Comments for Eno, Brian, Music For Films

It's what the title suggests, a collection of short atmospheric pieces intended for possible use in film or documentary soundtracks. It's got a nice sci-fi type of vibe to it; younger listeners probably in particular will probably get into it. Not indispensible but easy to like. About half of the good tracks are on that "Instrumental" box set.

"Music For Films" always seems to get mentioned--and then dismissed--every time Eno's albums are discussed. I've listened to this album more times than any other in my life (thousands of times, I'm guessing), and it only gets better. Sure, his epic ambient pieces, such as "music For Airports" and the 61 minute track "Thursday Afternoon," are great. But "Films," with its quick-as-dreams cuts ("A Measured Room" barely cracks one minute, and only 5 tracks break the 3 minute mark) is far more satisfying. I've never heard anything that can so instantly bring a state of peace to me than this--and believe me, over the years I've listened to this in moods ranging from blind rage to suicidal depression. Of course, I also remember the shock of buying the "Working Backwards" boxed vinyl set and discovering the UK version puts the tracks in a different order. The 1978 Island Records version differs in sometimes what-the-hell'd-they-do-that-for ways (switch the sequence of tracks 13 & 14? They're the 2 shortest on the LP!), but the EG version ruins it by putting the only loud, discordant track ("M386") on at the very end, just when you're totally immersed in Eno's world. I always thought it was on at the album's start because its boiling angry sound was the way I felt when I put it on...M386 is Andromeda, another galaxy, but the angry ugly world of reality was a galaxy away when I played "Music For Films." Putting it at the end is like the most perfect day of your life being interrupted by rear-ending a garbage truck. I assume Eno himself is responsible for the CD having the UK track sequence on them--but screw him!! Buy a good tape and record the CD in the Island sequence, and listen to it then! Program the CD tracks in this order: 16, 1 through 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 13, 15, 9, 17, 18. If you want to fill up a 90 min cassette, try "Above Chiangmai" from the Eno/Budd album "The Plateaux of Mirriors" after track 15.

Agree; the original 1978 LP sequence is better. I bought that version in foggy November of 1978, and what a magical experience it was: A full album of the moods suggested on "Another Green World" and "Before and After Science". Thankfully, this album seems to be a permanent part of the inventory of TV editing rooms in many places; those soundscapes keep showing up in everything from news stories to documentaries.