David Byrne and Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
(self-released, 2008)
5 out of 10
As multi-disciplinary artists, David Byrne and Brian Eno have positively affected my life in a vast number of ways. That's why I find it tempting to be too kind to this record. That's why I'm reluctant to say that I ... (gulp) ... cannot stand to hear the first three songs again. That's why the process of continuing to listen to the songs I do enjoy has not been coming very naturally to me. I must confront the fact that not only is Eno's work here only slightly more remarkable than that of his work with Coldplay and recent U2, but also, and far more importantly to me (because I don't really expect all that much from Eno these days), this is the closest thing to a song-album clunker David Byrne's been responsible for in a couple decades, minus change (Uh-Oh).
My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, their first LP-length collaboration as a duo from 1981, was credited to Brian Eno and David Byrne. The remarriage switches the billing; unlike the spooky, skeletal funk soundtrack of My Life, this new project is an album for Byrne to sing his lyrics over Eno's tracks. Here, Byrne demonstrates a strong singing voice and a generally good set of lyrics, all in the service of Eno's mostly-bland, half-appealing tracks. No matter how smart and present Eno has been or may be in regards to the culture and the world stage, no matter to any relevance he may have to the avant-garde in any genre, or any experimentation or even significant exploration in which he may still indulge, none of these things are evident on this recording. I'm not surprised. In fact, am I preaching to the choir? Does anyone still think about him the way one used to? Do we all know by now that the majority of his work is high surface-quality in the service of mediocrity?
Among the eleven tracks of Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, there is a four-song run that works, starting with the secular country-gospel ballad "Everything That Happens" at the crucial, uh, track-four position. It's grown to become my favorite track on the record; the composition is about as simple as possible without being cloying, allowing the ambience and Byrne's sideways-soul to get to me. Byrne's self-stacked choir at the end is the album's finest and most stirring moment, singing in the rich and plain terms he's made his trademark: "Everything that happens will happen today/ And nothing has changed, but nothing's the same/ And every tomorrow will be yesterday."
"Life Is Long" is a dry, horn-thick slab of new-old R&B, and though it's the trendiest track aesthetically, it's the best arrangement; Eno's keyboard hook, riding into the fadeout, is the instrumental highlight of the album. "The River" is an odd dip into a lush Brian Wilson-styled arrangement without a verse-chorus structure, admittedly an unexpected moment from the Eno of today — more like something John Cale would have done around when Eno hung/hovered with him. The run concludes with "Strange Overtones," a slick neo-white groove that has surprisingly remained winning enough to stand to repeat listens, probably because of that tasteful tone that makes some of those U2 songs sound good too. Byrne's lyrics here seem to be about that topic he has addressed in more than one fashion as an artist: the inexplicable effect of music on emotions. More of that "sideways-soul."
These four are the only songs I find myself ever wanting to hear from this album. Without asking for a different set of songs (who knows how many more they had or how good they'd have been), I'm almost grateful to Byrne/Eno for structuring the piece with the three songs I dislike the most at the beginning. The tail of Everything That Happens is more worthy to be left on in the background; the material gets weaker but not unpleasant, and at least the record ends with a pretty song called "The Lighthouse," reminiscent of Robert Fripp's lower-key songs with Byrne again returning to a hymn-like approach, albeit without the same stir. "Home," however, introduces the album on a deeply grating note; Byrne's chorus awkwardly references "Homeward Bound" by Simon & Garfunkel as the folk-strummy adult-contemporary background brings out the worst in him all around. I have only gotten through all five minutes of it once. "My Big Nurse" only barely lightens up on the sap, and "I Feel My Stuff," as promisingly eerie and relatively "dark" as parts of the arrangement are, does not ultimately deliver on anything but being too silly and too long.
I really can summon up only a post-script after delving into such minutiae regarding something as disheartening as the framing of this album. Byrne is bringing "Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno" on a world tour. Here's hoping for a live arrangement that enriches rather than replicates the sound, as well as some inspiring takes on their longer-and-better-aged works from the past.
-Spencer Owen
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Too bad. I had high hopes. I was digging Eno when those Roxy Music albums he's on came out and Byrne starting with Talking Heads '77. My Life in the Bush of Ghosts was a revelation. Everything changes. Really.
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Yeah, my hopes were kind of unreasonably high (well, at least unreasonable for Eno), and I think that disappointment's kinda palpable in the write-up...
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An Interesting Note:
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As much as Spencer and I admire many of the same artists, I'll reserve judgement on this until I hear it. And, though I don't know how long you've lived with this album, S.O., I know that some of the richest, most appealing music can take a number of listens before it's really heard.
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In my Amazon review of Richard & Linda Thompson's Shoot Out the Lights. i said that i had the album for almost a year before i stopped listening to it and started hearing it.
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Seeing Byrne at Lehigh University when the tour starts...and I hope you're right. I'll wait to hear him live before picking up the album.
