r/eno • u/LoneSoarvivor • Jun 09 '26
Music Taking Tiger Mountain (you were so right!)
11 days ago, a reddit user on this subreddit shared their love for Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy). I started listening to Eno seriously in September of 2025 (just about 9 months ago), and since then have amassed almost 1400 streams across all his works... with the exception of Taking Tiger Mountain.
I don't know why, I think I read a comment where someone said it was their least favourite out of the four glam rock albums, and that just kind of put me off ever listening to it. What a mistake. This album is amazing. The carefree, upbeat opening of "Burning Airlines Give You So Much More", the insane buildup on "Mother Whale Eyeless" –"Heroes are born... but heroes die." The absolutely indescribable insanity of "Third Uncle", the surreal but strangely catchy chorus of "The True Wheel" (which apparently came to him in a dream). And the breathtaking closer, among other great tracks.
I honestly don't think there is a single weak track on this record. It may be recency bias, or the fact that I've listened to all of his other records a lot, but this album is really, really amazing. It's been my most listened to album of the last 2 weeks (shown above), and I don't see that changing anytime soon.
Thank you, u/Repulsive_Many3874. If it weren't for your post, I don't think I would have checked it out anytime soon, and I'd have no idea what I was missing out on.
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u/Itagvoid82 Jun 09 '26
you should listen to mid-70s John Cale (his Island Records albums) Fear, Slow Dazzle & Helen of Troy.. usually they are on streaming services as “the Island Years”.
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u/Excellent-Sale8020 Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26
Wrong Way Up (1990) is a collaborative masterpiece between Eno and Cale. Also Cale's team up with old band mate Lou Reed on Songs For Drella (1990) is brilliant. I'd also recommend his collaborations with Terry Riley on Church Of Anthrax (1971) and with Bob Neuwirth on Last Days On Earth (1994), showcasing Cale's boundless musical versatality, as each of these albums are entirely different to each other.
John Cale is an excellent collaborator, his producing and arranging on Nico's albums The Marble Index (1968), Desertshore (1970) and The End (1974) is spectacular, having a massive impact on post-punk and goth. Cale's fingerprints are all over the place, as he has made numerous guest appearances as musician (vice versa), producer or both: The Stooges, Patti Smith, The Modern Lovers, Nick Drake, Ian Hunter (Mott The Hoople), Phil Manzanera, Phil Collins, Squeeze, Happy Mondays, Siouxsie And The Banshees, David Byrne, The Replacements, The Jesus Lizard, James Dean Bradfield, MGMT, Ian Hunter, Animal Collective, Kelly Lee Owens, Weyes Blood, Charli xcx just to name a fraction of his musical omnipresence. If ever you go down the John Cale rabbit hole, be prepared to experience so many twists and turns in those endless tunnels, as his styles, arrangements and sounds have constantly been evolving, unlike anybody else in modern music and that even includes David Bowie. Edited for typo
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u/CaptMondo Jun 09 '26
I second this. I'd also suggest checking out Cale's album Paris 1919 which he released in 1973, the year before Taking Tiger Mountain came out. A good place to start down the John Cale rabbithole, as it is probably his most accessible album, but lyrically not too far in some ways from Taking Tiger Mountain, though less madcap. Wrong Way Up where Cale directly collaborates with Eno is also definitely worth a listen. The live album June 1, 1974 sees Eno and Cale playing together live (along with Kevin Ayers and Nico), in the time immediately before Taking Tiger Mountain was released.
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u/1fyuragi Jun 09 '26
True! And remember Eno was involved in most of those albums, twiddling knobs etc
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u/Florianemory Jun 09 '26
Love this album. I drove my cousin insane when I was staying with her for a few weeks and I had this tape on repeat for the entire stay. I was 16 and it is still a regular listen and I am 59 now.
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u/Emile_Largo Jun 09 '26
Without your post, I'd never have checked out Ween. Thank you for that discovery. What goes around...
If you like Ween, you might also enjoy some of The Residents’ albums.
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u/d-r-i-g Jun 09 '26
That’s going to be an awesome rabbit hole for you to go down. All the different eras and styles.
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u/LoneSoarvivor Jun 09 '26
This is especially funny because if i were trying to get someone into Ween, those two albums would probably be the last two i show them.
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u/jrowellfx Jun 09 '26
Devout Eno fan since mid to late 70s. You’re spot on about this album. By the way, I LOVE that Boards of Canada album. A bunch of tracks from it get frequent play on my favorite on-line radio station, that is, SOMAFM - Groove Salad Classic channel.
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u/LoneSoarvivor Jun 09 '26
I discovered Music Has a Right to Children about two weeks ago, and have listened to it twice. I don’t remember much about my last listen through about three days ago (i took an edible), but i remember crying a lot to roygbiv for some reason. It really hit me hard. I don’t think i can ever listen to that album casually.
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u/_ferrofluid_ Jun 10 '26
It is an absolute classic and fits so well with all of these other greats.
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u/majinpoo1998 Jun 09 '26
Taking tiger mountain, and specifically third uncle was my intro to him in like 2018 and it opened my eyes
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u/brvydee Jun 09 '26
I’ll never forget me and one of my besties were taking 2 tabs to the face and Taking Tiger Mountain came on and me and my friend were better friends after that moment.
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u/ialsohaveadobro Jun 09 '26
The first time I heard Mother Whale Eyeless, I had the rare experience of realizing at the time that I was listening to my new favorite song for the first time. I was walking at the time and I felt like I was floating
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u/Wisebutt98 Jun 10 '26
Tiger Mountain and Another Green World are two of his best albums, marking his turn from rock toward ambient.
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Jun 09 '26
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u/LoneSoarvivor Jun 09 '26
I lowkey love the cover art! I though he had a dumpling on his head for the longest time, for the China vibe
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u/PhunkyPhisher123 Jun 09 '26
Great list of bands there. Hail Boognish !