) I enjoyed this a lot and I think it could hit 5 star status for me with repeat listens, which it will certainly get. 4 for now but that's a strong 4. A 4 that works out or...something.

I have listened to at least a couple other Brian Eno albums. Before and After Science is different than his more ambient recordings. "King's Lead Hat" made me think of the Talking Heads, and "By This River" (which was one of my favorite tracks) made me think of Alan Parsons. "Through Hollow Lands" was another favorite. There are some interesting sounds on this album. "Kurt's Rejoinder" was weird enough that it put a little pause in my listening. Nothing was too weird. I would probably re-listen to this album because the album is not typical.

The first side is great. Side two points towards that godawful ambient music that so many critics love. Why? Very boring. Background stuff. Fortunately this album doesn't fall too far into that category.

Now my favourite album from him. I'm not 100% sold on the songs in the first half of the album, though they're, but the 2nd half was lovely - dreamy minimalistic the lead towards his later more experimental work but still has uncools things like structure and tunes.

Great album. Simple, yet hard to define and escapes easy genre classification. The ballads are beautiful.

Despite being boring sometimes, this album gains extra points from me for it's ambitious production and innovative use of electronic instruments and effects.

enjoyed this, some silly songs at the start and more experimental/art rock towards the end classic pre-ambient Eno

Ja sam baš uživala slušajući ovaj album. Kao da gledam kroz kaleidoskop. "Julie with" mi je posebno lijepa pjesma. "Now I wonder if we'll be seen here, or if time has left us all alone". UF.

Zaista odličan album. Dosta podsjeća na album Low od Bowiea jer je isto tako producirao taj album (ista godina). Prvi dio albuma je ritmičan, plesan, nekako futurističkih zvukova ukomponirano, dok je drugi dio smireniji, laganiji i po mome mišljenju divniji, nokturalniji. Lijep prijelaz na polovici albuma. Naravno ako ste fan Talking Headsa može se i njihova glazba osjetit na ovom albumu (jer opet, on je surađivao s njima, a najviše sa David Byrneom.) Dakle devetka je tu. Favoritne: Backwater, King's Lead Hat, Here He Comes, Julie With, By This River.

begin new wave minder elektronisch dan ik dacht

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Backwater

Brian Eno delivers with a good blend of rock to groove, and music to cool. Favorites: No One Receiving, Julie With, By This River

Good fun

4.25

During the first song, I thought it was another collaboration with David Byrne. Their voices are uncannily similar. The overall quality of the album is good and with this being the third Eno album generated for me so far, it's great to hear what his vocals sound like. Favourite songs were Here He Comes and King's Lead Hat.

Starts off campy but really hits its stride. Experimental strange talking heads vibes and a weirdly peaceful ambient later half.

Has its contemplative moments, and overall it's great... but the first two tracks might put some people off

Excellent.

4 Spider&I et Through hollow lands sont assez parfaites

Really good album. Side A is upbeat artsy rock n' roll and side B is pastoral, atmospheric and ambient.

Pretty cool and interesting but surprisingly funky

At being avant-gard-ist, he is one of the best. Lots of textures, mesmerising ambients, searching of new sounds here and there, and then suddenly a song as beautiful as Here He Comes... a true innovator

mellow

parra total... para descubrir...

Great range of sounds in here, can see why Eno was such an influential figure

Definitely unique.... but I dig it. There was a lot of repetition within the songs, but it still felt interesting to listen to Favorite track(s): “Energy Fools the Magician” “Her He Comes”

Pretty ambient and truly music, definitely plays with my brain a little 4.2

Good stuff. I was surprised that this was pretty much straightforward instead of his usual soundscapes. I see where his Bowie/Talking Heads inspo came from.

Not bad actually 3-4 stars.

Pretty cool, worth another closer listen

8

Brian Enos wonderfully old alternative

Bueno

🙂

irgendwo zwischen nicht-mein-Geschmack, Twin Peaks Soundtrack, 2001 A Space Odissey und Fahrstuhlmusik?

Interesting and about what I’d expect from a Brian Eno album.

I don't know. Ok I guess?

Another that was alright I guess.

Not the biggest fan of the airports album, this was quite nice! 3/5

5 albums is way too many for any artist, the authors biased is screaming, however, this is the fist Brian Eno album to earn a 3

Fun but eh

3.5

Never heard any of these before. It was alright.

