I'm such a total record/vinyl geek these days. I often wake up ashamed of my passion, but then I think of the enjoyment I get from hunting, looking and of course, listening to these damn types of vinyl. We live in such a horror landscape that even for a few minutes (which I turn to lasting for days) I love being lost in a world that is both exotic and obsessive. For one, I have been looking for a vinyl release of Brian Eno's single "Seven Deadly Finns"(1974) and one he did around "Another Green World" "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," which was originally a folk song. I did find copies of the 45 rpm singles but were way too expensive for me to buy. Then, suddenly I came upon the "Rarities" disc that was part of a large package "Working Backwards: 1983-1973, which at the time of this boxset release was the entire discography of solo Eno. Since I have all the albums in this box set, all I wanted was the "Rarities" disc. It took years, but someone on the Internet was willing to sell just the "Rarities" EP. Moving like a Seal Navy soldier of fortune, I snapped the record from the other collector.
"Seven Deadly Finns" is very much the aesthetic of the first two Eno solo albums. It's a sonic rush of pure mayhem. I don't know who plays on the recording, but it's such a perfect blend of action - it reminds me of Jackson Pollack doing a painting in front of a movie camera. If one wants to put the recording in a category I would call it 'hyper-glam.' "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is minimal in a sense, but somehow sounds maximum. Eno overdubs his vocals which is a tribute to a 20-century take on folk, which became a hit pop song with the group The Tokens in the 1960s. Eno loves vocal music and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is the perfect piece of canvas for him to do his painting on.
The other side is three instrumentals, and all sound like it was recorded during his time working with David Byrne and Talking Heads. Electro-funk and I haven't the foggiest idea who is on the recordings besides Eno. The songs are "Strong Flashes of Light," "More Volts," and "Mist/Rhythm." All three are excellent works.
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