I think one of the strangest things about Here Come The Warm Jets was that the music was always upbeat and bouncy, but the lyrics were more often than not pretty dark. That being said, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) follows both sonically and lyrically after Brian Eno's debut earlier that same year, but does have a more melancholy and experimental side to it this time. Eno's goofy-yet-endearing vocals are backed this time by a full rock ensemble, and it shows, as the instrumentation here outdoes Warm Jets pretty handily. He loses some of his catchy hooks from his debut, though, but that doesn't mean the album is not memorable for other reasons. Enter the classic title-track, which would serve to show what was in store for the rest of Eno's career, as well as being one of the best songs he's ever written. All this said, Taking Tiger Mountain is an excellent follow up to his debut, and shouldn't be missed by fans of art rock.
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