1977, fünftes Soloalbum, zwei Studios: Basing Street in London, Conny's Studio bei Köln, wo Conny Plank selbst am Pult saß. Man hört diese Teilung. Seite eins ist kantig, fast nervös. Seite zwei rutscht schon spürbar in Richtung der Ambient-Musik, die Eno kurz danach erfinden sollte. In Großbritannien lief das Album bei Polydor, in den USA bei Island – und es ist, das wird oft übersehen, für lange Zeit sein letztes Album mit Gesang. Eno arbeitete hier mit den Oblique-Strategies-Karten, ließ also bewusst Zufall in die Songs einsickern, und holte sich Musiker aus Großbritannien und Deutschland dazu, darunter Leute von Cluster und Can. "King's Lead Hat" ist das hektische Gegenstück – ein Titel, der ein Anagramm von "Talking Heads" ist, und der Song klingt fast danach. Daneben stehen ruhigere Stücke wie "Kurt's Rejoinder" oder "Backwater". Zwei völlig verschiedene Temperamente auf einer Platte. Was mich an dem Album packt: wie selbstverständlich diese zwei Welten nebeneinander existieren, ohne dass eine die andere erdrückt. Der nervöse Art-Pop und die schwebende Ruhe – beide sind vollständig da, keine Kompromisslösung. Eno auf der Schwelle zwischen zwei Karrierephasen, und man hört beide gleichzeitig.

От не люблю я музику Іно, хз. Але звісно ж by this river клас (і кінець альбома після неї). Тому виключно за ці три останні пісні поставлю загалом 3.

It’s not that I don’t like Brian no, in fact some of his melodies are nice. I think I just can’t get past his style. It’s dark, then slow, then melodic, then odd? I get lost.

Not my beach but I've enjoyed it

I wasn't expecting this at all! When I think of Brian Eno, I usually picture super deep, moody ambient stuff, not weird, catchy art-pop. But the first half of this record is surprisingly funky and energetic. Songs like "No One Receiving" and "King's Lead Hat" have this cool, danceable vibe. It's a playful side of Eno that feels way ahead of its time, like he was basically writing the rulebook for 80s new wave back in 77. Then the album pulls a brilliant move. Right around the middle, the jittery rock energy fades out and you’re suddenly floating in these lush, dreamy soundscapes. It’s not depressing or boring, it’s just warm and super relaxing. "By This River" is a total gem, and "Spider and I" is the perfect way to wrap things up. It’s basically an album of two halves: the quirky pop-rock stuff transitioning into the ambient genius he’s famous for.

I like Brian Eno but don't know if we always need to encourage everything. Creative, but he has better. It kind of blows me away how many people that touched things I like worked on this and it still doesn't click.

I was excited to see Brian Eno again hoping to possibly be surprised. The excitement diminished quickly. The last 3 tracks saved it for me. This is not bad enough to be a 2, so I'm rounding heavily up to a 3.

Buen disco, para el dia de llucia de la fecha la verdad que acompaño

Personally I'm more fond of less experimental, more rocky Brian Eno's sound, so this is not for me, but it's not bad either!

N.18 I recognise that this album is objectively good, but 80% of the album is too quite for me and kind of boring. Brian Eno executed his vision well, I just don't like his vision. That said I absolutely love By this river and Spider and I. Rate it 3,2

Before and after science class? But seriously folks, this is some good Eno. "Backwater" gets stuck in my head easily. Top tracks: "Backwater," "King's Lead Hat"

--No One Receiving...starting out with a funky rhythm guitar. shades of Bowie --Backwater...an artsy groove. it's a fun synth bop but a little too goofy --Kurt's Rejoinder...that's an interesting bass line --Energy Fools the Magician...left-of-center instrumental --King's Lead Hat...anagram for Talking Heads and it sounds like it --Here He Comes...this is more straightforward pop. it's quite nice --Julie With...perhaps the most Eno track on here. really cool atmosphere, but the actual songcraft is lacking --By This River...simple but compelling --Through Hollow Lands...spacey instrumental. title is apt --Spider and I...see "Julie With..."

Side one is a fun Talking Heads adjacent art rock record. Side two is a sleepy emo Brian.

It’s okay. Very artsy naturally; some songs hit pretty well while there were a few that just felt like they dragged.

Poppy and odd in places, instrumental and beautiful in others. Quite enjoyed this. 3.5/5.

3.5

It's funny how much Brian Eno is everywhere--in life, in this collection, meddling with other bands and artists with his oblique-strategies cards--yet we only get a handful of his albums (thankfully), and they've been somewhat hit or miss. This one largely hits more than misses, though, and it's nice to hear him graduating from his Roxy Music days, with a hint of what probably attracted Talking Heads (really, mainly David Byrne I suspect) to work with him; pretty funny that "King's lead hat" is an anagram for Talking Heads, too, and the track definitely feels inspired by them. If I hadn't read the Wikipedia entry, I'd likely have no idea that the album's 10 tracks were winnowed down from literally over 100 compositions, nor that he managed to recruit so many other artists to collaborate on various songs. Although there's something a bit 70s-soundtrack to the album as a whole--especially in the much more atmospheric-leaning second side--it still works well overall, with the highlights (for me) largely confined to the first side, especially the opening track "No one receiving" and "Kurt's rejoinder", although side two's Pink Floyd-esque "Spider and I" is strangely compelling too. Given that rave reviews this album has generated over the years, I feel kind of badly only giving it three stars, but there's something a bit too cold and detached to really draw me in.

