September 30, 2025 • 37 mins
Before and After Science (1977) by Brian Eno is one of his most acclaimed solo albums, bridging his experimental rock sensibilities with the ambient style he would soon pioneer. The record is structured almost like two different worlds: the first half is energetic, angular, and rhythm-driven, while the second half drifts into ethereal, meditative territory.
On the front side, tracks like “No One Receiving” and “King’s Lead Hat” showcase Eno’s playful, jagged approach to art-rock, brimming with quirky rhythms, fractured guitar lines, and off-kilter energy. These songs lean heavily on collaborations with musicians like Robert Fripp, Phil Collins, and members of Can, giving the music a restless, forward-driving feel.
The latter half of the album shifts dramatically into stillness and spaciousness. Songs like “By This River” and “Spider and I” are hushed, delicate, and hauntingly beautiful, foreshadowing Eno’s deep dive into ambient music. The contrast creates a sense of movement from chaos to calm—an arc that mirrors the album’s title.
Ultimately, Before and After Science stands as a transitional record in Eno’s career, marrying his pop and rock experiments with the serene atmospheres that would define his most influential work. It remains a fan favorite for its balance of accessibility, strangeness, and emotional resonance.
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
It's just a normal patent in here!
SPEAKER_01 (00:14):
This is Polyphonic Press, the podcast where two
music fans pick a classic albumcompletely at random.
Using the patented random albumgenerator, they are given an
album to review from a curatedlist of over 1,000 classic
releases spanning multiplegenres.
And now onto the show.
(00:34):
Here are your hosts, Jeremy Boydand John Van Dyke.
SPEAKER_03 (00:47):
Hey, welcome to Polyphonic Press.
I'm Jeremy Boyd.
SPEAKER_04 (00:50):
I'm John Van Dyke.
SPEAKER_03 (00:51):
And uh let's not waste any time.
We've got the patented randomalbum generator right in front
of us here.
Uh so let's hit the button andsee what album we're gonna be
listening to this week.
And the album we're gonna belistening to is Brian Eno Before
and After Science.
Okay.
Interesting.
SPEAKER_04 (01:11):
I don't know what this album comprises of.
Uh neither do I.
But Brian Eno's generally gotsome interesting stuff and
ideas.
SPEAKER_03 (01:20):
Definitely, yeah.
Uh well he is uh description ofthe album that says Before and
After Science, uh, released in1977 by Brian Eno, is one of the
most acclaimed solo albums.
One of his most acclaimed soloalbums, bridging his
experimental rock sensibilitieswith the ambient style he would
soon pioneer.
The record is structured almostlike two different worlds.
(01:43):
The first half is energetic,angular, and rhythm-driven,
while the second half driftsinto ethereal meditative
territory.
On the front side, tracks likeNo One Receiving and King's Lead
Hat showcase Eno's playful,jagged approach to art rock,
brimming with quirky rhythms,fractured guitar lines, and
(02:04):
off-kilter energy.
These songs lean heavily oncollaborations with musicians
like Robert Fripp, Phil Collins,and members of Can, giving the
music a restless,forward-driving feel.
The latter half of the albumshifts dramatically into
silliness and spaciousness.
(02:25):
Songs like By This River andSpider and I are hushed,
delicate, and hauntinglybeautiful, foreshadowing Eno's
deep dive into ambient music.
The contrast creates a sense ofmovement from chaos to calm.
An arc that mirrors the album'stitle.
Ultimately, Before and AfterScience stands as a transitional
(02:47):
record in Eno's career,mirroring his pop and rock
experiments with the with theserene atmospheres that would
define his most influentialwork.
It remains a fan favorite forits balance of accessibility,
strangeness, and emotionalresonance.
SPEAKER_04 (03:02):
Have you ever heard Can?
SPEAKER_03 (03:04):
Uh no, I don't think so.
SPEAKER_04 (03:06):
They're they at first they sort of come off as
very odd, but they're veryinteresting.
They're a very odd, interestingband from that era.
I don't know how else to explainit.
SPEAKER_03 (03:21):
It's well, I guess uh it this'll be interesting,
that's for sure.
Um so the this album wasreleased in December of 1977.
Uh the genres are art rock, artpop, avant pop, and experimental
pop.
And it was released on Islandand Polydor Records and produced
(03:43):
by re uh Brian Eno and RhettDavies.
And uh there are 10 songs on thealbum, and side one and side two
is pretty sp split prettyevenly, five and five.
Um, so what we'd like to do iswe'd like to uh take a break at
the uh halfway point after sideone and um and discuss the album
(04:04):
at the halfway mark.
Uh so if you're listening along,which we do encourage you to do,
uh you can stop it.
The album starts with no onereceiving, and side one ends
with King's Lead Hat.
So if you want to stop it atthat uh at that point and uh
hear the halfway discussion.
And we've linked the album toboth Spotify and Apple Music so
(04:25):
you can get get the album onyour preferred streaming
service.
And uh also just want to remindyou to check out our uh Patreon.
You can go to patreon.com slashpolyphonic press and you can get
lots of cool stuff there.
Like you can get these uhepisodes the day before they go
live.
Uh you can uh get a shout outduring these episodes and uh
(04:48):
even pick an album for us toreview.
So uh lots of cool stuff tocheck out there.
Okay, here we go.
Here is the uh the first song onthe album, no one receiving.
Here we go.
All right.
SPEAKER_04 (05:37):
Yeah, it's pretty weird, but I'm actually really
digging it.
SPEAKER_03 (05:41):
Yeah, it's uh it's reminding me a lot of uh I can
hear the influence or I can hearwhat it influenced.
Um I can hear a lot of new wave,uh, and like Devo and like stuff
like that.
Um not quite pop, not quitemainstream, but more the artsy
(06:03):
side of and of New Wave.
Um that kind of stuff.
I you can definitely hear uh I Imean that's I I think that's
kind of where he's he's headed.
Um and I didn't quite uh realizethe influence that he really had
on that that kind of music.
SPEAKER_04 (06:23):
Yeah.
No, it's true.
This album is a little moreapproachable than most of his
stuff that that that I've heard.
It's still weird because it'sstill Brian Eno, but it's
definitely got more of a popsensibility going on with it.
But uh yeah, I've got I can fhear elements of like jazz
fusion in it, and I can hear,you know, like you said, punkin
(06:47):
new wave.
Um there's still a little bit ofprogressive in it, um, but uh
it's still all rock and roll.
SPEAKER_03 (06:56):
Yeah.
And uh it's but it's different,like it doesn't sound like
anything else.
Like it's it's especially in in77, um and you know it's it's
it's got like it's like thisfrantic energy to it.
Um and uh yeah, it's it's uh Iyeah, I don't really know what
(07:21):
else to say.
SPEAKER_04 (07:23):
I can hear a lot of industrial, like too.
Like think of like uh in umdepeche mode or uh um uh nine
inch nails, stuff like that.
Yeah.
There's a little bit of thatgoing on.
Uh yeah, I can absolutely hearyou know the influence of this
(07:46):
in that.
