BEFORE AND AFTER SCIENCE

When this album first appeared, Eno himself sounded rather dismissive about it. He seemed to think he'd made a "Spielerei", a commercial album which turned out to be more lightweight than he'd hoped for. Perhaps he assumed his arty collaborations with Cluster and Robert Fripp were the real deal. But whatever he may have thought, BEFORE AND AFTER SCIENCE has endured, and it has clearly been enjoyed by several generations of listeners who also appreciate John Cale, David Sylvian or Berlin-era Bowie. Perfect dreamy melodies like "By this River" and "Spider and I" have popped up(to great effect) in movie soundtracks. On "Energy Fools the Magician" Eno borrowed half of Brand X and made superb use of those gifted solists. As for singalong ditties such as "Backwater" and "Here He Comes", well, they simply make you feel good - the former because it's so jolly, the latter because it's beautifully melancholic.