Apollo: Atmosphere & Soundtracks

I cannot imagine not liking this album. It is timeless, gorgeous, eerie, and haunting, almost not there, but definitely there, everywhere, omnipresent in its tone.When I first got this, I put it on for my one-year-old son as he fell asleep, thinking it was peaceful and relaxing. Ten minutes later, I was in his room, and he was sobbing, crying that the music was "too scary," that there were "monsters in it."Then I brought my copy along on a long drive to California, and it turned the southwestern desert into a place of demented terror for me, though--and only people familiar with this album will know what I mean by this--not in a bad way.This music is enfolding, ensconcing, breathtaking. It is ambient, experimental, and not at all New Agey, featuring ambiguous instrumentation...synth that seems unidentifiable, soft bass, quiet slide guitar.... It captures all the wonders of seeing Earth from space, all the terrors of the night, presents sonic eeriness and beauty but leaves room for listeners to project their own notions of beauty and their own fears into its empty spaces.The standout track is almost certainly, "An Ending (Ascent)," which could be played at nearly any funeral and seem perfect for it, and which sounds a lot like the loveliest song of all time dissolving into something that is not a song at all. The whole album kind of feels like that, like some unreal thing wafting half-consciously along the edge between existence and nonexistence, and its ability to transform any scene you behold while you're listening to it is just astounding.In conclusion: GET THIS, GET THIS, GET THIS! AHAHAHAHA!Brian Eno is a genius, and you will not regret it. This is audio peace, audio fear, audio space. Peace and fear? Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself. This is large. It contains multitudes. Get it.

I find "Apollo" to be a perfect active album- it's well suited for astronomy, hiking/backpacking, or simply quiet contemplation. On the other hand, the tunes will relax you, making it useful for falling asleep.I ordered "Apollo" after enjoying  For All Mankind - Criterion Collection , an awe-inspiring documentary about the Apollo missions. I highly recommend that you buy this as a companion piece to this album.My Interpretation of the Soundscapes1. Understars- The sounds of electronic shooting stars set to an aboriginal bass line.2. The Secret Place- Eno takes us into the past- has a primordial sound to it with dinosaur like rumblings.3. Matta- One hears the snort of a Triceratops and the sounds of a forest after a storm.4. Signals- A short, quiet song about the beauty of the Earth below; has a beautiful melancholic feel to it.5. An Ending (Ascent)- Orbiting the Earth at night. Rings both of sadness and hope.6. Understars II- Begins where "Understars" left off; has a more otherworldly feel to it.7. Drift- Approaching the moon from the Earth.8. Silver Morning- Steel guitar song; suggests the contemplation of home on the voyage to the moon.9. Deep Blue Day- A beautiful dream in space; with some countrified guitar echoing in and out.10. Weightless- Suggests the wonder of walking on the Moon.11. Always Returning- A breathtakingly beautiful song. The twinge of sadness of the module pilot as he orbits the dark side of the moon..12. Stars- The crew on their way home from the moon. Space will always be inside of them, and us- who live their experience a thousand times over.

"Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks" is exceptionally beautiful, truly one of Eno's crowning achievements. While more accessible than some of his other ambient work, it is still quite eerie in places. The music seems to glow with a strange otherworldly luminescence."Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks" explores the outer reaches of ambiance during the first four tracks; "Under Stars", "The Secret Place", "Matta" and "Signals". Then it begins to evolve into a suite of gorgeous instrumentals. "Drift" is a haunting keyboard piece that evokes exactly what the title suggests; one can easily imagine planets drifting by under a blanket of stars. The following track "Silver Morning" takes the music to another place entirely; guitars chime in rich harmonics and we can imagine a glorious silver moon rise just overhead. "Deep Blue Day" picks up where "Silver Morning" leaves off. Guitars pluck a whimsical chord progression under a soaring pedal steel melody as synthesizers swirl all around us. It is quite unusual and very refreshing to hear guitars on Eno's ambient work. At points the music is a little reminiscent of Pink Floyd. "Always Returning" and "Stars" bring "Apollo" to an uplifting and heavenly conclusion.If I could only bring two Brian Eno CDs to a desert Island they would be "Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks" and "Music for Airports". IMHO they are his two ambient masterpieces.