Um yeah, I think this is one ofthose albums that's probably
more important than most peoplewould probably uh give it credit
for.
I think it kind of flies underthe radar.
SPEAKER_03 (07:59):
Yeah, because you know, I think at the time Brian,
you know, was I think this is Idon't know what uh yeah, this is
his fifth solo album.
But like at the time he was sortof or may have been more known
for being in Roxy music, and um,and you know, and then he does
(08:22):
uh he did goes on this soloadventure, and I don't know how
people who who are into musicand especially electronic music
cite Brian Nino as a as a biginfluence, or maybe not directly
influence on them.
They they s the they know hishis impact and how important he
(08:44):
is in in that world, but I don'tknow at the time like how well
known he was.
Like, was this like I don'tthink that this was like a big
radio uh album or anything likethat, but like in the the
musicians, like obviously ifhe's getting people like uh you
know Phil Collins and and RobertFripp to to play on it, like
(09:07):
those the the musicians knowabout him, but um, you know, I
don't think you're gonna hearthis on like definitely not
gonna hear it on like top 40radio or anything like that.
SPEAKER_04 (09:19):
No, and and working with the musicians from Can too,
it's like throwing it to theother like you've got Robert
Fripp and Phil Collins and stufflike that who are like big
names.
Although 77 they were stillwell, Phil Collins was still
with Genesis, I think.
Yeah, well absolutely he waswith Genesis.
Uh he joined around that time.
Um so um but uh Robert Fripp wasknown for uh, you know, King
(09:45):
Crimson and whatnot.
Which I can sort of hear hintsof that too in this.
But yeah, I can sort of hear theband can as well.
The band can is like reallyobscure.
Like most people don't know whothey are.
Well, they're just d downrightunusual.
So you gotta hear them to knowwhat I'm talking about, but I
(10:08):
think one of their morewell-known songs is uh Father
Cannot Yell.
And it's a s it's a bit of ait's it's definitely sort of a
(10:30):
strange sort of a I don't know,there's a lot of rhythm that
sort of leads up to it.
And it's sort of a very strangerhythm, and it's really hard to
pinpoint exactly what influencethat.
I wouldn't even say it wasnecessarily like African rhythms
or anything like that.
Although that's under underneaththat there probably is, but it's
(10:52):
I don't know, you gotta hear itto just know what I'm talking
about, but when you hear that,you can sort of hear that in
this.
SPEAKER_03 (10:59):
Well, what I'm hearing in this, and and I don't
know exactly his like I reallydon't know a whole lot about
Brian Eno, um and his processand how he writes and how he he
come up comes up with things.
But what I'm hearing, and I canonly make an make an estimate
based on what I hear, but what Ihear is maybe he's like like
(11:22):
messing around on a on asynthesizer or maybe a guitar,
even, or whatever instrumentthat he's using.
He's just sort of noodling, andthen an idea will like a riff or
a series of notes or going up ascale or something, he'll do
something, and then he'll think,oh, that's a good idea, and then
(11:43):
he'll just build a song aroundthat, that one idea.
And that's what I'm hearing.
I'm hearing a lot of um I'm notcoming it's not complaining.
Um this sounds like a complaint,but it's not, is I'm hearing us
a lot of re uh repetitiveness,and it's sort of like it's like
this one idea, and it's like,okay, I'm building a song around
(12:03):
that.
And like the the it's maybesometimes even just one chord or
one note, and but it's maybe aspecific rhythm.
And uh and like yeah, it's it'sjust sort of like um I don't
want to say I it's not lazy, butit's like it's just whatever he
(12:24):
he's not afraid to um he's notworking with any within any
boundaries.
He's sort of like free to justokay, this idea we're gonna put
like a I heard a uh fretlessbase, we're gonna put a fretless
base on it, and just we're justgonna try things.
SPEAKER_04 (12:44):
Yeah, absolutely.
Um yeah, Brian Eno's one ofthose things who who will find
an idea, a spark of an idea inthings that most people would
throw away as being too outthere.
Um he he absolutely embracesthat.
He's you know, uh an ugly noiseto most people.
He would grab onto that and say,Oh, that's great.
(13:06):
Let's uh build something withit, and he actually builds
something that's uh you knowinteresting and and not even all
that unapproachable.
I mean, I guess it's probablysomewhat unapproachable to some
people, but uh this this isprobably his more his most
approachable work, but it'sstill kinda out there.
SPEAKER_03 (13:28):
It it is, yeah, absolutely.
Um I I think this may be like ifsomeone were curious about Brian
Nino, this may be like, yeah,listen to this.
If you're not used to his stuff,this is maybe a good
introduction to him, becauseit's still a pr like you're
right, it's still approachable,and but it's also a good sort of
(13:48):
gateway into his other stuff,more experimental stuff.
More more experimental thanthis.
SPEAKER_04 (13:54):
Well, it's sort of it's like what what if if if
you're looking for somethingthat's more like a relaxing
thing and you're used to likeambient music of of some sort,
then I think probably uh youknow, music for airports
wouldn't be that strange uponfirst hearing, but it definitely
was d very out there for itstime in the very late seventies
(14:17):
when it came out.
Um but uh yeah, this is stilllike I said, it's still rock and
roll, but it's uh gotta reallyit comes at it from all these
different directions and thenspreads out in like all these
other directions.
(14:38):
It takes these strange, youknow, it pulls these influences
from all sorts of really strangeplaces and then spits out on out
of the other end of it whole newgenres.
SPEAKER_03 (14:52):
Yeah, really.
I mean, um like I can like I'mlike I was saying, like the
influence on New Wave, I can'treally think of anything before
this that sounded like that.
I could be wrong, and there'ssomething that I I'm not aware
of, but I can't think ofanything before this that quite
(15:12):
s that has that um that energythat that sort of um frantic
sort of twitchy energy is theway the best way I can describe
it.
SPEAKER_04 (15:25):
Yeah, twitchy energy, yeah.
It's like yeah, it's it's kindalike uh glam rock, but on uh
having like a really, I don'tknow, I guess for lack of a
better explanation, on a badtrip or something like that.
But it's not unpleasant.
(15:46):
No, at least not to my extra.
SPEAKER_03 (15:48):
It's definitely interesting.
Like it's it's definitely uhit's not it's not boring at all,
that's for sure.
But I did manage to find a fewuh interesting facts about the
album.
Uh it was uh a long process.
Uh Eno worked on the album foralmost two years, record and
recording uh around a hundredtracks before narrowing it down
(16:11):
to the final ten.
This careful curation is part ofwhy the record feels so
deliberately split betweenenergetic and tranquil halves.
And I guess like the the thesecond half that we haven't got
to yet is the more ambient stuffthat uh um that people are used
to associating with with BrianEno.
SPEAKER_04 (16:32):
I guess he was sort of doing the same basic idea
that David Bowie was with uhLowe in some ways.
Um because when we werelistening to that album, and
obviously Brian Eno is all overthat, but we know he he's all
over the second half of it, buteven the first half, like I
said, it's got that a little bitof that frantic energy, and it
(16:55):
came out I think the same year.
