Another Green World

So, we come to the question of Art. What is Art? As with most things in life, one man's meat is another man's poison. My definition is that whether your'e looking at:

the prehistoric cave paintings at Lascaux
The Mona Lisa or
Jeff Koons' Puppy

...Art seems to me to be a piece of work:

that the in-crowd (usually) consider important at the time of its creation &
which others, particularly astute historians, later agree originated a discernible trend...or developed it in some distinct way

Going on the definition, Brian Eno's Another Green World is most definitely a piece of Art.

I'll agree, the man can't sing
He's certainly no virtuoso on any instrument & that
Another Green World is as mystifying to me as the day I first heard it in 1976

...and yet...there's no doubt that it helped redefine instrumental music as being not just the domain of:

virtuoso jazz rock players or
intense prog-rockers

...but that it could also be created by someone with primarily a capacity for the musical intuition.

Brian Eno Another Green World

Brian Eno: Another Green World

Robert Fripp, a virtuoso himself, had certainly recognised that in Eno as far back as 1972 and when Another Green World was released, the world took notice. Eno surrounded himself with a stellar group of players, including:

a remarkably restrained and subtle Robert Fripp
Phil Collins &
John Cale

...and created an album of sonic murmurs and half-statements that somehow hung together organically. The lyrics and voice, were far less self-conscious and funny than on Here Come The Warm Jets and had become mere instruments within the music, for the most part, melding in beautifully. The real star, though, was Eno's simple synthesizer playing, as on:

Becalmed

Spirits Drifting
Another Green World

...all really moving, sensitive pieces.

Fan's time lapse video for Brian Eno's Sombre Reptiles

Brian Eno: Another Green World

Groundbreaking: Brian Eno seemed so nerdy and techno and so unlikely as a member of Roxy Music in support of tuxedo-clad Bryan Ferry. Then he stepped out on his own with releases like this...(a) great marriage of the dawning technology of the age and plain old hummable pop music..." Amazon reviewer collegemoney

"...I bought this record a long long time ago based on the recommendation in the first Rolling Stone Record Guide. It had 5 stars...What more can I say? It is a splendid record...a very fine album indeed..." Amazon reviewer Lovblad

"...This is pompous, bubble-boy music. Can you please tell me who listens to this drivel? Funeral directors?...Man, I remember this cat back in my salad days who was studying to be a dolphin translater and he wrote a book with a chapter dedicated to the pleasure of inter-species intercourse. Guess what he had playing in his car when the cops pulled him over for breaking into an aquatic park..." Amazon reviewer Automated Mmessage "estrusone"

Fans video for Brian Eno's In Dark Trees

Another Green World is still a fascinating, rewarding piece of music. Many, including me, call it Art.

N.B. Brian Eno's next major collaboration was with David Bowie on the monumental Low album who was alerted to Eno's talents through this pivotal album.

Geeta Dayal has written a book on the importance of Another Green World for the prestigious 33 & 1/3 series:

Geeta Dayal: Another Green World

"...It was the strange and mystical Another Green World (1975) that was the cosmic bridge between Old Eno and New Eno, a total paradigm shift, an introduction to a new way of thinking: for Eno and for the world of popular music. Geeta Dayal digs into the album, excavates its odd past and untangles how, exactly, it was a link to the future of electronic music..." Publisher's blurb