This was a really interesting listen. It was like experiencing Eno’s development from Roxy Music art school madness, through Bowie- era synths (some sounds i definitely recalled from the low album) followed by more ambient sounds. Interesting, but nothing more than that.

A more straightforward rock album than expected from ol’ sourpuss. The flashes of ambience and experimentation are a fun look at what’s to come when he meets up with Bowie later.

Very pleasant but his best work is instrumental

Three songs in, and I was firmly in 1 star land. Really disliked them. "Energy Fools the Magician" was decent, and "King's Lead Hat" reminded me a bit of The Cars "Shake It Up". "Here He Comes" is a brilliant song. BY FAR the best thing on this album. Overall, didn't enjoy it too much, though the second half was better than the first. Somewhere between a 2 and 3... I'll go 3 on the strength of "Here He Comes"

Always the legendary producer, but most songs in this album didn’t interest me.

Not my thing at all. Yet? The soundstage is insane on it. It's incredible that this is stereo mixing. For the sound quality alone, this was a worthwhile listen

It’s ok some beautiful songs some weird ones

Somehow, my first Brian Eno record! I am very familiar with him as a person, his overall impact, and music he worked on with other artists but I somehow never ended up actually listening to his work. Maybe it is just this album, but it is REALLY not what I was expecting. I think I was anticipating it being more pretentious? I pretty much only know Eno as "the ambient music guy" so I was really not expecting the album to open the way it did. The first song that actually kind of fit what I expected was Energy Fools the Magician. The track following that, King's Lead Hat, made me realize exactly why Eno and David Byrne have worked together frequently. This album actually came out the same year as Talking Heads' debut, and the following year was when Talking Heads released their first album produced by Eno. Listening to this record (and this song specifically) I can REALLY hear Eno's influence on the albums he collaborated with them on. I just realized the song title is an anagram for Talking Heads so I mean... that has to be intentional right? He hadn't produced their records yet but I'm going to assume him and Byrne were already working together or at the very least VERY aware of each others work. The only other track on the records that sounded the way I anticipated going into this was Through Hollow Lands, which was also the highlight of the record for me. Overall I think I can see myself liking his other work too, so fine Brian Eno, maybe I will watch the weird documentary about your music on Criterion that can be reshuffled into billions (oh sorry, looked it up, quintillion) of combinations.

I enjoyed this.

Pretty cool not that relistenable

He has much better but still ok

Enjoyed this, By The River was my highlight (3.5)

It's alright. Some nice songs . I am a fan though

'Uncelebrated masterpiece' could be code for "it's alright, not every hit an artist puts out is going to be the next best thing since sliced bread."

From a scholarly perspective you should perhaps familiarize yourself with the work of Brian Eno. If only because he was a big name in music production. But this album in itself sounds rather dated. It's pioneering for its time but most of the techniques on display here can be achieved with basic computers today.

My 4th Brian Eno album, and this may have been my favorite one yet. And yet I still don’t fully get into his music. :/5

I hadn't heard an album from him before, so it was a surprise. It feels ahead of its time and with many good ideas. I wasn't ready for the sounds, but it felt good. I will listen to it again.

Only familiar with eno through his work with David Byrne. Had some flashes of talking heads. Can appreciate the production and arraignments, but ultimately it is just fine.

It was alright

This was cool. I'm not sure if I'll listen to it again. But I'm glad I did.

'Meh.

I’ve had Brian EnoUGH.

It was alright. Relisten to his other album

A very smooth listen

There's no question that Brian Eno created some of the most interesting music of the 1970s, influencing contemporary musical directions and generations of musicians that have followed. The only question is how many Eno albums do we need to hear to become aware of the depth and directions of his influences. The 1001 albums list seems to think we need to hear five. I'd say the number would be just as sufficient at three, especially for a list that includes ZERO albums by Warren Zevon. Eno would not be the first over-represented artist I would go for to make room for Warren and others who have been forgotten (Can you feel me looking at you, Morrissey?!), and its semi-transitional nature might just save this particular Eno album for me. But I can't really say that listening to it feels overly transformative. Or even all that enjoyable.

