Brian Eno- The Great Pretender REACTION & REVIEW

[@sammelis6777]

The next track ”Third Uncle” is probably one of his best songs. It’s quite punkish or post-punkish and feels really ahead of its time since punk wasn’t a thing yet in 1974

[@johndrx165]

She was so impressed that she just surrendered....epic!

[@lemming9984]

I say this for every track you've played from this album - It's a GREAT album - no duff tracks!

[@saturninebear]

Yay! Back to this amazing album. This track is very dark and swampy. Sets up the next track nicely.

[@stevensprunger3422]

At the end of this album is 33 1/3 RPM the crickets last for the song the arm couldn’t lift up and just keep going and going and going forever

[@-davidolivares]

Cool.

[@lemming9984]

One of the Monty Python records had a similar loop - "the record's stuck, the record's stuck...."

[@bpberthold]

@stevensprunger3422 I’m so glad you wrote this. I thought I’d be the only one old enough to remember that. Yes fell asleep to this and woke up to it still playing. Crickets all night long. Thanks!

[@benoitdesmarais2948]

Everytime this came on back in 74, NOTHING sounded quite like it. It got me close to the kitchen radio (which was all we had in the house), and i was so intrigued by it. (My mom hated it of course - the cricket sound especially.) Hearing it now, i do hear the droning quality, the guitar sound is middle easty, a mix of film noir soundtrack with an oriental intrigue. Still sounds unique.

[@brianodell2157]

One of my favorite tracks on the album. The whole album is amazing. Own several copies.

[@rdumontdebeque]

One of my favorites songs from this record!

[@therealtwiggyleaf]

These early ENO albums were so innovative. Listening to each track in detail with you, I am reminded most clearly why I think he was one of the most important writers of progressive pop music to emerge in the last few decades. It's a pity you didn't like this song on first listen. I hope you develop a more appreciative attitude on subsequent listens. Anyway, once again, Justin, thanks for the video and review. 😎😎

[@sammelis6777]

I personally love this song but I can understand why someone wouldn’t like it. Eno can make some odd noises but this song has definitely odd sounds even for Eno so it can be hard to digest. And the lyrics. I found this from wikipedia: "The Great Pretender describes the rape of a suburban housewife by a crazed machine.” … So you weren’t quite there but at least you got something out of the lyrics. That’s quite rare with Eno😂😂 And your logic with the lyrics makes sense quite well so who cares.

[@jamesdignanmusic2765]

The use of the lowest keys on a piano keyboard as the rhythm is a masterstroke. IIRC Eno has called the sound at the end "electric insects". "The Great Pretender" is also the title of a great rock and roll/doo-wop track from the 1950s by The Platters which is worth reviewing. Eno's a big doo-wop fan, so he probably got the title from that.

[@doplinger1]

He certainly had his own style, which is what drew me in the first place, I was looking for something different that wasn’t just full blown insanity. His album with John Cale “Wrong Way Up” is really good and a little more mainstream (comparatively) 😆. You would like it.

[@stevious7278]

Yes. "Spinning Away" is one of my favourite songs.

[@doplinger1]

@@stevious7278 - yes, and “Been There, Done That” is a good one too.

[@stevious7278]

@@doplinger1 "Don't want to go back"... couldn't agree more. 🥱✌

[@-davidolivares]

First time hearing, I liked it. Was it weird, yes. Did I love his singing, no, didn’t hate it though. The instrumentation was very interestingly done. Will I hear it again, absolutely. Eno’s voice gets some getting used to but usually I small letter like it by the end of the song.

[@Retrostar619]

Upvoted for your reaction and for cat facts in the background. Out of interest, what is the software you use for that? Anyway, i've always loved The Great Pretender, it's so sinister and creative. The line "All those tawdry late0night weepies, I could make you weep more cheaply" is fantastic. Plus this had a locked groove on vinyl, meaning the electronic crickets would go on forever unless you stopped the record!

[@JustJP]

Ty Retro; it's a "Tidbyt" and has apps in it for the display :)

[@Retrostar619]

@@JustJP Ah, much obliged!

