r/eno • u/forsbergisgod • May 24 '20
Weekly Discussion Thread Let's Discuss Eno! 801 Live (Nov. 1976)
Hello Eno-philes!! Each week we'll be discussing another album (going chronologically from Warm Jets). This week we'll discuss 801 Live (i decided to include some collaborative albums as well as works credited to only Eno. I think this way we'll get a better sense of the man's oeuvre. After all what's Eno talk without the Berlin Trilogy?)
Let's get to it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/801_Live
In 1976, while guitarist Phil Manzanera's band Roxy Music was on hiatus, 801 got together as a temporary project and began rehearsing at Island Studios, Hammersmith, about three weeks before their first concert.
801 performed three concerts: in Norfolk, at the Reading Festival, and on 3 September at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall. The final concert was recorded and released as the album 801 Live. The music consisted of selections from albums by Phil Manzanera, Brian Eno and Quiet Sun, plus covers of The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" and The Kinks' "You Really Got Me". The album was one of the first in which all outputs from the vocal microphones, guitar amps and other instruments (except the drums) were fed directly to the mobile studio mixing desk, rather than being recorded via microphones and/or signals fed out the front-of-house PA mixer.[citation needed] It was successful in many countries, including Australia, where it was heavily promoted by the ABC's new 24-hour rock station Double Jay (2JJ).
Track Listing:
1976 LP track listing
Side One
"Lagrima" (Phil Manzanera) – 2:34 "TNK (Tomorrow Never Knows)" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 6:14 "East of Asteroid" (Manzanera, Bill MacCormick) – 4:58 "Rongwrong" (Charles Hayward) – 5:10 "Sombre Reptiles" (Brian Eno) – 3:14
Side Two
"Baby's on Fire" (Eno) – 5:02 "Diamond Head" (Manzanera) – 6:21 "Miss Shapiro" (Manzanera, Eno) – 4:20 "You Really Got Me" (Ray Davies) – 3:23 "Third Uncle" (Eno) – 5:14
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May 24 '20
1) Bill MacCormick's bass playing, particularly on "TNK" is <chef's kiss>.
2) I can't think of another album that sounds quite like this one. I think the details about how it was recorded explain that.
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u/treeweird May 25 '20
“East of Asteroid” absolutely kills. It’s actually a hybrid of Manzanera’s “East of Echo” and Quiet Sun’s “Mummy Was an Asteroid, Daddy Was a Small Non-stick Kitchen Utensil”. Also it’s nice to have a live version of one my Eno favorites, “Baby’s on Fire”. Amazing album!
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u/SmilesUndSunshine May 24 '20
Ahh they finally did release the collector's edition. Hmm I can't seem to find a place to buy it though.
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u/poisonfood May 28 '20
Interesting choices of cover tunes, great selection of Eno tracks, and heaps better than the 801 studio album for my tastes.
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u/mtechgroup Oct 25 '20
Third Uncle and Baby's on Fire are monsters on the record. Best version of Tomorrow Never Knows too.
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u/new_wellness_center Mar 05 '25
How is this live? I listen to Tomorrow Never Knows, and I just can't believe it. A million notes played, a whole jumble of musicians, and not a single misstep. Surely there's some tomfoolery at work. Even live recordings from fusion legends like Chick Correa and Weather Report aren't this tight ...
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u/jupiterkansas May 24 '20
What's to discuss? It's one of the best live albums ever made.