Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)
Encyclopedia
Taking Tiger Mountain is the second solo album by Brian Eno
. Produced by Eno, it was originally released by Island Records
in November 1974 in a gatefold
sleeve. Unlike his previous album Here Come the Warm Jets
, Eno used a core band of five instrumentalists (keyboards, guitars, bass, drums, and percussion) and used fewer guest musicians. During the same period, Eno was producing Robert Calvert
's album Lucky Leif and the Longships
. The majority of the players on Taking Tiger Mountain were also involved in that project Also participating was guitarist and co-writer Phil Manzanera
, who had played with Eno in Roxy Music
. To help guide production of the album, Eno and Peter Schmidt developed instruction cards called Oblique Strategies
to use through the creative process of the album.
Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) is a loose concept album with topics ranging from espionage to the Chinese Communist revolution. The album's music has an upbeat and bouncy sound but with dark lyrical themes. The album did not chart in the United Kingdom
or United States
, but received greater attention from the rock press. It was re-issued on compact disc in 1990 by Island Records, and again in a remastered version in 2004 by Virgin Records
. The album has received critical attention, with varying opinions on its style and quality compared to Here Come the Warm Jets.
revolutionary opera, titled Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy
. Eno described his understanding of the title as referring to "the dichotomy between the archaic and the progressive. Half Taking Tiger Mountain – that Middle Ages physical feel of storming a military position – and half (By Strategy) – that very, very 20th-century mental concept of a tactical interaction of systems."
To further explore the possibilities of the studio setting, Eno and his friend Peter Schmidt developed a type of instruction cards, Oblique Strategies
. During recording of the album, he would allow the cards to dictate the next unconsidered action in the recording process. Describing the words on the album as an expression of "idiot glee", Eno and Schmidt eventually expanded the Oblique Strategies set to over 100 "worthwhile dilemas", which would be used in nearly all his future recordings and productions. Schmidt also designed the album cover, which consists of four prints from an edition of fifteen hundred of his unique lithographs, as well as Polaroids
of Eno, credited on the album sleeve to Lorenz Zatecky.
Phil Manzanera
, Eno's former band mate in Roxy Music
, spoke positively about the recording experience. Manzanera described the recording of the album as the following:
Unlike Eno's previous album Here Come the Warm Jets
, Eno worked with a core group of musicians on the album. The group consisted of Manzanera of Roxy Music, Brian Turrington and Freddie Smith of The Winkies
, and former Soft Machine
vocalist Robert Wyatt
. Several guest musicians also played on select songs on the album. These included Andy Mackay of Roxy Music, and the Portsmouth Sinfonia
, an orchestra in which Eno had once played clarinet
. The orchestra's philosophy allowed anybody to join as long as that person had no experience with the instrument to be played in the orchestra. For guest drummer
Phil Collins
, Eno called in a favor from Collins' group Genesis
. After Eno had aided with production on Genesis' album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
, Genesis front man Peter Gabriel
asked how they could repay Eno. Eno looked at Phil Collins
stating that he needed a drummer. Collins played drums on "Mother Whale Eyeless" as repayment.
References to China
appear in the album's songs, including in "Burning Airlines Give You So Much More", "China My China" and "Taking Tiger Mountain". Steve Huey of Allmusic described these combined themes as a loose concept album
that is "often inscrutable, but still playful -- about espionage
, the Chinese Communist revolution, and dream associations." On the political theme within the lyrics and album title, Eno explained that he is "not Maoist or anything like that; if anything I'm anti-Maoist". The album addresses several different esoteric topics. "Burning Airlines Give You So Much More" is inspired by a 1974 crash
near Paris of a Turkish Airlines
DC-10, one of the worst air crashes in history. "The Fat Lady of Limbourg", described by Eno as a "Burroughs
-type song" about an asylum in Limbourg
, Belgium
where the residents of it outnumber the population of the town. "The Great Pretender" describes the rape
of a suburban house wife by a crazed machine. "Third Uncle" has been referred to as an early predecessor to punk
music.
