Brian Eno: Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) (Remastered) CD Track Listing

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Brian Eno Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) (Remastered) (1974)
Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) (Remastered)\n2004 Virgin Records, Ltd.\n\nOriginally Released November 1974\nCD Edition Released September 1989\nRemastered CD Edition Released June 1, 2004\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Continuing the twisted pop explorations of Here Come the Warm Jets, Eno's sophomore album, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy), is more subdued and cerebral, and a bit darker when he does cut loose, but it's no less thrilling once the music reveals itself. It's a loose concept album -- often inscrutable, but still playful -- about espionage, the Chinese Communist revolution, and dream associations, with the more stream-of-consciousness lyrics beginning to resemble the sorts of random connections made in dream states. Eno's richly layered arrangements juxtapose very different treated sounds, yet they blend and flow together perfectly, hinting at the directions his work would soon take with the seamless sound paintings of Another Green World. Although not quite as enthusiastic as Here Come the Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain is made accessible through Eno's mastery of pop song structure, a form he would soon transcend and largely discard. -- Steve Huey\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nThe last of its kind., June 13, 2005 \nBy Michael Stack (Watertown, MA USA)\nEno's "Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)" is the followup and logical successor to "Here Comes the Warm Jets". Continuing its structure of off-kilter pop, it is a somewhat more varied and at the same time more focused album, albiet a touch less successful-- "Here Come the Warm Jets" has an edge and adventerousness this one lacks that makes it work better. \n\nThat's not to say there's not a share of brilliance on this, its still got a number of fine moments, check out the brilliant horn arrangements of "The Fat Lady of Limbourg" (foreshadowing much of Mick Karn's work in the mid-80s) and the relentless and swirling "Third Uncle"-- what a piece-- full of fractured guitar and driven by a throbbing bass and drum pattern, the piece is irresistable, and it sounds like post-punk years before punk. \n\nThe problem, however, is that while the material on the record is all quite good, little else stands out the way so many pieces on 'Jets' did, again, its not that anything is bad, it just tends not to grab you. \n\nThe remastered release adds much improved sound that allows the album to be better appreciated-- it could have been recorded yesterday. \n\nAll in all, its a good album, and certainly its the last of its kind-- Eno would be in a car accident after the recording of this and was lying in a bed, able to hear the radio but unable to be engaged by its music, leading him to his ambient concept. For Eno's pop music though, I'd start with his debut ("Here Come the Warm Jets"), its a better piece. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\n30 years on-still fresh and interesting, February 10, 2005 \nBy susan petry (durham, nc USA)\nThis CD has been on my list of all time favorites since it was released-on LP. The dense, intricate musicianship, the songwriting, the concept-all feel clever and hardly dated even after all these years. Tight guitar work from Phil Manzanera and the Portsmouth Sinfonia's violins pepper this recording with hidden surprises. Eno's lyrics convey just the right touch of world-weariness edged with sly humor. At the time of its release-Nixon's visit and the US' first glimpse of China-it matched up well with the image of China as a mysterious, somewhat inaccessible, ancient and strange land. \n\nThat Eno's recapitulation of the "wall of sound" took place well before the advent of the digital era-if I recall correctly his main tool was a pair of reel-to-reel tapedecks- is astonishing. Even more worth a listen on the cleaned up audio. About the only thing missing from the original LP version are the endless crickets at the end of "The Great Pretender" as the needle wound down around the plinth! \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nAnother oddly endearing masterpiece from Eno, June 3, 2004 \nBy My Science Fiction Twin "If at first the idea... (My Little Blue Window, USA)\n"Taking Tiger Mountain" has all the trappings of glam rock thrown into a blender full of prog rock. The results gets your attention with its glitter surface but stays with you long after the musical meal is finished. Although not Eno's best album, it's a strong follow up to "Here Come the Warm Jets". Eno works with the usual suspects here including his former Roxy Music cohorts Phil Manzanera (guitar)and Paul Thompson (drums) as well as Robert Fripp, Robert Wyatt and--gasp--Phil Collins (well, he was after all still in Genesis at this stage and it was before he found his second career as a radio staple). Imagine King Crimson crossed with Roxy Music with a hint of Zappa and Beefheart (and, yes, The Beatles) thrown in for good measure and you'll have an idea as to what this album sounds like.