Robert Wyatt - (1975) Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard

Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard is the third solo album by Robert Wyatt.

The follow-up to Rock Bottom, recorded either during or shortly after the sessions for that album, Ruth... is actually a collection of material Wyatt had written earlier in his career. Like its predecessor, the album was produced by Nick Mason of Pink Floyd and once again features a host of Wyatt's Canterbury scene musical colleagues, including Fred Frith.

The album contains several pieces which recall the complexity and despair of Rock Bottom, but much of the record echoes the relaxed, almost jokey feel of earlier Wyatt efforts such as The End of an Ear or his work with Matching Mole. This becomes evident from the choice of title (a pun on "truth is stranger than fiction") onwards; the two sides of the original LP release were not labelled "Side A" and "Side B", but rather "Side Ruth" and "Side Richard", the implication being that Side B was less outlandish than Side A. True to his word, Wyatt punctuated the three "serious" pieces on Side A/Ruth - the beautiful ballad "Solar Flares", "5 Black Notes And 1 White Note" (a funereal instrumental, supposedly a cover of Jacques Offenbach's Bacarolle, which degenerates into a series of noises somewhere between free jazz and electronic noise) and the piano-led Rock Bottom-esque Fred Frith collaboration "Muddy Mouth" — with a series of brief, nonsensical interludes featuring only sparse piano accompaniment and some very strange high-pitched yelping vocals under the collective title "Muddy Mouse".

The songs on Side B/Richard all have more traditional structures; the rollicking "Soup Song", written several years earlier, has the air of a pub singalong. The remaining songs are all covers or collaborations; the lengthy Mongezi Feza trumpet piece "Sonia", featuring a guest appearance by Feza himself (as do a number of other songs on the album) in the last year of his life, "Team Spirit" — written with Phil Manzanera, who would include the same song on his album Diamond Head under the title "Frontera" — and a straight cover of "Song for Che" by Charlie Haden round off the album.

For me is also essential just like Rock Bottom.

Track Listings

1. Muddy Mouse (0:50)
2. Solar Flares (5:35)
3. Muddy Mouse (0:50)
4. 5 Black Notes and 1 White Note (4:58)
5. Muddy Mouse (6:11)
6. Soup Song (5:00)
7. Sonia (4:12)
8. Team Spirit (8:26)
9. Song for Ché (3:36)

Total Time: 39:38

Line-up/Musicians

- Robert Wyatt / vocals, keyboards, drums
- Bill MacCormick / bass
- Laurie Allan / drums
- Gary Windo / tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, bass clarinet
- Nisar Ahmad Khan / tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, soprano saxophone

With:
- Fred Frith / piano
- Brian Eno / guitar, synthesizer
- Mongezi Feza / trumpet
- John Greaves / bass

Brian Eno - (1978) Music For Airports

"Ambient Music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting." - Brain Eno

"This album is usually accepted as the first real experiment with ambient music. It is simple, repetitive, nearly unnoticeable. At the same time it is groundbreaking, interesting, and it truly enhances whatever atmosphere (unless a turbulent one) it is introduced to. Eno took his idea for a new type of music, and revolutionised the world of atmospheric music. Eno had been building up to the idea of ambient music for a few years before creating this(starting with the Robert Fripp collaboration "No Pussy Footing"), and this is the first time it really comes out as a finished product. This is amongst the most important albums ever, as with any revolutionary piece (i.e. King Crimson's "In the Court Of The Crimson King", Miles Davis' "Bitches' Brew"). This album delivers exactly what it sets out to, perfect background music. It consists mainly of small repetitions of different piano lines or synth washes. All of which simple yet strikingly appropriate. Not much to be said about the style other than, this is the kind of music which would sound perfect in an airport to brighten moods, and calm nerves. It would make working more pleasant, and help take the edge out of stressful situations. Soothing and simple. Almost womb like. The genius of this recording lies in its ability to be noticed without any registered effect on what you are doing. I can guarantee if you put it on while someone was doing something without letting them know they wouldn't register the music consciously at all but they would almost instantly improve their mood. Musically the album is very haunting and pretty, letting every note sit in completely and wonderfully. Although, it is not perfect. Even though without doubt this recording was the realisation of the ambient genre, it isn't its pinnacle. For example I find Bach to be the first person to realise listenable western music, but he's certainly did not reach the complexity and power of Stravinsky or the sheer genius of Mozart. The problem with this album is that even if you want it to be it is not engaging. Even if its not the purpose the perfect ambient album would need to be able to interest you if you sit in silence and just listen to the music. An example of this would be Mike Oldfield's "Songs Of A Distant Earth", which can interest you should you just listen to it and at the same time be background music. I'm still tormented with the 4 star rating, because it did invent the genre, and its pretty darn close to being the perfect ambient album. When it comes down the wire however, it is flawed. The best track on the album is 2/1 which has the prettiest piano composition and combines the ideas in the first two tracks. Every track however (there is only 4) is perfectly suited to the album and there isn't a single weak point. If one were a collector of every genre of music, this album is essential based on historical significance alone. But this is a prog website, and in a lot of ways this is the polar opposite to prog. Also I think to get the coveted 5 star rating an album must be perfect, and this album just falls short of that. This really is an excellent addition to any collection, and for fans of more electronic music you should go out and buy it post haste!
review by Hangedman (Eric) - www.progarchives.com"