SPEAKER_03 (16:57):
Uh yes, I think so.
Um yeah, the albums arestructured very similarly.
And uh and yeah, the the albumum is heavy collaboration.
The album features an impressiveroster of guest musicians,
including, like we're saying,Robert Fripp, Phil Collins, then
of Genesis, uh Jackie Liebesite,uh drummer of Can, and Percy
(17:22):
Jones, uh, from Brand X.
Their con contributions give thealbum its rhythmic rhythmic
diversity and unpredictabletextures.
Okay.
And um there's a connection touh the talking heads.
Of course there is.
Yeah.
The the frantic song King's LeadHat is actually an anagram for
(17:46):
talking heads.
(18:16):
And I know that's that's the newwave influence that I was
thinking of.
Uh like the talking heads kindof thing.
Yeah.
Um and like the the their songUm Once in a Lifetime, Brain Eno
produced that song, to nosurprise.
Um and uh and yeah, he had a biginfluence on on David Byrne and
(18:38):
and uh and Talking Heads.
Um and by the way, side note,that song uh was really it's
very odd the way that that wasput together.
Um they the band basically werejust jamming in the studio, and
they just took snippets of theband's jams and and just pieced
(19:03):
it together and just faded it inand out.
Like that's how that song waswas put put together.
So he's got a very interestingmind in how he can sort of build
things.
SPEAKER_04 (19:15):
Yeah, he's doing things that I'd never think to
do.
For sure.
Um and and it's it's sort ofinteresting because I think that
was probably the first timeBrian Eno's mindset became a
hit.
Yeah, I think so.
Because it was up to that point,I think everything that he did
(19:37):
was sort of for lack of a betterterm, off-putting to a lot to
like a mainstream audience.
But that uh definitely has a lotof the same in uh energy.
I guess maybe it's got s sort ofsofter edges in some places, but
it still carries that same sortof frantic energy.
But it's it's a less abrasive, Iguess, than say King's Lead Hat.
SPEAKER_03 (20:02):
Yeah, it's sort of it's more um it's more refined,
I guess.
Like m yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (20:08):
And that song came out, what was it, 1979 or 88 or
something?
SPEAKER_03 (20:14):
I think it was either 80 or 81.
Um and uh this is kind of cool.
The uh the packaging of theoriginal vinyl edition came with
a set of four offset prints byuh Peter Schmidt, who was also
Eno's collaborator on theOblique Strategies cards.
Um this turned the record intoboth a musical and visual visual
(20:38):
art object.
I don't know what the obliquestrategies is that another I
don't know, I'd have to look itup.
SPEAKER_04 (20:45):
Uh I think Brian Eno was again dabbling in all sorts
of different kind of art.
He's he is an artist artist.
Um be it music or or orotherwise.
He just Oh, a great story aboutBrian Eno.
You know uh um Marcel Duchamp'suh urinal.
(21:05):
Yep.
Yep.
Well he went into a museum Idon't know exactly where, it was
probably in New York orsomething like that, and he saw
uh, you know, what it's probablynot the original urinal, but it
was Marcel Duchamp's urinal uhmarked R Mutt.
And he thought just this is theway his brain works because the
(21:28):
entire idea of that urinal waslike I I could basically put a
urinal up and into into agallery and they'll accept it if
I present it a certain way.
Which was Marcel's Duchamp sortof a thumbing his nose up to the
art establishment.
Brian Eno walks into thegallery, sees this urinal, and
says, somebody needs to take apiss at me.
SPEAKER_03 (21:49):
So he did.
So he did, yeah, of course.
Of course.
Yeah.
Yeah, why not?
Um J just uh quickly, theoblique strategies, it's I don't
I don't have time to read thewhole thing, but apparently it's
(22:12):
uh it's a card-based method forpromoting creativity uh jointly
created by musician Brian Eneland multimedia artist Peter
Schmidt, first published in1975.
Physically, it takes the form ofa deck of seven by nine
centimeter printed cards in ablack box.
Each card offers a challengingconstraint intended to help
(22:34):
artists, particularlyparticularly musicians, break
writer's block by encouraginglateral thinking.
So it's basically like ainspirational sort of phrases on
cards.
Yeah.
Um yeah.
Yeah, couldn't hurt.
Um and uh and then the the lastone is it's a the transition to
(22:57):
ambient music.
The serene closing tracks,especially By This River and
Spider and I, foreshadow Eno'sgroundbreaking ambient series,
which began the following yearwith music for airports.
In this sense, the album marks apivotal turn uh excuse me.
In this sense, the album marks apivotal turning point in his
(23:18):
career.
So yeah, so this is like thetransition to his uh his um
ambient yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (23:28):
Straight up ambient stuff, yeah.
Which again is reallyinteresting.
Um it's not for everybody.
Uh it certainly didn't go overwell when he actually played it
in airports.
Uh because people didn't knowwhat to make of it.
I kinda get the idea becauseI've been in places especially
(23:50):
like brutalist architecture, andyou kinda want a certain I don't
know, it evokes a certainfeeling, and uh not everybody
likes it, but I kinda do.
I don't know, it's it's sort ofmelancholic, and his music sort
of reflects that sort of anatmosphere.
(24:10):
But I think for a lot of peoplethey try to get away from that
as much as possible.
I think it I think it probablyfrightens some people, maybe.
SPEAKER_03 (24:19):
Well, especially if you're stressed and you know
you're in the airport trying toget to your gate and the la
that's kind of the last thingyou want to hear.
SPEAKER_04 (24:28):
Yeah, you it's true.
Like if you're you know anairport is is not necessarily or
a bus station or, you know,which is like follow-up albums
and stuff like that would be youknow people are living their
lives in these places and nestdon't necessarily want they're
(24:51):
not really engrossed in theartistic expression of the
environment that they're in.
They're and they don't wantsomebody to s suck them into
that thing if they're againstressed about something.
SPEAKER_03 (25:05):
Well, yeah, it just reminds me of there was I can't
remember the comedi who c whatcomedian was talking about it,
but they were talking about oneof their early gigs that they
got into and uh like when theywere just first starting out,
and one of the gigs was in aChinese restaurant, but nobody
(25:26):
told any of the patrons of therestaurant that a comedy show
was about to happen.
So it's like they were they werejust like trying just trying to
have their dinner, and ladies ingentlemen, like they nobody knew
this was gonna and it was likejust bad, just like not the
right environment.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (25:43):
Yeah, exactly.
No, it's it's true forespecially like a comedy show.
Nobody wants the a comedy showto break out around them.
People have to kind of getthemselves in the mood to want
to go to a comedy show.
It's just something about comedyshows.
It's a very deliberate mindsetthat you have to put yourself
(26:04):
into.
SPEAKER_03 (26:05):
Um so yeah, so those were some uh interesting facts
about the album.
But uh I guess we'll get backinto the uh second side of the
album.
But uh before we do that, let'shear from our friends over at
the album nerds podcast.
So uh check those guys out.
Here we go.
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This isn't this is a messy albumfor sure.
