Customer Reviews

More Music for Films

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

 

 

Indeed very frustrating that it happened again with an Eno release...:

Thinking of buying More Music For Films? EnoWeb advises caution. Two people have e-mailed us to say that on their CDs, track 18 -- which should be "Climate Study" -- is in fact "Approaching Taidu"; track 20 is again "Approaching Taidu": you get two of those rather than any "Climate Study"s. This is the case on EnoWeb's copy too. It might be worth delaying your purchase until we have some information on how widespread this situation is (probably after Easter), so you don't have to put up with the kind of problems that beset purchasers of the defective Another Green World last year.

Most if not all of the exclusive tracks from the oop 'INSTRUMENTAL' box set are on this compilation. I need to point out that there is a track repeated twice by mistake. Track 18 which is listed as 'CLIMATE STUDY' is actually 'APPROACHING TAIDU', which also happens to be track 20. It seems Astralwerks has screwed up again like on the first pressings of 'ANOTHER GREEN WORLD'. You may want to hold off on buying this until a second pressing is done to add the correct track.

When I saw that this was coming out, I was immediately excited, since the original MUSIC FOR FILMS was such a unique collection at the time of its release. This latest version (and some of the tracks are just that -- versions of earlier releases) doesn't break any new ground, but fans of Eno will likely want to have a copy for their collections anyway. The pieces vary but all possess a somewhat cinematic approach (not as in John Williams and action movie soundtracks), setting a mood and a tone that can be calming or jarring. Most of the pieces are in the "incidental" vein, lasting only a minute or two. It works as an extension of the original MUSIC FOR FILMS, but certainly doesn't build much on the promise of that ground-breaking release.

I read all the reviews on amazon for this cd and went ahead and bought it about a year ago. I have to agree with most of the comments. This is not for someone new to Eno as it is made up of out takes from some of his best albums. However, if you are an Eno fan it is definitely worth buying. It has actually become one of my favorites. True, many of the tracks sound like different versions of previously released tracks. For instance, Reactor, Chermin de Fer and Dark Waters sound like songs that were on Another Green World. Always Returning sounds like something from Apollo. And From the Coast is Quartz from Music For Films, Fuseli is Patrolling Wire Borders. Some of the others were new to me but sound like they could have been quite at home on earlier albums. The Dove and Roman Twilight sound like tracks from The Pearl. Empty Landscape, Drift Study and Dawn, Marshland sound like aural landscapes from On Land. My only complaint is that the pieces are too short. Many could be extended to twice their length and still hold my interest. And it would be nice if the retitled repeats (Fuseli and From the Coast) could be replaced with new pieces. Still, if you enjoy On Land, The Pearl, Apollo, Another Green World and the original Music For Films you will probably like this one as well.

No, I haven't purchased this yet as I'm waiting for Virgin/Astralwerks to correct their mastering mistakes. As has already been pointed out "Climate Study" is not on here but is in fact "Approaching Taidu". Also "Fuselli" unless it's a different mix that I can't detect from the sound sample is "Patrolling Wire Borders" and "From The Coast" is in fact "Quartz", both from MUSIC FOR FILMS. Let's hope they replace these repeats with "Dover Beach", the long version of "Signals" and both versions of "Always Returning". On a positive note the actual audio quality sounds promising from the samples I listened to (finer detail).

Most of the tracks here sound very familiar, being either remixes of earlier instrumental tracks or tracks that were already released on the "Instrumentals" boxed set.

I'd probably give the set 4 or 5 stars if these were the first I'd heard of them, but anybody who half-follows Eno's career will find this a deja-vu experience.

Does anyone have the final word on the degree to which Astralwerks (sic) have screwed up these Eno 'remasters'?

'Another Green World' has the first bars of 'Everything merges with the night' missing, 'Climate Study' is missing from this release (More Music For Films), and someone on the Amazon review of 'Music For Films' states that the intro to 'Quartz' on that album is also truncated. Are Astralwerks just a bunch of amateurs or something? Eno must be well pleased with this mess..

I find it hopelessly ironic that of all the material in the dozen reissues thus far, the one I was most wanting to get my hands on is the one that I find completely extraneous. "More Music For Films", essentially material from the "Music For Films Director's Edition" promo and "Music For Films, Volume 2" (and evidentally largely released on a boxed set some time back) is mostly an uninteresting effort. Quite simply, it feels like a collection of leftovers.

The album sounds like it was recorded in several batches, with material from each session adjacent to each other. This gives a small feeling of unity to each section, but all of the pieces have this unfinished feel about them, as though this was the raw material from which Eno would typically construct his actual pieces.

Its not that its all that bad, "Chemin de Fer" early on is a nice piece featuring some superb fretless bass playing (from Percy Jones), "Reactor" is a nice percussion loop-driven piece with a sublimely irritating lead guitar (although at 1:40, it ends before it starts).... I could go on, but overall, this is a completely unsatisfying listen.

My advice, if you're an Eno fan, get ahold of this, you'll want it. If you're anyone else, digest the proper albums before coming to this one.

Eno's film work generally tends to showcase recording over artist, impressing more with production finesse and tonal clarity than anything composed on the paper. For ambient enthusiasts, Eno's impression on the medium could never be overstated, and therefore even scraps can yield impressive audio processing techniques. Casual fans however will want to dip into more popular waters first to decide if these murky, half-brilliant depths deserve plunging.

This is finally available on CD and for the masses. It was a limited edition in vinyl. A varied collection that works as ambient or intrinsic sound enjoyment.Recomended to those familiar with the genre.