, the album received a mostly very positive reception from critics. Writing for the Village Voice, Robert Christgau
gave the album a rating of A-, saying, "Every cut on this clear, consistent, elusive album affords distinct present pleasure. Admittedly, when they're over they're over--you don't flash on them the way you do on "Cindy Tells Me" and "Baby's on Fire
." But that's just his way of being modest." Wayne Robbins of Creem
lauded Eno for the way he "grafts seemingly disparate elements in any way that might be useful to his flow". Robbins explained, "It sounds like it might be pretentious; it's not, because Eno is comfortable with those pretensions"; he concluded that "a man who can write songs like 'Burning Airlines Give You So Much More', has seen the future, and the future is a sonic Disney named Eno, who makes music you can live with". Circus
magazine described the album as "Sick! Sick! Sick! But, oh-h-h, it feels so good! ... guaranteed to be put on the 'Most Wanted' list by psychopaths everywhere ... [Eno] takes you on a dada
-ists tour-de-force, lampooning and integrating every type of music conceivable". Critic Ed Naha
, writing in Crawdaddy!
, gave the album a negative review, saying, "Much of the Wonderlandish magic found on Eno’s first LP is lost on this rocky terrain, being replaced by a dull,
repetitive aura that is annoying as all hell." In 1975, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) was voted one of the best albums of the year in the Village Voices Pazz & Jop
critics poll for 1975.
In 2004, Virgin Records
began reissuing Eno's albums in batches of four to five in remastered
digipak
s. Recent assessments of the album have been mostly positive, with Allmusic, Blender
and Uncut
giving the album five stars, their highest ratings.
Allmusic compared the album to Here Come the Warm Jets
stating that it was "not quite as enthusiastic as Here Come the Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain is made accessible through Eno's mastery of pop song structure". Douglas Wolk of Blender had rated it more highly than Here Come the Warm Jets, calling it "more immediately likeable". A less positive review came from Mojo
, which gave the album three out of five stars.
"Special Guests"
Technical personnel
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
. Produced by Eno, it was originally released by Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
in November 1974 in a gatefold
Gatefold
A gatefold is a type of fold used for advertising around a magazine or section, and for packaging of media such as vinyl records.- LP covers :...
sleeve. Unlike his previous album Here Come the Warm Jets
Here Come the Warm Jets
Here Come the Warm Jets is the debut solo album by Brian Eno. Produced by Eno, it was released on Island Records in 1974. The musical style of Here Come the Warm Jets is a hybrid of glam rock and art rock, similar to Eno's previous album work with Roxy Music but with songs that are more quirky and...
, Eno used a core band of five instrumentalists (keyboards, guitars, bass, drums, and percussion) and used fewer guest musicians. During the same period, Eno was producing Robert Calvert
Robert Calvert
Robert Calvert was a writer, poet, and musician.-Biography:Born Robert Newton Calvert in Pretoria, South Africa, Calvert's parents moved to England when he was two years of age and later attended school in London and Margate. He began his career by writing poetry and in 1967 formed a Street...
's album Lucky Leif and the Longships
Lucky Leif and the Longships
Lucky Leif and the Longships is a 1975 record album by Robert Calvert, produced by Brian Eno.It is a concept album dealing with how American culture might have been different had the Vikings managed to colonise the continent...
. The majority of the players on Taking Tiger Mountain were also involved in that project Also participating was guitarist and co-writer Phil Manzanera
Phil Manzanera
Phil Manzanera is a musician and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music. In 2006 Manzanera co-produced David Gilmour's album On An Island and played in Gilmour's band for tours in Europe and North America...
, who had played with Eno in Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
. To help guide production of the album, Eno and Peter Schmidt developed instruction cards called Oblique Strategies
Oblique Strategies
Oblique Strategies is a set of published cards created by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt first published in 1975, and is now in its fifth, open ended, edition...
to use through the creative process of the album.
Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) is a loose concept album with topics ranging from espionage to the Chinese Communist revolution. The album's music has an upbeat and bouncy sound but with dark lyrical themes. The album did not chart in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
or United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, but received greater attention from the rock press. It was re-issued on compact disc in 1990 by Island Records, and again in a remastered version in 2004 by Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
. The album has received critical attention, with varying opinions on its style and quality compared to Here Come the Warm Jets.
Production
The album was inspired by a series of postcards of a ChineseChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
revolutionary opera, titled Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy
Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy
Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy is a Beijing opera, and one of the eight model plays allowed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution...
