Everything Merges With The Night (a journey with Eno)

I'd love to be able to say that I got into Brian Eno when he was the keyboard/synth player with Roxy Music in the early 1970's, but alas it wasn't until some time in the early 1980's that I became aware of his existence. If I recall correctly it was hearing Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy, on vinyl of course, that I borrowed from a school friend. I was pretty much hooked after that, and soon after picking up Before and After Science, Another Green World and Here Come The Warm Jets.

Having been half-aware that he had made some collaborative material with the likes of Robert Fripp, David Byrne, etc., I began to search out other recordings. The two collaborative albums he recorded with Robert Fripp, Evening Star and No Pussyfooting remain firm favourites to this day. The collaboration he did with David Byrne, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, has stood the test of time very well, and this came across particularly well when I saw David Byrne on his last tour, playing the songs he recored with Brian Eno. I was half-expecting the great man to join David on stage, but alas we had to make do with the music. I did see Brian Eno once, rather unexpectedly, at a concert by Daniel Lanois, where he joined him on stage.

The ten albums released on the Obscure label, including Eno's own Discreet Music hold for me not just a musical interest, but also the cover art. Reissued through the years, with covers changing and becoming obviously smaller on CD, they have since lost some of their appeal, but the original LP sleeves are a joy to behold - simple but effective.

Only fairly recently did I discover the music of Roger Eno. Initially I found a couple of his more classic albums, Voices and The Flatlands, both of which are excellent. More recently I have uncovered some of his collaborations with the likes of Lol Hammond and Plumbline.

As with all my music, it's now all stored electronically so I do have a few Brian Eno and related CDs for sale, along with loads of other music covering all sorts of genres.