I just want to hear Floyd andeverything, I think.
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SPEAKER_02 (26:56):
The Album Nerds Podcast.
Three guys talking music.
Give it a spin wherever you findpodcasts at albumnerds.com.
SPEAKER_04 (27:03):
We'll now take a few seconds before we begin side
two.
Thank you.
Here's side two.
SPEAKER_03 (27:59):
Uh yeah, the second half was interesting with the
more uh more ambient stuff.
Um yeah, that's uh it's sort ofit's not exactly um like what
Brianino would do in the future,but it's like it you can
definitely hear the transition.
SPEAKER_04 (28:18):
Yeah, absolutely.
Actually, that last song, TheSpider and I, reminded me a lot
of like Pink Floyd.
SPEAKER_03 (28:25):
Uh yes, actually, yeah.
Now that you mention it, yeah,absolutely.
Yeah, something m like in themiddle of one of their albums or
something like that.
SPEAKER_04 (28:34):
Yeah, exactly.
I guess that's another likeinfluence.
I don't know whether it'sprobably a little bit of both
where you know Pink Floydprobably influenced Brian Eno
and then you know probablyinfluenced Bry uh Pink Floyd
again for like especially whenyou think about what Pink Floyd
would do in the eighties andstuff like that.
SPEAKER_03 (28:55):
Yeah, yeah, that's true.
Um yeah, the yeah, you I mean Ii it's funny and I I when we did
that craft work album that'swhat maybe two years ago at this
point, um the uh it is funnylike what I was hearing like
(29:16):
saying about that was and I Ican hear it too, is um hearing
like future what the what thefuture of music would be and and
and you can definitely hear alot of influence on what the 80s
would sound like in this album.
Um you know it's it's um like Iwas saying and um but and not
(29:38):
just New Wave that I was uhsaying earlier, like even the
second half, like a lot of theuh a lot of the advances in
techno in technology, for betteror worse, um basically laid out
the landscape of what the 80swould sound like.
Um and you can definitely hearthe uh even the more pop style.
(30:00):
stuff you can hear the theinfluent that it was influenced
by the second side of thisalbum.
Like maybe like New Wave was thefirst half, and then like the
sort of more synthpop um moremellow stuff is like the second
half.
SPEAKER_04 (30:17):
Yeah.
No, it's true.
Um yeah, all roads lead toBrianino.
I don't know.
Uh in one way or another itseems to be like he had a huge
influence on you know what musicwould become after he basically
stuck his fingers in all thepies to uh you know kind of do
(30:41):
what he wanted to do.
And that's honestly what he wasdoing.
He was just doing what he wantedto do whether or not people
would listen to it or not.
It's just he had ideas.
SPEAKER_03 (30:53):
Oh ex exactly and and you know um not just for him
but like producing other artistsas well.
Um and you know the work that hedid with like another shaping
the the music of the 80s andteaming up with Daniel Lanois
and producing U2.
They did a couple of albums withwith you too uh the two of them
(31:15):
so um so yeah his his hisinfluence is huge not just for
the future but in the present umor at least you know like when
the when that music was currentlike when you like did the
joshua tree and and and all thatum but yeah but this album I
(31:36):
think is is uh it's a good isnot it's not just the the
turning point in uh Brian Eno'scareer but like it it seems like
music in general um at least fora little bit for about ten years
(31:57):
yeah I mean things weredefinitely changing fast during
this um you know during the uhtransition from like your uh
progressive rock into your meatand potatoes punk rock um yeah
there was still other like youknow micro genres going on and
(32:17):
and this is this seems to beright smack dab in the middle of
all that changeover and and it'sit had to have influenced it one
way or another.
SPEAKER_04 (32:26):
I think a lot of people just were into what he
was doing.
SPEAKER_03 (32:30):
Well yeah like I think this is literally in the
middle because the like thisalbum has people like Phil
Collins and Robert Fripp whowere at the time very much in
the progressive rock world.
But then also you have areference to the talking heads
which was like the punk new waveworld and so this is like this
(32:53):
is like you were saying this isliterally right in the middle of
that.
It's sort of like Brian you knowwas the nucleus of all music
from the seventies from thefirst half of the decade and the
second half.
SPEAKER_04 (33:06):
Yeah he just seemed to have uh been in the right
place at the right time and uhquite literally whether it
didn't matter where he was itwas you know music was just
changing around him and he waschanging it.
Whether he was trying to changeit or not it just I don't think
he cared one way or the other.
He he just wanted to do what hedid.
(33:27):
But he wound up, you know,influencing so many people in
all sorts of different genres.
SPEAKER_03 (33:34):
Yeah well I mean that's what the best uh or that
that's what the most influentialpeople do is they just do what
they do naturally.
You know whether it's like theold blues artists p pick any any
influential artist.
They were not they weren'ttrying to create a genre they
(33:56):
did but they weren't trying tothey were just doing what they
did naturally.
So all of that being said, whatwould be your uh three
highlights on the album?
Oh it's it's actually reallytough.
SPEAKER_04 (34:08):
Oh it is really tough.
I liked Energy Fools themagician I think that was like
the first of the um it was inthe first half of the album but
I think that was the first onethat sort of touched on the
ambient energy of the album Iliked it but I also liked the
song Backwater.
(34:29):
I thought that was pretty good.
King's Led Hat.
Oh man it's kind of hard to pickI think I'm gonna pick those
three though I think those areprobably my favorites.
SPEAKER_03 (34:39):
Yeah I think mine is probably King's Led Hat.
Yeah Backwater as well and uh Ireally liked the the closing
track spider and I I do like thethe Pink Floyd sort of influence
on that.
So yes I guess that brings us tothe question is would you listen
to this album again?
I think so I think if I saw thissomewhere I'd pick it up yeah me
(35:02):
too um yeah yeah that's a goodpoint is like if it's if it's in
a record store somewhere and I Ijust browsing and it's like oh
yeah that's that's a good oneand I'll pick that up yeah I
would definitely listen to thisagain.
I think I think I would have tobe in the right mood for it but
I think it would be could be itwould be easy to get into that
(35:23):
mood.
Like some of the albums that wetalk about are like yeah I could
listen to this again but I wouldhave to be in the the right mood
for it.
I think I I am more often thannot in the right mood for it but
it's it's definitely a moodrecord.
SPEAKER_04 (35:38):
Yes absolutely um yeah I sort of feel the same way
it's uh yeah for me it wouldn'tbe hard to be in in the in the
right mood for this I don't knowI seem to be lately in the mood
for stuff like this quite oftenso it uh actually uh kind of hit
hits me in in just the rightspot so yeah it's it's actually
(36:01):
quite good.
SPEAKER_03 (36:02):
Um yeah so I guess we'll uh end the episode there.
Uh thank you so much forlistening if you made it this
far uh we would love to hearfrom you uh you would love to
get some feedback you can dothat by going to the website go
to polyphonicpress.com and youcan go to the contact page there
and as well as get all the uhpast episodes that we've done
(36:23):
and uh definitely uh if the ifthis is your first time
listening give the show a followand uh leave a rating and review
because it really helps uhlisteners find us and you can uh
like I said check out thePatreon there's lots of cool
stuff there if you feel inclinedand I think that just about does
it uh I'm Jeremy Boyd I'm JohnVan Dyke take it easy
It's just a normal patent in here!