\nThe production by Rhett Davies (Roxy Music's "Avalon" among many others) and Eno combines the atmospheric texture and sound of his first great album with some really odd, angular melodies. This isn't as catchy nor but it is as funny as "Jets" with its odd, off beat lyrics (you'll discover if you don't already know that Eno uses lyrics for the sound they make together vs. any inherent meaning to them). Nonsense lullabies these aren't by any stretch of the imagination.\n\n"Burning Airlines Give You so Much More" breaks the dam open with it's odd, Asian sounding guitar riff. It sets the pace for the rest of the album--strange strangled guitar riffs delievered like the best comedy bits--straight faced. No problems with the sound here and, unlike "Another Green World", none of the discs have missing words, music etc. that I can tell. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nSpy Games, April 4, 2003 \nBy Greg Cleary (Marquette, MI United States)\nAmid all the discussion of Eno's innovations, people sometimes forget that he has the one quality that REALLY matters for a musician: personality. I can't vouch for his "ambient" works because I've never had the patience to listen to anything like that, but the four "song" albums he made in the 70s are loaded with personality. Eno could be weird and idiosyncratic, but there is also plenty of humor and even warmth in this music. And "Taking Tiger Mountain" was his greatest achievement, in my opinion.\nThere is something weird and mysterious going on in every one of these songs, many of which refer to some sort of quest. The overall feel is something like that of a child playing spy games, although often the imagery is disturbing or menacing in a way that no child could have imagined. Memorable phrases are constantly jumping out at you: \n\n"Certain streets have certain corners\nSooner or later we'll turn yours." \n\n"Sweet Regina's on the plane a Newsweek on her knees\nWhile far below the curlews call from strangely stunted trees."\n\n"Let me just point out discreetly though you never learn.\nAll those tawdry late night weepies I can make you weep more cheaply." \n\nAnd then there's the sinister lullaby "Put a Straw Under Baby," which I've learned was inspired by Eno's Catholic upbringing and can be read as a child's misinterpretation of religious symbolism. \n\nThe music all has a weird texture, even though most of it was produced by traditional rock and roll instruments. "Third Uncle" and "The True Wheel" both contain some truly wicked, flipped-out lead guitar work by Phil Manzanera. The entire album is filled with catchy pop melodies and instrumental hooks that will draw you in immediately, and there is plenty of detail in both sound and words to keep you coming back time after time. This is one of the most treasured albums in my collection. \n\n(Note to Eno fans: If you have not read Eric Tamm's book "Brian Eno: His Music and the Vertical Color of Sound," you need to get ahold of a copy, whether at a library or on the Web. I believe it is out of print. It's one of the best books I've read about a musician or group.) \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nThe Eno of Yesterday Was the Tricky of Today (Two Gods), November 15, 2002 \nBy C. Gardner (Washington D.C., D.C. United States)\nAll of Eno's 1970s pop albums were unique and charming, and this one's probably the best. Eno imagined "Taking Tiger Mountain (by Strategy)" as a very loose "concept" album. He was inspired to write this set of songs based on a series of postcards in his possession which depicted scenes from a Maoist opera...Seems pretty random, doesn't it? But what resulted was one of the best "art rock" albums of the seventies--witty, very melodic, proto-New Wave pop songs. And Eno's lyrics are some of the best rock has ever produced...Electronic-age haikus, word-puzzles, dream fragments, oblique narratives...And "China my China" has one of the oddest guitar solos you'll ever heard--it sounds like Eno randomly spliced multiple takes of Phil Manzanera's solo into a single version, so it's always off-kilter from the rhythm track (which happens to be composed entirely of typewriters clacking away). Experimentalism meets instinctive pop sensibilities in a perfect mix. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\npolitical chinoiserie of the '70's, November 3, 2001 \nBy simpcity (Great Basonia)\nTaking Tiger Mountain by Strategy is a throwback to a more political time. And it rocks. The typewriter is a nostalgic tip of the hat to Glenn Gould, I suppose.\nMost of us alive today have never worn either a Mao or Nehru jacket, so perhaps we are perplexed that Eno wants to know why "all the young boys...are dressing like sailors." Well, 'cause it was the '70's! Nixon had just been to China. Hunanese and Szechuanese cuisine were ousting Cantonese and Mandarin. (Even that was political.)\nThis is "Goodbye" to pop for Eno. The Fat Lady of Limbourg "can distinguish with her tongue the subtleties a spectragraph would miss." What is that all about? Pop music maybe?: "that's what we're paid for here." Within a year, he shifts to Johann Pachelbel and the "Discreet Music."