Tracks:
No One Receiving
Backwater
Kurt's Rejoinder
Energy Fools the Magician
King's Lead Hat
Here He Comes
Julie With...
By This River
Through Hollow Lands
Spider and I
Performer Notes:
- Personnel: David Hill (electronics).
- Eno's last glam-pop album before devoting himself entirely to ambient experimentation, BEFORE AND AFTER SCIENCE showcases two sides of Eno's musical personality. The first half of the disc is characterized by floppy, pop-tinged romps reminiscent of his earlier albums (and heralding later Eno-piloted projects such as the Talking Heads' SPEAKING IN TONGUES). Tunes like "Backwater" and "King's Lead Hat" (a song whose lyrics are reputedly about the Talking Heads, the title an anagram of the band's name) feature bouncy beats and keyboards, silly, riddle-like lyrics and Eno's Muppet-ish vocals. The second half is considerably more subdued: the tender, airy feeling of tracks like "Julie With" and "Spider and I" indicate Eno's softer, abstract, synthesizer-dominated direction. Taken together, the fine tracks of this disc frame two sides of Eno: the pop songster and the ambient composer.
Professional Reviews: Mojo (Publisher) (p.123) - 4 stars out of 5 - "'No One Receiving' and 'Here He Comes' are simply great pop tunes."
Producer: Rhett Davies, Brian Eno
Format: CD (1 Disc)
Country: USA
Studio/Live: Studio
Guest Artist: Phil Collins; Robert Fripp; Fred Frith; Andy Fraser; Phil Manzanera; Dave Mattacks
Release Date: 4 August, 2009
Label: Universal
Dimensions: 12.9 x 1 x 14.4 centimeters (0.03 kg)