Brian Eno – Ambient 4 (On Land)

Here is a completely random Eno story, but when I was 13 in 1984 I kept reading about this "ambient " stuff by Eno. So I thought I would take a chance and see what it was all about. I bought a copy of Ambient 4 on land on cassette. Took it home. Put it in my Walkman, pressed play, laid back, so excited to enter this strange new world of ambient I had read so much about. Then as the tape started, and it began with this loud crowd cheering, some DAMN funky music and then some woman who sounded like Tina Turner but had a potty mouth to end all potty mouths. And I thought to myself THIS is ambient music? Lol. Turns out, it was a manufacturing error. The tape withhin although labeled Eno, actually contained Millie Jackson's Live and Outrageous album 😆 🤣 😂. Look her up if you don't know who she is. Of course I still have it lol.

One of my most prized albums. The original English 1982 pressing, which I was supremely pleased and surprised to receive after ordering a US version from the Salvation Army for a mere $12 on eBay. Obviously they didn’t know the difference and I got a copy I prefer for the collection at a PHENOMENAL price. I’d happily pay $50 for this one. $100. $250. It doesn’t really matter: this is in my opinion the single greatest dark ambient work of all time, and most don’t even consider it one. Dark ambient doesn’t have to be purely evil vibes and dungeon synth. This is a melancholy tribute to the winds that sweep over often untouched dunes and the thoughts that come with the first touch of autumn frost in the English dales. And it touches my soul in such a peaceful way. Slow beeps, low tones and pulses with dark and ominous synths, occasionally wildlife samples, field recordings from Dunwich Beach and others… this is a work of art intended to be glorious in absolutely the most subtle ways. It barely seems like music and at the same time has faint grooves and melodies that fade in and out in spectral fashion like a distant memory of a time long past. What else could ambient 4 be but the land itself?

From the strange transmission sounds of Lost Day, my very favorite track on the album which I shan’t spoil, shifting into humming didgeridoo sounds on Tal Coat before the first REAL distinctive musical breaking out seems extremely profound and yet hazy and difficult to comprehend. Only then to be moved into the unsettling whistling flute sounds and whispers, crickets frogs and unsettling water splash noises on that darkness that is “Shadow”.

A seamless transition. The entirety of side B I consider one work, but broken into segments. They seem meant to be connected intrinsically. That being said, Lantern Marsh is particularly mournful.

Absolutely a must have for any appreciator of their inner spirit and who understands the value of meditation, as well as any fan of minimal, electronica, ambient, field recordings, or music to assist with rest and spiritual growth of the highest order.

💫/10

Favorite Track: The Lost Day

🏔🏜🌅🗻🌋

i wonder what RPM this is supposed to play at...mine doesnt have any indication... sounds good at 45 and 33 lol

It doesn't matter how many times I listen to "Shadow", it just sends the willies up me every time I hear it.

I've never heard another piece of music that has that distinctly creepy, unsettling effect.

Yet I keep coming back for more.

Definitely my favourite of Eno's Ambient series.