brianEno

Guides

This section contains general encyclopedic references to or informational websites on Brian Eno, and run the gamut from the very general (All Music Guide, Grove Dictionary) to the very specific (Oblique Strategies). These sources are where users who are completely unfamiliar with Eno should begin.

All Music Guide
http://www.allmusic.com
The best all-around music reference in existence, easily searched and with a ton of typically very reliable information. The All Music Guide has been around in print for 15 years (the labor of love of Michael and Stephen Erlewine), and there was a CD-ROM version for about five minutes before they hit the web in the late 90s. While there are some commercial interests behind it (they license their content to retailers like Amazon), the site remains the most objective and accurate resource for album information and reviews. Put in “Brian Eno” in the search window and you’ll get a biography, full discography, and a review of most of the albums listed. Lists of similar artists, roots and influences, and albums he has appeared on (not including his own) gives one the sense of the enormous output of Eno’s career. The best part is that almost every album, artist, and musical style is hotlinked, so you can also follow the careers of artists who have worked with Eno, as well as their genres. The AMG is a resource that goes miles beyond similar online music dictionaries or guides, including the highly regarded Grove Dictionary. The entry on Eno, as you will see, is particularly extensive. See the Discographies and Reviews sections for other links to this site.

EnoWeb
http://www.enoweb.co.uk/
The definitive Eno website. Unofficial and unsanctioned as it might be, Eno and his management have nonetheless given it an informal blessing. It details Eno in all his various forms and glories, and humorously apologizes for Eno’s stubborn refusal to take part in web-related activities, ironic for a man who has been using computers in his music since the mid-70s. This is as close to an official website as you are likely to get, though, as it is often updated (November 7 of this year, at last glance), and full of resources. See the Discographies and Reviews section for other links to this site.

Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd ed.)
http://www.grovemusic.com/
UNC ejournal: http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/eid/description.php?EIDID=343
Excellent online database version of the classic Grove Dictionary. Put in “Brian Eno” in the Search window and the first record returned is Eno’s biography. Not as lengthy or overwhelming as the All Music Guide, Grove’s virtue is in its brevity.

Larkin, Colin, ed. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. 3rd ed. London: Muze UK, 1998.
ML102
.P66
G84
The entry on Eno on p. 1764-65 in volume 3 of this massive 8-volume music encyclopedia is satisfyingly rounded, and includes discussions of both Eno’s own music and the people he has worked with. A partial list of albums, along with starred reviews, appears at the end of the article, along with resources for further reading. Nice overview, most of which is repeated, word for word, in Larkin’s other encyclopedia, The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music. However, what the Virgin Encyclopedia does not offer are the other volumes, within reach in the Music Library’s reference section, to explore the other musician’s discussed in the article on Eno.

Oblique Strategies
http://www.rtqe.net/ObliqueStrategies/
A comprehensive guide to Eno’s Oblique Strategies, a set of cards he authored with German painter Peter Schmidt in 1975, and meant as techniques to clear one’s head during the often time-pressured creative process. (See Oblique Strategies under Authored by Eno).

Top

Home