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Brian Eno - Brian Eno &  David Byrne: My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts CD (album) cover

BRIAN ENO & DAVID BYRNE: MY LIFE IN THE BUSH OF GHOSTS

Brian Eno

 

Progressive Electronic

3.88 | 184 ratings

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Dobermensch
Prog Reviewer
4 stars A superb album from beginning to end of the original vinyl recording, which blends the paranoiac tendencies of David Byrne at that time, with the electronic wizardry of Brian Eno.

What could go wrong? Nothing in fact. A marriage made in heaven where two experimental musicians could give it their all without a care in the world. I've owned this album for over 20 years and I can honestly say it's hardly dated a jot.

High production values are the first thing that strikes you as the very full and and beefy 'America Is Waiting ' kicks off. Replete with squeaks, bloops, drums, vocal samples and Byrne's lack of contact with reality guitars swim around in a sort of maelstrom.

Things get even better with 'Mea Culpa' - possibly the best tune on the album, which is chock full of 'dead zombie' vocals and heavily treated drums as a deep pumping bass propels things forward.

'Regiment 'takes you far from the opening tracks and sounds more like a 'Talking Heads' track if it weren't for the sampled vocals. The same goes for 'Help me Somebody' which is is far more upbeat and erratic and has super fast percussion.

Everyone's favourite 'The Jezebel Spirit' continues this rich vein of form. This is the one that seems to be played before all the others as a 'trailer' to the album. A real life exorcism tape is played amidst dazzling 'Once in a Lifetime' keyboards and Eno's heavy percussive drums and keyboard tweakery.

'Moonlight In Glory ' has a mega heavy bass interspersed with tinkly percussion as more tapes of disturbed American citizens are played to be heard in all their weirdness.

Things continue in this unpredictable, almost schizoid manner until the outro where there's a bit of light relief with 'Mountain Of Needles ' a mostly Eno crumbling wall of keyboards sound which envelops the listener.

One star removed for the simple fact that the CD 'bonus' tracks ain't that good, sounding like discarded, poorly recorded, unfinished experiments. These should have been left in the vaults...

Dobermensch | 4/5 |

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