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| | The Pearl | | | Music Artist : | | Brian Eno | | Music Style : | | Experimental Rock | | Record Label : | | Astralwerks | | Release Date : | | 2005-10-04 | | Store Price : | | $11.94 | | Artistopia's Price: $11.94 | | Usually ships in 24 hours | | |
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CD Tracks/Songs
Disc 11. Late October
2. Stream with Bright Fish
3. Silver Ball
4. Against the Sky
5. Lost in the Humming Air
6. Dark-Eyed Sister
7. Their Memories
8. Pearl
9. Foreshadowed
10. Echo of Night
11. Still Return
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Other Artist Albums
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Customer Reviews of This Album/CD |
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 The Precious Pearl
Submitted on: 2009-03-14 |
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| I have several other Brian Eno albums, and this one fits right in with the rest. It is a beauty to behold. It is really relaxing and conjures imagery in your mind's eye. It tells a story, and you can tag along to see the story unfold. What you perceive is largely determined by your mindset at the time when you listen to it. If you are stressed out, it most certainly will calm you down. If you are already calm, you may reach a meditative state. This music is probably best listened to with headphones while lying down in the dark, when you don't have anything on your agenda for the rest of the day. Play it in the day and it might make you sleepy, which you might want to avoid if you have things to do. It's gentle, yet powerful. You're going to feel something pleasant from it, for sure. |
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Just dreamy
Submitted on: 2008-12-19 |
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I love to listen to this CD at night, when I need to decompress. But this CD is really lovely to listen to. I understand that the music is mostly Budd's, but I have known about Brian Eno since the early 80s, when one of his pieces was used as the intro music for John Schaefer's WNYC radio program "New Sounds." I have to say that Eno's partnership with Budd here makes for richer music. Sorry, Eno-fans! But I'm just pretty new to this style of music. I'll probably change my mind next week :)
But the music on this CD is absolutely dreamy, but subtly engaging at the same time, without clamoring for attention - my mind just follows it without worrying about where it's going. It seems to know.
In other words, it's not typical New Age garbage. (I was a massage therapist in my younger days, and I already KNOW what THAT sounds like!)
I just lie back, listen and bliss out. This is what I call organic music. |
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 Background music, not for listening to.
Submitted on: 2008-11-21 |
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I was playing my favorite Mike Oldfield album for my brother, and he said it sounded like Brian Eno, and I said I've never heard anything by him. So I read most of the reviews here about how excellent this album is and decided to make this my first Brian Eno purchase.
Boy was I disappointed. Admittedly I've only heard the album through once (I forced myself), but I found it totally lacking in musical ideas. It is background mood music when you don't really want to listen to the music but just have its ambience felt. There is no rhythm -- just sound.
If you want good alternative music to listen to, get ANY Mike Oldfield album. I suggest "Music of the Spheres", "Tubular Bells 2", or "Amarok". |
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Another fantastic group effort from two of ambient's greatest artists
Submitted on: 2008-11-04 |
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My favorite member of Brian Eno's ambient series has always been Ambient 2. Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror is an utterly beautiful record that showcases the brilliant talent of two already seminal artists. Released in 1980, the record came at a time when both Budd and Eno were pioneering ambient methodology. Harold Budd is one of the twentieth century's most recognizable pianists, not through technical skill but his distinctive minimalist style. Brian Eno always innovates at every step of his career, and he excels in producing just as much as music making. In Ambient 2, the dream team was assembled and an album of airy, minimalistic beauty was crafted. Ambient 2 is an album that carries a shocking amount of emotion with very little sound. Only simple, delicate piano chords are in the music, permeated by Eno's excellent production. Ambient 2 really is the best ambient album of it's kind. It's the kind of album that is engaging when you want it to be, and discreet when you want it to be in the background. You can have just as much fun listening carefully as falling asleep on your couch when it is playing.
Four years later, Budd and Eno decided to collaborate again and release an album in the vein of it's predecessor. The Pearl is very similar to Plateaux. Enough so that it could be considered a direct sequel. While Budd has a very distinctive style, Eno has always been about changing and developing his own style, making The Pearl a rare case, something familiar. So if you are not into minimalistic piano music, or ambient music, then this is not for you. But if you liked Ambient 2, then this record is completely triumphant. Ambient 2 left listeners begging for more, and The Pearl delivered the goods, and then some. The Pearl is more delicate, relaxing, better produced, and memorable.
Budd has opted for a more varied approach here. Ambient 2 was essentially full of happy, momentous ambient music that did not challenge the listener much. The Pearl has some vaguely dark moments. In songs such as Dark Eyed-Sister and Foreshadowed, the mood is slightly melancholy and mysterious. This is good because, these moments seem to make the album more realistic and engaging. There are also some songs where Budd makes some of his chords dissonant and even accidental, namely The Silver Ball and The Pearl. When he does this, those chords mixed with the subtlety of the music makes for a kind of mystery that is biting, and yet somehow searches for no resolution in the ears. Even when he hits an odd chord, the music is soft, and there is no shock here. It's that production, though, that cements the bond between the listener and the artists.
The album is better produced than Ambient 2, which already had fantastic production. While Harold Budd's piano sounds very bare and natural on Ambient 2, it sounds more softer, more produced here. His playing is just as strong, but easier on the ears. Eno and accompanying producer David Lanois are just as important as Harold Budd, who is obviously center stage. While Budd is the backbone and the real draw of the music, Eno and Lanois create the atmosphere with a backdrop of ambient sound that makes even the melancholy numbers feel warm and enveloping. This record is truly a safe place to let your mind wander. Always relaxing, even when it is stimulating.
The first time I listened to this album, I was blown away. I can think of very few other albums that I felt the same love for on the first listen, mostly unanimously great records such as Loveless, OK Computer, and maybe Siamese Dream. That's all obvious stuff. I was skeptical about The Pearl and I was completely enthralled from the beginning. Upon turning on the album, it seemed to end far faster than it should have despite it's regular length. And I could not deny that everything I just heard was amazing. Great ambient record. |
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The Beauty of Creation, Nature, Existence.
Submitted on: 2008-07-27 |
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Whenever I listen to "The Pearl", I'm reminded of the beauty in simple things. The beauty of affectionate love, love expressed in small things, the love of small birds, of being alive, of being eternally grateful, the beauty of trees, of a dark summer night, of a walk in the woods in fall.
This album is really priceless. It's far, far beyond any standard new age junk. I was listening to the Drone Zone Radio station when I came across "A Stream With Bright Fish". I downloaded this album and was blown away.
"The Pearl" is Excellent. It's superb functional music for reading, sleeping, crying, praying, kissing, calming frayed nerves, cleaning your house, doing creative work, taking a walk, and loving life in general. It's also just plain great music. Why?
This album brings out the secret beauty that exists, hidden, within everything in your life. It helps you to see the beauty in the details of creation.
If you liked this album, you'll love: "The Plateaux of Mirror", "A Song for Lost Blossoms", two other great Harold Budd albums. |
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