\nMother Whale Eyeless is just a fine rock song. What an album: this is the '70's in all its craziness. "What you believe is what you see." What an epigraph. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nSuch an Enjoyable Listen!, August 14, 2000 \nBy Brian (Cleveland, Ohio)\nBrian Eno had finally broken away from Roxy Music and was ready to take on a solo career. Although his brilliance was seen on many Roxy Music albums I do not believe anyone in 1973 could have predicted such an influential and poignant solo career as Brian Eno has had thus far. From his important and trend starting collaborations with Robert Fripp, David Bowie and David Byrne, to his pioneering of ambient music as we know it. Everything Brian Eno has done is incredible. No one figured he would make such a huge impact, but he did. One thing that very few musicians do these days is think through their music and actually dig deep into their music to discover the true essence of their existence and why they are making the music they are. Most musicians now make their music without any thought or meaning. Which is a pity because of the success Brian Eno has had using the technique I just mentioned. Probably the biggest surprise of "Taking tiger Mountain (By Strategy)" is the fact that the album does not have one instrumental included on it. Brian Eno, the one that persuaded to David Bowie to move away from pop/rock and into a very ambient-like musical environment with sides 2 of "Low" and "Heroes," in 1974 comes out with an instrumental-free album. This is not bad at all. Eno, at the very least, has very strong and beautiful voice that fills the listeners' ears very magically. The starting track, 'Burning Airlines Give You So Much More,' is such a strong and majestic track. Nothing in words can express the how well Eno sings and performs on this song. You got to hear it to believe it! 'Back In Judy's Jungle,' at first listen might seem to be an instrumental, but as with most tracks on this album, Eno bursts out his vocals after about a minute to a minute and a half of instrumentation. 'The Fat Lady of Limbourg' again tricks the listener. The first time I listened to this song, I though for sure it was going to be an instrumental. The name of the song, alone, I though gave it away. But, again, Eno surprised me with lyrics for the song. 'Mother Whale Eyeless' doesn't seem to be such a good song, but once you listen to it more and more, the listener realizes just how awesome this song really is, and how much means to the line up of the album. And what can be said about the song 'The Great Pretender.' This song sweeps you away to a world where pretending is rewarded and life is a puzzle. The song 'Third Uncle' is a song that is much unlike any other song on the album. 'Third Uncle' seems to be much more techno oriented, whereas the other tracks on "Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)" are more ambient oriented than anything else. 'Put A Straw Under Baby' is much like a baby lullaby. It's sweet and soothing tune, along with Eno's quiet yet peaceful lyrics make for a song that would make the most awake baby fall instantly asleep. 'The True Wheel' is one of the most strongest tracks on the CD. I believe it is a very powerful and probably sums up the whole mood of the album in one title. 'China My China,' much like its counterpart, 'Burning Airlines Give You So Much More,' and altogether a very comfortable and enjoyable song. The final track, which happens to be the title track, is a great song, and again I figured to be an instrumental. But again I was wrong. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nThe intellectual side of glam., July 8, 2000 \nBy DRASIL (New York City, NY, USA)\nIt must be noted, before everything else, that this is a transition album of Brian Eno's, but one that ended up not completing itself. _Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)_ is a marvelous look at Eno's waning interest in subverting "conventional" pop music, and his growing involvement in his sonic experiments taking on a life of their own. It's not, however, a reconciliation of the two (that would come later, with _Before and After Science_), and because of this, this album has the tendancy to grow mildly repetitive. However, like most other music visionaries, Eno's "off" days are ultimately more interesting and worthwhile than the best output of other musicians.\n_Taking Tiger Mountain_ is the sound of Eno's shift towards pure experimentalism in music, the particular facets of which he is elaborating upon are closely related to his Roxy Music roots and the brilliantly oddball _Here Come the Warm Jets._ Starting with his next release, he would begin to elaborate on a different side of his past work--his accompaniment to musicians like Robert Fripp, only without the "lead" instrumentation. This album was as close as Eno got to recording a full-blown avant-garde/experimental release. Although those who enjoy the ridiculousness of _Here Come the Warm_ jets will find this release to be somewhat more serious, it's not a departure, but an expansion on certain aural aspects of its precedessor. Nevertheless, for the hardcore _Warm Jets_ fans, Eno throws in "The True Wheel," a song that, with its vocal sound effects and nursery-rhyme campiness, could rival the posturing of "The Paw-Paw Negro Blowtorch."