Track Listings:
1. 1/1 (16:30)
2. 1/2 (8:55)
3. 2/1 (11:45)
4. 2/2 (12:20)
Total time: 46:18

Line-up/Musicians:
- Brian Eno / synthesizer, electric piano
- Robert Wyatt / piano
- Christina Fast / vocals
- Christine Gomez / vocals

Brian Eno - (1974) Taking Tiger Mountain (by Strategy)

Brian Eno - (1974) Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)

Released in 1974, second Eno album. this album just like it's predecessor "Here Come The Warm Jets" this album is more glam-rock/roxy oriented album compared to Eno's majority ambient albums. This album features Phil Manzanera from Roxy Music on guitar. I remember thinking to myself the first time I heard this album "that's weird" and not paying much attention to it, mainly because I was just discovering the wonders on Pink Floyd, which had cast a temperary shadow over music I was bound to stumble across such as: Soft Machine, Os Mutantes, etc. 1 Burning Airlines Give You So Much More remindes me of much of Needles In The Camels Eye, a great song to open the album with, it's the most accessible track on the album with micro camera''s. 2 Back In Judy's Jungle has a military type drum beat, which leads me to think this is an anti-war song, an interesting concept of the song Eno uses his synthesizers as the chorus of the song, "file under futile". 3 The Fat Lady Of Limboug remindes me of a cat burgler sneaking into a musium, or is that what the song is about?? Includes Roxy Music's saxophonist Andy MacKay playing the sax and oboe, also has a rhythm generator as the beat, this song demands a jelly-fish kiss. 4 Mother Whale Eyeless soundes like it shoud belong on "For Your Pleasure" apart from being the best song on the entire album includes a guitar solo from Phil Manzanera and superb bass work done by sessionist/friend of Eno's> Brian Turrington. 5 The Great Pretender I heard some-where that Eno opened a piano and had a friend sit on the strings while he played/recorded the opening keys, kind of a dark song, extremely tripppy as is much of this album is, as the song fades of you hear Eno's synth once again creating some kind of mechcanical crickets which ends side one. .::SIDE TWO::. 6 Third Uncle is a strong heart pounding song that sounds almost like punk rock, very fast past and the most progressive song on the entire album,I don't think Eno takes a single breath while singing , after this song you'll need a jelly-fish kiss.7 Put A Straw Under Baby is almost the exact opposite as 3rd Uncle, slow and soft, with a nursery- rhyme overtone, listening to the lyrics makes me think Eno is poking fun at the Christian Cult.8 The True Wheel is very progressive,almost psychedelic but certainly triippy, strong opening accomponied by Eno's hissing "electronics" and corney vocals, I heard this song explains the orgins of the mysterious meaning of 801 "looking for the certain ratio".9 China My China is an odd song with Manzanera on guitar, thumping bass, sifting drums, once again corney vocals, At 1:45min into the song Phil Manzanera performs a backwards guitar solo.10 Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy is the slowest, most relaxing, and final song on this album, and what a way to end this great Eno classic. Jake E from Progarcheives

Studio Album, released in 1974

Track Listings

1. Burning Airlines Give You So Much More (3:15)
2. Back In Judy's Jungle (5:14)
3. The Fat Lady of Limbourg (5:05)
4. Mother Whale Eyeless (6:00)
5. The Great Pretender (5:10)
6. Third Uncle (5:01)
7. Put A Straw Under Baby (3:28)
8. The True Wheel (5:20)
9. China My China (5:45)
10. Taking Tiger Mountain (6:00)
Line-up/Musicians

- Brian Eno / vocals, electronics, guitar, keyboards
- Phil Manzanera / guitar
- Freddie Smith & Phil Collins / drums
- Brian Turrington / bass
- Robert Wyatt / percussion, backing vocals
- Polly Eltes / vocals (4)