I like the new wave-y first half better than the second

I've already come across a David Bowie's Low, produced by Brian Eno, and the album's structure was as follows: the first half is the artist's usual glam rock, the second half is experimental ambient. On his album, released a little later that year, Eno didn't fix what wasn't broken. Side one is soft rock with elements of funk and glam (logical, considering Brian was one of the founders of Roxy Music), while Side two is melodies for watching the Windows boot screen. Judging by the title, before science there were guitars, and after science came ambient. What science itself is, then, is unclear. An average album. The second half, surprisingly, didn't put me to sleep, so I can't give it anything lower than a three; I wouldn't give it a higher grade either, since the first half is completely lackluster. These songs should have been given to Bowie too, he probably would have perfected them.

This weirdo rarely misses

first half very forgettable, second half quite good, by the river very good. i dont know how to rate an album that i really liked some of but not the other half.

For some reason I thought this would be weirder but overall it was just fine!

Pink Floyd adjacent but a lil sleepy for me. 3.5 but rounding down

A perfectly serviceable prog rock album. Mostly okay. The more ambient tracks were strong, in my opinion; that is what I love about Eno's catalogue. "By The River" and "Julie With" were standouts.

Interesting

This may be the okayest album ever. It's pleasant enough and has a nice warm sound, but the songs feel more like extended sketches. He has ideas but nothing that cohesive, the songs kind of exist pleasantly yet uselessly, like bubbles in a lava lamp. They don't really go anywhere but they sound nice while they do it. It does sound nice but it's a bit empty at the same time. He's not particularly great at vocals or songwriting, but he really does excel with production.

Not really sure how I feel about this, don't think I gave it a proper hearing. There were definitely points where I thought it was doing something interesting, but also times where I found it a bit annoying and sing-song.

I listened to this 10 hours ago and the only thing I seem to recall is that it ended better than it started

Pretty nice and interesting but kind of falls in line with other things from this era. I like the drama and subtlety of the second half.

Rock and roll Brian Eno is not nearly as good as art rock/electronic Brian Eno. This is fine but only the first and last tracks really made any lasting good impression on me, with Backwater being actively bad. More experimental stuff please.

That was... Interesting.

I’m sad to say this album had a HARD fall off for me. I’ll explain, it starts with 6 GREAT songs, they are super creative, bold, and legitimately interesting. The instrumentals are incredibly original and fun. I even like the slowest song in this group “energy fools the magician”. The issue is that, both in tone and direction, this album takes a HARD left turn at “Julie With”. It becomes like an uber serious instrumental (almost orchestra-esque) which is impressive sure, but it doesn’t excite me and inspire me the way the first half does. And I don’t think it’s a quality issue. Like the last few songs are really instrumentally impressive and subtle sounding. It just didn’t compare to the first half.

"By this river" stands out here. Lots of the other songs are not my cup of tea

The instruments were so varied you can tell this guy is a musical genius. The music very ‘ambient’ almost…I enjoyed it

This album started decently enough, with a Talking heads-esque sound I imagine was precursor to their future collaborations. But that sound really shows how integral David Byrne’s presence and charisma were to making that band, as it doesn’t hit me in the same way without it. It fades towards ambient after that (even if there aren’t fully ambient songs as in the rest of Eno’s work), which did nothing for me. Enough to hold on for 3*

Maybe a bit too arty for me, but may need to try it again 3

Foundations for a lot of psychedelic/rock at the time. Alright but not amazing.

This album covered a lot of genres and styles so I cannot say what the genre of it is. I appreciate the idea and the balls to do it, but it did nothing for me.

Arty but not for me

Great production if slightly lacking in the song department. Mr. Eno was ahead of his time in many way.

Wafted past my ears this morning. Pleasant, if not entirely riveting

Quite good, better than expected.

Funky, melodic. Good variety from track to track! Nothing especially stood out to me, but it was a solid listen.

Some nice and varied melodic tunes here. Didn't enjoy the really slow numbers. Pretty good all round.

tidy songs not too bad

Not his best, but a good effort with some very interesting soundscapes. Favorite track: Julie With...

Curious and experimental. Pretty neat and unintrusive. Listened at work and it was not distracting but also I was focused on something else.

This was good listening. It blended into the background as I worked, which I think was the goal he was aiming for. Nothing special, but just solidly good music.

Some of this was very cool and some was not so much. "Julie With" is a great track! Got some good stuff here but didn't blow my mind

Extremely Talking Heads coded. But I guess it's the other way around. Talking Heads is coded to this.

I don't think this is Eno's finest hour.

I love his producing but his music has felt kind of weak not gonna lie.

