Track Listing

1. 1/1
2. 2/1
3. 1/2
4. 2/2

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2964 in Music
• Released on: 2004-10-05
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com essential recording
Eno's theory of the "discreet music" he called ambient was far from the modern chill-out room: the idea was that it should function at very low volumes, unobtrusively coloring the atmosphere of a room. Evolving by tiny gradations, the long pieces of Music For Airports (the first in a series of albums that followed the statement of purpose Discreet Music) defy close attention, but then they're not meant to be listened to consciously; they're meant to serve as a counterpoint to the frantic arcs of travel, or rather to be imagined in that setting. --Douglas Wolk

Amazon.com
This complex sound sculpture was created by Brian Eno in 1978 and was even installed for a while at the Marine Terminal of New York at LaGuardia Airport. The ambient-minimalist soundscape has been alternately described as background Muzak, a profoundly artificial musical milieu, and a groundbreaking studio creation. Eno designed Music for Airports from a few simple notes and the serial organization of variable tape loops that didn't quite match up. It's a groundbreaking elaboration on the aural/spatial dimension that utilizes silence, piano, synthesizer, female voices, and, most importantly, the technology of the studio. A true metaclassic, the "music" is divided into four distinct movements. This record is the first of Eno's ambient series and is undoubtedly the best. --Mitch Myers

Customer Reviews

good ambient music
I am an acupuncturist and I am always looking for mellow ambient music to play for people in the treatment rooms. This one is great.

Ambient 101: The creator
Ambient music started here, and the term was coined by Brian Eno with this album. Considering that Eno was talking about how this kind of music could easily be ignored and hang in the backround might make you want to call it muzak (which isn't music in any shape or form). It's not the case, because Ambient music has emotion, it has thought, it can be listened and makes you feel good (at least this album does). It enchances the moods of cerain things, it makes subtle emotions come out more. In purpose, it is used in different ways than the most common way music effects people. In contrast, muzak isn't even heard and most people don't even realize it's going through the speakers, they feel the way they did when the blanket of muzak hit them, nothing happened to them.

Considering this is the first ambient album ever, one might take a wild guess and consider it to be a bit primal. It kind of is, as it does seem a bit TOO basic because the ambient concept has evolved a lot since this album. But despite that, the music stands out great and does fine without the notion of being the first of it's kind. That's not the reason it's a good record. It's got good music, that seems basic, but still great to listen to, and still one of a kind. And it does seem to fit in with airports, although I don't really care for airports, but most people don't.

The four compositions are still chill to listen to, and I notice a lack of warmth when tearing off the headphones after listening to a bit. It's noticeable when you turn the music off and on. The first composition is a long, warm track, with a twinkly piano that loops and adds nuances, and despite the obvious pattern, it works from beginning to end. The next track is a chorus of voices that fade in and out. The next adds piano to the voice. The last is done with a warm synth.

Like Airports? I think this album would appeal to you. But I don't, and I liked it. There's not much else to say about this guy. Give or take.

7.0/10

Brian Eno - 'Ambient 1: Music For Airports' (Astralwerks)
Ha-ha! Really get a big laugh out of that patron who put on a one-star review of this CD reissue - asking 'what is this stuff, Chinese water torture?' No, Bubba! It's clearly ambient bliss for most of us. Originally released in 1978 - has it really been thirty years now since this electronics / ambient classic had surfaced? Two tracks here that I got the most out of was the sixteen-minute soundscape piece of brilliance "1/" and the twelve-minute "2/2". Line-up: Brian Eno-synthesizer & piano, Robert Wyatt-piano, Christine Gomez & Inge Zeininger-vocals and the late great Konrad Plank-engineer. Definitely recommended.