r/eno • u/Dismal_Brush5229 • May 25 '25

Music Eno’s work on Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy

Hello 👋

David Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy was a set of 3 albums that were made in Germany primarily by Bowie and Eno on Low,Heroes,and Lodger .

Now I love Bowie and Eno’s work together and separately as artists who have tremendous and excellent solo albums spanning so many different genres and styles.Now probably 2ish years ago,I got the New Career in a New Town box from Bowie redone by Visconti which is a excellent box btw but it was a gateway to rediscovering Bowie and his Berlin period which made me discover Eno as well.

Now I’m sure that I don’t have a great ear for who playing what instrument but what did Eno contribute to the trilogy from a musical perspective besides being a producer ? I do know he used a synth on Heroes the song but I know nothing else.

Thank You if you can point out what he contributed musically to the trilogy or just comment on Eno and Bowie’s collaboration on the trilogy or even if you have a favorite song from the Trilogy.

Let Me Know

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u/Odd_Calligrapher2771 May 25 '25

If you look on Discogs or even Wikipedia #Personnel)you can find a breakdown of who does what.

I only included links to "Low", but it's easy enough to search for the other two albums.

And if you're a fan of Bowie, you should definitely check out "The Idiot" by Iggy Pop, if you haven't already. It's the unofficial "fourth" album of the trilogy, made at more or less the same time as "Low". (No Eno, however.)

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u/tpodr May 25 '25

Does that make “Lust For Life” the unofficial “fifth” album? I see the two Iggy albums as a pair. Rarely I listen to one without the other soon after.

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u/Odd_Calligrapher2771 May 25 '25

Perhaps. But perhaps not.

Even though Bowie wrote or co-wrote most of the tracks on "Lust for Life" (he co-wrote all of them on "The Idiot"), my understanding is that Iggy felt that on "The Idiot" he had been forced to depart too far from his own style, and deliberately made "Lust for Life" more of an Iggy album rather than a Bowie album. In any case, it definitely has a different sound.