Customer Reviews

Panic Of Looking

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This is a great cd. Eno is a very complicated artist, brilliant is more the word i'm looking for. I would not discourage anyone from buying this latest piece of art but i will say, please don't pay the high cost Amazon has this priced, remember it's only 16 minutes long, that would make for one song on a prog-rock band cd. I suggest blowitoutofhere-3rd party seller, fast shipper, items always in perfect condition and well packaged.Docked 1 star for short length of disc. Mr. Eno should have recorded at least 30 minutes worth of music.

These six tracks appear to be outtakes from Drums Between The Bells and all are quite good. For further details regarding the original release, please see my review of that title. Previous to this release, one track, In The Future, was available as a bonus track on the Japanese-only, single CD release of Drums Between The Bells. It was not located at the end of the album like an outtake, but was inserted within the rest of the material making it relevant to the whole. It is nice to see it available here for Western ears to hear.

As is always the case, there is a Japanese-only bonus track on Panic Of Looking; in this case: This Climate, placed at the end as track 7.

If you own Bells Between The Bells, be it the single CD release or the deluxe 2 CD issue, this 16-minute EP compliments those to perfection and should be considered essential. If you do not own it already, considering purchasing it before buying the EP.

I have the 2-CD version of Drums Between the Bells and I am glad to own the instrumental disk, which I think is more successful than the main CD. I'm not crazy about the execution of the spoken-word-over-music in Drums Between the Bells, in spite of the fact that I love Eno's work and I read, write, and edit poetry.

So, I was quite surprised that I like this little EP better than the main disk of Drums Between the Bells. The music works well and the vocals/poetry recitations just work better. If these are really outtakes from "Drums..." I'm really surprised they were, uh, taken out.

It's a bit pricey for 16 minutes, but I'd recommend this strongly for fans of Drums Between the Bells.

Brian Eno's new album brings something for old and new fans to look forward to with tracks like "In the Future". Brian Eno is the considered one of the major players in the category of Ambient Music. After leaving his band Roxy Music in the 1970s, Eno began to focus on a different type of music. He wanted to create music similar to environmental music, but he did not like the commercial aspects. After much thought on how to create a different soundscape, he came up with his first record Ambient Music in 1978 (Audio Culture). His idea came from how music was changing during the 70's to be used for our lives in a different way. He realized that he and his friends were looking for a particular type of music that could be used in a different way to go with their everyday lives that would be a continuous surrounding. This music would go with the ambience of their lives. It is a type of music that is meant to be played in the background for a variety of different situations.

This is the type of music Eno has been creating for years, but in 2011, Eno mixes things up with his new album Panic of Looking. One standout track from the album is "In the Future". It is a beautiful composition of Eno's ambient creation with renowned British poet Rick Holland narrating over the track. The combination brings the listener to a new world (in the future perhaps). The sound is almost melodic as Holland takes the listener to a sweet trance to a peaceful unknown world. The track elicits many of the aspects of Eno's earlier music, with ambient sounds that are perfect for playing in the background as well as building a mood for specific situations.

This track differs from much of Eno's earlier work however, because of the use of a human's voice. While much of his earlier work only used computers, the use of an aspect that is not a computer changes what much of his earlier work represented. Eno is known for his use of changing sounds with technology to create his music, so using a human voice (speaking and a chorus) is very uncommon for his type of music. Eno has made many works that would fit background atmosphere, but the voice almost makes one want to listen to it in the foreground. Having such a high reputation for his ability to create ambient music it is hard for fans to adjust to this much more mainstream version of his work. Despite the change, fans should be pleased to hear his work. In a way using the words assist the creation of this futuristic atmosphere. Ambient music should be able accommodate many levels of listening attention without forcing one in particular. One can listen to "In the Future" as background music or as a track that one listens to attentively. Ambient music is meant to continually be innovative in the effort of enhancing an atmosphere. Tracks like "In the Future" still bring the atmospheric wonders of ambient music but he pushes his creativity by incorporating the sounds of Holland's poetry.

I also like this short EP better than the main disk of Drums Between the Bells.

Also, can't explain it, because the words don't quite make sense to non-poets like me, but this EP gives an ominous impression, omens of a troublesome future.

[Not like Eno's older works from 30 - 35 years ago that were very comforting.]