Customer Reviews

Brian Eno, Vol. 1: Instrumental

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just purchased this box set and I wish I had purchased it when it first came out. As an avid ENO fan I was aware that this had some material that you can not find elswhere, on any of Eno's other releases. That alone is worth the price of admission. Run out and buy this box set before you have to mortgage the house to get it. Essential Eno for the hardcore fan.

I have to agree with the other review posted here: This box is phenomenal. I was fortunate enough to get my hands on this instrumental box and also the accompanying 3-CD vocal box when they came out in the 1990s, and I'm glad I did. Most boxed sets throw in also-rans, recycles and rejects -- songs you're really not going to want to hear that much. With Eno, though, I'm not sure there are such things. Yes, there are some "rarities" here, I guess one would call them, but Eno's obscurities and unreleased tracks tend to be as sublime as the rest of his output.

The only trouble now is the price one must pay for this set to acquire it. Both boxes apparently were released in fairly limited editions. That, or most everyone who bought them is hanging on for dear life. I've been very surprised at what sellers have been asking as of this writing in fall 2002. One person listed here on Amazon has both boxes for sale for the combined price of [money]. Is it really worth that kind of expense to own these? I don't know, but here's an indication of how much I value them: I wouldn't part with my Eno boxes even for a solid grand. And it's not enough just to have the songs, so simply finding a friend and trying to burn these OP discs isn't enough -- these boxes were marvels of restraint, as CD box releases went, and thus the packaging is clean and uncluttered, yet there's enough info to pique your interest.

The instrumental box got most of the attention when they were released, but the vocal Eno should not be overlooked. On albums such as "Before and After Science," he created small pop-music masterpieces -- ear-candy melodies met up with thoughtful lyrics and some really beautiful but not over-the-top production.

Eno's more recent work hasn't exactly thrilled me, but for a couple of decades there, he really was the man, beginning with some of the early '70s stuff, moving through collaborations with the likes of Robert Fripp, and doing the "Music for Airports" and other Ambient records. If you can't bring yourself to pay for these boxed sets, dig into the Eno catalog and listen to the many albums still in print. You won't regret a single minute of it.

This box set has it all, my friends. It's a wonderful overview of Eno's instrumental work from the mid-seventies through the mid-nineties. Featuring collaborations with artists as diverse as David Bowie,Jon Hassell,Harold Budd,and Robert Fripp,it's an essential album for collectors and an excellent primer for Eno novices. The ambient genre is heard in all of it's permutations here- from funky-amb songs like "Energy Fools The Magician" to the beautifully strange vocalese (by Bowie) of "Warszawa" to the long,dreamy trance tracks such as "Thursday Afternoon" and "Discreet Music" on Disc 3 that close the album. Love ambient but have a short attention span? The edited versions of "An Index of Metals","Ikebukuro", and "Neroli" are just what the doctor ordered! I must confess that I'm a huge fan of Eno's so my enthusiasm must be taken into consideration. He's one of my biggest influences as a musician/songwriter and was an inspiration for my latest album,"Guardians of the Underworld".
Acquire "Eno Box 1" and you will not be disappointed.

This is a fantastic box set, and I echo the comments of the readers who have gone into more detail about the actual musical contents. What I want to alert folks to is that this box set, like a number of them manufactured at a certain point, used a particular adhesive in the construction of the box and digipacks which "runs" over time (regardless of heat). I discovered this to my dismay when I opened my coveted Instrumental Box recently to find the digipacks literally glued to the interior of the box! So, if you're buying any of these used, be sure to ask if there's any glue damage, and if possible, ask for photos of the digipacks opened up etc.

I bought this incredible box when it was first released and it still sits pretty on my shelf in the event that I need peace, can't sleep, have the urge to create, am lonely, whatever. This is the perfect "sonic" companion.

A wealth of music, a wealth of information, great packaging, great presentation.

The selections are spot on, and each cd is a complete work unto itself, capturing a period and a mood. The first cd is comprised of early, shorter works, the second cd is comprised of longer, more varied tracks, while the tracks on the last cd are the longest and most atmospheric. Taken as a whole, these three cds capture not just the prolific output of an accomplished musician and producer, but a work of art in their own right.

A Marketer's dream if there ever was one. Be aware you're paying for the absolutely gorgeous, nifty, beautifully conceived packaging.
And to really make fans drool there's a Volume One AND a Volume Two.
And both volumes feel weighty and IMPORTANT TO OWN.
Your friends will be in awe. You'll tell everybody you know you own BOTH volumes.
You'll tell your friends This is Brilliant Concept.
You'll be sure to tell your friends either "It cost me a fortune" or better: "I bought it when it First Came Out!!!"
Anyway you look at it the whole is better than the parts and the songs don't feel "right" collected and bumped up and squeezed together in a way that feels crammped.
Discreet music is butchered "to fit".
You can live without it.
Really, it's just a pretty albeit, very pretty two volume package you're paying for.
It's really an Art Object; or rather a set of Art Objects.
Sculptures, if you will.
Obsessive (I must Own Everything with Eno's name on it) collector's only.

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High towers blinking red--red--red.

Thorough music in deep deep shells.

Underwater sluices

Instruments painted white, fluffing in the breeze on

Far distant humungous green hills.

Liquid silver streams

Flows over small round stones with ochre lichen.

A Brother still felt atmospheric, but yields no
strength from mists and weather instruments,

Electricity finding its way dark red across the skies of Saturn.