ANOTHER DAY ON EARTH

Another one of those albums that I keep thinking will grow on me. Come to think of it, I thought the same thing about "Nerve Net", "Wrong Way Up" (with John Cale), and "Passengers" (with the members of U2). And when I listen to this album, I hear bits that remind me of all of those albums, but nothing that reminds me of the first four vocal albums ("Here Come the Warm Jets" through "Before and After Science"). Fortunately, there is one song on the album that I think ranks up there with some of his best: "How Many Worlds". It's got a sound and feel that is unlike anything else on the album. There are several other tracks that have attractive elements, but there's always something in each that I find too "average". For instance, a few tracks have great arrangements, but the music and lyrics are too simplistic. Melodies take a back seat to the "groove". Then there's the issue of the treated vocals. The vocoder was invented back in the 70's, and it seems that nobody can come up with a vocal treatment that sounds much different from that hokey cliche. The treatments here are nothing new, and they detract from the overall quality of the songs in which they appear. Of course, higher expectations always accompany the arrival of a new Brian Eno album, so a "good" product is bound to result in disappointment. Because Eno has his hand in so many projects these days, it's possible that he just cannot spend enough time on each album to produce another masterpiece.

"And then so clear to wonder, to wake with open eyes".

After 1977's Before and After Science, Brian Eno quit doing vocal solo albums on a regular basis. Another Day On Earth hearkens back to that period (Another Green World also comes to mind), but this isn't really a rehash of that period. The music offered here certainly has elements of Eno's subsequent musical explorations and development that have occurred since then. If I had one complaint about this album, it would be that it despite all of Eno's experience since then, this album doesn't have the diversity of music that those earlier two do.

The opening track this reminds me a lot of the material on the album he did with John Cale, Wrong Way Up. The next track, And Then So Clear, I found very touching lyrically and musically. With it's vocoder style vocals (maybe it was done with an actual Vocoder) it sounds like a song sung by a computer or an android, that has suddenly become sentient and discovering emotion. Long Way Down gives you a feeling of drifting away in space. Going Unconscious is another spacey track with sparse lyrics sung beautifully by Inge Zalaliene. Caught Between is a another mellow song about nothing at all. Passing Over continues in the same vein. How Many Worlds is one of favorites a reflection on life. Bottom Liners lives that flounder. Just Another Day is another really good one about, you guessed it. Under's another one reminiscent of Wrong Way Up "Just when I think I'm going under, I...remain." Bone Bomb has another guest female vocalist, Aylie Cooke, doing spoken words almost disjointed yet still poetic. The song and the album end abrubtly.

All in all an enjoyable and non-difficult album to listen to which should have wide appeal unless you just don't like it mellow. Even though there's nothing groundbreaking here I'll easily rank this as one of Eno's best.

Producer extraordinaire and studio wunderkind Brian Eno serves up an ideal amalgam of his pop and ambient stylings and experimentations on 2005's ANOTHER DAY ON EARTH.

Lead track "This" is danceable and infectious, with a funky bass line and ultra-modern beats, but the next number, "And Then So Clear" gives us synthesized vocals, and gentle, lovely music. The other nine tracks are by turns eerie, soothing, spacey and uplifting. There are vocals on every track, and Eno's voice (with some help from others) is immediately recognizable and as good as ever. Everything is meticulously crafted, of course, with layers upon layers, depth upon depth. This is great music for lounging, reading (sci fi would especially suit), dreaming, drifting, looking down upon the earth from your space station, or just floating weightlessly through the ether.

My favourite number is the catchy, almost nursery rhyme-like "How many Worlds," which features some gorgeous violin and lyrics which make my jaded eyes mist over. Quote: "How many worlds will we ever see, and how many people will we ever be, if we wake up?" That's the big question, isn't it? What a beautiful, profound yet simple -- and essential -- song!

This is a fine CD. If you've ever been an Eno fan, or you'd like a latter-day intro to his many musical worlds and soundscapes, opt for ANOTHER DAY ON EARTH.

Another Day On Earth is Brian Eno's stab at creating another album of short songs with vocals in the vein of his early solo albums (from Here Come the Warm Jets to Before and After Science). Whilst he brings all the lessons of his three-decade career (not to mention years of technical advancements) to bear on the album, I still don't think it quite measures up to his early efforts; whereas those albums were based on a broad range of musical influences synthesised into an entirely novel and unique whole, here Eno is taking the ambient toolkit and just making more ambient music like he has for the last few decades, only he's putting words to it this time. It's an album which follows a tradition as opposed to breaking new ground, and that's why it can't ever compare to classics like Another Green World.