Search - Brian Eno :: Neroli

The epitome of ambient music

D. Musicant | Berkeley, CA USA | 09/16/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD has the distinction of perennially holding the number one spot in my 301 disk CD player and it will continue to do so. I find that life has those moments when I need to concentrate on something and need silence to think. Very often that is made difficult by the ambient sounds over which I am powerless without plugging my ears or generating sound of my own, one way or another. I have probably the finest ear plugs anywhere but often what occurs to me is to play Eno's Neroli. Subtitled, "Music for Thinking," if I recall correctly, it is the perfect antidote for noise pollution. There's no discernible meter or melody, nothing to hook your mind and you can think about whatever you want. The music itself is unobtrusive. It's hard to describe. It doesn't demand attention, it's just there, taking the place of what was there, just the thing when I need to obscure distracting noise. Is this all it's good for? Probably not, but in this capacity alone this gem is to me invaluable."

This Album is Great...

Todd Wahoske | Nevada City | 01/26/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"... for sleeping or going to sleep and /or waking up, or playing for others to sleep to in the same room. But it's great for pondering life's mysteries and getting "serious". I heard there's a totally awesome techno remix of this on the world wide web. Go Eno, another masterpiece baby!"

Another ambient experiment from the king of the genre.

Alex TB | 10/13/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"In the mid 1990s, Brian Eno went through a string of albums that felt somewhat generic, even manufactured. This is not unusual or necessarily bad, considering Eno's love for system based music, music that should be manufactured. Also, even the worst Brian Eno albums are compelling and fun. Neroli is a return to basic minimalist ambient music from the complex electronic beat oriented album Nerve Net and the dark ambient of The Shutov Assembly. The liner notes of Neroli explain that the album is yet another system based album, but does not really explain how. The entire album consists of warm synthesizers doodling in the Phrygian mode with a sparse rhythm. The Phrygian mode is mysterious and somewhat dissonant, and the tonic of the scale rarely shows up. But what is the system that is the framework, besides the Phrygian scale? How are the notes arranged and why? What dictates the rhythm? The lack of evidence in these areas suggests that Eno had a somewhat stronger influence on the music creatively than, say, Discreet Music. Which makes the fact that the music is on the threshhold of melody and silence that much more interesting. It is hard to say whether the album is deliberately simple minded or another of his postmodern albums that are of poor quality (see The Drop, probably his worst album. Although it contains a few keepers, the majority of the album was obviously thrown together rather quickly). Neroli can be quite relaxing. The fifty minute length is long, but I doubt Eno expects the listener to sit through its entirety, listening closely. The Phrygian scale is contemplative and relaxing the way it is treated, but it is the Phrygian scale. This is a rare album that you could have probably made yourself, given the right equipment. However, you didn't. Brian Eno did. Thus, it is a part of his repertoire of sonic tools, and is desirable for those fans that love his ambient music. If you want a place to start on ambient music, this is the last place you would want to look. In fact, if you are looking for something here, the album technically isn't doing its job. This should be ignored, and while in the background, on the bottom end of your aural register, it should lightly stimulate your mind. Eno has clearly learned the secrets of the human mind and its interaction with sound, and Neroli is another exploration."