Music for Films  

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Music for Films (1978) is one of Brian Eno's ambient albums. It is a conceptual work intended as a soundtrack for imaginary films.

Contents

Overview

Originally released as a limited-edition (500 copies) LP in 1976 which was sent to a selection of filmmakers for possible inclusion in their work 1, the commercial Music for Films release was expanded to include a number of pieces for, as Eno put it, "possible use as soundtracks to ‘imaginary’ films". In fact, excerpts from the album (particularly, "Sparrowfall 1") did appear in at least one movie, John Woo's A Better Tomorrow.

The album is a loose compilation of material from the period 1975 to 1978, composed of short tracks ranging from one-and-a-half minutes to just over four, making it the antithesis of the long, sprawling, ambient pieces he later became known for.

Unlike Eno’s later ambient works, Music for Films utilizes a broader sonic palette, with Eno’s synthesizers and "found sounds" being supplemented by standard studio instrumentation played by other musicians (see Credits).

Two further Film albums were released : More Music for Films, in 1983 (reissued/expanded in 2005) and Music for Films, Volume 3 in 1988.

Different Versions

The album has manifested in several forms, featuring different track-listings and track-times.

  • 1 : Promotional LP, 1976 (the Director's Edition), issued in a limited number of 500 copies. There are two versions :
    • A Test pressing with 25 tracks (where the titles are not given).
    • Official release with 27 tracks. Many of those tracks were taken from Another Green World or appeared later on the official 1978 issue of MfF. Essentially all of the 'unreleased' tracks are available on the Music For Fans, Vol. 1 bootleg and - rather more officially - on the Eno Instrumental Box Set.
  • 2 : Original 1978 Release.
  • 3 : Editions EG reissue. The tracks were rearranged into what Eno felt was a more satisfactory sequence. This is now the "standard" issue. (Note : the cassette version of the Editions EG reissue used the track order from the original 1978 version.)

"Dark Waters" appears on other records as "Slow Water"

Track listing

Editions EG Reissue

  1. "Aragon" (Eno) – 1:37, Performed by: Eno, Percy Jones, Phil Collins
  2. "From the Same Hill" (Eno) – 3:00
  3. "Inland Sea" (Eno) – 1:24
  4. "Two Rapid Formations" (Eno) – 3:23, Performed by: Eno, Bill MacCormick, Dave Mattacks, John Cale
  5. "Slow Water" (Eno) – 3:16, Performed by: Eno, Robert Fripp
  6. "Sparrowfall (1)" (Eno) – 1:10
  7. "Sparrowfall (2)" (Eno) – 1:43
  8. "Sparrowfall (3)" (Eno) – 1:23
  9. "Alternative 3" (Eno) – 3:15
  10. "Quartz" (Eno) – 2:02
  11. "Events in Dense Fog" (Eno) – 3:43
  12. "There Is Nobody" (Eno) – 1:43
  13. "Patrolling Wire Borders" (Eno) – 1:42, Performed by: Eno, Paul Rudolph, Phil Collins
  14. "A Measured Room" (Eno) – 1:05, Performed by: Eno, Percy Jones
  15. "Task Force" (Eno) – 1:22
  16. "M386" (Eno) – 2:50, Performed by: Eno, Percy Jones, Phil Collins, Paul Rudolph
  17. "Strange Light" (Eno, Frith) – 2:09, Performed by: Eno, Fred Frith, Rhett Davies
  18. "Final Sunset" (Eno) – 4:13

Original 1978 Release

  1. M386
  2. "Aragon"
  3. "From the Same Hill"
  4. "Inland Sea"
  5. "Two Rapid Formations"
  6. "Slow Water"
  7. "Sparrowfall (1)"
  8. "Sparrowfall (2)"
  9. "Sparrowfall (3)"
  10. "Quartz"
  11. "Events in Dense Fog"
  12. "There Is Nobody"
  13. "A Measured Room"
  14. "Patrolling Wire Borders"
  15. "Task Force"
  16. "Alternative 3"
  17. "Strange Light"
  18. "Final Sunset"

Limited-Edition 1976 Promo Issue

  1. Becalmed
  2. Deep Waters
  3. 'There Is Nobody'
  4. Spain
  5. Untitled
  6. The Last Door
  7. Chemin De Fer
  8. Dark Waters
  9. Sparrowfall (1)
  10. Sparrowfall (2)
  11. Sparrowfall (3)
  12. Evening Star
  13. Another Green World
  14. In Dark Trees
  15. Fuseli
  16. Melancholy Waltz
  17. Northern Lights
  18. From The Coast
  19. Shell
  20. Little Fishes
  21. Empty Landscape
  22. Reactor
  23. The Secret
  24. Don't Look Back
  25. Marseilles
  26. Final Sunset
  27. Juliet

Personnel




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Music for Films" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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