Good for doing work

Proto Egg Punk Eno admirably balances both the endearingly goofy and the eye rollingly high brow sides of art rock here, meaning there are thoughtful, serious synth and piano studies (more heavily on side 2) next to uptempo bops. It more or less coalesces, and overall the artistic vision is an enjoyable listen.

I hate to admit it, but this was not horrible. I normally hate Brian Eno, but this wasn't that bad. There were definitely some songs that were very noise-like and those annoyed me, but overall this wasn't that bad. Probably a solid 3. There is some good stuff here Liked Songs: "No One Receiving" , "Backwater" , "King's Lead Hat" , "By This River" , "Spider And I"

I hate Brian Eno, but this turned out to be better than I expected. I really wish he'd learn to play an instrument, though. Mashing the piano does not a solo make.

It was okay.

Trust the process.

Kokeellista tonttumusiikkia.

I love some of Eno's stuff, but this came off as sounding too adult....in the late 70's. I did not find any settings to be truly memorable. That said it's pretty good

A few times I thought I was really going to like it but mostly nothing memorable to me.

Julie With... By This River

Listened but didn’t like it.

pretty interesting to listen too, very varied. overall would defo listen again and liked the vibe in general best song - by this river

Einige Songs waren überraschend gut. Hatte ich zu Anfang gar nicht erwartet.

I wasn't really into the first half of this album, but everything from "Here He Comes" on was really great. It looks like that is the second side of the original album, and I could definitely see myself just playing that side and skipping the first side. I can also see myself playing through the whole album until it becomes one of my favorites, I do think the rest of this could grow on me. Favorite track(s): "Here He Comes," "By This River"

Much like a night of passion with Len Houmous, this album really is a game of 2 halves. 3.4 6/10 Here He Comes

Brian Eno is always fine.

It was fine but nothing really grabbed my interest

The middle section is where I think Eno's pop shines as something unique. Though my bias here is that I'm coming into this an Eno fan but not a fan of his pop work. Highlight: By The River. Surprisingly this reminds me very heavily of C418 and the Minecraft soundtrack and it wouldn't surprise me if Eno inspired him from one of his albums.

It was a weird little listen. Seems a bit ahead of it’s time for a late 70’s album.

Feels like a little bit of new wave, and a little bit of ambient. Interesting listen. Could definitely see this dude vibing with Bowie around the time of the Berlin trilogy.

Album has grown on me.

Pretty OK album. I listed through it a couple of times and I liked it, but overall I didn't think it was that super memorable for the long run. If it came back up in my rotation in the future, I wouldn't be mad, but nothing to write home about. Certainly interesting.

Had no idea wha to expect from a guy who I only knew from crossword clues, but this was a pretty fun listen. The lyrics seemed to stray a bit further into “goofy territory” than I tend to prefer, but overall, this was pretty good!

An album that gets more interesting the more details you learn about it, not my favorite thing Eno has had his hand in but of his solo works it's a great look into his style

no scale for brian eno

Franchement, album très propre. En toute honnêteté, le projet n'est pas un casseur de code et ne se prétends absolument pas à ça. Pourtant,.il reste très agréable à écouté, s'illustrant dans un style Artpop assez particulier mais qui guide à mon sens plutôt bien le projet. De plus, je trouve que l'un des points forts qui marque profondément l'identité des differents titres sont la diversités d'interprètes qui les composent, offrant dès lors une combinaison de différentes approches musicales, alternant entre l'instrumental et les singles, en proposant à chaque fois de véritables techniques composites comme sur "BackWater" ou "Spider and I", deux morceaux à l'atmosphère différentes, mais liée par la production vraiment propre de Eno. Pour autant, l'album conserve une certaine non prise de risque, en restant à mon sens dans une démarche trop "scolaire" et n'osant pas s'aventurer dans une recherche trop experimental en proposant quelque chose de stable, ce qui est pour moi une occasion manquée surtout quand on voit des guests comme des membres de "CAN".

Nice.

Brian Eno er Brian Eno

So, I love other Brian Eno albums, which I presume will be on this list. I’m not really familiar with this one. I think it was good, not great. I may come spend more time with this down the road, but I’ll give it a solid 3 for now.

Tbh this wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be. Pretty chill, some of the early stuff was kinda weird. The second half was very soothing. I don't really understand why this is so revolutionary or special that I needed to hear it before I croaked but whatever.

