Brian Eno is MORE DARK THAN SHARK

INTERVIEWS, REVIEWS & RELATED ARTICLES

Exclaim! NOVEMBER 21, 2014 - by Daniel Sylvester

JON HASSELL & BRIAN ENO - FOURTH WORLD VOLUME 1: POSSIBLE MUSICS

Even the biggest Eno-heads aren't aware of the importance and legacy of Fourth World Volume 1: Possible Musics. One of three collaborative albums he would release in 1980, Possible Musics would become the main inspiration behind one of Eno's most popular and groundbreaking albums, My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts. Teaming up with American avant-trumpet player John Hassell, Eno melded his ambient sensibilities with Hassell's newly shaped "Fourth World" trumpet styling to create a stunning mixture of future sounds and primitive musical modes.

Over six tracks and forty-five minutes, Hassell lays down rustic beds of brass over Eno's textual terrain that includes hand drums, Michal Brook's guitar and hand claps (the latter recorded at the Art Gallery of Ontario). Rereleased by world music label Glitterbeat, Possible Musics is a straight-up remastered reissue that unfortunately lacks bonus tracks or alternate takes. Nonetheless, it's an album that remains in the pantheon of must-haves in an Eno catalogue brimming with them.