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Album Details

• Artist: Brian Eno
• Album: Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks
• Label: Virgin/Astralwerks
• Year of Release: 1983
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2005-10-17

Brian Eno is one of those artists that to the uninitiated the catalog seems a little overwhelming. The biggest issue is that there are about 40 releases ranging from complete ambience (blame Eno) to some pretty catchy pop albums. And yes, he was a member of Roxy Music for a bit. Then take into consideration the 100's of albums he has worked production on including most of U2's catalog. Intimidating to say the least. And for me, the thought of going through a bunch of ambient material to find some pop gems didn't sound all that attractive. Well, to make my jump a little easier I was sent three of Eno's ambient recordings including Apollo Atmospheres and Soundtracks and as soon as the first listen was over I was a fan. A big fan. This album was made to be a soundtrack to the infamous Apollo trip as well as a basic soundtrack to space travel. Sounds completely geeky but this is so pretty that you can't help but fall in love with it. The album starts out with a track called "Understars", which seems like the entry into space. Daniel Lanois is all over this album too adding his signature guitar sound into the soundscapes that ebb and flow like space. On some of the tracks like "Always Returning" I can hear some influences on Bill Frisell's beautiful guitar playing. If you have been previously afraid to try out Eno, Apollo won't bite. In fact it is a docile beast that gets better with repeated listens. Now onto the next release.
What I would like to witness is Eno perform an album such as this in a live setting. That would be interesting. By the way, these beautifully packaged, Original Masters from Astralwerks are a nice addition to an Eno collection.

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