Brian Eno, when performing, often feels like a less engaging, more subdued take on David Bowie—a comparison I may have made before, but one that still rings true here. At times, it reinforces the sense that Eno might be a bit overrepresented on the 1001 Albums list. That said, I didn’t dislike the album. If anything, it left me somewhat conflicted. Before and After Science feels like two completely different albums. The first half comes across as disjointed and uneven, never quite settling into a cohesive rhythm, and I was ready to dismiss it as unnecessary—undeserving of a spot on this list. However, once “Julie With…” begins, the album finally finds its footing. From that point on, it becomes far more immersive and rewarding, settling into a subdued, reflective, and quietly melancholic atmosphere that—somewhat unexpectedly—is where it works best.

Only the back half of this album was worth the price of admission. It's a good thing he moved away from the rock genre because most of that isn't really very good.

This was great. Throughly enjoyed my time with this album. Will definitely be listening again and delving into the catalog.

Good

Ah. Structured songs. Notes that follow each other in a logical and pleasing order. Melody. Rhythm. A great improvement on his 'ambient' stuff. - possibly because it's 1977 and he hasn't gone down that road yet. This is actually quite pleasant in comparison.

Art rock, art pop, avant-pop, experimental pop.

Pretty but the album was not on spotify

Unique and accomplished throughout with strong melodies and a smooth drift into ambient textures

Ranges from pretty cool to kinda weird. Not bad. (Unavailable for normal streaming though — had to find it on YouTube).

Ok enough with the Brian Eno. I have a soft spot for him since he was an original Roxy Music member but I don’t think we need hear more than one of his solo albums before we die. This one is actually not terrible. 2.5

Usual eno wankery (in the good way)

Chill but nothing that totally got me going

Brian Eno is great

3.5

Hey! I guess this is my second favorite Brian Eno album that I forgot I used to listen to. Getting old is fun because you get to rediscover these things.

Best Song: By This River. As much as I found the vocals detracted from most of the songs on the album, that absolutely is not the case here. This song is beautifully melancholy and well-sung. Worst Song: Spider and I. A gospel song for a creepy little guy. Overall: Some of the grooves here are fun, but the vocals are almost all distinctly annoying. This largely would have been better as an instrumental album.

The second half is kinda neat

The first half was not a good shower soundtrack but the next half was nice to walk to

I don't know. Ok I guess. 2.5

I quite enjoyed Before And After Science. This one definitely feels like a really weird one even coming from Brian Eno who is a very experimental artist. This one seems to combine the glam rock style that was prevalent on Here Come The Warm Jets (and possibly the Roxy Music albums he worked on too but i have yet to hear those so i'm not completely sure). This one certainly did have some real funky moments and that was what i enjoyed most when it came to this album. However, the vocals here did not feel very well produced with them being simply far too quiet and i had trouble deciphering them at points. Still, i enjoyed this one and it's definitely not Eno's worst work. Best Song: Kurt's Rejoinder Worst Song: Here He Comes

Awesomely quirky. Holds up well.

Creative, unique sound. Does not feel like it is from the 1970’s.

I love the late-70s period of electronic, ambient, funky keyboard-heavy music of Kraftwerk, Talking Heads, Gary Numan, Herbie Hancock… Eno fits right in this group. While I love to zone out on his later 22-minute mood bombs, this album offers a taste of that plus what passes for “pop” in Eno World.

ok

This kind of made me sleepy

I liked the first couple a lot, they sounded kinda like Peter Gabriel or like a lot of other British artists of the time, but then the later ones became slower and more instrumental, so those brought it down. Maybe other albums of his would be better

Good background music for designing.

Like his other albums better

Interesting ideas but didn't hook me all that much.

Interesting

I listened to the second half while I was in the shower, and that greatly improved the listening experience. I think that's probably how this album is supposed to be listened to - with shower-like acoustics.

Creative. Kind of creepy, kind of slow, but not horrible.

Sweet Living Legends sample found!

Je sais pas pourquoi, du Eno (et Eno-adjacent comme Roxy Music) ça m'excite pas pentoute.

Nice lounge from long time ago before lounge

One of the most 80s sounding albums that didn’t take place in the 80s. Couple songs were enjoyable. I feel like you got to take this in small doses. 6/10

This was another fun listen from Brian Eno but after Here Come The Warm Jets I’m not sure that this one would be an essential listen. Definitely a more interesting listen than half the albums on this list though. It was great to get more into his discography. I wonder if there will be any of his ambient works coming up…

Kinda sleepy, but I think that might have been the point. I dig it

I actually expect WEIRDER from Eno, so I'm low key a bit disappointed.

Ok but not my thing

A cool and diverse album with some memorable moments, The Beach Boys-esque “here he comes” or the Kraft rock-like “King’s Lead Hat”. The album slowed down a lot toward the end and embraced a more atmospheric quality, which lost me a bit.