SPEAKER_01 (00:14):
This is Polyphonic Press, the podcast where two
music fans pick a classic albumcompletely at random.
Using the patented random albumgenerator, they are given an
album to review from a curatedlist of over 1,000 classic
releases spanning multiplegenres.
And now onto the show.
(00:34):
Here are your hosts, Jeremy Boydand John Van Dyke.
SPEAKER_03 (00:47):
Hey, welcome to Polyphonic Press.
I'm Jeremy Boyd.
SPEAKER_04 (00:50):
I'm John Van Dyke.
SPEAKER_03 (00:51):
And uh let's not waste any time.
We've got the patented randomalbum generator right in front
of us here.
Uh so let's hit the button andsee what album we're gonna be
listening to this week.
And the album we're gonna belistening to is Brian Eno Before
and After Science.
Okay.
Interesting.
SPEAKER_04 (01:11):
I don't know what this album comprises of.
Uh neither do I.
But Brian Eno's generally gotsome interesting stuff and
ideas.
SPEAKER_03 (01:20):
Definitely, yeah.
Uh well he is uh description ofthe album that says Before and
After Science, uh, released in1977 by Brian Eno, is one of the
most acclaimed solo albums.
One of his most acclaimed soloalbums, bridging his
experimental rock sensibilitieswith the ambient style he would
soon pioneer.
The record is structured almostlike two different worlds.
(01:43):
The first half is energetic,angular, and rhythm-driven,
while the second half driftsinto ethereal meditative
territory.
On the front side, tracks likeNo One Receiving and King's Lead
Hat showcase Eno's playful,jagged approach to art rock,
brimming with quirky rhythms,fractured guitar lines, and
(02:04):
off-kilter energy.
These songs lean heavily oncollaborations with musicians
like Robert Fripp, Phil Collins,and members of Can, giving the
music a restless,forward-driving feel.
The latter half of the albumshifts dramatically into
silliness and spaciousness.
(02:25):
Songs like By This River andSpider and I are hushed,
delicate, and hauntinglybeautiful, foreshadowing Eno's
deep dive into ambient music.
The contrast creates a sense ofmovement from chaos to calm.
An arc that mirrors the album'stitle.
Ultimately, Before and AfterScience stands as a transitional
(02:47):
record in Eno's career,mirroring his pop and rock
experiments with the with theserene atmospheres that would
define his most influentialwork.
It remains a fan favorite forits balance of accessibility,
strangeness, and emotionalresonance.
SPEAKER_04 (03:02):
Have you ever heard Can?
SPEAKER_03 (03:04):
Uh no, I don't think so.
SPEAKER_04 (03:06):
They're they at first they sort of come off as
very odd, but they're veryinteresting.
They're a very odd, interestingband from that era.
I don't know how else to explainit.
SPEAKER_03 (03:21):
It's well, I guess uh it this'll be interesting,
that's for sure.
Um so the this album wasreleased in December of 1977.
Uh the genres are art rock, artpop, avant pop, and experimental
pop.
And it was released on Islandand Polydor Records and produced
(03:43):
by re uh Brian Eno and RhettDavies.
And uh there are 10 songs on thealbum, and side one and side two
is pretty sp split prettyevenly, five and five.
Um, so what we'd like to do iswe'd like to uh take a break at
the uh halfway point after sideone and um and discuss the album
(04:04):
at the halfway mark.
Uh so if you're listening along,which we do encourage you to do,
uh you can stop it.
The album starts with no onereceiving, and side one ends
with King's Lead Hat.
So if you want to stop it atthat uh at that point and uh
hear the halfway discussion.
And we've linked the album toboth Spotify and Apple Music so
(04:25):
you can get get the album onyour preferred streaming
service.
And uh also just want to remindyou to check out our uh Patreon.
You can go to patreon.com slashpolyphonic press and you can get
lots of cool stuff there.
Like you can get these uhepisodes the day before they go
live.
Uh you can uh get a shout outduring these episodes and uh
(04:48):
even pick an album for us toreview.
So uh lots of cool stuff tocheck out there.
Okay, here we go.
Here is the uh the first song onthe album, no one receiving.
Here we go.
All right.
SPEAKER_04 (05:37):
Yeah, it's pretty weird, but I'm actually really
digging it.
SPEAKER_03 (05:41):
Yeah, it's uh it's reminding me a lot of uh I can
hear the influence or I can hearwhat it influenced.
Um I can hear a lot of new wave,uh, and like Devo and like stuff
like that.
Um not quite pop, not quitemainstream, but more the artsy
(06:03):
side of and of New Wave.
Um that kind of stuff.
I you can definitely hear uh I Imean that's I I think that's
kind of where he's he's headed.
Um and I didn't quite uh realizethe influence that he really had
on that that kind of music.
SPEAKER_04 (06:23):
Yeah.
No, it's true.
This album is a little moreapproachable than most of his
stuff that that that I've heard.
It's still weird because it'sstill Brian Eno, but it's
definitely got more of a popsensibility going on with it.
But uh yeah, I've got I can fhear elements of like jazz
fusion in it, and I can hear,you know, like you said, punkin
(06:47):
new wave.
Um there's still a little bit ofprogressive in it, um, but uh
it's still all rock and roll.
SPEAKER_03 (06:56):
Yeah.
And uh it's but it's different,like it doesn't sound like
anything else.
Like it's it's especially in in77, um and you know it's it's
it's got like it's like thisfrantic energy to it.
Um and uh yeah, it's it's uh Iyeah, I don't really know what
(07:21):
else to say.
SPEAKER_04 (07:23):
I can hear a lot of industrial, like too.
Like think of like uh in umdepeche mode or uh um uh nine
inch nails, stuff like that.
Yeah.
There's a little bit of thatgoing on.
Uh yeah, I can absolutely hearyou know the influence of this
(07:46):
in that.
Um yeah, I think this is one ofthose albums that's probably
more important than most peoplewould probably uh give it credit
for.
I think it kind of flies underthe radar.
SPEAKER_03 (07:59):
Yeah, because you know, I think at the time Brian,
you know, was I think this is Idon't know what uh yeah, this is
his fifth solo album.
But like at the time he was sortof or may have been more known
for being in Roxy music, and um,and you know, and then he does
(08:22):
uh he did goes on this soloadventure, and I don't know how
people who who are into musicand especially electronic music
cite Brian Nino as a as a biginfluence, or maybe not directly
influence on them.
They they s the they know hishis impact and how important he
(08:44):
is in in that world, but I don'tknow at the time like how well
known he was.
Like, was this like I don'tthink that this was like a big
radio uh album or anything likethat, but like in the the
musicians, like obviously ifhe's getting people like uh you
know Phil Collins and and RobertFripp to to play on it, like
(09:07):
those the the musicians knowabout him, but um, you know, I
don't think you're gonna hearthis on like definitely not
gonna hear it on like top 40radio or anything like that.
