HERE COME THE WARM JETS

With an incredible stronghold of musicians incl. Robert Fripp/John Wetton (King Crimson) Simon King (Hawkwind),and every member of Roxy Music except Ferry , Eno first Solo recording was released in 1973. Compared to his same year release "No Pussyfooting" (with Fripp) this one sound more like controventional rock music. But still Im sitting with an odd feeling, what is this ?. As we would later come to expect from Eno, this is very original and strange. Sometimes its called "Glam-Art-Rock" but i dont know why, dosent sound much like nither the Glam rockers nor the Art rock of the time. The rhythmic structures, the production mix, and the vocal preformance are all very experimental. Making a caotic, but still very melodic album, where a very complex arrangement of overwhelming amounts of diffrent bits and pieces pop up everywhere. Especialy the percussions shows Eno's unic talent as a producer, later used so brilliant with Talking Heads (Remain in Light) on "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" with David Byrne, just to name a few. The album is very varried, from up beat tracks, to slow ballads, all with some interesting twist.

Selected Highlights: "Needles in the Camel's Eye" An upbeat track, with the best vocal preformance on the album. Eno giving it 110% Monotone 4/4 beat on the main drum, set the background for an explotion of guitars to lay the rythm layer for this one, some guitar riff, carefully hidden in the caotic melody. In the mid section a strange kind og guitar solo, scale run, or what it is ?

Carefully hidden, at the middle of the A-side is the Highlight of the Album. "Baby's on Fire" : Starting out with an drum rythm, reminding me of background music for a Tribal Sioux burial ceremony. (Not that i have any idear how that would actualy sound.) Eno Screams in (very nasal) : "Baby's on fire - Better throw her in the water -Look at her laughing -Like a heifer to the slaughter" While Eno sings his song , the rythm continues, with added percisions, and background arrangments of varrious sounds. Then suddently, like a lightning strike, Fripp's open up an amasing aggressive lead guitar, made me pie my pants first time i heard it. Its great !!! Eno finish with another verse.

"On Some Faraway Beach". Opens with a piano figure and vocal Chorus. Drums kick in, and slowly more and more layers are added, a bit like Mike Oldfield. Very melodic. After About 3 minutes, Eno starts singing. Layers still constantly changing.

Not the traditional prog. rock album, infact quite the opposite, Eno was never interested in traditional symphonic prog. , "Here Come The Warm Jets" is pionering a kind of music minimalistic in composition, but very complex in arrangements and rythmic structures. To me this predict what would later become "new wave", with Talking Heads, David Bowie, U2, Japan, ect. and to some sence King Crimson's Discipline Era. But Eno is not only doing this 6-7 years before everyone else, he is doing it with a flavour of great amusement. Sound like he is realy havin' fun.

The album hold a lot of Rock Historie importance, the people involved, the 1st. Eno solo album. The creation of a unik style of music, and a compleetly fresh approach to production. This is a Brian Eno masterpiece, but in the context of PA, i wont give it a 5 star rating, as it is infact not progressie rock.

NB.: The Fripp solo on "Baby's on Fire" alone, is worth the full price of the album.