More Brian Eno... previous albums hasn't really deserved a place on this list in my opinion, so a bit on the fence with this one. Not very impressed, but a bit better than the other albums. I can see how one might like this, but it's not very accessible to me. Some weird songs, with or without strange lyrics, like 'Kurt's Rejoinder' and 'Backwater'. Then there's some more mellow songs, like 'Julie With' and 'By This River', which I think is this albums strongest work. And then the rest is a bit "meh". Perhaps it's me, but I fail to see the greatness with Eno. Feels a bit incohesive and... perhaps a bit too quirky for me. Weak 3.

Not the ambient Eno I was expecting… it was okay.

It was ok.

King’s Lead Hat is a banger

Solid 3 rating album. Not great, not terrible. 3/5

very nice listen

Such clear connection to so many artists I love - talking heads, Bowie. But can hear the past influence as well, the Beatles in particular. I respect this being so important but seeing there are four more Brian Eno plus some Roxy Music coming up I think I will revisit to compare the whole discography.

didn't get to listen enough.

I see why he got into ambient. The second half of the album is much stronger than the first.

The songs on this album aren't bad, but it feels like just listening to what Brian Eno was up to at the time instead of the album being a cohesive statement. A lot of the songs are almost discordant, which is not something I would have ever associated with Brian Eno, but they are also quite fun, like Backwater.

Starts out strong but tails off

Not the worst of his stuff, but just okay for me.

Brian Eno is one of the most innovative and acomplished musicans of all time. This feels like him trying to sum up every single thing he was doing at the time, from ambient to punk. The result is a mess with moments of pure beauty. I'll give it a very strong 3.

very interesting! the songs are all very distinct from each other and theyre very evocative of other artists

3 Stars (8/15)

Brian Eno is just a chill guy who likes to make chill music

Backwater is pretty good

Hidastempoista mieslaulua tunnelmallista. Ambient taustamusiikkia melkein.

I can see the great work that is coming from Eno in this music.

didnt love teh record but ive got to say amazing title and cover, i would give it 5 just for the cover art, so ill settle on 3

I can definitely hear influences to new wave, synth pop and all of the stuff that Brian Eno has done over the years in this album. I am a bit shocked that I liked it as much as I did as his previous albums I've heard on this list were not so much in my wheelhouse. 3.31 / 5 stars

I was surprised that I liked this as much as I did. I’ve heard other Eno albums and wasn’t super impressed. He’s a great producer but I never cared for his solo output as of now. This album was cool though, some interesting stuff on here. It wasn’t all amazing, some duds, but I’m glad I heard it.

Such an interesting album. It's as though Brian used up all his energy on the first three tracks and by the time he got to "Energy Fools The Magician" he thought he needed to slow it down!

It's fun, not quite rock but something like it

A pleasant listen, even if it didn't make much of a mark on me

It's OK. Brian Eno is a bit of a legend, I get it. Probably a better producer than performer though, I'd warrant. Some of this sounds Talking Heads-ish. One or two bits sound like Berlin-era Bowie. And some are just soundscapes, perhaps with a few not-important lyrics. There are some great musicians here, but I think it's mostly too restrained. It's fine, but nothing really grabbed me. Let's call it a 3 and move to the next one.

Liked some songs, would give it a 3.5.

Pretty chill in parts, other parts reminded me a lot of David Bowie. Both pretty cool and definitely piqued my interest, I want to dig more into his discography now for sure.

Mood music. It's not bad, it's not mind blowing. Would I throw this on again? Probably not. 3/5.

Side one - like a good John Cale 70s album. Really enjoyed it. Side two - like a Brian Eno album. Nothing happens. Final track Spider & I is gorgeous though.

not bad. tailed off at the end for me

This wasn't what I expected, but that doesn't mean it was particularly good. It was almost like soft rock, but without any good hooks. Harmless, really.

beautiful, but also a little boring. just came and went.

Not terrible, just not my thing.

Gear: INAWAKEN Twilight-DS Artwork: 👤😐🔳 Production (2004 Digital Remaster): 🎧😘🤌 Music: 🪨💭🧘‍♂️ Rating: 🔬🔬🔬/5

Solid, not what I was expecting but pleasantly surprised

I barely found anything good about Brian Eno the first time I had heard him. So far, I’m sensing Talking Heads vibes. I found “no one receiving” went on too long and was too repetitive. I will say, this has more life than the other Eno album I had heard. It still has me wondering how someone who sounds like this could get signed. The same with Warren Zevon. I don’t get it. Anyways There also seems to be some Pink Floyd sounds here. Pre vocal Pink Floyd. Very similar. I’m ok with that. Ya, ok. This saves face for Brian Eno in my books. This is a decent enough album. Well done Eno.

