Eno was a key figure in the development of Talking Heads, producing some of their most innovative albums. This collaboration with head Head Byrne built on the sonic ground the two had already broken together via their well established working relationship. The pair couldn't have known how influential MY LIFE IN THE BUSH OF GHOSTS would be in the next two decades.
Deconstructing the avant-funk of the Heads' REMAIN IN LIGHT, Byrne and Eno recorded polyrhythmic backing tracks similar to that effort. Instead of creating lyrics or melodies to lay over them, the duo turned to "found sounds" and voices, looping everything from radio talk show conversations to Muslim chants atop the rhythm bed, before anyone even knew what a sampler was. The subsequent impact on everything, from electronica to World music to whatever Bill Laswell is doing this week, was inestimable. The most important thing is that all this high-minded studio wizardry works on a very immediately satisfying level.
Unknown Contributor Role: Prairie Prince.
Arrangers: Chris Frantz; David Van Tieghem; Tim Wright; Robert Fripp; David Byrne; Bill Laswell ; Brian Eno; Busta Cherry Jones.
Personnel: Brian Eno (guitar, synthesizer, drums, percussion); Samira Tawfik, Dunya Yusin (vocals); David Byrne (guitar, synthesizer, drums, percussion); David Van Tieghem (drums, percussion); Chris Frantz, John Cooksey (drums); Prairie Prince (bass drum); Jose Rossy, Steve Scales (congas); Mingo Lewis (bata); Dennis Keeley (bodhran).
Recording information: Blue Rock, NY (08/04/1979-10/??/1980); Different Fur, San Francisco, CA (08/04/1979-10/??/1980); Eldorado, Los Angeles, CA (08/04/1979-10/??/1980); RPM, NY (08/04/1979-10/??/1980); Sigma, NY (08/04/1979-10/??/1980).
Entertainment Weekly (p.87) - "[T]he remastered GHOSTS feels haunting, hypnotic, and fresh 25 years later." -- Grade: A- Uncut (p.119) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "Byrne and Eno's collaboration drips with emotional intensity....The feelings don't come directly from them but from the found voices of Pentecostal preachers and Algerian Muslims that the duo harvested from American radio and ethnic field recordings." The Wire (p.56) - "[I]t's the unidentified voices seeping in from the haunted boundaries of American talk radio that capture our attention and that now seem to speak to us about another, still uncharted world." Mojo (Publisher) (p.122) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "The disturbingly funky exotic stew that resulted was mind-bending in its day and remains so now." NME (Magazine) (9/25/93, p.19) - Ranked #36 in NME's list of the 50 Greatest Albums Of The '80s.
True Experimental Music I love this album. If you like adventurous music at all, you should check this one out. Great use of beats and rhythms. The songs have a real coherent feel to them, even though they can be out there.
One of my all time favorites. Submitted by orangu (Denver, CO) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo This review is for a different format.
Great This is a great CD! The sounds, the moods presented here are simply wonderful. Now about 17 min. longer, than when it initially came out. Submitted by grgfarris (Missouri City, Tx, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo This review is for a different format.
Creepy masterpiece There is a kind of "end of history" feel to this album that is both unsettling and fascinating. As you listen to the sound bytes taken from various sources - hypnotic demagogues, arabic prayers, alien blips, and radio talkback - you get a feeling of human impasse and alienation, and yet also of genuine salvation and spirtual awakening. This is music from another universe, not just another world or galaxy! It will make you think, and it will make you feel. Submitted by boris_boy (Brisbane, Australia) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo This review is for a different format.
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