[@pkreillly]

Nailed your commentary on this song. The dissonance and difficulty actually grows on you. No one was doing this back then and yes it fluencies generations of electronic music

[@stevious7278]

Idiosyncratic and intriguingly unique; Eno swept me up in his world in 1875 and has held me captivated ever since. It is important to keep in mind that there was so very little music anything like this out there back in the day and Eno stood out. The collaborations he had with Robert Fripp, John Cale as well as the music he produced for others like DEVO, Talking Heads, Ultravox among others, has had an immeasurable impact on the music scene of the last nearly 50 years.

[@jamesadkisson7510]

The stereo image of this song baffles me. On my stereo in my car, now on my phone it gives the illusion of great width. Much wider than the Allan Parsons I listened to just before. A very three dimensional song.

[@PeterSokol-bl5vz]

We grew up knowing this as the cricket sound…it’s incredible.

[@Zookmunroe]

The track ended on a locked groove on the original vinyl.

[@-davidolivares]

It just kept going until you stopped it?

[@lemming9984]

@@-davidolivares Yes!

[@ijustneedmyself]

​@@lemming9984HAH! That is hilarious 😂

[@richardhague1969]

wow !! having said that, i think i wasn't so keen the first time i heard it too because of the lingering siren/alarm sound. i did however love the start and i can't help tap away to it every time i hear it. i also loved his vocal and the weird lyricism. i think if you ever fell in love with this album and listened to it often enough, your feelings for this track would evolve.

[@jaykirby7387]

The "cricket menace" sound at the end of the track was actually loop locked on the original vinyl so it would never end so you had to get up and lift the needle to end the torment...

[@jamesadkisson7510]

Again I think he progresses from really interesting songs and lyrics to some very interesting songs and lyrics that are also beautiful and profound on later albums.

[@rayryeridge3313]

You are honest, thats a great quality, and makes me belive you when you really love something. just checking this kind of music tells me volumes about your open mind attitude.

[@lucianoteixeira7993]

The ending is really jarring and a little (deliberately) irritating. But other than that, it's a great track that perfectly closes side A of the album. And as others have pointed out, it works great as a transition to the next track, the fantastic Third Uncle. Sorry, but it was funny to see your face gradually change from enchantment to discomfort. Probably the same reaction most of us had the first time we heard this song. And as you pointed out very well at the end, it is indeed a song that is both fascinating and kind of unpleasant. Unique, without a doubt. I think if you listen to it again, listening to the entire album without interruptions, you will increasingly appreciate its "fascinating side".

[@jerkedevries]

Yea when you don’t really listen, then suddenly you’re left with the annoying aftersound. But…. it’s a great track. I like this kind of ‘difficult music’ alot. I’m reminded of ‘waking the witch’ by Kate Bush. Same discomfort but a piece of art

[@lucianoteixeira7993]

@@jerkedevries Yes, as Justin himself realized in the end, it is a track made for this purpose, which fits perfectly with the theme of the song's lyrics. But the first audition, depending on his mood, can be an excruciating experience. I laughed because my first experience (it was a few years ago, the first time I heard this album in its entirety) was very similar to this. Today I really like this song. Perhaps one of my favorites on the album.

[@jerkedevries]

@@lucianoteixeira7993 I bought the album a few months before Justin started listening with us. And it was on a first listen a disappointment because I didn’t expect vocals. But since Justin began the album listen I listened to the album again in its entirety , and I really like it. The third song was the first to make my ears open up

[@ijustneedmyself]

​@@jerkedevriesThat's awesome you gave it another chance. It's really great. It's been so long since I first listened that I can't remember my first impression. If I had to guess I probably put it down for a few years and came back to it later 😂

[@pleasantvalleypickerca7681]

Justin that sound is Crickets chirping. I hear them every night here. Surprised you never heard them. Sure the Crickets may be "Electronicaly" treated, but still good.

