TAKING TIGER MOUNTAIN (BY STRATEGY)

Brian Eno's first shot at a solo career might not have been as successful as his work with Roxy Music but his sophomore release definitely showed signs of maturity. In fact I'll go on the record and proclaim it my favorite Eno album from his early years, meaning up until Before and After Science!

Taking Tiger Mountain features a lot less electronic experimentation than on Here Come The Warm Jets and it might even be considered one of Eno's least interesting releases from a Progressive Electronic point of reference. But who cares about all that when the music here is so good. The album is literally packed with great material, something that I consider to be completely absent on his debut album. The whole first side of this release could easily be copy & pasted into an eventual greatest hits compilation as a perfect example of how good of an Art-Rock artist Brian Eno could actually be. Every track starting with Burning Airlines Give You So Much More and all the way up to Third Uncle is pure Eno gold!

While listening to this album one might wonder how many more of these great compositions are still in store here. Surely, no artist could possibly go from a completely lackluster debut album to a complete masterpiece in such a short time span? This is of course where the cracks begin to show and starting with Put A Straw Under Baby the composition quality slowly but steadily starts to decline. The True Wheel is where Eno, once again, tries to imitate Brian Ferry's vocals but fails to do so resulting in a long and boring performance. China My China is another one of the songs that I've honestly never liked for its bland melody and uninspired delivery. Luckily the album's title track brings a fairly decent closure to the album and reminds me once again of the great material that it featured.

An excellent album for fans of creative Art-Rock compositions. This is far from the Progressive Electronic territory that Brian Eno will explore on his consecutive albums still there is enough great music to keep most progressive rock fans entertained.

***** star songs: Burning Airlines Give You So Much More (3:18) The Fat Lady Of Limbourg (5:05) The Great Pretender (5:11) Third Uncle (4:48)

**** star songs: Back In Judy's Jungle (5:16) Mother Whale Eyeless (5:46) Put A Straw Under Baby (3:25) Taking Tiger Mountain (5:33)