Out of all his work, it's "Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks" that still resonates the most with me. I'm not sure why but I think it's because this album is the most spaced out and perhaps the most distinctive of the Eno works I've heard and I've heard quite a bit. I enjoy ambient space music immensely, it's not the right music for every mood but it sure feels perfect at 3 o'clock in the morning, doesn't it? Drifting blissfully through these electronic textures is what it's all about with Eno but whereas in earlier works like "Music for Airports", Eno can reach a severe aura of banality, in "Apollo" the banality is kept at bay and you are very much transported into space.Several of the tracks seem out of place like some country rock mixed with ambient, but the final few selections redeem "Apollo" and bring it up to the finest in Eno's vast discography. Great album, don't miss it if you love ambient.

This is an almost out-of-body listening experience. Beautiful electronica riffs woven into a tapestry of stars. It's easy to let this music just wash over you, but it also invites scrutiny and the discerning ear will find lots going on. Brian Eno's "ambient" music is quite magical, and many have tried to copy his style. His best are, in my opinion, Apollo (Daniel Lanois plays here), Music for Films, and Ambient 1,2 and 4. Essential listening to anyone who likes electronic music.

I have not set out to write reviews of the music content as “beauty is in the ears of the listener”. These reviews are about the quality (or not) of the recorded sound. To read about how the reviews are done please see my profile.This is an “original master series” recording and it shows from the outset that real care has been taken over the sound quality.There is good dynamic range with no trace of compression. The sound stage is expansive with good channel separation.The timbre of the bass sound rumbles and resonates creating a marvelous spacious atmosphere. The high notes are clearly spaced adding to the atmosphere and sense of tension.The sound quality is so evocative that it is easy to imagine that there is a gamelan orchestra in the wings waiting to play.The guitars are clear and sharp to the extent that the strings may be occasionally be heard “squeaking”. Yet again simplicity seems to be the sound theme of this recording. Yet it is one which works creating a truly evocative simple but rich sound.

Brian Eno. you could pigeon-hole him under ambient if you want, but for me this guy comes under uncategorisable. I bought this album as it came out in 1983 and remains my favourite of all his releases, although 'Before and after science' would be a close second! I seem to recall The old grey whistle test showed some rough stock footage of the space documentary 'For all mankind', which this album was made to accompany. It was an epiphany for me to see this enormous four thousand tonne rocket taking off from it's moorings at Cape Canaveral. There was no sound of rocket engines roaring into the sky, no narration explaining boring details of fuel consumption or how dangerous this mission was going to be. Nothing, apart from the most angelic, heavenly, beautiful music i had ever heard in my eighteen year old ears. I found out very soon after that the music i'd heard was called 'An ending [ascent]', and it was by an artist called Brian Eno. And the rest is history, he's an amazing artist as well as a much sort-after producer for artists such as Talking heads, U2 and Coldplay. I cannot big this album up enough, i love having it on if i'm in the bath or in bed relaxing, however it does also contain moments of creeping unease in places, and really does leave you with the feeling you are in an uninhabitable place and that you are somhow detached from reality.Beautiful darkness!

I seem to remember the editor of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy's being unavailable as he was on an intergalactic cruise - in his own office. Maybe he was listening to Brian Eno's music! Like his other work, you're either ready for this or you're not. I introduced myself with Apollo and Another Green World at the same time, and haven't looked back since. There is a strong space exploration theme here which channels your imagination in a more focused way than his other albums. Every time I hear the first track I imagine looking out the rear view screen watching Earth gradually receding. Some of the tracks will sink deep into your mind if you allow them to. Signals, Drift, Stars/Under Stars, it's hard to choose between them all. I appreciated the western themed homages to the astronauts, though I find I don't listen to them very often.Apollo will make a great addition to your Brian Eno collection, and also has the potential to introduce you to his work if you're ready for it.

This album needs no introduction, it's one of Eno's masterpieces that will live on for many years to come, it's a shame that it's virtually impossible to get on Vinyl, but the CD format does suit the pristine style of the music, which is less cold and cerebral than many other of Eno's works. It is an Epic album, inspired by an Epic event, one could say the Epic event of humanities history to date, to land on another world. The music elaborates on this theme, and also the journey from the atmosphere of Earth to the vaccum of space and the lunar surface.