It’s fitting that this two disc set of Brian Eno’s Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks is being reissued this year, as this is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing. The musician was originally put together as the soundtrack for a documentary film about NASA’s Apollo missions from 1969-72, which was originally released without any commentary from the involved astronauts, but finally released in 1969 as the film For All Mankind. The music was performed by legendary producer/keyboard/electronician Brian Eno along with brother Roger on piano and other assorted doo dads and guitarist/pedal steel guitarist Daniel Lanois and we now have all of the music together in one format.
This album was almost a decade after Eno’s breakthrough Another Green World and during his apotheosis of Ambient albums, and Music For series. Eno successfully captures the journey into space, with pieces like “Under Stars” and “Weightless” and “Deep Blue Day” bringing up visceral images of floating “where no man has gone before.” Lanois’ guitar adds rich textures on “An Ending (Ascent) and “Silver Morning” and puffy organs during “Waking Up” and “ Capsule” create as strong a composition of this genre as anything Eno had ever done in the past.
Included are the original liner notes that reveal an optimism of future space adventures, while the recent writings reflect a pessimism of mankind due to global warming (“Climate Change”) and fears of environmental collapse. Quite ironic for a man who lived through the 1970s that warned of a future ice age and predictions of mass starvation by minions who gave great apocalyptic versions of Silent Spring. The music here holds up fantastically well, and is timeless, while I hope and pray Mr. Eno’s pessimism is only a fad.