. Eno described his understanding of the title as referring to "the dichotomy between the archaic and the progressive. Half Taking Tiger Mountain – that Middle Ages physical feel of storming a military position – and half (By Strategy) – that very, very 20th-century mental concept of a tactical interaction of systems."
To further explore the possibilities of the studio setting, Eno and his friend Peter Schmidt developed a type of instruction cards, Oblique Strategies
Oblique Strategies
Oblique Strategies is a set of published cards created by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt first published in 1975, and is now in its fifth, open ended, edition...
. During recording of the album, he would allow the cards to dictate the next unconsidered action in the recording process. Describing the words on the album as an expression of "idiot glee", Eno and Schmidt eventually expanded the Oblique Strategies set to over 100 "worthwhile dilemas", which would be used in nearly all his future recordings and productions. Schmidt also designed the album cover, which consists of four prints from an edition of fifteen hundred of his unique lithographs, as well as Polaroids
Instant camera
The instant camera is a type of camera that generates a developed film image. The most popular types to use self-developing film were formerly made by Polaroid Corporation....
of Eno, credited on the album sleeve to Lorenz Zatecky.
Phil Manzanera
Phil Manzanera
Phil Manzanera is a musician and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music. In 2006 Manzanera co-produced David Gilmour's album On An Island and played in Gilmour's band for tours in Europe and North America...
, Eno's former band mate in Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
, spoke positively about the recording experience. Manzanera described the recording of the album as the following:
...just doing anything we felt like doing at the time. The engineer we used, Rhett DaviesRhett DaviesRhett Davies is an English record producer and engineer.Rhett Davies' father was trumpet player Ray Davies; they are no relation to Ray Davies of The Kinks. Davies became a studio engineer at Island Records studios in the early 1970s, and his first session was the recording process for Brian Eno's...
, also did Diamond Head and 801 Live801 Live801 Live is the debut live album by 801, released in November 1976. In 1976, while Roxy Music had temporarily disbanded, 801 got together as a temporary project and began rehearsing at Island Studios, Hammersmith, about three weeks before their first gig....
and Quiet Sun, so it was like family. There was a lot of experimenting and a lot of hours spent with Brian Eno, me, and Rhett in the control room doing all the things that eventually evolved into those cards, the Oblique StrategiesOblique StrategiesOblique Strategies is a set of published cards created by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt first published in 1975, and is now in its fifth, open ended, edition...
, and it was just a lot of fun.
Unlike Eno's previous album Here Come the Warm Jets
Here Come the Warm Jets
Here Come the Warm Jets is the debut solo album by Brian Eno. Produced by Eno, it was released on Island Records in 1974. The musical style of Here Come the Warm Jets is a hybrid of glam rock and art rock, similar to Eno's previous album work with Roxy Music but with songs that are more quirky and...
, Eno worked with a core group of musicians on the album. The group consisted of Manzanera of Roxy Music, Brian Turrington and Freddie Smith of The Winkies
The Winkies
The Winkies were an English pub rock group. During their career, the group primarily consisted of Philip Rambow, Michael Desmarais, Guy Humphreys, and Brian Turrington.-Biography:...
, and former Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
vocalist Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
. Several guest musicians also played on select songs on the album. These included Andy Mackay of Roxy Music, and the Portsmouth Sinfonia
Portsmouth Sinfonia
The Portsmouth Sinfonia was an orchestra founded by a group of students at the Portsmouth School of Art in Portsmouth, England, in 1970. The Sinfonia had an unusual entrance requirement, in that players had to either be non-musicians, or if a musician, play an instrument that was entirely new to...
, an orchestra in which Eno had once played clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
. The orchestra's philosophy allowed anybody to join as long as that person had no experience with the instrument to be played in the orchestra. For guest drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
, Eno called in a favor from Collins' group Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
. After Eno had aided with production on Genesis' album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
The Lamb Lies down on Broadway
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is a double concept album recorded and released in 1974 by the British rock band Genesis. It was their sixth studio album and the last album by the group to feature the involvement of lead singer Peter Gabriel.-Premise:...
, Genesis front man Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
asked how they could repay Eno. Eno looked at Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
stating that he needed a drummer. Collins played drums on "Mother Whale Eyeless" as repayment.
