HAROLD BUDD & BRIAN ENO: AMBIENT 2 - THE PLATEAUX OF MIRROR

Second album in Brian Eno historical Ambient series. If on Ambient 1 Eno collaborated with excellent Canterbury rock artist Robert Wyatt on piano (plus female wordless vocals on some songs), second Ambient album is collaboration with American minimalist jazz/contemporary composer and musician Harold Budd.

If by its sound this album's music is very similar to Eno's Ambient debut, atmosphere is very different. The main reason for such difference is what is a second musical component besides of Eno's ambient electronics.

On Ambient 1 second most important part of total sound is Wyatt's acoustic piano - very characteristic aerial,slightly melancholic but obviously jazz rock rooted sound. Shortly, ambient 1 by it's atmosphere is strongly rock-ambient-al sound.

There, on Budd's collaboration with Eno (or Ambient 2) that second music's component is classical minimalist piano, and being very similar by sound , this album is very different by its atmosphere.

I really like that music almost as much as Ambient 1, but possibly the problem for me this album isn't so emotionally different, in fact it all sounds as one long composition, with very minimal variations.

There one can hear what later became one of the biggest problem in all ambient-related music: being of rhythmless, structureless music by it's nature, it is extremely difficult to attract listener's attention for a longer. In fact it's only possible when musicians are of highest calibre and are able to play such music on the edge of emotional/emotionless border, with big personality added. Too often artist fault in this, then their music become just background audio wallpapers. Happily, this album still has it's position on the real Ambient music side.

I still prefer Ambient 1, but this Budd-Eno collaboration is almost same good.

My rating is 3+ rounded to4.