2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
genius with an eno-esque edge, August 20, 2011
I am sure at this point lumping any musical aggregate with Brian Eno may certainly sound cliched and can mean so many things to so many people. And the Penguin Cafe Orchestra went on to have a career that last over twenty years that left that territory. But for my money, they did not record one as brillinatly wierd, beautiful and yes, I am sorry, Eno-esque as this debut from 1976 that was originally released on Eno's Opal label. It is chamber music for those who may thing chamber music is too safe or boring, or avant-garde music for those not quite ready to clear the room of all of their party guests. Just when you think the album has settled into a nice ambient groove, the music veers left into something that John Cage might have composed in his mid-career. And then, viola, it turns again into dance hall music from the Weimar Republic. But the musicianship is superb, the music is not strange for its own sake, and well, this first PCO album is a feast for the ears. You may not be relaxed when it is over, but I bet you will want to hear it again. That is, if you like this kind of thing:)Otherwise, you may want to toss it out the window. But isn't that what good music is all about?
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