Style
Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)'s sound has been described as more upbeat and bouncy than Eno's previous solo album while the lyrics have darker themes and subject matter. The lyrics of the album have been described as "remarkably literate and often humorous" with "quick fire rhymes, oddball couplets, abrupt demands, and ruthless statements". To create the lyrics, Eno later played these backing tracks, singing nonsense syllables to himself, then forming them into actual words, phrases and meanings. This lyric-writing method was used for all his more vocal-based recordings of the 1970s.References to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
appear in the album's songs, including in "Burning Airlines Give You So Much More", "China My China" and "Taking Tiger Mountain". Steve Huey of Allmusic described these combined themes as a loose concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
that is "often inscrutable, but still playful -- about espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
, the Chinese Communist revolution, and dream associations." On the political theme within the lyrics and album title, Eno explained that he is "not Maoist or anything like that; if anything I'm anti-Maoist". The album addresses several different esoteric topics. "Burning Airlines Give You So Much More" is inspired by a 1974 crash
Turkish Airlines Flight 981
Turkish Airlines Flight 981 was a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, registered TC-JAV and named the Ankara, that crashed in Fontaine-Chaalis, Oise, France, outside Senlis, on 3 March 1974...
near Paris of a Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey, headquartered in the Turkish Airlines General Management Building on the grounds of Atatürk Airport in Yeşilköy, Bakirköy district, Istanbul...
DC-10, one of the worst air crashes in history. "The Fat Lady of Limbourg", described by Eno as a "Burroughs
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
-type song" about an asylum in Limbourg
Limbourg
Limbourg is a medieval town located in the province of Liège, Wallonia, Belgium.On 1 January 2008 Limbourg had a total population of 5,680. The total area is 24.63 km² which gives a population density of 231 inhabitants per km²...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
where the residents of it outnumber the population of the town. "The Great Pretender" describes the rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
of a suburban house wife by a crazed machine. "Third Uncle" has been referred to as an early predecessor to punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
music.
Release and reception
No singles were released from the album and it failed to chart in either the United Kingdom or the United States. Like Eno's previous album, Here Come the Warm JetsHere Come the Warm Jets
Here Come the Warm Jets is the debut solo album by Brian Eno. Produced by Eno, it was released on Island Records in 1974. The musical style of Here Come the Warm Jets is a hybrid of glam rock and art rock, similar to Eno's previous album work with Roxy Music but with songs that are more quirky and...
, the album received a mostly very positive reception from critics. Writing for the Village Voice, Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
gave the album a rating of A-, saying, "Every cut on this clear, consistent, elusive album affords distinct present pleasure. Admittedly, when they're over they're over--you don't flash on them the way you do on "Cindy Tells Me" and "Baby's on Fire
Baby's on Fire
"Baby's on Fire" is the third track on English musician Brian Eno's 1973 debut album, Here Come the Warm Jets. It is an example of the predominantly glam/art rock style Eno employed at the time, praised for its guitar solo by King Crimson founder Robert Fripp.-Writing and recording:Eno recorded...
." But that's just his way of being modest." Wayne Robbins of Creem
Creem
Creem , "America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine," was a monthly rock 'n' roll publication first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. It suspended production in 1989 but received a short-lived renaissance in the early 1990s as a glossy tabloid...
lauded Eno for the way he "grafts seemingly disparate elements in any way that might be useful to his flow". Robbins explained, "It sounds like it might be pretentious; it's not, because Eno is comfortable with those pretensions"; he concluded that "a man who can write songs like 'Burning Airlines Give You So Much More', has seen the future, and the future is a sonic Disney named Eno, who makes music you can live with". Circus
Circus (magazine)
Circus was a monthly American magazine devoted to rock music. It was published from 1966 to 2006. In its heyday the magazine had a full-time editorial staff that included some of the biggest names in rock journalism, including Paul Nelson, David Fricke, and Kurt Loder, and rivaled Rolling Stone in...
magazine described the album as "Sick! Sick! Sick! But, oh-h-h, it feels so good! ... guaranteed to be put on the 'Most Wanted' list by psychopaths everywhere ... [Eno] takes you on a dada
Dada
Dada or Dadaism is a cultural movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland, during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1922. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature—poetry, art manifestoes, art theory—theatre, and graphic design, and concentrated its anti-war politics through a...
