Some more thoughts:
- The approach to recording this album is as interesting as the music itself. Initially, it sounded like they were trying to emulate Can's recording method where you just play and play and play with the tape constantly rolling, then go back and cherrypick the best parts into an album. Now, I get the impression that this was one aspect of the recording process but the improvisations were then sculpted and developed into solid pieces. I think what really gets me is how it light and spacious it sounds despite the eternity of studio time; you'd think it would be bloated and twice as long after all that recording activity.
- This thread kind of depresses me as there seems to be a feeling that "serious" music is bad music. Sure, there's no levity here like there was with The Smiths and Wu-Tang albums but for me there's way more raw emotion coming through. The first three tracks (which are supposed to be one track with three sections judging from the tracklistings online) sound so precarious, so off the cuff to be as pure a form of musical expression as anything else I've heard.
- Influences: Aside from the sense of Can in the process (rather than the sound), it's interesting to hear things that sound like a sleepy version of The Velvet Underground's "Heroin" creep in at the start of "Eden"; that Moe Tucker-esque beat and slow build. It's fucking magic. Someone mentioned In a Silent Way earlier and I get that, not so much in style but definitely in vibe and in structure. The Velvets and Miles Davis have both been pastiched to death at this stage but Spirit of Eden manages to acknowledge them but forge new ground, sounding fresh to me even now.
- Influenced: Spirit of Eden seems to be the blueprint for so many albums that came afterwards. I was always surprised when The The went from Mind Bomb in 1989 to Dusk in 1993 and it now sounds like Matt Johnson took his cue from Talk Talk. Then add in all the great 90s albums by Labradford and Tortoise and this thing really feels like a missing link between what was happening in pop (and its fringes) in the 80s and what would come in the 90s/00s. I know @Lili Marlene feels Spirit of Eden's impact is lessened from being familiar through its influences but I feel that this is a milestone album that sounds utterly mordern despite the fact that these approaches and sounds are now standard in the rock rule book.
- The approach to recording this album is as interesting as the music itself. Initially, it sounded like they were trying to emulate Can's recording method where you just play and play and play with the tape constantly rolling, then go back and cherrypick the best parts into an album. Now, I get the impression that this was one aspect of the recording process but the improvisations were then sculpted and developed into solid pieces. I think what really gets me is how it light and spacious it sounds despite the eternity of studio time; you'd think it would be bloated and twice as long after all that recording activity.
- This thread kind of depresses me as there seems to be a feeling that "serious" music is bad music. Sure, there's no levity here like there was with The Smiths and Wu-Tang albums but for me there's way more raw emotion coming through. The first three tracks (which are supposed to be one track with three sections judging from the tracklistings online) sound so precarious, so off the cuff to be as pure a form of musical expression as anything else I've heard.
- Influences: Aside from the sense of Can in the process (rather than the sound), it's interesting to hear things that sound like a sleepy version of The Velvet Underground's "Heroin" creep in at the start of "Eden"; that Moe Tucker-esque beat and slow build. It's fucking magic. Someone mentioned In a Silent Way earlier and I get that, not so much in style but definitely in vibe and in structure. The Velvets and Miles Davis have both been pastiched to death at this stage but Spirit of Eden manages to acknowledge them but forge new ground, sounding fresh to me even now.
- Influenced: Spirit of Eden seems to be the blueprint for so many albums that came afterwards. I was always surprised when The The went from Mind Bomb in 1989 to Dusk in 1993 and it now sounds like Matt Johnson took his cue from Talk Talk. Then add in all the great 90s albums by Labradford and Tortoise and this thing really feels like a missing link between what was happening in pop (and its fringes) in the 80s and what would come in the 90s/00s. I know @Lili Marlene feels Spirit of Eden's impact is lessened from being familiar through its influences but I feel that this is a milestone album that sounds utterly mordern despite the fact that these approaches and sounds are now standard in the rock rule book.