My Life in the Bush of Ghosts

Brian Eno, David Byrne - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
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Music CD Cover

Artist: Brian Eno, David Byrne
Brand: ENO/BYRNE
Edition: Music CD
Format: Enhanced, Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2006-04-11
Music Label: Nonesuch
Soundtracks:
  1. America Is Waiting
  2. Mea Culpa
  3. Regiment
  4. Help Me Somebody
  5. The Jezebel Spirit
  6. Very, Very Hungry
  7. Moonlight in Glory
  8. The Carrier
  9. A Secret Life
  10. Come with Us
  11. Mountain of Needles
  12. Pitch to Voltage
  13. Two Against Three
  14. Vocal Outtakes
  15. New Feet
  16. Defiant
  17. Number 8 Mix
  18. Solo Guitar with Tin Foil

Free Music Notes for My Life in the Bush of Ghosts

Free Music Review: ROCKIN', YOU SAY?
Hit: 5 Stars

I was surprised to see a review of this reissue in "Rolling Stone" of all places. The review's writer seemed somewhat at sea. (I hesitate to describe him as a "reviewer" or "critic" since, as we will shortly see, the discipline he applies to developing his opinions are severely limited). Apparently this chap was unable to twig on to what's happening here and gave the effort a less than three-star rating based on -- get this -- his keenly articulated insight that MLITBOG "wasn't rockin' enough". I guess if you believe that "rockin'" is the single criterion for anything and everything then those guiding lights of Commerce trumps Culture, who know the measure of everything, will eventually let you have your very own copy of "ROCKIN'! --The Industry's Guide to What Matters in Music, Entertainment, Food and Fashion, Etc. -- One Word Edition". But only if you take an oath to Obey.

Of course for the rest of us so far removed from the towers of Stone, there's always a bit of an issue in evaluating any form of expression because it requires some effort to determine both the intention and the result -- and then measure the gap between the two. It's also nice to have some context bigger than last week to consider. I'm going out on what I imagine to be a rather thick and well-developed limb, not far off the ground and in complete confidence to be working without a supporting ladder, rope, parachute or big fluffy cushions to break a potential fall, when I say that it seems unlikely that "rockin'" was one of the primary goals here.

For example, we first hear Eno's use of this "found object" technique on "Before and After Science". On "Kurt's Rejoinder" during which Percy Jones' bass meets up with Dave Mattacks' drums, Eno uses a recording of Kurt Schwitters -- an original member of the Dada movement -- as the vocal in what can only be termed an audio "readymade". "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" takes this aesthetic to new levels of sophistication and deliberate manipulation, and is in fact kin to many art and art music traditions of the 20th Century geared at times to encouraging non-linear processes, trusting an unforeseen outcome and even placing the artist's personality at some remove from utterly dominating all aspects of the created work. Its heuristic tendencies don't derive from a rock sensibility and the importance of a rock sensibility here is at best minimal. In effect, many of the rigidly compartmentalized rhythmic components seem designed to be the absolute antithesis of typical rock forms. So, in addition to some remarkable music, the record's value also lies in bringing this perspective within the reach of a more egalitarian audience.

Rolling Stone's critical arrogance aside, "Ghosts" was and is a singularly winning experiment and these remasters are a huge help in clearing up the sound and structure -- there are even a few spots where voices are revealed which were not evident on the original. It's also great to have the single included ("Very, Very Hungry" which here replaces "Qu'ran" -- no offense! spellcheck tells me it should be Qur'an) as well as the other tracks, some of which have surfaced Here There and Everywhere over the years. Needless to add, a disc well worth having and well worth thinking about here in Century 21.

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts Poster

Brian Eno and David Byrne's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts appears downright visionary. With its "found" vocals, cut-and-paste arrangements, funked-up rhythms and embrace of influences from all around the globe, the duo's controversial work anticipated the creative cross-pollination and technological innovation of contemporary dance music, world music, hip hop and alternative rock. You can hear echoes of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts in the anthems Moby built around vintage vocal samples, in the outrageously exotic beats of Missy Elliot and Timbaland, in the Middle Eastern accented chill-out tracks of Thievery Corporation or Bjork's otherworldly soundscapes.
Released in 1981, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts is a collaboration between ambient pioneer Brian Eno and Talking Heads frontman David Byrne. On Ghosts, the two strong-willed musicians manage to come to a meeting of the minds, blending Byrne's herky-jerky funk with Eno's atmospheric sound sculpting. More than anything, this is a large album, intent on pushing itself to the front of the listener's consciousness. Abundant percussion (everything from booming tribal drums to eerie electronics) reverberates in the background while Byrne and Eno toss all manner of found sounds, field recordings, and radio broadcasts into the mix. What results is a groundbreaking album that introduced a generation to the dazzling possibilities offered by electronic recording techniques. Highlights include "The Jezebel Spirit," an electro-funk workout that uses a recording of an exorcism as its focal point, and "Very, Very Hungry," a mysteriously ethereal display of electronic percussion and large-scale sonic architecture. --S. Duda

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