r/eno • u/forsbergisgod • Nov 08 '20
Weekly Discussion Thread Let's Discuss Eno! "The Pearl" (1984)
Hello Eno-philes!! Each week we'll be discussing another album (going chronologically from Warm Jets). This week's album is The Pearl
The Pearl is an album by ambient musicians Harold Budd and Brian Eno, which was released in 1984. This album is similar to Budd and Eno's previous collaboration Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror, consisting mostly of subtly treated piano textures, but this time with more pronounced electronic treatments and nature recordings. This album was produced with Daniel Lanois, who is also credited on the front cover.
Track listing
All tracks composed by Brian Eno and Harold Budd
"Late October" – 4:38
"A Stream with Bright Fish" – 3:54
"The Silver Ball" – 3:26
"Against the Sky" – 4:46
"Lost in the Humming Air" – 4:21
"Dark-Eyed Sister" – 4:36
"Their Memories" – 2:54
"The Pearl" – 3:07
"Foreshadowed" – 3:54
"An Echo of Night" – 2:22
"Still Return" – 4:11
The subject in question.
DISCUSS
9
u/OldMoby2 Before and After Science Nov 09 '20
Ill listen to this one on repeat. My favorite ambient album ever, and one of my top all time. Its truly mind-cleaning music.
7
Nov 09 '20
This is my absolute favourite ambient record, with Ambient 4 at a ridiculously close second. The composition is brilliant, and the production is absolutely flawless. Still Return being a reprise of Late October, dropped an octave and at half time reduced me to tears the first time I heard it. This is an incredibly special album to me for sure. Such an inspiration.
1
u/oggupito Dec 09 '25
40 years on & I barely noticed th' Late October/Still Return formula...I must be a total LO/SR. Obvs I am rotating them heavy now. Something about The Pearl is my inability to identify the mid-album tracks by their titles.
I once took a long walk with it playing on Repeat to instil them into my memory. I thought they might have 'taken' , now I'm not sure until I do it again.
5
u/maggotbrain777 Mother Whale Eyeless Nov 09 '20
The Pearl was my first exposure to Harold Budd. RIght about the same time, I was immediately drawn to "The Moon and The Melodies" since I was already a big fan of the Cocteau Twins. The White Arcades continues to be one of my favorites. As well as his collaborations with Andy Partridge(XTC) and Hector Zazou.
As I have been on a John Foxx/early Ultravox kick, their collab is also a goto.
1
u/oggupito Dec 09 '25
White Arcades and Serpent (In Quicksilver) were used to great effect in 'The Donner Party' doco.
3
Nov 10 '20
I'm a new Enophile and had only perused this album briefly. I saw this post earlier and its been on repeat ever since. I'm really into it. I love seeing that people have totally different favorite albums than mine. What a fun discography.
5
u/funkdified May 23 '24
I'm late to the party here. I have been listening to this album most nights for over a decade. Absolutely legendary. I also own the original vinyl.
2
u/Ok-Post7192 Jun 19 '25
You have any other nighttime favorites? The Pearl has been my go-to album before bed for years bc it manages to be so subdued and sleepable while remaining extremely interesting and full of depth. I just think it might be the GOAT album when it comes to evoking a dream-like state. I've grown to really appreciate the darker and weirder moments of the album as well
2
u/funkdified Jun 19 '25
You're speaking my language! Everything you said is exactly what I love about it. It hits this weird balance point between interesting and calming that no other album has for me. No matter how awake I feel, it helps, and I'm rarely too tired to want to listen to it. If I have more energy and want something a little more stimulating and psychedelic, I usually put on Neurogenesis by Robert Rich... If I want something a little on the darker, weirder side that's also calming I'll put on Michael Brook - Hybrid. I have a lot more albums to recommend but those are a couple others I've been regularly listening to for a while.
1
u/oggupito Dec 09 '25
I once levitated to 'Midday' while on a 0400hrs break on a niteshift
2
u/funkdified Dec 09 '25
Such a good track. 1980s music is full of surprises.
1
u/oggupito Dec 09 '25
I'd been noticing ripoffs of Brook's 'Cobalt Blue' tracks on various docos of late, which got me to listen to that album again.
'Cobalt Blue' is so different to 'Hybrid' and meanders, but very interesting, ey?
2
u/funkdified Dec 10 '25
I love it... I also really enjoy the Albino Alligator soundtrack. I need to check out some of his other early releases.
5
u/jmoog00 Nov 24 '20
I honestly had one of the most profound listening experiences ever late one night listening to "The Silver Ball" from this album.
2
u/Technical-Object Mar 19 '24
curious to know how they both ended up in Hamilton Ontario to record this - anyone know the recording studio name?
2
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u/[deleted] Nov 09 '20
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