ROCK SNOB ENCYCLOPEDIA: ENO, BRIAN: Egghead electronica wizard, inventor of “ambient,” synthesizer-tweaker on the first two Roxy Music albums, in-demand record collaborator/producer (David Bowie, Talking Heads, U2). In 1973, Eno quit Roxy Music at the direct request of foppish frontman Bryan Ferry and thus began a profoundly influential career as a solo artist and producer. His collaboration with King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp later that year resulted in No Pussyfooting, an album that sounds like what inhaling nitrous oxide feels like. By 1975, Eno had released the three landmark solo albums that lodged him in the rock-snob pantheon–Here Come the Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain (by Strategy) and Another Green World–and would later inspire countless indie bands to scour thrift stores for cheapo analog synthesizers to sweeten their Velvets/T. Rex guitar chug. He began collaborating with Bowie during the Thin White Duke’s remarkable Berlin period, which yielded Low, Heroes (Eno co-wrote the title track, arguably Bowie’s finest song) and Lodger. Eno also produced the Talking Heads’ More Songs About Buildings and Food, Fear of Music and Remain in Light (not to mention Devo’s debut, Are We Not Men?). He more or less invented ambient with 1978’s Music for Films and 1979’s Music for Airports. In 1984, Eno received a phone call from Bono, at the behest of U2 drummer Larry Mullen, asking him to produce their next record, The Unforgettable Fire. Eno has had a hand in every U2 record since. MORE
RELATED: This documentary film – the first ever about Eno – explores his life, career and music between the years 1971 & 1977, the period that some view as his golden age. Featuring numerous exclusive interviews, contributions from a range of musicians, writers, collaborators and friends – plus performance and studio film and an abundance of the most exceptional music ever created. MORE