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I will reserve judgment on the new record until I can buy a non-leaked, non-downloaded copy, maybe in vinyl. (My Life in the Bush.. sounded better when re-mastered and reissued as a CD). The question I have, and the publicity is now clear on this, is whether Brian Eno will be performing on the tour? I doubt it, but it might justify the expensive tickets in SF at Davies Symphony Hall this fall...
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I have only listened on the laptop while streaming, and a few tracks stood out more than others. Great review though. Probably the worst thing anyone can do with eno is to have expectations, since he never seems to follow the path you think he's on. Great review though. Hearing the first track a week or so ago, it seemed clear it was more of an Eno writes for Byrne situation. I couldn't tell you what hand Eno had in that U2 "All That You Can't leave behind" album, and my impression was this album was more a showcase for Byrne than Eno.
It's a bit confusing though, because both artists can sort of work with their skill sets so interchangeably it's hard to define "what is a David Byrne sound" or "What is a Brain Eno sound?"
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It also got ripped in the NY Press
http://www.nypress.com/21/34/music/music2.cfm
I can almost understand Byrne losing the plot - but Eno!?
Now that's a major disappointment.
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My two cents are this:
"My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" was essentially an Eno album (hence the artists billing as Brian Eno & David Byrne) and was a representation of where the musicians (mainly Eno) were at that time.
Jump ahead 27 years and now we have "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today" which according to the artists billing it's now David Byrne & Brian Eno. Where "My Life..." has Eno's signature all over it, "Everything that Happens..." has Byrnes' and it too is a representation of where the musicians (mainly Byrne) are currently.
I've listened to the whole album at least a dozen times and while I'm not blown away by it, I do enjoy it. It's the best David Byrne solo album I've heard and transversley "My Life In The Bush of Ghosts" is the best Brian Eno album I've heard as well.
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I listened to the album on the website, and I was surprised how tame it was, how shaky David Byrne's voice is, and how uninteresting the sonics seemed to be.
honestly, I don't think David Byrne has done anything worth listening to twice since Little Creatures, so I'm not surprised. You don't spend 10 years making white boy mambo records and suddenly rediscover your mojo.
now Eno, the fact that the production isn't better, that surprises me. wtf?
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What did you all think of the Eno/Cale collaboration "Wrong Way Up" from 1990?
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Loved the Eno songs - thought the mostly-Cale songs were "ok".
Just listened to it all the way through the other day. "Lay My Love", "One Word" "The River" and the title track are excellent songs. The spotty (and sometimes dull) songs are the one's that features Cale on lead vocals.
ebuzzmiller - I lol'ed at "You don't spend 10 years making white boy mambo records and suddenly rediscover your mojo"
;-)
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Okay, I have to step in here.
Perhaps the assertion of "10 years making white boy mambo" was purposely sloppy for a laugh, but I'd just like to set the record straight, as it were. Byrne made an album called Rei Momo in 1989 which is the closest thing he's made to "white-boy mambo"; it was in fact a deliberate experiment, and at the time was well-received, with a world-tour backed by Latin musicians that I would have killed to see. It's 2008, and in that time, he's put out six pop albums and six instrumental albums and the diversity displayed in that oevure isn't much to sneeze at, even if not all of it is entirely successful. Point being -- 1 year of mambo, 19 years of other things. None of it really sounds like Talking Heads, either. (Maybe that's a bad thing to y'all; I say in this case it's a blessing.)
He's also been spending his time, by the way, in the visual and conceptual arts. I would say there's some "mojo" left in him in all this stuff, and that the Byrne/Eno album was sort of destined to be mostly stale. Why? ENO, ENO, ENO. I'm surprised at the amount of people on this thread surprised that Eno didn't turn in excellent work. What in his credits of the last... okay, let's say 20 years (to equal Byrne's tenure as full-flegded soloist)... suggest to you that Eno would come through here? I really am curious. Wrong Way Up, I get that. That's '90. I like his work with Bowie and Laurie. That brings us up to '95...
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Byrne - at his best - was always this dorky-cool guy (as in "Psychokiller" and "Life During Wartime") - when he descended into the "white boy mambo" nonsese, I stopped paying any more attention to him.
Brian Eno - on the other hand - is human (though sometimes hard to believe) - so it stands to reason he may "produce" a stinker every now and then (does anybody remember Zvuki Mu, or whatever that Russian group he was hawking these so many years ago.)
People who want to truly understand Eno need to read that book that MOG Member Dale posted a link up here recently.
"Brian Eno - His Music and the Vertical Color of Sound"
Its brilliant (much like the man himself)
He is first and foremost a sound designer. His vision is unparalleled. "mambo boy" should have written better songs.
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I do remember Zvuki Mu. Awful. I also have a pretty good sense of what Brian Eno's been doing and probably don't need to read a book about him to understand him. I know what Eno used to be great at and I know what he's now only skilled (but often totally mediocre) at. A while ago, his vision WAS unparalleled, or as close as you can get to that. (Although things like his role in the no wave scene in NY make him seem a little bit of an outsider to hipness or relevance even by then.) Now he remains culturally and socially aware and insightful, but produces lame pop records and some pretty uninspiring ambient ones. Hell, I'll even give you Achtung Baby and Zooropa as solid productions, but if you loved Another Day on Earth, apologies. His successes are far more "now and then" than his stinkers are these days.