\n\nAs an experimental album, however, _Taking Tiger Mountain_ is richly rewarding--because in it, Brian Eno sets the standard for all conceptual-pop releases to follow. Eno manipulates his free-associative lyrics into stanzas that, although they state nothing explicitly, seem to be dark and sometimes apocalyptic ("China My China"). He engages in meta-cognition within the lyrics ("The fingers fall/To make percussion over solos" immediately preceeds a rhythm of shakers and spoons played over a guitar solo). He alludes to the campy lyrical content of his past work, and wends his way around alliterative labyrinths in very much the same way as the album's predecessor ("But her sense of taste is such that she'll distinguish with her tongue the subtleties a spectrograph would miss"). He can even induce a laugh or two in the process ("I got the job because I was so mean/While somehow appearing so kind"). The music doesn't disappoint, either, from the minimalist, baritone saxophone-driven "The Fat Lady of Limbourg" to the wonderfully unlistenable "Put a Straw Under Baby"--featuring the Portsmouth Sinfonia playing a solo in which they cannot maintain the tempo of the song (and which is out-of-tune, to boot). \n\nGiven this release, one has to wonder what Eno would have come up with next, if indeed anything at all, if he had continued on the same track. Instead, he followed a trail that ended up with the creation of ambient as a genre of music and the total alteration of the face of music in general--something that Eno, even at that early a date, was experiencing for at least the third time. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nNo Lack Of Craft, April 10, 2000 \nBy Edd S. Hurt (Boulder, CO USA)\nBrian Eno has been around for nearly thirty years. In that time he has made a lot of rather silly pronouncements about music and philosophy. It is silly to go on about how "mysterious" early rock and roll recordings are and how these "freed" Eno from the dictates of sense. Early rock and roll recordings are not mysterious, they were mostly done in perfectly well-known places like New Orleans, Memphis, Los Angeles and Nashville. They might have seemed mysterious to Eno but I rather think that he is playing some conceptual games he learned at art school. For all his vaunted sonic imagination and "mystery" his rock albums boil down to more of the same: guitars, drums, some words, some studio catsup. Not that I don't enjoy "Here Come The Warm Jets" and "Before And After Science" and "Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)." But they do lend themselves to perfectly rational analysis and they are simple rock and roll, just like the "mysterious" Chris Kenner or the "mysterious" Flamingos. "Tiger Mountain" is about strategy, camaraderie, group effort a la Mao's "Great Leap Forward." The tone is so much spy-movie imbroglio, the words make perfect sense in a post-Beatles mode, and the rhythm section is solid. As with so much rock music from the 1970s, there is an element of unnecessary obfuscation to "Tiger Mountain." All rock music is about something quite concrete, whether it is the Beach Boys' girls or Moby Grape's granny dresses or Eno's enemas and rowboats, and to make something else out of it is silly. Eno is an artist but not in the way he thinks, and I am one of those who can enjoy his "ambient" music while remaining completely indifferent to it. His first Jon Hassell collaboration does go some way toward validating his pretentions, as does "Tiger Mountain" and "Before And After," but only people who fail to perceive that some half-sloppy old piece of '50s rock is a thousand times more "mysterious" than anything Eno has ever done will continue to accept his pretentions straight. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nPost-Roxy eno, take 2..., April 5, 2000 \nBy DAC Crowell (Rankin, IL United States)\nAfter his first 'solo' album, which really was more akin to a Roxy Music album minus Bryan Ferry and with Eno at the helm, Eno hits his stride here with this, his first album that really appears to be of his own focussed vision. And what a strange, rich vision it is! A loosely-thematic album, with allusions to espionage, covert activities, dubious politics, philosophical complexities, and not-so-nice people, Eno crafts a strange world that at once exudes a strange colonial Britishness, but simultaneously an otherworldliness that seems to have little to do with this planet altogether. Musically, this is right up there with "Another Green World" in terms of attention to evocative atmospheres, and the quality of playing which Eno gets from his musicians...yes, even the sub-Suzuki squawk of the Portsmouth Sinfonia!...is purely sublime. Mid-70s, and not sounding it at all, this is right up there with landmarks such as "Sgt. Pepper", "Revolver", "Beggar's Banquet", and others in the running for 'perfect pop album'. Perhaps the best starting point...although you could make the same argument for "Another Green World", so perhaps a coin-toss may be in order...for those beginning their exploration of the complex and vast Eno galaxy. