Eno Byrnes
Brian Eno + David Byrne
My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts
(Nonesuch)
Pioneering ambient/world funk/sample jam gets reissued by Nonesuch Records with seven bonus outtakes from the ’79/’80 sessions.
While the seven extra tracks add little to this landmark release — unless you count a seeming transcription of a humpback whale conversation on “Solo Guitar With Tin Foil” — My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts remains a watershed for both Brian Eno and David Byrne. Overlooked because of the two geniuses named on the LP spine, a rhythm section including Chris Frantz, Bill Laswell, David Van Tieghem, and Tim Wright conjures a street-market jungle of grooves and syncopation, relentless while retaining danceability like the Kutis entranced. Neither Eno nor Byrne sound particularly out-of-place despite the new world to which they’ve been transported, as if melding West African funk and field recordings was a logical progression. It might appear second-nature nowadays, but the urgency with which they realized ideas on Bush Of Ghosts suggests their excitement threatened to overtake them.
— Kevin Keegan
