Popol Vuh - "Nosferatu: On the Way to a Little Way" 1978

I'd like to share another of my absolute favorite albums of all time: a Popol Vuh masterpiece also famous as the soundtrack to Werner Herzog's "Nosferatu" film. Herzog and Popol Vuh had a wonderful relationship, and this soundtrack is the perfect pairing of the two creative entities.

Popol Vuh - Nosferatu
Egg, 1978

















alternate cover: Brain released this as Bruder des Schattens-Sohne des Lichts, with the movie poster as cover image.

















"Another superb Popol vuh album, similar to « Die Nacht der Seele » in the way that it’s partly made of themes from previous albums, such as « In den Gärten Pharaos » or « Einsjäger & Siebenjäger », in excellent alternate versions. The album’s mood is very spiritual and eastern-inspired –like usual with Popol vuh- with some ragga interludes. One can expect something dark from a soundtrack of the « Nosferatu » movie, but instead it’s a luminous ethereal work, in the mind of their best 70’s releases." -Oliverstoned www.progarchives.com

"a serene, mystic, deeply personal stance that basically transposes Hosianna Mantra into gothic music."-Ryko Dist.

"This album is not exactly the soundtrack of Herzog's Nosferatu. It contains some extracts from the movie score but for me it's simply a great compilation of previous and unreleased works of the band. We can find very contemplative and repetitive tunes that can remind sometimes the Indian instrumental ragua with its transcending and peaceful effects... a kind of mantra, a music from the inside (Mantra, morning sun, Venus principle...).
This represents the acoustic side of the band with a lot of sitar, guitars, and tablas. The other part of the album is dedicated to the band original sound in the style of In den garden pharaohs (creepy, celestial and monotonous melodies played on the big Moog...). If you like all the sides of the band from meditative to prog and space-electronic rock, this one is for you." - Philippe (Groove Unlimited France)

A very doomy, gothic sound indeed... somehow wonderfully paired with tambouras and acoustic guitars. Guys like Stephen O'Malley and Alexander Tucker must have taken inspiration from this album for their projects (Ginnungagap's "Remeindre" album in particular). This is the Popol Vuh album I started with, and it remains not only my favorite album by the band, but one of my all time favorite albums overall. A brilliant example of the many influences creeping in to Krautrock, including Moog experimentation and eastern instruments. A culmination of Popol Vuh tendencies and melodies up to this point. Really the peak of their career.

Take a peek at some trailers from the movie:



and then.....

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Brian Eno - "Another Green World" 1975

Probably one of the best albums to come out in 1975... and definitely one of Eno's masterpieces.

Brian Eno - Another Green World
Island, 1975

















The cover is a detail from "After Raphael" by Tom Phillips

















Brian Eno - synthesizer, guitar, bass guitar, percussion, drum machine, pianos, keyboards, Farfisa, Hammond, sound effects, bass pedals, vocals, tapes, production
John Cale - viola
Phil Collins - percussion, drums
Robert Fripp - guitars
Percy Jones - fretless bass
Roderick Melvin - Fender Rhodes, keyboards
Paul Rudolph - bass, bass guitar, guitar, snare drum
Brian Turrington - bass guitar, piano
Rhett Davies - production, engineer

This is an amazing album... My first introduction to Eno was a record I picked up back in my Manifest days-- Harold Budd & Brian Eno - The Pearl. I liked it very much and was intrigued, so I picked up Eno's "Taking Tiger Mountain" album next. Surprised, but not disappointed, I put my Eno search on hold. I now had an ambient, piano/synth album and a quirky art rock album. Later, as I got into current ambient-electronic music more and more I decided to go back and rediscover Brian Eno-- known as the father of ambient. While his first albums and stint with Roxy Music are very much psych/glam/art/prog rock, his later albums are exquisite ambient experiments. Many people consider "Another Green World" to be an important transitory album from the early music to the later ambient sounds. While it's absolutely NOT ambient music yet, I can see how it is a transitional phase. Mostly this is noticeable in the great synthesizer sounds and recording techniques that Eno was experimenting with in the context of rock songs. The closest thing to ambient in my opinion is the track "The Big Ship", which no one else seems to talk about much...

Eno is a great figure of experimental 70's music, working with the likes of John Cale, Robert Fripp, Percy Jones, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Holger Czukay, Harold Budd, Cluster, Daniel Lanois, etc... he had a great influence on all sorts of bands from King Crimson to Matching Mole to Gong, and even today bands like Stars of the Lid, Tim Hecker, Moby, and Aphex Twin wouldn't be doing what they are if they hadn't absorbed Brian Eno's ambient works. He also produced albums for many bands, including Roxy Music, Talking Heads, and U2.

"Eno first emerged as a member of Roxy Music, where the synthesizer player electronically "treated" the band's other instruments, the first indicator that the recording process was itself Eno's chosen instrument. His subsequent career has been one of the most provocative in pop, for not only did he devote himself to such obscure pursuits as "ambient music," but he produced vital albums by David Bowie, Talking Heads, and U2. Eno made a handful of relatively conventional pop albums in the 1970s, and Another Green World ranks with Before and After Science as his most enduring solo work. Another Green World finds Eno mixing distorted guitars (courtesy of Robert Fripp) with a variety of keyboards and exotic rhythms to create a meditative wash of sound that is nonetheless awash with colorful touches. Particularly appealing is the bubbling "St. Elmo's Fire," with a stunning guitar part by Fripp, and "I'll Come Running," in which Eno shows that even a dedicated experimentalist can have a soft heart. From the strange-but-true file, Phil Collins contributes drums and percussion to three tracks." --John Milward

"This 1975 recording catches the ex-Roxy Music member in transition between art rock and his more progressive-ambient recordings. With an all-star cast including drummer Phil Collins, guitarist Robert Fripp, and John Cale on viola, Another Green World explores instrumental landscapes and aural textures not normally associated with rock recordings. Drawing on musical influences ranging from Weather Report to La Monte Young and Terry Riley, Brian Eno created layers of quirky sonic atmospheres and electronic tone poems. Using synthesizers, artificial percussion devices, and additional electronic accouterments, he found that the studio itself could become a useful instrument of creativity. Compositions like "Becalmed," "Sombre Reptiles," and the title cut all anticipate Eno's later ambient excursions. One of the many utterly essential Brian Eno albums." --Mitch Myers

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