Brian Eno - Nerve Net

For the record, Nerve Net was not Brian Eno's first attempt at rock & roll. Not counting his time with Roxy Music, he also made several solo albums in the 1970s that were clearly intended as approaches to pop music -- they were sideways approaches, of course, shaped by the intellectual distance he has always kept between himself and the music that arises from the forces that he puts into motion, and they were far from unqualified successes. But this is his most rocking solo album in years, and also his funkiest. That's not say it's either funky or rock & roll, but it does manage to be lots of fun in a slightly inhuman, claustrophobically funky sort of way. The list of participants includes several of the usual suspects (Robert Fripp, Robert Quine, Roger Eno), as well as a few surprises (Benmont Tench, John Paul Jones) and a raft of unknowns. The sound, which doesn't vary much from track to track, is compressed and dense, with lots of heavily treated and synthesized percussion. On "What Actually Happened," for example, drummer Richard Bailey plays a distinctly organic funk part through what sounds like a battery of effects, while a bassist and guitarist do indistinguishable things and Eno messes around with everything and throws in samples. "Juju Space Jazz" features both Quine and Fripp (the latter credited with "early '50s club guitar") as well as Eno playing such instruments as "African organ" and "tenor fax" (har har). Overall, this album is quite fun but nothing to get too awfully excited about. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide

Name Credits Alice Ngukwe Sax (Tenor) Andy Baker Assistant Engineer Andy Pendleton Assistant Engineer Anita Patel Voices, Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part Arun Chakraverty Mastering Ben Fenner Engineer Benmont Tench Percussion Brian Eno Synthesizer, Animal Sounds, ?, Arabesque, Bass, Producer, Voices, Organ, Artwork, Vocals, Mixing, Treatments, Multi Instruments, Sax (Tenor), Piano, Design, Cover Design, Guitar, Keyboards Cecil Stamper III Drums Charles Steel Assistant Engineer Chris Fuhrman Engineer Christine West-Oram Vocals Curtis Pelican Trumpet Duchess Nell Catchpole Voices, Vocals Gareth Cousins Assistant Engineer Greg Jakobek Design, Artwork Gregg Arreguin Guitar Ian Dench Drum Loop Isaac Osapanin Conga Jamie West-Oram Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm) John May Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part, Voices John Moorby Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part, Voices John Paul Jones Piano Lee Phillips Assistant Engineer Markus Dravs ?, Engineer, Drums, Treatments, Drum Programming, Mixing, Producer Nick White Photography Paul Mortimer Assistant Engineer Peter Anderson Photography Peter Bech Sorensen Photography Richard Bailey Drums Robert Ahwai ?, Guitar Robert Fripp Guitar Robert Quine Guitar (Rhythm), Guitar Roderick Melvin Piano Roger Eno Sampling, Piano Romeo Williams Bass Sid Wells Engineer Sugarfoot Moffett Drums Sunita Patel Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part, Voices Wayne Duchamp Sax (Alto) Winston Ngukwe Conga Yogish Patel Voices, Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part