Brian Eno, David Byrne - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
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Free Music Notes for My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
Free Music Review: No extraneous filler
Hit: 5 Stars
After almost thirty years, this is still one of the most beautiful and interesting CDs I've heard. Back in 1981, the original "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" was a revelation that made me ask: How do they do that? Not technically (though that may also be a wonder) but creatively. What is the source of such original creativity? Then, a few years ago, Eno and Byrne actually improved that original work by remastering and supplementing it with more tracks recorded back in 1981. The result is remarkable, with an added benefit for those of us who listened so many times to the original edition: it was almost like hearing it for the first time again.
This new edition of "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" adds tracks that give space to the overall work (as I consider this not a collection of tracks, but as a whole). The track "Very, Very Hungry" was not on the original, though it was included at the end of an import version of the original. Another new track, "Two against Three," adds a new flavor, reminiscent of works by Bill Nelson. The Track "New Feet" reflects the mood of an original track, "Carrier," songs with a kind of Middle Eastern ceremonial tribal spirit. "Defiant" regenerates toward the end the mood of "America Is Waiting," one of the most poignant tracks on the CD, along with "Help Me Somebody" and "Jezebel Spirit." The CD ends with the exquisitely spacious piece, "Solo Guitar with Tin Foil."
If you own the original 1981 CD and liked it, you need this one. In addition to expanding the original (and without resorting to extraneous filler), the sound has been given greater depth and space.
Also check out these two excellent (though quite different) CDs: "Evening Star," by Robert Fripp and Brian Eno (especially "An Index of Metals," which filled side 2 of the original record), and David Byrne's "Catherine Wheel." If you like a bit more intensity, try Eno's excellent "Nerve Net."
Free Music Review: Maybe that's what artists do
Hit: 5 Stars
Not since the Beatles reissues has a remastering provided such a dramatic improvement. Although it doesn't say so, I'd suspect engineer Greg Calbi (who mastered the original album) went back to the original 24-track masters, meticulously cleaned up each individual track, then recombined them digitally for maximum clarity. These don't sound like no safety masters! Vocals, synth lines, percussion and bass all stand out in fresh relief. Comparing this issue to the 1990 Sire CD (or even the 1980 LP) is like the Claritin ad, lifting a haze you didn't even know was there.
The track layout follows the 1981 re-issue, which replaced the track "Qu'ran" with the single B-side "Very Very Hungry" after the Islamic Council of Great Britain complained. Interesting that 25 years later (in these days of Danish cartoons) we still can't afford to offend.
The seven bonus tracks are mostly familiar. "Pitch to Voltage" is called "On The Road to Zagora" on the widely-circulated bootleg of outtakes "Ghosts," "Two Against Three" is "The Friends of Amos Tutola" and "Number 8 Mix" is "Les Hommes Ne Le Sauront Jamais." "Defiant" is a radically remixed "Qu'ran" with a different vocal. "New Feet" showed up on Eno's 1980 KPFA interview (as untitled). "Vocal Outtakes" is 0:36 of exactly that and "Solo Guitar with Tin Foil" sounds like Byrne testing a long delay. Still these tracks make a nice adjunct, and needless to say, sound WAY better than on the bootleg.
The only tracks missing are the real "Qu'ran" and "Into The Spirit Womb" ("The Jezebel Spirit" with the original Kathryn Kuhlman vocals, which her estate still refuses to license.)
I haven't mentioned the music yet. Somehow, if you're reading this, I doubt I need to.
Free Music Review: A well-deserved 25th anniversary reissue for the groundbreaking album
Hit: 5 Stars
Brian Eno, producer of the Talking Heads' early albums, and David Byrne, singer-songwriter of the Talking Heads, take a left turn and found further common ground in making this groundbreaking album. First released in 1981, the album receives a long deserved reissue for its 25th anniversary.
The 2006 release of "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" (18 tracks, 60 min.) is more than just a standard reissue. Personally supervised by David Byrne, this is a reworking of the original album, with 7 new tracks and a new tracklisting. The now 18 tracks are now divided up in "3 sides". It bears noting that much of the album was recorded before the Talking Heads' "Remain in Light", but released afterwards (for technical reasons). Listen again to "Remain in Light" and you'll see how much influence "My Life" had on that album. As to this reissue, everthing is done first class: the remastered sound is impeccable, the 28 page booklet is full of interesting information, starting with an excerpt from author Amos Tutuola's 1952 book "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts", from which the album takes its inspiration, to "The Making of" extensive liner notes by Byrne and Eno themselves.
In all, this is surely the definitive version of "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" (even with the regrettable omission of the "Qu'run" track). The album has proven over the years to be not merely enormously influential, but better yet thoroughly enjoyable and sounds as fresh today as it did when this came out 25 years ago. Essential for any music fan.
Free Music Review: Excellent Re-Issue
Hit: 5 Stars
In spite of the disappointing exclusion of the song Qu'ran (for obviously politically correct reasons), and disregarding Rolling Stone magazine's completely negative review - I still think this re-issue is worth it.
Some of the newly released songs are good and add to the experimental spirit in which this album was recorded. Track 16, 'Defiant' sounds like an early verion of what became Jezebel Spirit, using a similar bass line although sounding very busy with the different vocals used. While these new tracks do little to enhance the already exceptional tracklist of the original, they do serve to illuminate the working process with which this album was recorded - all pre-sampling, and pure, simple studio experimentation.
More importantly though, the sound quality is very much improved. There are sounds and vocal snippets I hadn't heard previously, particularly with the second half of the album. In fact, Track 8 'The Carrier' practically sounds brand new compared to the original issue.
All in all this re-issue is defintely worth purchasing, If you loved the original release you probably already have this. However, for those who haven't yet heard this album - this re-issue is worth getting if only to hear a recording that has influenced so much music of various genre's produced to this day - particularly, Rap, Industrial, and even more so with Electronica and House music.
Free Music Review: It's STILL Years Ahead Of Its Time!
Hit: 5 Stars
I got my copy of this CD the day it was released, as I had been waiting for this reissue for years. My 17-year-old daughter is very music-savvy. We were out driving in the car, and I played "Mea Culpa" and "Regimen" for her.
I asked her "When do you think this was recorded?" She told me "Probably sometime in the last ten years, maybe in the late 1990's." When I told her that David Byrne and Brian Eno recorded "My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts" in 1979-80 without the use of computers or digital equipment, she was stunned!
A lot of music that is now 25 years old has not stood the test of time; it sounds dated, cliched, dull. Not the music on this disc! It sounds as fresh, as scary, as exciting to me as it did when it was first released. The explosive percussion, the shimmering, chattering keyboards, the strange yet perfect "found" vocals... it's all here, in all its innovative glory. Six bonus tracks have been added, and although I feel they don't make the original album better, they add some insights into the music. Extensive liner notes serve to put this work into perspective as the true landmark that it is.
A masterpiece 25 years ago, it is still a masterpiece today and I suspect it still will be considered such 25 years from now. Run, don't walk, to wherever this disc is sold, and BUY IT. You will not be disappointed.