Brian Eno is MORE DARK THAN SHARK

INTERVIEWS, REVIEWS & RELATED ARTICLES

Pitchfork JUNE 23, 2004 - by Scott Plagenhoef

THE TOP 100 ALBUMS OF THE 1970S - #100: BRIAN ENO'S BEFORE AND AFTER SCIENCE

There's no more appropriate way to kick this list off than with a record from Brian Eno, an artist within only a couple of degrees of separation from upwards of one-quarter of this list. Before And After Science, however, could be seen as an odd choice: Not formally groundbreaking, it's frequently overlooked when discussing great albums from an era that's romanticised as placing premiums on progression and innovation - and particularly in the context of Eno's career, which is so full of both. But it's a lovely, charming album from the dadaist jaunt of Backwater to its tranquil second side, whose mood and texture seems to tear a page from Eno's 1977-78 David Bowie Album Construction Playbook, yet rectifies the divide between his pop and ambient impulses.