Its cool maybe too experimental for my taste but pretty awesome to think what are they thinking sone unpredictable stuff in there

Liked some others ehhh

55/1001 First listen. This is an odd little album. It doesn’t stay in one spot too long. It’s got kind of a quirky vibe to start and is super chill by the end. I will revisit. 5/10

Man it is crazy how you can tell this is Eno off the first note of the first song, no singing needed. I may have a bit of loving bias to get over for this one, as this is a creative sequel to one of my favorite albums of all time, Another Green World. I can't help but love Eno's delivery and strange vocal disposition during this era as he spiraled towards ambient greatness. He seems so observant, still, and lucid in songs like "Kurt's Rejoinder". Something that wasn't as expected was how energetic "King's Lead Hat" was. I'm not sure if I loved it as much as some may. However, the following "Julie With" -- now that's what I'm talking about. Airy and a bit ethereal. This is all about what AGW was. This song is like taking a dreamy boat out to sea under a warm night sky. Really, every song beyond this point in the tracklisting is similar (in a good way). "Through Hollow Lands" is ambient Eno before he was fully formed. So delicate and pretty. The sweet, soft 2nd half of this album is just a revisitation of Another Green World, so go listen to that masterpiece. This one is a strong 3/5, could be a 4/5 (and probably is on a personal level) if it didn't live in the shadow of one of the best albums ever

Enjoyable experience and a very interesting album. Could probably be a four with a bit more time spent with it.

I like how it transitions into ambient in the second half

I really like his ambient stuff, not a big fan of the boring 60s stuff at the start

I'd probably consider myself a bigger Eno fan than most, but this was not very enjoyable to me, and probably doesn't deserve a spot on the list.

Was expecting a bit more. 3.5/5

It started off really upbeat with multi instruments and cool percussion. It moved into moodier more synth noises. Not something I need to listen to a lot, but it’s cool.

At first I was not loving it, but I settled in like I do with most Eno albums.

Best Track - "King's Lead Hat"

Ho hum

After the first couple of songs, it want as bad or weird as I expected.

I normally enjoy Brian Eno, but I think I prefer his instrumental work more than this one

I admire it more than I enjoy it.

Like his For Your Pleasure, Eno's last album with Roxy music, you can feel an intense push and pull on Before and After Space. That title sort of gives the game away, to some extent: the first half of the album sees him approaching his more rock-oriented work, looking at it in a sort of funhouse mirror, while the second half presages his shift into an ambient music pioneer. I prefer the former, but it is fascinating to hear Eno wrestle with his own competing impulses, especially after listening to his and Ferry's on For Your Pleasure.

I honestly expect to like late 70’s solo rock Eno more than I do. I love his ambient work, and his production work on David Bowie and Talking Heads records in that period is some of the best ever. His track record as a producer is insane. I likely rated Another Green World higher than I actually liked it based on reputation. Before And After Science has interesting moments for sure, but it’s a chore to listen to and maybe I’m just not hearing enough for me to work hard enough for it to *click* as the masterpiece it’s sometimes rated as. His experimentation and weirdness should be applauded of course.

Favorite Track: King’s Lead Hat

3/5

Definitely better than Here Come The Warm Jets. I feel like this one had actual music on it.

интересный и разнообразный. от половины токин хедз вайбы

It's Eno for sure.

I’d always associated Brian Eno with instrumental and ambient music, so I’m glad I finally listened to this album. By This River and Spider and I really stood out to me. I listened to the album three times on Apple Music, and interestingly, the next song that always came up afterward was by Radiohead. It made me realize just how huge Eno’s influence must be — probably beyond what I can even imagine.

Backing Tracks - 5; Vocals - 2. He is so brilliant at creating soundscapes. Unfortunately, the vocals - both the quality of his voice and the quality of the melodies - are pretty pedestrian. I consistently found myself floating away into a track only to be jarred back to reality when his vocals dropped in. They don't ruin the album like they do with Spiritualized. But they definitely downgrade the listening experience.

mid

No 11 It’s very whimsical, artsy and it has such an ambience. Also the electronic and that bass guitar are amazing I feel it could be a great album to study to, because it’s so relaxing.

After a stream of crap ranging from Icelandic moaning, to anger rap, to loser garage rock this was actually tolerable. It wasn’t really good either but compared to the aforementioned it’s high praise to actually just get through an Album.

Pretty good for something that just isn't that good.

Stark angefangen, dann aber stark abgefallen.

Variert, helt ok.

Interesting and creative

Alright. I like the ambient stuff better.

It seems like every Eno sounds completely different. This version of Eno is mid-tier mellowed out Piano. Favorite Track: "Spider and I".

Good listen, perfect to listen to before work in the morning. 3/5