Amazon.co.uk Review
Released in 1982,
On Land is Eno's most mature, perfect ambient work. Combining low, rumbling synths with eerie banging and clanking and the occasional wild-animal chirp or grumble, this recording places the listener alone, in the midst of a massive piece of sonic landscaping. And Eno has left no detail to chance. In fact, the work is so complete that when Eno suggests a windswept plain, the listener gets a chill. When trumpeter Jon Hassell bays with a softly disturbing imitation of a wounded beast, the first instinct is to scan the horizon for its glinting eyes. So subtle, intuitive, and well paced is this recording that as it slips quietly from the speakers and into every corner of the listening room, it transforms the space into a gently pulsing sound environment that seems strangely out of time and away from everything. It's a place you'll be drawn to time and time again. An ageless masterwork. --
S. Duda
CD Description
Unlike most of Brian Eno's conceptually unified ambient projects, AMBIENT 4: ON LAND is something of a patchwork. Recorded in six studios between 1978 and 1982, the eight pieces--ranging between three to nine minutes in length--are a curious mixture of solo works for treated instruments and full-fledged collaborations. "Lizard Point" is the most interesting, with the synthesizer, bass, and guitar of Material's Michael Beinhorn, Bill Laswell, and Axel Gros providing a denser and more varied musical backing than most of Eno's ambient works. "Shadow", a duet with trumpeter Jon Hassell, introduces a world music element similar to their FOURTH WORLD ONE: POSSIBLE MUSICS duet album, and "Dunwich Beach, Autumn 1960" introduces guitarist Michael Brook and multi-instrumentalist/co-producer Daniel Lanois, who became one of Eno's most valuable collaborators throughout the '80s. The solo pieces refine ideas first explored on earlier ambient works, though with greater subtlety and increased tonal colour.
