This album, 56 minutes long with just one track, always seemed to me like the sequel to Thursday Afternoon (Thursday Tea-time?), but I didn't enjoy it as much. As I've said before, I think good ambient music should possess sufficient detail that it rewards close attention as well as rewarding 'background' listening. My problem with this track is that it doesn't have enough layers, variety or detail in its palette, and it feels quickly as though you've heard it all before. Having said that, when I played it through the first time today, I stopped listening and did something else about half way through: when I realised it was still there, I found that I had been enjoying it subconsciously. So maybe it's better than I thought. It definitely needs to be played loud.
Neroli is the name of a therapeutic perfume that's used to relieve tension and anxiety. That ties in with Eno's theory at the time that the future will be like perfume (I was at that lecture). And it probably helps that Neroli contains Eno… In another play on letters, the sleeve notes are by C.S.J. BOFOP. Shift all the letters in Bofop's name one to the left in the alphabet and what do you get? BRIAN ENO. It was years before I realised that, and even then I didn't discover it myself; someone else pointed it out to me. Once this is revealed, the notes become slightly arch in the way they highlight the fine qualities of Eno's work while referring to him in the third person and even quoting him approvingly.
|
|
Comments