Brian Eno Another Green World on Polydor Vinyl 2302-069A 1975

	£		16
	$		21

Another Green World
 is the third studio album by English musician Brian Eno. Produced by Eno and Rhett Davies, it was originally released by Island Records in September 1975. As he had done with previous solo albums, Eno worked with several guest musicians including Phil Collins, John Cale and Robert Fripp. The album marked a great musical change from Eno's previous albums. Using his instruction cards the Oblique Strategies for guidance, the album contained fewer lyric-based rock songs and had stronger emphasis on instrumental productions; many without the aid of guest musicians. The dark humour of the lyrics also changed to more dreamlike and obscure songs.

The album failed to chart in the United States or the United Kingdom. Another Green World met with high praise from several critics, while others suggested that the album was too great a departure from Eno's previous more rock-based material. Modern reception of Another Green World has been very positive; several critics and publications often place the album on lists of the top albums of all time


Autumn 1990 in Oxford was the first time I ever heard Brian Eno. Then, his sound was a world apart from the jangling indie that I was lapping up, but the combination of atmospheric electronic instrumentals, and beautifully sung vocal tracks was deeply appealing. Little did I know that Eno was the godfather of ambient, a sound brought to a wider audience by the Orb and their ilk in the early 90s.
At the time, I taped this from a friend's vinyl but I replaced this copy of Another Green World with the CD a few years ago and listening to it again nearly thirty years after it was recorded the inventiveness and playful approach of Eno and his cohorts still springs out; Phil Collins' splendid drumming provides proof, if it were needed, that the only place I want to hear him is behind the kit. Robert Fripp's "Frippertronics" guitar system involving tape-delay systems and looped feedback is used to ear-bending effect on several tracks. And behind it all, bald on top and long at the sides, Eno's compositional and production genius shines. He credits himself on a fabulous array of made-up instruments ("Snake Guitar", "Unnatural Sounds", "Desert Guitar" and the like) and peppers everything with harmonics, percussive flourishes and twinkling melodic runs. This is an album that manages to combine all kinds of emotions, yet stil sounds coherent.
In the last few years I've listened to a lot of Brian Eno's back catalogue, and other personal favourites include Before And After Science and his Ambient series. But I have a particular fondness for Another Green World, and time has been very kind to it; part of this is probably nostalgia, but I think it's also because it's SUCH a great record.

Studio album by Eno
Released     September 1975
Recorded     July–August 1975
Studio     Island Studios in London
Genre     Ambient, art pop
Length     40:24
Label     Island
Producer     Eno, Rhett Davies

Track listing

All songs written by Brian Eno.

Side A

    "Sky Saw"  – 3:25
    "Over Fire Island"  – 1:49
    "St. Elmo's Fire"  – 3:02
    "In Dark Trees"  – 2:29
    "The Big Ship"  – 3:01
    "I'll Come Running"  – 3:48
    "Another Green World"  – 1:38

Side B

    "Sombre Reptiles"  – 2:26
    "Little Fishes"  – 1:30
    "Golden Hours"  – 4:01
    "Becalmed"  – 3:56
    "Zawinul/Lava"  – 3:00
    "Everything Merges with the Night"  – 3:59
    "Spirits Drifting"  – 2:

Personnel

    Phil Collins – drums
    Percy Jones – fretless bass
    Paul Rudolph – anchor bass
    Rod Melvin – rhodes piano
    John Cale – viola section
    Eno - snake guitar, digital guitar, vocals