mute's Full Review: Wrong Way Up by Brian Eno/John Cale
Rumor has it that there's a reason for the daggers on the cover. Eno and Cale didn't quite see eye-to-eye on this one, and I think it weakens the whole album as a result. There are a couple of good strong songs, including one of the most beautiful songs either Eno or Cale has ever written, but there are a few that feel like they could have been left off without hurting the albums.
The first couple of tracks, "Lay My Love" and "One Word" are pretty much pop songs, and fit nicely. "Lay My Love" is all over with Cale's strings, and "One Word" is lovely and complex, with interwoven lyrics sung by both. These are some of the high points.
"In The Backroom" is a bit odd and tedious. I'm not sure what to think of it-- sometimes I like it, sometimes it grates. It's got some nice wordplay, but, well, I'm neutral. "Empty Frame" is almost a throwback to older Eno, a bit of wordplay and a wierd little story, but, again, a little weaker than I've come to expect from him.
"Cordoba" is the most beautiful song. Sparse and tense and filled with longing and mystery, it tells enough of a story that you can't help but fill in the edges around it, bits of events and people, and wonder about what you don't know. It's haunting and has been one of the single most remembered songs from the album.
"Spinning Away" and "Footsteps" are more pop, and are two of my favorites (besides "Cordoba"). "Spinning Away" is almost helpless with the unbearable joy of creation and beauty. "Footsteps" is more restrained, regretful, and hints, again, at stories told in pieces.
The songs after that? Hurm. Well, here it breaks down. "Been There Done Yet" is... not very good. "Crime in the Desert" is also not very good. "The River," well, I don't remember it. I've listened to this album dozens of time (mostly on tape, even, so I couldn't skip ahead), but I have no idea how it goes. Considering how well I remember songs, that's saying quite a lot, that it could skip so lightly over my consciousness.
So, consider this a short album, and it's pretty good. Taken as a whole, it's not as great. But the good bits are good, and worth a listen.
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