SPEAKER_04 (09:19):
No, and and working with the musicians from Can too,
it's like throwing it to theother like you've got Robert
Fripp and Phil Collins and stufflike that who are like big
names.
Although 77 they were stillwell, Phil Collins was still
with Genesis, I think.
Yeah, well absolutely he waswith Genesis.
Uh he joined around that time.
Um so um but uh Robert Fripp wasknown for uh, you know, King
(09:45):
Crimson and whatnot.
Which I can sort of hear hintsof that too in this.
But yeah, I can sort of hear theband can as well.
The band can is like reallyobscure.
Like most people don't know whothey are.
Well, they're just d downrightunusual.
So you gotta hear them to knowwhat I'm talking about, but I
(10:08):
think one of their morewell-known songs is uh Father
Cannot Yell.
And it's a s it's a bit of ait's it's definitely sort of a
(10:30):
strange sort of a I don't know,there's a lot of rhythm that
sort of leads up to it.
And it's sort of a very strangerhythm, and it's really hard to
pinpoint exactly what influencethat.
I wouldn't even say it wasnecessarily like African rhythms
or anything like that.
Although that's under underneaththat there probably is, but it's
(10:52):
I don't know, you gotta hear itto just know what I'm talking
about, but when you hear that,you can sort of hear that in
this.
SPEAKER_03 (10:59):
Well, what I'm hearing in this, and and I don't
know exactly his like I reallydon't know a whole lot about
Brian Eno, um and his processand how he writes and how he he
come up comes up with things.
But what I'm hearing, and I canonly make an make an estimate
based on what I hear, but what Ihear is maybe he's like like
(11:22):
messing around on a on asynthesizer or maybe a guitar,
even, or whatever instrumentthat he's using.
He's just sort of noodling, andthen an idea will like a riff or
a series of notes or going up ascale or something, he'll do
something, and then he'll think,oh, that's a good idea, and then
(11:43):
he'll just build a song aroundthat, that one idea.
And that's what I'm hearing.
I'm hearing a lot of um I'm notcoming it's not complaining.
Um this sounds like a complaint,but it's not, is I'm hearing us
a lot of re uh repetitiveness,and it's sort of like it's like
this one idea, and it's like,okay, I'm building a song around
(12:03):
that.
And like the the it's maybesometimes even just one chord or
one note, and but it's maybe aspecific rhythm.
And uh and like yeah, it's it'sjust sort of like um I don't
want to say I it's not lazy, butit's like it's just whatever he
(12:24):
he's not afraid to um he's notworking with any within any
boundaries.
He's sort of like free to justokay, this idea we're gonna put
like a I heard a uh fretlessbase, we're gonna put a fretless
base on it, and just we're justgonna try things.
SPEAKER_04 (12:44):
Yeah, absolutely.
Um yeah, Brian Eno's one ofthose things who who will find
an idea, a spark of an idea inthings that most people would
throw away as being too outthere.
Um he he absolutely embracesthat.
He's you know, uh an ugly noiseto most people.
He would grab onto that and say,Oh, that's great.
(13:06):
Let's uh build something withit, and he actually builds
something that's uh you knowinteresting and and not even all
that unapproachable.
I mean, I guess it's probablysomewhat unapproachable to some
people, but uh this this isprobably his more his most
approachable work, but it'sstill kinda out there.
SPEAKER_03 (13:28):
It it is, yeah, absolutely.
Um I I think this may be like ifsomeone were curious about Brian
Nino, this may be like, yeah,listen to this.
If you're not used to his stuff,this is maybe a good
introduction to him, becauseit's still a pr like you're
right, it's still approachable,and but it's also a good sort of
(13:48):
gateway into his other stuff,more experimental stuff.
More more experimental thanthis.
SPEAKER_04 (13:54):
Well, it's sort of it's like what what if if if
you're looking for somethingthat's more like a relaxing
thing and you're used to likeambient music of of some sort,
then I think probably uh youknow, music for airports
wouldn't be that strange uponfirst hearing, but it definitely
was d very out there for itstime in the very late seventies
(14:17):
when it came out.
Um but uh yeah, this is stilllike I said, it's still rock and
roll, but it's uh gotta reallyit comes at it from all these
different directions and thenspreads out in like all these
other directions.
(14:38):
It takes these strange, youknow, it pulls these influences
from all sorts of really strangeplaces and then spits out on out
of the other end of it whole newgenres.
SPEAKER_03 (14:52):
Yeah, really.
I mean, um like I can like I'mlike I was saying, like the
influence on New Wave, I can'treally think of anything before
this that sounded like that.
I could be wrong, and there'ssomething that I I'm not aware
of, but I can't think ofanything before this that quite
(15:12):
s that has that um that energythat that sort of um frantic
sort of twitchy energy is theway the best way I can describe
it.
SPEAKER_04 (15:25):
Yeah, twitchy energy, yeah.
It's like yeah, it's it's kindalike uh glam rock, but on uh
having like a really, I don'tknow, I guess for lack of a
better explanation, on a badtrip or something like that.
But it's not unpleasant.
(15:46):
No, at least not to my extra.
SPEAKER_03 (15:48):
It's definitely interesting.
Like it's it's definitely uhit's not it's not boring at all,
that's for sure.
But I did manage to find a fewuh interesting facts about the
album.
Uh it was uh a long process.
Uh Eno worked on the album foralmost two years, record and
recording uh around a hundredtracks before narrowing it down
(16:11):
to the final ten.
This careful curation is part ofwhy the record feels so
deliberately split betweenenergetic and tranquil halves.
And I guess like the the thesecond half that we haven't got
to yet is the more ambient stuffthat uh um that people are used
to associating with with BrianEno.
SPEAKER_04 (16:32):
I guess he was sort of doing the same basic idea
that David Bowie was with uhLowe in some ways.
Um because when we werelistening to that album, and
obviously Brian Eno is all overthat, but we know he he's all
over the second half of it, buteven the first half, like I
said, it's got that a little bitof that frantic energy, and it
(16:55):
came out I think the same year.
SPEAKER_03 (16:57):
Uh yes, I think so.
Um yeah, the albums arestructured very similarly.
And uh and yeah, the the albumum is heavy collaboration.
The album features an impressiveroster of guest musicians,
including, like we're saying,Robert Fripp, Phil Collins, then
of Genesis, uh Jackie Liebesite,uh drummer of Can, and Percy
(17:22):
Jones, uh, from Brand X.
Their con contributions give thealbum its rhythmic rhythmic
diversity and unpredictabletextures.
Okay.
And um there's a connection touh the talking heads.
Of course there is.
Yeah.
The the frantic song King's LeadHat is actually an anagram for
(17:46):
talking heads.
(18:16):
And I know that's that's the newwave influence that I was
thinking of.
Uh like the talking heads kindof thing.
Yeah.
Um and like the the their songUm Once in a Lifetime, Brain Eno
produced that song, to nosurprise.