-ists tour-de-force, lampooning and integrating every type of music conceivable". Critic Ed Naha
Ed Naha
Ed Naha is an American science fiction and mystery writer and producer. He was born June 10, 1950 in the town of Linden, New Jersey. His first known publication was artwork that appeared in the first issue of Modern Monsters magazine, dated June 1966....
, writing in Crawdaddy!
Crawdaddy!
Crawdaddy! was the first U.S. magazine of rock and roll music criticism. Created in 1966 by college student Paul Williams in response to the increasing sophistication and cultural influence of popular music, Crawdaddy! was self-described as "the first magazine to take rock and roll...
, gave the album a negative review, saying, "Much of the Wonderlandish magic found on Eno’s first LP is lost on this rocky terrain, being replaced by a dull,
repetitive aura that is annoying as all hell." In 1975, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) was voted one of the best albums of the year in the Village Voices Pazz & Jop
Pazz & Jop
The Pazz & Jop critics' poll is a poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. It is compiled every year from the top ten lists of hundreds of music critics...
critics poll for 1975.
In 2004, Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
began reissuing Eno's albums in batches of four to five in remastered
Audio mastering
Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
digipak
Digipak
Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:...
s. Recent assessments of the album have been mostly positive, with Allmusic, Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
and Uncut
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
giving the album five stars, their highest ratings.
Allmusic compared the album to Here Come the Warm Jets
Here Come the Warm Jets
Here Come the Warm Jets is the debut solo album by Brian Eno. Produced by Eno, it was released on Island Records in 1974. The musical style of Here Come the Warm Jets is a hybrid of glam rock and art rock, similar to Eno's previous album work with Roxy Music but with songs that are more quirky and...
stating that it was "not quite as enthusiastic as Here Come the Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain is made accessible through Eno's mastery of pop song structure". Douglas Wolk of Blender had rated it more highly than Here Come the Warm Jets, calling it "more immediately likeable". A less positive review came from Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
, which gave the album three out of five stars.
Track listing
Personnel
- Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, electronics, snake guitar, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Phil ManzaneraPhil ManzaneraPhil Manzanera is a musician and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music. In 2006 Manzanera co-produced David Gilmour's album On An Island and played in Gilmour's band for tours in Europe and North America...
– guitarsElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Brian Turrington – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Freddie Smith – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Robert WyattRobert WyattRobert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
– percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, backing vocals
"Special Guests"
- Portsmouth SinfoniaPortsmouth SinfoniaThe Portsmouth Sinfonia was an orchestra founded by a group of students at the Portsmouth School of Art in Portsmouth, England, in 1970. The Sinfonia had an unusual entrance requirement, in that players had to either be non-musicians, or if a musician, play an instrument that was entirely new to...
– strings on "Put a Straw Under Baby" - Randi and the Pyramids – chorus on "The True Wheel"
- The Simplistics – chorus on "Back in Judy's Jungle" and "Taking Tiger Mountain"
- Andy MacKayAndy MackayAndrew "Andy" Mackay is an English multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founder member of the art-rock group Roxy Music....
– brass on "The Fat Lady of Limbourg" - Phil CollinsPhil CollinsPhilip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
– extra drums on "Mother Whale Eyeless" - Polly Eltes – vocals on "Mother Whale Eyeless"
- Peter Schmidt - Oblique Strategies (with Brian Eno) and album cover art
Technical personnel
- Rhett DaviesRhett DaviesRhett Davies is an English record producer and engineer.Rhett Davies' father was trumpet player Ray Davies; they are no relation to Ray Davies of The Kinks. Davies became a studio engineer at Island Records studios in the early 1970s, and his first session was the recording process for Brian Eno's...
– engineer - Robert Ash – assistant engineer
- Nicholas Pearson – special aide
- Bill Kelsey – special equipment
- Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
– arrangement, producer - Phil ManzaneraPhil ManzaneraPhil Manzanera is a musician and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music. In 2006 Manzanera co-produced David Gilmour's album On An Island and played in Gilmour's band for tours in Europe and North America...
– arrangement, assistant producer
External links
- Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) at Discogs
- Taking Tiger Mountain postcards
- Brian Eno - "Early Works" reissues at AstralwerksAstralwerksAstralwerks is a New York-based record label that releases primarily electronic music. It is owned by Virgin Records/EMI and distributed by Caroline Distribution in the United States....