ARTIST: Harold Budd & Brian Eno
TITLE: Ambient #2: The Plateaux Of Mirror
LABEL: Virgin
GENRE: Ambient
BITRATE: 182kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 39min total
RELEASE DATE: 05 Oct 2004
RIP DATE: 11 Dec 2004
Track List
----------
01. First Light 7:06
02. Steal Away 1:29
03. The Plateaux Of Mirror 4:13
04. Above Chiangmai 2:55
05. An Arc Of Doves 6:29
06. Not Yet Remembered 3:50
07. The Chill Air 2:13
08. Among Fields Of Crystal 3:24
09. Wind In Lonely Fences 3:58
10. Failing Light 4:14
Release Notes:
Digitally Remastered/2004 US Release
"Re-transferred by Simon Heyworth from the original analogue
masters as they are not technically re-EQ'd but transferred
to the digital domain using the best technology currently
available."
The second in Brian Eno's ambient series, The Plateaux of Mirrors fuses the
fragile piano melodies of Harold Budd and the atmospheric electronics of Eno to
create a lovely, evocative work. In sharp contrast to the exaggerated pieces
found on his debut, The Pavilion of Dreams, this record finds Budd delivering
sharp shards of piano notes pregnant with meaning and minimal in the best sense
of the word. Eno's unobtrusive electronics add a resonance and atmosphere that
draw from the ambient textures found on Discreet Music, Music for Films, and
Evening Star. The album's best moments evoke their subject matter efficaciously
and effortlessly; "First Light" creates an audible early morning chill, "An Arc
of Doves" employs flights of Frippertronics, "Not Yet Remembered" seesaws
between sleep and consciousness, and so on. Although neither artist is a
musician in the usual sense of the word ù Budd's piano playing is still somewhat
limited here ù they excel as musical painters. The wisps of synthesizer that
snake through the rattling percussion of "Wind in Lonely Fences," the wistful
melody held at a remote distance in "Among Fields of Crystal," the unbounded
edges of the piano notes on "Above Chiangmai" ù these wash over the listener in
a suffusion of sound. The Plateaux of Mirrors remains a fascinating hybrid (as
are many of Eno's collaborations), reflecting the uniqueness of both composers
in a most flattering light.