A gentle voyage
Written: Aug 01 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: In general, this is an inspired recording
Cons: The compositions are maybe a bit too short
The Bottom Line: A relaxing, thoughtful CD that gets better every time you listen to it.
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| jordan_tar's Full Review: Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks by Brian Eno |
"Apollo" is like no other music I've ever heard before; it can't even really be considered music. Yet it's a relaxing work through which there ripples tension, joy, and sadness.
Brian Eno started out as a member of the glam-rock band Roxy Music. After that band fell apart, he put out a few straightforward rock albums, such as "Here Come the Warm Jets" and "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy". In the mid-70's, however, one of the most important ideas of modern music came about in a banal way: Eno was hit by a car, and while in the hospital, unable to move or change the volume on his stereo, he realized that quiet music could inexplicably change the atmosphere of a place in a nearly-imperceptible way. And so he began to put out albums of ambient music, which were prefigured, most of all, by songs like "Julie With..." and "Spider and I" on his album "Before and After Science". With synthesizers he created a revolution, and released some of the most acclaimed ambient albums: "Music for Films", "Discreet Music", "Music for Airports", "On Land", and the crown jewel of his ambient recordings: "Apollo".
The album was conceived as a soundtrack for a documentary on the Apollo space missions; instead of the irritating feedback and voices we usually hear on these recordings, what better to hear than soft, heavenly music that would allow you to think and conceive, to become part of the situation? Eno, when asked to do the soundtrack music, got to work on it sight unseen, and the album was released finally in 1983.
The music of this album is generally quite muted and erratic. No consistent patterns emerge through it; the songs are drifting soundscapes that use the lack of sound just as effectively as they use the actual sound. The best way to describe the atmosphere of the music is to say there's an invisible muffle; we feel that there's a great deal going on somewhere, but we can't see it or hear it, except through this hazy filter. Through the mix, we occasionally hear impossibly distant shouts and other sound effects. Chiming, chirping synthesizers, muted, droning feedback, and soft percussion all revolve around intra-song themes that change from song to song, but give a center of attention for each individual composition.
In a way, the album reflects the actual process of a space flight. The first four tracks are laden with mystery and tension; on the third track, we even hear the growling of some kind of space monster. But on the fifth track, "An Ending (Ascent)", we reach a kind of epiphany, and the music becomes ecstatic and relaxed. On the next couple of tracks, the softer ambient themes return. On tracks 8-10, the music grows louder and more intentionally tuneful (taking on a country-western setting; some have said that this is a kind of tribute to the "space cowboy" aspect of the missions); the final two tracks are a kind of coda to the whole thing.
Compared to Eno's other albums, I think this may be his best. As I said before, it's the culmination of his previous work; it adds narcosis to the art and joy of his rock albums, and the result is imagistic, atmospheric, and dreamy. The short compositions are more interesting than the ones we hear on "Music for Airports", and the music has a lightness and freedom that's lacking from stuff like "On Land" and "Music for Films". One track on this album is called "Weightless", and that really sums up the whole affair.
The album isn't really the kind of album that you can just sit down and listen to; it's best to use it as the backdrop for creative work or atmospheric places. It's best heard at night, but it's really good for any quiet, pensive time. I'd never heard anything like this music before, but when I sat down and listened to it, on a stormy, dark day, I realized how much music of this kind could change the setting.
Recommended:
Yes
Great Music to Play While: Going to Sleep
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Epinions.com ID:
jordan_tar
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Member: Jordan R.
Location: Tulsa OK
Reviews written: 365
Trusted by: 186 members
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I'm back! maybe?
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