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nEar Candy, December 29, 1999 \nBy D. A Wu "squonch" (Chicago, IL United States)\nThis album is certainly strange, weird and demented, as previous reviewers mentioned. But it's still accessible. The album's tunes are too smart for radio, but don't be shy about getting it, even if you're cerebrally-challenged. This is a very diverse collection which delivers an enjoyable listening experience without relying on studio sheen. You may not make heads or tails of the lyrics, but if you are a fan of music, you'll like this one. If you are capable of enjoying Sgt. Peppers, you'll be able to enjoy Taking Tiger Mountain. \nA favorite of mine is "Mother Whale Eyeless," which in its climax features a chorus of childrens' voices over an urgent, carnival-like keyboard procession. Of course, these children are made to sing nonsensical lyrics. The opening track "Burning Airlines" is a fresh, pleasurable guitar pop song. "Third Uncle," which was subsequently covered by Bauhaus, would make a perfect soundtrack to the apocalypse, especially in the deadpan manner in which Eno performs it. Very few of these tunes disappoint; the ones that do are catchy and will nonetheless take residence in your brain for long periods of time. If you don't own this album, go get it right away.\n\nHighly recommended. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nA sublimely demented album, with extremely creative sound., April 24, 1999 \nBy A Customer\nWhile, at first glance, this record seems the work of a schizophrenic patient, you come to realise there is a message, albeit a creepy one. Some lyrics hint at brainwashing and mind control. The music leaps from a carnival midway to a gothic lullabye to sounds that remind one of being covered with locusts. (There's even a typewriter solo - talk about different!) When you think you know what Eno is driving at, he changes speeds. Thanks to the work of members of Roxy Music, this is actually a fairly normal album, musically. For Eno, that is. He can rock out rather well, believe it or not, and does on 'The Third Wheel,' for one. But this record goes deeper into the demented side of life than even Pink Floyd had considered. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nEno's Apex, April 19, 1999 \nBy A Customer\nThis is as strange a music as was ever produced with a standard rock band line-up. Less creepy than the Residents and more experimental than the White Album (but just as British!), Eno achieves a beautiful Frankenstein effect by grafting his art school outlook onto "rock" roots. This release was as alien and magickal to me the first time I heard it as anything I'd listened to before (I don't believe the dent it left in my brain ever quite popped back out). The songs are still fresh and vigorous, and should be required listening for the young people of today (like Can and Funkadelic and the Stranglers...). \n\n\nHalf.com Details \nContributing artists: Andy MacKay, Phil Collins, Phil Manzanera \nProducer: Brian Eno \n\nAlbum Notes\nPersonnel: Brian Eno (vocals, guitar, keyboards, programming); Polly Eltes (vocals); Phil Manzanera (guitar); Portsmouth Sinfonia (strings); Andy MacKay (brass); Brian Turrington (bass guitar); Phil Collins, Freddie Smith (drums); Robert Wyatt (percussion, background vocals); Randy & The Pyramids, The Simplistics (background vocals).\n\nRecording information: Island Studios, London, England (09/1974).\n\nTAKING TIGER MOUNTAIN (BY STRATEGY), Brian Eno's sophomore solo outing, is a grab bag of freaky, science-fiction-dipped confections. Filled with a battery of innovative, unsettling effects, the album is darker and more complex than HERE COME THE WARM JETS. The artist shows an increasing willingness to experiment with texture, as on "The Great Pretender," whose whirling, oozing keyboard line and synthesized vocals approximate delirium tremens or a hatching hive of maggots, or on "Put A Straw Under Baby," which features the Portsmouth Sinfonia, whose members have no knowledge of their instruments.\n\nYet Eno's grasp of melody and songcraft is everywhere: on the bouncing, absurdist/philosophical "Burning Airlines (Give You So Much More)," and on straight-out rockers, like the deliciously intense "Third Uncle" (which is propelled by the churning guitar of Roxy Music's Phil Manzenera, and is, arguably, the album's highlight). Concurrent with David Bowie's ALADDIN SANE-era alien aesthetic, Eno's tunes are even more otherwordly and warped than his glam cohort, making use of the full palette of bizarro synthesizer effects and creepy-cheeky postures. The songs, however, are as inventive and appealing as their treatments, and make for Eno's most solid--and experimental--pop album. TAKING TIGER MOUNTAIN holds up magnificently, even years on in the artist's brilliant career.\n\nIndustry Reviews\n5 stars out of 5 - Eno has done more than anyone to bring us round to the pleasures of texture over text...\n\n3 stars out of 5 - Silly songs, quirky playing, bizarre chord changes are all there...
This rock cd contains 10 tracks and runs 48min 18sec.
Freedb: 8f0b500a
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