Wrong Way Up (Reissue)

Brian Eno, John Cale | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 30, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: All Saints
• ASIN: B000A3MHWG
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #114,503 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Lay My Love

2. One Word

3. In The Backroom

4. Empty Frame

5. Cordoba

6. Spinning Away

7. Footsteps

8. Been There Done That

9. Crime In The Desert

10. The River

11. Grandfather's House*

12. You Don't Miss Your Water*

Editorial Reviews

Recorded at Brian's Wilderness studios, Eno comes close to the style of Another Green World. Cale is as catchy as he's been since Honi Soit. The result is one of the best albums either one has ever made. This long-awaited re-issue has bonus tracks, new artwork, complete lyrics and extended liner notes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An all-too-easy to neglect masterpiece, October 18, 2006

By 

Robert Moore (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wrong Way Up (Reissue) (Audio CD)

I'm somewhat ashamed that I only recently discovered this album for the first time. I've long liked and frequently adored John Cale and always loved Brian Eno, so I can't explain why this collaboration between the two of them didn't grab me when this first came out. My only excuse is that there are only so many hours in the day and so many days in the week. A few gems are always going to slip one by.

This album is somewhat surprising when given the pairing of Eno and Cale. Though neither is always inaccessible and both have at times produced some music that is almost popular in approach, who would have imagined that the two together would have brought out their purest pop tendencies? There is nothing here that smacks of difficult or avant-garde. This isn't Top 40 pop, but it is wonderfully accessible stuff, as if their intent is to delight the most resistant hearer. Not that it is musically simplistic. Far from it. One just has to pay some attention to the wonderfully contrapuntal rhythms interlacing "Spinning Away" to understand that these are masterful musicians. Both performers have done better work than this, but neither has done so frequently. I'd rank this near the best work that either has done. For Cale, I'd put this slightly behind such albums as PARIS 1919, VINTAGE VIOLENCE, HELEN OF TROY, and SLOW DAZZLE, while it is very nearly as good as Eno's four vocal albums (TAKING TIGER MOUNTAIN BY STRATEGY, HERE COME THE WARM JETS, ANOTHER GREEN WORLD, and BEFORE AND AFTER SCIENCE) and his collaboration with David Byrne, MY LIFE IN THE BUSH OF GHOSTS. I can't imagine a fan of Cale or of the vocal work of Eno (some who are exclusively ambient fans may feel differently) not almost instantly adoring this album.

Though a couple of songs go a bit darker than the others (for instance, the wonderful Cale number "Cordoba" or the slow, near-cowboy ballad "The River" that ends the album), for the most part these are bright, upbeat, fast tempo numbers. Almost every song on the disc is at least entertaining, but my three favorites are probably the aforementioned "Cordoba" and "Spinning Away" (which I got on a kick with and must have played thirty times in a row), as well as the song that kicks the album off, "Lay My Love." For those who are unfamiliar with both Brian Eno and John Cale, this provides a wonderful introduction to each, though the music as a whole is more typical of Eno's other work than Cale's. But for those unfamiliar with the disc but not the performers, this will be a wonderful surprise.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic collaboration., September 8, 2005

By 

Michael Stack (North Chelmsford, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wrong Way Up (Reissue) (Audio CD)

1990's "Wrong Way Up", a collaboration between Brian Eno and John Cale, is highly regarded by fans of both men and with good reason. Cale had a series of inconsistent albums over the previous decade and Eno had all but abandoned vocal music. Some collaborations prove to be more than the sum of its parts-- this is one.

More or less, the album runs through modernizations of pop forms, from a sort of modern version of "Another Green World" ("One Word") to a Phil Spectorish sound (the stunning "Empty Frame"-- check Cale's positively bouncey vocal on it matched against Eno's stunning choruses) to a nice electronic variant of a jangle alt-rock sound ("Spinning Away", featuring a superb sensitive vocal from Eno). Along the way, there's at least one complete masterpiece (achingly beautiful "Cordoba") and enough good stuff to keep your interest sustained.

This reissue provides a much needed sonic update-- the music is in your face, loud but not distorted, and reveals all sorts of unheard subtleties in the music. It's wrapped in a new cover and adds two bonus tracks-- originally b-sides if I'm not mistaken. The instrumental "Palanquin" sounds more like a demo than an actual song, but "You Don't Miss the Water", an Eno/Lanois collaboration without any input from Cale is a stunning piece, an almost Eno does folky country sort of stuff that really needs to be heard.

All in all, a worthwhile update of a great album. Highly recommended.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DELIGHTFUL, June 29, 2000

By 

Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wrong Way Up (Audio CD)

Even after 10 years I'm still discovering new delights in this masterpiece. It transports me to ecstacy every time, from the opener Lay My Love (Eno vocal) through One Word (shared vocal)to the elegant Cordoba. The backing is superb (think Peter Baumann, Kraftwerk & the most melodic Suicide). Crime In The Desert has an almost West Coast feel with decorous harmonies and delectable doo-doo-doo's while The River sounds like classy country music. Every track is great: In The Backroom and Empty Frame confirm the artists' lyrical genius while Been There Done That and Spinning Away are distinguished by Cale's trademark viola. A truly inspired display of excellence. Much better than Songs For Drella and on a par with the brilliant Last Day On Earth, Cale's collaboration with Bob Neuwerth.