HERE COME THE WARM JETS

An essential album of progressive rock? Not really, but what Eno albums are? 'Progressive electronic' is an immensely broad classification; most of Eno's work which would be classified as 'progressive electronic' is more classically influenced than...well, to be honest, there's nearly NO rock influence whatsoever in those records. At least Phaedra has some sort of reverberation of rock music. Tangerine Dream was, at the heart of the things, a rock band. Not in the traditional sense, but they indeed a rock band.

However, Eno was also a rock artist, in a much more traditional sense than Tangerine Dream. Heck, you could even make an argument that his music was PROTO-PUNK! Not necessarily in style or lyricism, but definitely in delivery. The ideas on this album, his first solo excursion, range from elaborate, guitar-solo-centric prog-influenced tracks ("Baby's On Fire") to upbeat, fast-paced, simple tunes ("Needle in the Camel's Eye").

And even though it isn't really...'prog'...per se, it was still an innovative, groundbreaking, ingenious, and nearly all-around original album. Same with Taking Tiger Mountain...and sort of with Another Green World (although that does have SOME homogeneities to prog).

"Needle in the Camel's Eye" This track has always seemed like the weakest of the album. Maybe it's more garage-oriented overtones and simple construction are throwing me off from some sort of brilliant musically genuine opus, but I'm not really seeing much appeal in it. It's completely possible to sit through, it just...isn't my type, I suppose. Rating: 7.0/10

"The Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch" From the very beginning "my, my, my" that Eno wails, I knew this track would be a masterpiece...well, that, or some sort of hilarious parody of...something. This is one of the more light-hearted (musically) and comically-aligned tracks on the album. That being said, it's definitely enjoyable and one of the record's better songs. Rating: 8.9/10

"Baby's on Fire" Arguably the most 'prog' song on the album, almost entirely because of Fripp's maniacal guitar solo. The lyrics are about as unrealistic and strange as possible, the sound grows increasingly more unnerving (as Eno states at the end of the track), and...well, it's about a flaming infant. How much more avant-garde could you get? Or want? Honestly, you can't jump into this song unless you have a sense of humor. It sort of comes off as disturbing and alarmingly disorderly at first (and not much else), but the lyrics and the mood, really, are very abstract and amusing. Rating: 10/10

"Cindy Tells Me" Here's the album's masterpiece...it represents everything that Eno is. Or, more-so, the entire glam rock movement was. Feminine, liberal, androgynous, kitschy, and unreservedly catchy. However, Brian manages to add his own little individual twists and hooks into it, most notably the almost unbearable, overly distorted guitar that covers his voice during the first chorus (really...it's beyond brutal, to the point where it's almost painful). The entire guitar part on "Cindy Tells Me" sounds very experimental, as do most of Fripp's performances on here; or...all of Fripp's performances in general. Specifically here. Rating: 10/10

"Driving Me Backwards" Definitely one of Eno's more...investigational recordings. The overarching piano riff becomes hypnotic over the song's 5 and a half minutes rather than boring, and Eno's singing adds the substance the song needs to support itself. The backmasking is absolutely terrifying, in the most positive way possible. Again, as with most of the album, you need to be in the right mood to appreciate this. Rating: 9.3/10

"On Some Faraway Beach" The piano in this song tends to drag a bit at times, but not so dramatically as to detract from the vibe you get from it. It's titled aptly, I'll say that much. There's not a lot to discuss here; it's a fine track, and doesn't take away at all from the album. Rating: 9.5/10

"Blank Frank" HOLY GOD. This song is just...it's like "Baby's On Fire" combined with 6 pounds of LSD and John Cale's experimentation. It's almost like the most of extreme of Velvet Underground tunes. And that's pretty dang extreme! Rating: 10/10

"Dead Finks Don't Talk" Although "Cindy Tells Me" is without question the album's magnum opus, this track follows closely. It's assumedly about Eno's past hatred for Bryan Ferry and his over-commercialzation of Eno'ss musical ability and the general accessibility he forced on Roxy Music. The very best part of this track is the Sprechgesang, which Eno delivers flawlessly, specifically the fast-paced section that begins with, "Oh, please, sir, would you let it go by?". The music and the lyrics flow together perfectly at that moment. And the ending is just...insane. 30 seconds of the most intense keyboard performance I've ever heard.... Rating: 10/10

"Some of Them Are Old" The keyboards on here are phenomenal, better than just about everything Eno had done up until this point. The lyrics are certainly entertaining, and the topic is very...intriguing. But, hey, with Eno, what can you expect? The lyrics to his music are always brilliant. Rating: 9.5/10

"Here Come the Warm Jets" Finally, the album comes to a calming close. After all of that musical insanity and disarray and dissonance, we have this proto- ambient track which ends the record faultlessly. Rating: 10/10

The final verdict: Don't jump into this album unless you're in the right mood. If you don't have a sense of humor (or a liberal mindset), you should probably stay away from Here Come the Warm Jets...well, and Eno in general.

A+