Cluster & Eno

Brian Eno, Robert Wyatt, Cluster | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 13, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Gyroscope
• ASIN: B0000035DD
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #236,617 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Ho Renomo

2. Schöne Hände

3. Steinsame

4. Wehrmut

5. Mit Simaen

6. Selange

7. Die Bunge

8. One

9. Für Luise

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The first collaboration between the prolific avant-garde German duo and the synthesist and future U2 producer bore tasty musical fruit. Meshing Cluster's affinity for loops and repetition and Eno's penchant for processing sounds, the trio proves that ambient music does not merely consist of drawn-out drones and insipid keyboard tapestries. Certainly many of these nine tracks play off of sustained sounds and atmospheres, but their shorter running times make them more digestible, as does their variety of moods and textures. Highlights include the angelic atmosphere of "Für Luise," the classically inspired piano interlude "Mit Samaen," and the Indian-influenced "One," a trippy progenitor of ethnoambient music, ripe with sitar drones, guitar noises, and exotic percussion that features contributions from Okko Becker and Asmus Tietchens. The group also usurps their spaced-out predilections with the off-kilter "Selange"--a cyclical piece for keyboards and drum machine with a tricky rhythm change to discombobulate its otherwise smooth flow--and the upbeat Western gallop of "Die Bunge." Cluster & Eno is a worthy model for the eclectic possibilities of electronic music. --Bryan Reesman

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Microphone Against The World" - cool cover, November 23, 2002

By 

rubidium84 (Ft. Calhoun, NE) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cluster & Eno (Audio CD)

Cluster live and work in Berlin. They like Eno, and Eno likes them. They call him up and say "come to Berlin and We'll make a record". Eno's friend David Bowie calls, says "I'm depressed." Eno says, "Come to Berlin, we're making records. oh and hey, bring Fripp along." Bowie and Fripp show up with Iggy Pop - he came along because He's a big fan of Fripp (believe it or not!).

And that's the story of how "The Berlin Albums" came to bieng. They are: "Cluster and Eno" and "After the Heat" by C&E, "Low" and "Heroes" by Bowie, and "Before and after Science" by Eno. Such an amazing quintet of albums was never before or since put together and released all in the space of one year. To get the full effect, you really have to listen to all five at the same time in one of those five-tray "random play" CD players.

But on to the review. "C&E" is probably the darkest and most unsettling of the five, featuring instruments such as Theremin, Fretless Bass, Assorted Percussion (of the pots-and-pans variety), Sitar, Piano Trio, and the ubiqtuous Synthesisizer. In fact, Eno's little VCS3 dominates the record, but in many places it takes the role it did with Roxy Music, merely treating the other instruments.

Like I said Before, you have to but all five. the "Berlin Group" creates a complete musical micro-universe within themselves.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 1/2 Of..., January 28, 2000

By 

DAC Crowell - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cluster & Eno (Audio CD)

This release is an interesting affair. Cluster shifted gears a few times in the mid-70s, arriving at a very atmospheric, stripped-down approach to electronic music with "Sowiesoso" and their collaborations with Michael Rother as Harmonia. And as such, it's only logical that Brian Eno, the godfather of ambient music, would collaborate with them. The results are documented here and in a bookend work, "After the Heat", as well as a few tracks on Eno's "Before and After Science", and the results are stark, beautiful, and amazing. In a few places, things get a little tedious, but this really doesn't detract all that much from the goings-on here. Docked one star because, honestly, this should be in the same package with its tandem release "After the Heat" to get the real feel of the pairing. A critical release.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars quite good, April 29, 2005

By 

Lovblad (Geneva, Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cluster & Eno (Audio CD)

If you like eno and cluster you must have this. It is nothing unexpected but quite good indeed