Brian Eno – Taking Tiger Mountain (by Strategy) – 1974
The reason for doing a Listening Post on Eno was predicated on a conversation with someone who asked what I thought about his first four albums, since I had done that career look at Bowie.
I had never heard most of the stuff. My exposure to Eno was through production with Talking Heads, Bowie, U2 and the album Avalon (and one cursory listen to Here Come The Warm Jets).
So, I’m certainly not going to listen to everything Eno has ever done. But since Allmusic and others say that the first 5 albums are terrific, then i will give em a go.
How many times do you think Peter Gabriel listened to Taking Tiger Mountain before he embarked on his solo career? And Adam Ant? Because Eno sounds so much like Stuart Goddard on The fat lady of Limbourg it’s sort of scary.
TTM is like Warm Jets part 2 but run through the spigot of minimalism. It’s simpler. More accessible. Less obnoxiously and self-consciously artistic. More poppy and fun to listen to. In a way, though, I feel like it’s a lesser work. Like Eno is saying “look, I know how to do this.This is simple. Watch how I make you realize that pop is nothing more than an toss off exercise.” Then he left turns with “The Great Pretender” and you remember that he has more ideas in his afternoon crap that you will have in a month of nose to the grindstone thinking. It’s this song that lays the ease in understanding Eno’s interest in Devo and why Are We Not Men sounds the way it does.
Side Two opens with “Third Uncle” and is the most energized and excited I’ve heard so far. It’s my favorite Eno track at this point and here’s what’s interesting. It’s arranged by the bassist. NOT Eno: Brian Turrington. So, what does this say about my feelings toward the great Eno? Not much, I’m afraid.
That said, Taking Tiger Mountain is every bit as good as its predecessor and the fact that it’s more listenable keeps it from falling off the rating. But I could see myself getting tired of this real fast. All of this said, if any of Eno’s future work sounds anything like the title track, “Taking Tiger Mountain”, I’m sure I won’t be disapointed.
Grade: A
ASide: Third Uncle, Taking Tiger Mountain
BlindSide: The fat Lady of Limbourg, Put a Straw Under Baby
DownSide: China My China (a song that I’m sure influenced all the wrong parts of Adam and the Ants’ Dirk Wears White Sox)
