HERE COME THE WARM JETS

I came to Here Come the Warm Jets in a roundabout way. I'd won some contest on a radio show and they sent me a copy of a Manzanera 801 album, which had a live version of Baby's on Fire on it. So that certainly got me interested in what this Eno freak (for that's probably what I considered him to be, all glam and no chops) was all about.

So I eventually tracked down Here Come the Warm Jets. I'll admit to being unimpressed at first; this was just too pop-oriented for my taste, though there were some pretty good synthesizer sounds on the album - - keep in mind he was one of the pioneers.

Over the years, this has grown on me. The wall o' guitars on Needle In the Camels Eye is solid. The aforementioned Baby's on Fire is special, particularly considering we get a major dollop of Fripp guitar treatments therein. Cindy Tells Me, with its pleasant 1950's doo-wop influence, is endearing. But it all really hits stride on the title (and final) track, in which the various instruments keep toying with the song's rhythm and eventually all sync up. This is one masterful track! Considering this was made back in 1974, it's all fairly remarkable. I mean, 35 years later, put on a Foghat record from the time, then put on this, and it's real clear who had vision. I would guess many a new-waver spent some serious time with this album. The blueprints are all here.

In the end, however promising a start and whatever its historical significance, this is only an average album, and I rate it accordingly.