Before and After Science

It was ok.

'Back to silence back to minus / W/ the purple sky behind us.' Like Another Green World, Before and After Science contains songs, real, fun, bright, & light songs, w/ meaning and heartbeat in 'em. The master of ambience has his final foray into the music that must've made him, that must've been the answer to all his boyish questions & fears: forward-thinking pop music, the kind that sweeps you off your feet and holds you closest. B/c there is a sense of farewell on this record, especially the core of 'King's Lead Hat' & 'Here He Comes,' a sense that the boy has grown up and is moving on: 'The boy who tried to vanish / To the future or past / Is no longer alone / Among the dragonflies.' Saying goodbye w/ him, I'm unexpectedly moved.

I see why he got into ambient. The second half of the album is much stronger than the first.

Better than Coldplay

When i saw Eno pop up as today’s album i thought this was gonna be a hard slog. It was a pleasant surprise then that ‘no one receiving’ was an enjoyable and interesting listening. Even the vocals work well with the eclectic backing.
Whilst not as good ‘backwater’ maintains the ‘better than i expected and has the great lyric “not a sausage to do”
It dips from here on, ‘King’s Lead Hat’ is annoying.

No One Recieving felt a bit Talking Heads, but without David Byrne singing (thus instantly making it a bit better). The vocals also reminded me a bit of Tally Hall but I can't put my finger on why. I wish it was less repetitive, but I liked it.

Onto Backwater which felt a bit They Might Be Giants and not just as a result of the lyric "Ooh what to do, not a sausage to do". I think it was the programmed brass that really sealed it. Well that or the handclaps. I liked that too.

Kurt's Rejoinder was, to my ears, a cacophony of insane base, noise and Devo-like vocals. Energy Fools The Magician was all Yes styled prog rock, just mercifully brief. King's Lead Hat sounded like someone torturing a piano during a Talking Heads song. Here He Comes sounds a bit like a theme tune to a 70s sitcom, just far too long (but also again, a bit They Might Be Giants). I was somewhat surprised to find out Dave Mattacks, of folk legends Fairport Convention, was the drummer on that and Kurt's Rejoinder.

About half way through the album I became aware that while I was not particularly liking it, I thought I potentially could get into it with repeated listens. There were enough parts that have clearly influenced things I do like, I could see (small) glimmers of hope. And then the second half of the album happened...

I did not like the b side of this album. At all.

2/5

I was surprised that I liked this as much as I did. I’ve heard other Eno albums and wasn’t super impressed. He’s a great producer but I never cared for his solo output as of now. This album was cool though, some interesting stuff on here. It wasn’t all amazing, some duds, but I’m glad I heard it.

1.5

Mood music. It's not bad, it's not mind blowing. Would I throw this on again? Probably not. 3/5.

beautiful, but also a little boring. just came and went.

Weird one for Eno. I guess this is his "rock" album? Music is mostly solid. A lot of really interesting moments on the front half that have a rock/funk/soul feel going on. I find that his vocals never really fit what I'm hearing though. They just always sound... wrong somehow. Back half is more what I expect from Eno. I'll probably spend a little more time with this to be honest. Here He Comes, with its twangy country sound is probably the only song I'd skip on future listens.

After back to back one stars this was like an oasis in the desert. My third Brian Eno album and maybe my favourite so far.

Top Track - By This River

I like how it transitions into ambient in the second half

Feels a bit "eh". It’s not a bad sound but I’d struggle to name a single thing about it that I liked. Probably wouldn’t listen to it again, and if it came up on the radio or on shuffle, I probably wouldn’t even realise.

"King's Lead Hat" is excellent. The rest of the album did not capture my attention much (especially the songs near the end that have little energy) but I can see why some people would like it.

Also, this is the No New York guy. That has to be worth something

I adore Brian Eno and the mystique / unpredictability associated with his works. This is one of the weirder records he's put his name to, with a disorientating, off-kilter thread accentuating what you could otherwise describe as a relatively conventional experience by his standards, in terms of the songs generally following defined structures and possessing 70s pop-like sensibilities. It feels like a refinement of the first phase of his career into a creative apex, with his subsequent shift towards ambient music hinting that he also felt as such.

The bass guitar is up to all kinds of wizardry throughout, the piano playing is completely deranged at points, and the distorted vocals / anxiety-inducing synth work entwined with some juxtaposing optimistic tones ensures that Before and After Science lives in my head rent free.

The Good: There was science applied, and we all like science
The Bad: Not knowing which part of the science was before, and which part was after…
The Ugly: The damn album cover… I promised myself I would not judge… but damn, that’s ugly!

Never having heard of this album before, yet knowing who Mr Eno is, I was a little worried about title, thinking this was going to be another experimental type album. What a relief!

Maybe it has something to do with me just going through a “all music from the ‘70s is awesome” phase, but this was a joy to listen to.
At times, closing my eyes, I wasn’t certain if I was listening to a Brian Eno album, or a Talking Heads album… maybe there is something I don’t know and I should read up on the intrawebs all the secrets about this album, but I can’t be bothered with that today.

So, 4* as I know I will want to sit back and listen to this album again some day!

o último mais puxado prum rockzinho dele. é bacana demais, gosto muito.

dá pra ver que ele bebeu bastante da fonte do bowie de quando trabalharam juntos, mas sem deixar de dar seu toque eletrônico!! eu gosto. here he comes eh BOA DEMAIS COMO PODE PORRAAAAAAAAA
gosto mto de spider and i também, acho uma ótima música pra finalizar o album

Brian Eno as an artist makes shit music. Brian Eno as a producer makes great music because there are artists involved that are not Brian Eno. This is an album by Brian Eno the artist, and is therefore shit. If Eno wrote more than 100 tracks for this album and narrowed it down to 10, i consider myself fortunate for being spared those additional tortures.

On a more positive note, I saved some time with the number of awful tracks I skipped, and I'll be able to listen to something I like this morning

⭐⭐

This didn't move me the same way most of Eno's other work does. Though, there are shades of ambient, and the simple melodies that form the skeletons of the music are still there, it feels... partial? Lacks the verve of his other solo work. I think he started getting into production more at this time, so perhaps he was moving away from this musical framework.