Brian Eno is MORE DARK THAN SHARK

INTERVIEWS, REVIEWS & RELATED ARTICLES

Trouser Press MAY 1974 - by Ira Robbins

ENO: HERE COME THE WARM JETS

Anyone know who Brian Eno is? Aside from his image as a sadomasochistic transvestite, this cunning pseudo-musician was a member of Roxy Music until a "personality crisis" with Bryan Ferry sent Eno scurrying off to Island Studios to work on a record with Bob (whoops - Robert) Fripp and a solo effort of his own. Eno's not one of those all-around geniuses like Pete Townshend or Todd Rundgren, who can play every instrument, so he faced problems when solo-time arrived. The only musical instruments that Eno plays are synthesizer, vocals, and "tape" (which means he's a studio dabbler). To make up for this deficiency (I suppose he could have done an album of humming or howls, but thank God he didn't), he hired some top-flight friends to help out. So begat Here Come The Warm Jets, an astounding collection of Eno-penned perversity, decadence, and nonsense.

Saving the sickness for later, Here Come The Warm Jets starts off with Needles In The Camel's Eye, which contains a super-catchy melody and a roaring background wherein somebody (I think it's Chris Spedding) takes a great riff by simply playing an ascending scale a couple of times. The lyrics are so unintelligible that they must be great. Eno's screaming is tops.

I haven't the faintest idea what The Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch is, but as a song, it's wonderful. Never once does Eno catch up with the backing track, but perhaps it's just as well. A Beatles-influenced track all the way.

Baby's On Fire (you better throw her in the water) - what can I add? Simply one of the best droning sadism songs ever written. The topper of the LP - watch out for Fripp's guitar break.

Cindy Tells Me makes it four unique gems in a row. This one sounds a lot like Elton's All The Young Girls Love Alice but a whole lot sicker. At this point, the album gets a bit boring, but it comes back a while later with Some Of Them Are Old, which leads into the title track, a mesmerizing instrumental. Using synthesizer, Eno repeats a lovely low melody over and over (like Telstar slowed down). It really resolves the album, ending it in a relaxed, albeit "bent" (sic) frame. What a classic!

The bands represented on the album (sorry - no space to list individuals) are King Crimson, Sharks, Pink Fairies, Roxy Music, and Hawkwind.