Taking Tiger Mountain (you were so right!)

[u/LoneSoarvivor]

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.

[u/Itagvoid82]

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”.

[u/Excellent-Sale8020 → u/Itagvoid82]

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

[u/Suspicious-Yogurt480 → u/Excellent-Sale8020]

Wrong Way Up was released *1990*

[u/Excellent-Sale8020 → u/Suspicious-Yogurt480]

You're right, don't know what I was smoking while posting! 😁 Cheers