Warp V.2.0

Brian Eno - Panic of Looking (2011) {Opal–Warp WAP322CD}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 70 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 39 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 27 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2011 Warp Records / Opal Records | WAP322CD
Ambient / Electronic / Spoken Word / Avant-Garde / Experimental

A six-track EP, Panic of Looking continues the collaboration of producer Brian Eno and poet Rick Holland, with similarly intriguing results as on the earlier Drums Between the Bells. No collection of outtakes or castoffs, the album is just as mesmerizing as the best moments on Drums Between the Bells. As before, Holland provides all the words but very few of the vocals. Meanwhile, Eno provides all of the music and several of the vocals, including the best track (the title song, with gently cascading bells and a precisely ordered voicing of Holland's poem). The music is even more isolationist and spare than Eno/Holland's previous work. In all, it represents a beautiful set of ambience from one of the form's masters.

Chick Corea features an acoustic quartet on this CD, performing a full set of original material. Although the music is tied to a lengthy, complicated, and philosophical fictional piece outlined in great length in the liner notes (which are not really worth bothering with), the performances by the group (which is comprised of Corea on piano, Bob Berg on tenor and soprano, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Gary Novak) are excellent. Berg continues to grow and show individuality beyond the Michael Brecker influence (especially on soprano), the interplay between Corea and Patitucci is as impressive as ever, and Novak is alert to the constantly changing musical events.

Sandwiched between 1984's Top 20 hit Breaking Hearts and 1986's commercial disaster Leather Jackets, 1985's Ice on Fire is a forgotten Elton John effort. While it is hardly a masterpiece – it isn't even up to the standard of such '80s efforts as Too Low for Zero – it's still an enjoyable record, living proof of the power of professionalism…

An anthology boxset that compiles all five volumes of the Stereolab Switched On series: 94 non-album tracks and sought after deep cuts by the groop. Includes the original Switched On compilation LP released in 1992, 1995's Refried Ectoplasm [Switched On Volume 2], 1998’s Aluminum Tunes [Switched On Volume 3], 2021’s Electrically Possessed [Switched On Volume 4], and 2022’s Pulse Of The Early Brain [Switched On Volume 5]. All the tracks have been remastered from the original tapes in recent years, personally overseen by Tim Gane of the band at Calyx in Berlin.