Um and uh and yeah, he had a biginfluence on on David Byrne and
(18:38):
and uh and Talking Heads.
Um and by the way, side note,that song uh was really it's
very odd the way that that wasput together.
Um they the band basically werejust jamming in the studio, and
they just took snippets of theband's jams and and just pieced
(19:03):
it together and just faded it inand out.
Like that's how that song waswas put put together.
So he's got a very interestingmind in how he can sort of build
things.
SPEAKER_04 (19:15):
Yeah, he's doing things that I'd never think to
do.
For sure.
Um and and it's it's sort ofinteresting because I think that
was probably the first timeBrian Eno's mindset became a
hit.
Yeah, I think so.
Because it was up to that point,I think everything that he did
(19:37):
was sort of for lack of a betterterm, off-putting to a lot to
like a mainstream audience.
But that uh definitely has a lotof the same in uh energy.
I guess maybe it's got s sort ofsofter edges in some places, but
it still carries that same sortof frantic energy.
But it's it's a less abrasive, Iguess, than say King's Lead Hat.
SPEAKER_03 (20:02):
Yeah, it's sort of it's more um it's more refined,
I guess.
Like m yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (20:08):
And that song came out, what was it, 1979 or 88 or
something?
SPEAKER_03 (20:14):
I think it was either 80 or 81.
Um and uh this is kind of cool.
The uh the packaging of theoriginal vinyl edition came with
a set of four offset prints byuh Peter Schmidt, who was also
Eno's collaborator on theOblique Strategies cards.
Um this turned the record intoboth a musical and visual visual
(20:38):
art object.
I don't know what the obliquestrategies is that another I
don't know, I'd have to look itup.
SPEAKER_04 (20:45):
Uh I think Brian Eno was again dabbling in all sorts
of different kind of art.
He's he is an artist artist.
Um be it music or or orotherwise.
He just Oh, a great story aboutBrian Eno.
You know uh um Marcel Duchamp'suh urinal.
(21:05):
Yep.
Yep.
Well he went into a museum Idon't know exactly where, it was
probably in New York orsomething like that, and he saw
uh, you know, what it's probablynot the original urinal, but it
was Marcel Duchamp's urinal uhmarked R Mutt.
And he thought just this is theway his brain works because the
(21:28):
entire idea of that urinal waslike I I could basically put a
urinal up and into into agallery and they'll accept it if
I present it a certain way.
Which was Marcel's Duchamp sortof a thumbing his nose up to the
art establishment.
Brian Eno walks into thegallery, sees this urinal, and
says, somebody needs to take apiss at me.
SPEAKER_03 (21:49):
So he did.
So he did, yeah, of course.
Of course.
Yeah.
Yeah, why not?
Um J just uh quickly, theoblique strategies, it's I don't
I don't have time to read thewhole thing, but apparently it's
(22:12):
uh it's a card-based method forpromoting creativity uh jointly
created by musician Brian Eneland multimedia artist Peter
Schmidt, first published in1975.
Physically, it takes the form ofa deck of seven by nine
centimeter printed cards in ablack box.
Each card offers a challengingconstraint intended to help
(22:34):
artists, particularlyparticularly musicians, break
writer's block by encouraginglateral thinking.
So it's basically like ainspirational sort of phrases on
cards.
Yeah.
Um yeah.
Yeah, couldn't hurt.
Um and uh and then the the lastone is it's a the transition to
(22:57):
ambient music.
The serene closing tracks,especially By This River and
Spider and I, foreshadow Eno'sgroundbreaking ambient series,
which began the following yearwith music for airports.
In this sense, the album marks apivotal turn uh excuse me.
In this sense, the album marks apivotal turning point in his
(23:18):
career.
So yeah, so this is like thetransition to his uh his um
ambient yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (23:28):
Straight up ambient stuff, yeah.
Which again is reallyinteresting.
Um it's not for everybody.
Uh it certainly didn't go overwell when he actually played it
in airports.
Uh because people didn't knowwhat to make of it.
I kinda get the idea becauseI've been in places especially
(23:50):
like brutalist architecture, andyou kinda want a certain I don't
know, it evokes a certainfeeling, and uh not everybody
likes it, but I kinda do.
I don't know, it's it's sort ofmelancholic, and his music sort
of reflects that sort of anatmosphere.
(24:10):
But I think for a lot of peoplethey try to get away from that
as much as possible.
I think it I think it probablyfrightens some people, maybe.
SPEAKER_03 (24:19):
Well, especially if you're stressed and you know
you're in the airport trying toget to your gate and the la
that's kind of the last thingyou want to hear.
SPEAKER_04 (24:28):
Yeah, you it's true.
Like if you're you know anairport is is not necessarily or
a bus station or, you know,which is like follow-up albums
and stuff like that would be youknow people are living their
lives in these places and nestdon't necessarily want they're
(24:51):
not really engrossed in theartistic expression of the
environment that they're in.
They're and they don't wantsomebody to s suck them into
that thing if they're againstressed about something.
SPEAKER_03 (25:05):
Well, yeah, it just reminds me of there was I can't
remember the comedi who c whatcomedian was talking about it,
but they were talking about oneof their early gigs that they
got into and uh like when theywere just first starting out,
and one of the gigs was in aChinese restaurant, but nobody
(25:26):
told any of the patrons of therestaurant that a comedy show
was about to happen.
So it's like they were they werejust like trying just trying to
have their dinner, and ladies ingentlemen, like they nobody knew
this was gonna and it was likejust bad, just like not the
right environment.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (25:43):
Yeah, exactly.
No, it's it's true forespecially like a comedy show.
Nobody wants the a comedy showto break out around them.
People have to kind of getthemselves in the mood to want
to go to a comedy show.
It's just something about comedyshows.
It's a very deliberate mindsetthat you have to put yourself
(26:04):
into.
SPEAKER_03 (26:05):
Um so yeah, so those were some uh interesting facts
about the album.
But uh I guess we'll get backinto the uh second side of the
album.
But uh before we do that, let'shear from our friends over at
the album nerds podcast.
So uh check those guys out.
Here we go.
SPEAKER_02 (26:23):
Drop the needle on the album nerds podcast.
SPEAKER_04 (26:25):
Just the album nerds, just album nerds.
SPEAKER_02 (26:27):
Join Andy, Don, and Dude each week as they discuss
albums from themes chosen by thewheel of musical discovery.
SPEAKER_04 (26:32):
Heavy metal guitar virtuoso double albums.
SPEAKER_02 (26:39):
Uncover hidden gems, revisit classics, and hear fresh
takes on your favorite records.
SPEAKER_04 (26:43):
Exile on mainstream of what country music can do
best is that storytelling.
This isn't this is a messy albumfor sure.
I just want to hear Floyd andeverything, I think.
Born in the USA.
It sounds great overall is analbum.
I'm just not like moved by it.
SPEAKER_02 (26:56):
The Album Nerds Podcast.
Three guys talking music.
Give it a spin wherever you findpodcasts at albumnerds.com.
SPEAKER_04 (27:03):
We'll now take a few seconds before we begin side
two.
