I remember quite well when this record first came out. I was still working at the now defunct-but-still-dearly-missed Tower Records on 4th street. I was only just discovering some of his records ('Music For Airports' series, 'Here Come The Warm Jets') and was curious to hear what this record sounded like.
My manager at the time, Jim, laid on the hype pretty thick, recalling that this is the first record Eno had recorded vocals for in (25 years?). We managed to get a few promotional copies on release day. Jim attempted to play it that Tuesday in store, however once it started playing it became pretty much inaudible (maybe that was the point?) over the noise of customers making their selections on New Release Tuesday.
Even as background music, it really struck me. Jim passed me one of the promotional copies and it soon fell into my regular record rotation for a few weeks. Then after that, I kinda forgot about it.
Not long ago I had that unusual nag in the back of my head urging me to listen to this record again. I was devastated when I discovered this record wasn't available on streaming services (well, at least Beats)*. Fustrated, I had to go dig up my iPod Classic (gasps!) and listen to this immediately.
The record has a calming but sometimes jarring feeling hanging over it. It makes you feel comfortable, but sometimes vulnerable all in the same space.
Well worth a listen if you're into Eno, or ambient music in general.
Key Tracks: "This", "And Then So Clear", "Just Another Day", "Under"
*Currently this record is out of print, but can be found on Amazon for a reasonable price.