Ambient 1: Music for Airports

Brian Eno | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 31, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Editions Eg Records
• ASIN: B000003S2K
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (118 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,671 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #24 in Music > Indie Music > Dance & DJ > Ambient

Track Listings

1. 1/1

2. 2/1

3. 1/2

4. 2/2

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This complex sound sculpture was created by Brian Eno in 1978 and was even installed for a while at the Marine Terminal of New York at LaGuardia Airport. The ambient-minimalist soundscape has been alternately described as background Muzak, a profoundly artificial musical milieu, and a groundbreaking studio creation. Eno designed Music for Airports from a few simple notes and the serial organization of variable tape loops that didn't quite match up. It's a groundbreaking elaboration on the aural/spatial dimension that utilizes silence, piano, synthesizer, female voices, and, most importantly, the technology of the studio. A true metaclassic, the "music" is divided into four distinct movements. This record is the first of Eno's ambient series and is undoubtedly the best. --Mitch Myers

Product Description

4 tracks. EEGCD 17. Scuff on disc will not affect play. Front art insert has lightly bent edge.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

103 of 107 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a classic ambient work September 22, 2000

By Sean M. Kelly

Format:Audio CD

I was 14 in 1984, and I remember laughing when I first saw the title to this lp- what is a Music for Airport, anyhow? (such a silly 14 year old thought) But I was intrigued by the concept, I saw one of my idols, Robert Wyatt, as a credit on the lp, and the lp was used, so for a mere .50, I ventured into the world of Brian Eno for the second time (I loved his Roxy Music works).

From the opening piano strokes of Wyatt, I was hooked. I couldn't listen to the lp enough. I listened to it at high volume,and at low volumes. At night; during the day; during rain; windy conditions; perfect calm. It didn't matter. The music transcended all conditions. I was amazed. I was (and still am) a huge Erik Satie fan, and Eno was the modern day Satie. The concepts were beautifully simple and effective, yet wreaked of sophisication. My friends at school were listening to Ratt and other 80s hair bands, and I was into Eno. They didn't get it. It was fine. Eno was mine.

Today, almost 16 years later, "Music for Airports" is one of the cornerstones of my musical identity. I have listened to it 1000's of times (as with all instrumental Eno lps), and still am amazed by the absolute simplicity of it. While Eno played with ambient soundscapes before ("Discreet Music," Fripp and Eno's 2 recordings), none better encapsulated at the time what he was driving towards better than this lp (in my view, "Ambient 4: On Land" best encapsulates ambient music).

This lp is a gem of the highest calibre, and is a must in any reputable music collection. A must have.

70 of 73 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT December 6, 2004

By J. Brady

Format:Audio CD

I feel rather silly jumping on the Eno bandwagon decades after his best and most influential works were released. But here I am. Burned out on everything else, uninspired by anything new, I find myself going back to Eno again and again. This cd is really great. Simple, easy to listen to ( but certainly not "Muzak" )and very relaxing without being boring. Nice to listen to at night before bed, cool in the background when its raining out. And yes, I did actually put this on headphones as I waited for a flight out of Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport.

44 of 46 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Puts Eno in the level of the best artists and producers alive. March 28, 2006

By Manny Hernandez HALL OF FAME

Format:Audio CD

Brian Eno's seminal masterpiece is quite simply beyond being among the best ambient albums of all time. It is among the best albums ever, period. Recorded in a time of musical turmoil (think punk) and after his glam stint alongside Roxy Music and helping bring in "enossification" and some other of his recording techniques into the life of numerous bands in the UK in the mid-to-late seventies, "Ambient 1: Music for Airports" became a timeless piece without much effort.

Eno captured the essence of the instruments he recorded, looping them and interweaving them to accomplish an exquisite minimalist sound in all four songs. From the first track (over 17 minutes in duration), which features pianos and synthesizer, the album captures you. In the second track, the haunting sampled voices that walk the aisles of a multitude of sound layers bring a dimension to the music that was unheard of until then. Track 1/2 combines the instruments from the first two tracks (voices and piano) in a new fashion, due to the phasing of the tape loops, which makes them "explore" new musical spaces as they evolve through the track's 12+ minutes of duration. The last track only reconfirms the exquisite character of the album, bringing it all back home.

The fact that this album was recorded in 1978 is very impressive, since it became a landmark of the ambient movement to follow in future decades. But the fact that it was recorded at all and it reaches such levels of (almost) painful beauty would suffice to place Eno in the level of the best artists and producers alive. Other musicians influenced by Eno that are highly recommendable would be Mark Isham (OST for "Crash") and Cliff Martinez (OST for "Traffic").