Thank you.
Here's side two.
SPEAKER_03 (27:59):
Uh yeah, the second half was interesting with the
more uh more ambient stuff.
Um yeah, that's uh it's sort ofit's not exactly um like what
Brianino would do in the future,but it's like it you can
definitely hear the transition.
SPEAKER_04 (28:18):
Yeah, absolutely.
Actually, that last song, TheSpider and I, reminded me a lot
of like Pink Floyd.
SPEAKER_03 (28:25):
Uh yes, actually, yeah.
Now that you mention it, yeah,absolutely.
Yeah, something m like in themiddle of one of their albums or
something like that.
SPEAKER_04 (28:34):
Yeah, exactly.
I guess that's another likeinfluence.
I don't know whether it'sprobably a little bit of both
where you know Pink Floydprobably influenced Brian Eno
and then you know probablyinfluenced Bry uh Pink Floyd
again for like especially whenyou think about what Pink Floyd
would do in the eighties andstuff like that.
SPEAKER_03 (28:55):
Yeah, yeah, that's true.
Um yeah, the yeah, you I mean Ii it's funny and I I when we did
that craft work album that'swhat maybe two years ago at this
point, um the uh it is funnylike what I was hearing like
(29:16):
saying about that was and I Ican hear it too, is um hearing
like future what the what thefuture of music would be and and
and you can definitely hear alot of influence on what the 80s
would sound like in this album.
Um you know it's it's um like Iwas saying and um but and not
(29:38):
just New Wave that I was uhsaying earlier, like even the
second half, like a lot of theuh a lot of the advances in
techno in technology, for betteror worse, um basically laid out
the landscape of what the 80swould sound like.
Um and you can definitely hearthe uh even the more pop style.
(30:00):
stuff you can hear the theinfluent that it was influenced
by the second side of thisalbum.
Like maybe like New Wave was thefirst half, and then like the
sort of more synthpop um moremellow stuff is like the second
half.
SPEAKER_04 (30:17):
Yeah.
No, it's true.
Um yeah, all roads lead toBrianino.
I don't know.
Uh in one way or another itseems to be like he had a huge
influence on you know what musicwould become after he basically
stuck his fingers in all thepies to uh you know kind of do
(30:41):
what he wanted to do.
And that's honestly what he wasdoing.
He was just doing what he wantedto do whether or not people
would listen to it or not.
It's just he had ideas.
SPEAKER_03 (30:53):
Oh ex exactly and and you know um not just for him
but like producing other artistsas well.
Um and you know the work that hedid with like another shaping
the the music of the 80s andteaming up with Daniel Lanois
and producing U2.
They did a couple of albums withwith you too uh the two of them
(31:15):
so um so yeah his his hisinfluence is huge not just for
the future but in the present umor at least you know like when
the when that music was currentlike when you like did the
joshua tree and and and all thatum but yeah but this album I
(31:36):
think is is uh it's a good isnot it's not just the the
turning point in uh Brian Eno'scareer but like it it seems like
music in general um at least fora little bit for about ten years
(31:57):
yeah I mean things weredefinitely changing fast during
this um you know during the uhtransition from like your uh
progressive rock into your meatand potatoes punk rock um yeah
there was still other like youknow micro genres going on and
(32:17):
and this is this seems to beright smack dab in the middle of
all that changeover and and it'sit had to have influenced it one
way or another.
SPEAKER_04 (32:26):
I think a lot of people just were into what he
was doing.
SPEAKER_03 (32:30):
Well yeah like I think this is literally in the
middle because the like thisalbum has people like Phil
Collins and Robert Fripp whowere at the time very much in
the progressive rock world.
But then also you have areference to the talking heads
which was like the punk new waveworld and so this is like this
(32:53):
is like you were saying this isliterally right in the middle of
that.
It's sort of like Brian you knowwas the nucleus of all music
from the seventies from thefirst half of the decade and the
second half.
SPEAKER_04 (33:06):
Yeah he just seemed to have uh been in the right
place at the right time and uhquite literally whether it
didn't matter where he was itwas you know music was just
changing around him and he waschanging it.
Whether he was trying to changeit or not it just I don't think
he cared one way or the other.
He he just wanted to do what hedid.
(33:27):
But he wound up, you know,influencing so many people in
all sorts of different genres.
SPEAKER_03 (33:34):
Yeah well I mean that's what the best uh or that
that's what the most influentialpeople do is they just do what
they do naturally.
You know whether it's like theold blues artists p pick any any
influential artist.
They were not they weren'ttrying to create a genre they
(33:56):
did but they weren't trying tothey were just doing what they
did naturally.
So all of that being said, whatwould be your uh three
highlights on the album?
Oh it's it's actually reallytough.
SPEAKER_04 (34:08):
Oh it is really tough.
I liked Energy Fools themagician I think that was like
the first of the um it was inthe first half of the album but
I think that was the first onethat sort of touched on the
ambient energy of the album Iliked it but I also liked the
song Backwater.
(34:29):
I thought that was pretty good.
King's Led Hat.
Oh man it's kind of hard to pickI think I'm gonna pick those
three though I think those areprobably my favorites.
SPEAKER_03 (34:39):
Yeah I think mine is probably King's Led Hat.
Yeah Backwater as well and uh Ireally liked the the closing
track spider and I I do like thethe Pink Floyd sort of influence
on that.
So yes I guess that brings us tothe question is would you listen
to this album again?
I think so I think if I saw thissomewhere I'd pick it up yeah me
(35:02):
too um yeah yeah that's a goodpoint is like if it's if it's in
a record store somewhere and I Ijust browsing and it's like oh
yeah that's that's a good oneand I'll pick that up yeah I
would definitely listen to thisagain.
I think I think I would have tobe in the right mood for it but
I think it would be could be itwould be easy to get into that
(35:23):
mood.
Like some of the albums that wetalk about are like yeah I could
listen to this again but I wouldhave to be in the the right mood
for it.
I think I I am more often thannot in the right mood for it but
it's it's definitely a moodrecord.
SPEAKER_04 (35:38):
Yes absolutely um yeah I sort of feel the same way
it's uh yeah for me it wouldn'tbe hard to be in in the in the
right mood for this I don't knowI seem to be lately in the mood
for stuff like this quite oftenso it uh actually uh kind of hit
hits me in in just the rightspot so yeah it's it's actually
(36:01):
quite good.
SPEAKER_03 (36:02):
Um yeah so I guess we'll uh end the episode there.
Uh thank you so much forlistening if you made it this
far uh we would love to hearfrom you uh you would love to
get some feedback you can dothat by going to the website go
to polyphonicpress.com and youcan go to the contact page there
and as well as get all the uhpast episodes that we've done
(36:23):
and uh definitely uh if the ifthis is your first time
listening give the show a followand uh leave a rating and review
because it really helps uhlisteners find us and you can uh
like I said check out thePatreon there's lots of cool
stuff there if you feel inclinedand I think that just about does
it uh I'm Jeremy Boyd I'm JohnVan Dyke take it easy
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