Before and After Science

by Brian Eno

Type: Album
Released: December 1977
Label: Island, Polydor
Country: United Kingdom
Length: 39:36
Community rating: 4.26/5 from 18 ratings

Album Notes & Community Reviews

'Before and After Science' is structured as an album of two distinct halves, moving from energetic, rhythm-focused art-rock on its first side to pensive and atmospheric pieces on its second. Produced over two years with a host of guest musicians from German and British groups, the record showcases Eno's meticulous studio craft and a "sound-over-sense" lyrical approach influenced by Kurt Schwitters. This work marked Eno's final pop-oriented solo album of the decade, presaging his deeper explorations into ambient music and containing the track "King's Lead Hat," an anagram for the band Talking Heads.

Genres

Descriptors: experimental, elegant, literate, ambient, idiosyncratic, atmospheric, melodic, piano

Tracklist

Credits

Brian Eno - producer, cover design, vocals, guitar, synths (minimoog, ems synthi, aks, yamaha cs-80), piano, brass, synth percussion, vibes
Robert Wyatt - brush timbales, time
Fred Frith - modified guitar, cascade guitars
Phil Manzanera - rhythm guitar, guitar
Paul Rudolph - bass, rhythm guitar, harmonic bass
Andy Fraser - drums
Dave Mattacks - drums
Jaki Liebezeit - drums
Dieter Moebius - bass fender piano
Hans-Joachim Roedelius - grand piano, electric piano
Percy Jones - fretless bass, analogue delay bass
Phil Collins - drums
Robert Fripp - guitar solo
Bill MacCormick - bass
Brian Turrington - bass
Kurt Schwitters - voice sample (from ursonate)
Rhett Davies - producer, audio engineer, agong-gong, stick
Conny Plank - engineer
Dave Hutchins - engineer
Cream - cover artwork
Ritva Saarikko - cover photograph
Peter Schmidt - art prints, water colours