As for "mambo boy," he was responsible primarily for the lyrics and lead vocals on this album. They traded files. Eno played a decent portion of the instruments; so did a fellow named Leo Abrahams, and some other folks.
You stopped paying attention after an album with a (fantastic, I think) song called "Make Believe Mambo" on it; fine. You might not like the rest of what you hear, if you do explore further into his career, but possibly needless to say, that doesn't make him culpable for what Brian Eno's been doing.
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(except, of course, for his stamp of approval on this record)
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Well argued, Spencer.
And I appreciate you attempting to use facts to back up your points.
But I'm now completely side-tracked by a different raging debate on here (MOG land), so pardon me if I don't continue jousting with you.
However, since you argued you points so well (though I don't particually agree with your assessment of Eno's current standing) I may give Mr. Byrne a closer listen, when next his sound approached my ears ;-)
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Good deal. I recommend the self-titled album; that's his best solo work and the farthest from the nonsense you appear to perceive. And I'm glad you appreciated my "attempt." (heh heh)
It's cool that you don't agree with me on Eno, I'm just cold on the second act of his European life and warm on Byrne's American one. An album like this could've marked an exciting third act for both of them, but didn't. "Oh well," I say.
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Yep, I'll second what Goldberg said. It always seems to be that point in an artist's life where he/she finds peace and happiness that the music starts to suck...so maybe Eno and Byrne are ehh, happy now?
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Spence;
Of course I was being purposely sloppy, that's my modus operandi!
I had the misfortune/pleasure of working Rei Momo when I was at Warners, and had to explain to a wide variety of people that Byrne had disbanded the T-Heads after releasing the disappointing "Blind" to dabble further in latin music. I'm sure there were a few groovy Cuban restaurants in NYC that played Rei Momo nonstop, but the rest of the world couldn't give two shits.
The rest of the world then largely ignored Byrne's musical output for the ensuing 20 years, although you'd occasionally see an old photo run in the media, Byrne in a big suit from Stop Making Sense.
Eno has often commented that he didn't think that he and Byrne went "far enough" in their explorations on "My Life" or on "Remain In Light", that they could have produced something more radical and groundbreaking, given the time.
Which is why I am so disappointed that Eno's recent vocal solo album, and this new project with Byrne, are SO DULL. The production is pure sonic wallpaper on both, and the vocals are reedy & lack confidence. Neither one of these guys has ever approached the peaks of their early 80's output.
As much as I love both these sacred cows, let's be real: this new record is nothing more than PAP, buy it if you need something to listen to while taking a bubble bath. It's a big exciting world out there, with amazing technology and ways of interacting with people, and these two old farts should have gotten out there like they did 28 years ago and embraced it.
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Spence;
Of course I was being purposely sloppy, that's my modus operandi!
I had the misfortune/pleasure of working Rei Momo when I was at Warners, and had to explain to a wide variety of people that Byrne had disbanded the T-Heads after releasing the disappointing "Blind" to dabble further in latin music. I'm sure there were a few groovy Cuban restaurants in NYC that played Rei Momo nonstop, but the rest of the world couldn't give two shits.
The rest of the world then largely ignored Byrne's musical output for the ensuing 20 years, although you'd occasionally see an old photo run in the media, Byrne in a big suit from Stop Making Sense.
Eno has often commented that he didn't think that he and Byrne went "far enough" in their explorations on "My Life" or on "Remain In Light", that they could have produced something more radical and groundbreaking, given the time.
Which is why I am so disappointed that Eno's recent vocal solo album, and this new project with Byrne, are SO DULL. The production is pure sonic wallpaper on both, and the vocals are reedy & lack confidence. Neither one of these guys has ever approached the peaks of their early 80's output.
As much as I love both these sacred cows, let's be real: this new record is nothing more than PAP, buy it if you need something to listen to while taking a bubble bath. It's a big exciting world out there, with amazing technology and ways of interacting with people, and these two old farts should have gotten out there like they did 28 years ago and embraced it.
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Well, we are generally in agreement looks like. I didn't ignore Byrne's solo work, as should be apparent by my previous statements, but he certainly did get more bit notices than front pages for those records and he does not really make singles either. I like good portions of them but yes, he hasn't quite met the peak of TH.
Yep. Kinda unfortunate stuff.
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"I had the misfortune/pleasure of working Rei Momo when I was at Warners, and had to explain to a wide variety of people that Byrne had disbanded the T-Heads after releasing the disappointing "Blind" to dabble further in latin music. I'm sure there were a few groovy Cuban restaurants in NYC that played Rei Momo nonstop, but the rest of the world couldn't give two shits. "
ebuzzmiller--if it makes you feel better, I actually puchased Rei Momo. And, you know, it's a great album if you're drunk, and feel like dancing.
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erin - good to know someone liked it! i had a box of CDs and I couldn't give them away. i saw the T-Heads at Forest Hills tennis stadium in NY on the Speaking in Tongues tour - now THAT was incredible