Book: Brian Eno:His Music And The Vertical Color Of Sound
Author: Eric Tamm
Year: 1989 (Revised Edition: 1995)
Somehow, in my busy, busy life, I manage to find time to read a terrifying number of books. And while I’m certain I’d be a terrible literary critic, I do want to use Pretzel Logic to share my thoughts about music-related books I come across. I won’t be grading them, just offering a few words and recommendations.
I just finished Brian Eno: His Music And The Vertical Color Of Sound. I was very excited when I bought it, since Eno is one of my favorite musicians and probably the musician I most closely relate to (at least from what I’ve read). Eric Tamm’s book gives a very thorough overview of Eno’s career, broken down into his rock albums, his ambient albums and finally his various collaborations with other artists over the years. A great deal of time is spent analyzing Eno’s masterpiece, Another Green World (1975), with each track being broken down in impressive detail. The book also goes into the specifics of Eno’s various music-making methods, ranging from his fondness for musical experimentation to his Oblique Strategies cards.
The book's only real shortcoming is Tamm’s music Ph.D. background. He has a tendency to drag the writing a bit too far into the “we’re gonna talk about tonic-dominant relationships now” style. I feel there’s a certain level of irony in applying this style of musical analysis to a musician like Eno, who, by his own admission, can barely play a chord on anything and should really be described as a “non-musician.” That said, I encourage anyone interested in one of the most creative, unique and original musicians of the past forty years to pick up this book.
I just finished Brian Eno: His Music And The Vertical Color Of Sound. I was very excited when I bought it, since Eno is one of my favorite musicians and probably the musician I most closely relate to (at least from what I’ve read). Eric Tamm’s book gives a very thorough overview of Eno’s career, broken down into his rock albums, his ambient albums and finally his various collaborations with other artists over the years. A great deal of time is spent analyzing Eno’s masterpiece, Another Green World (1975), with each track being broken down in impressive detail. The book also goes into the specifics of Eno’s various music-making methods, ranging from his fondness for musical experimentation to his Oblique Strategies cards.
The book's only real shortcoming is Tamm’s music Ph.D. background. He has a tendency to drag the writing a bit too far into the “we’re gonna talk about tonic-dominant relationships now” style. I feel there’s a certain level of irony in applying this style of musical analysis to a musician like Eno, who, by his own admission, can barely play a chord on anything and should really be described as a “non-musician.” That said, I encourage anyone interested in one of the most creative, unique and original musicians of the past forty years to pick up this book.
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