[@didierchapelot5671]

My fave from this album (with "Third Uncle") and one I have in head since the LP was released so many years ago. Strange you don't like it but not surprised. I begin to anticipate what you'll like and not.

[@DavidImiri]

Ah, we'll have to agree to disagree. I LOVE this track. Yes, it's disturbing, but for me, in the way that some of Peter Gabriel's darker tracks are - there's depth, potency, and exquisite building of atmosphere. There's uniquely adept layered production. It's very original, and takes you someplace. Of course the lyrics remain impressionistic and surrealistic, in contrast to Gabriel's pointed thematic confrontations. And as always with early Eno, it's best appreciated in the context of an album listen, where we have the space to settle into the weird world he's weaving. I can see how this could crinkle the brow on a first listen sandwiched between Alan Parsons, Traffic, and Funkadelic, instead of in its own album flow. Glad you appreciated its innovative songcraft in any case.

[@floorticket]

Monica with spoons and candles Bangs around without the light on seems like a heroin reference.

[@maruad7577]

This is very interesting. Is there a different version of this song by someone else, a more mainstream version. It seems so familiar. Like a slightly bent version of something else (or maybe what I am thinking of was an unkinked cover). If anyone is wondering how I over came my youtube issues (mentioned on Patreon), following my kids advice, I switched from Chrome to Firefox. Whatever the adblockers are there are not getting detected.

[@michaelfrank2266]

I cheated and read some comments first. I agree. Your change of expression was priceless. (I found myself liking the track. I was in the right mood. Not the listen to it 100 times kind of liking it.)

[@jamespaivapaiva4460]

Just finished the A.P.P. reaction, and along with Eno, I've got to say,"Keep spinning The Platters of both! "Oh, oh, yes I'm the great pretender. Pretending that I'm doing well. My need is such, that I pretend too much. I'm lonely and no one can tell". This one may have thrown you, but I'll bet you find the next cut, swell! Peace & Love.

[@JustJP]

Sending you some happiness and sunshine James!☀️☀️☀️

[@jamespaivapaiva4460]

@@JustJP 🤡 Thank you, hope your dad is well. I'm going home Thursday, after nearly a month!🤠 Yeehaw!!! Have a😈 of a Halloween.✌& Tell Tale❤❤❤.

[@JustJP]

Thanks James :) I'm really glad to hear that you're heading home soon. I'll carve a pumpkin in your honor!@@jamespaivapaiva4460

[@jamespaivapaiva4460]

@@JustJP 🎃🎃🎃🎃👍✌&❤

[@user-ph9wt3ue7c]

Fripp and Eno is quite interesting.

[@ijustneedmyself]

It's a grower 😅

[@ethelwulfmountbattenderoth2286]

I like it cuz it's creepy.

[@sphericalharmony1603]

Those sounds at the end might be short tape loops. For me, this has been one of the better tracks on the album so far: I like the sonic qualities of the sounds he's generated. The reason I would never listen to this album outside of this channel is Eno's voice, which doesn't sit well with my ears. Just my opinion, but I reckon he should have got someone else to do the singing.

[@cosmiccat6708]

Interesting track, but the next one, "Third Uncle" is the best one on this album, imo.

[@terrycunningham8118]

And then... crickets.

[@herb6677]

At the end of the song your face was telling tales. How long would you have to sit this out?

[@markandresen1]

The very reason you don't like this track is the reason I do; BECAUSE it's dark, weird, and unsettling, but without resorting to cliched means. It always evokes for me the increasingly schizoid narrator in Joseph Conrad's novel, 'Heart Of Darkness,' travelling downriver through darkest Africa. I can't think of another track that evokes that.

[@EmmanuelPehau]

Almost a George Harrison song.

[@pentagrammaton6793]

Creepy, much like Brian Eno himself. Crap, but sonically interesting crap. I think honestly that's how he made his solo career, by slathering very average compositions in fascinating and layered studio production.

[@piershollott339]

Listening to a singles collection like "More Dark Than Shark", he had some songs like "Here He Comes" or "On Some Far Away Beach" that really stand out with great vocals and great music, and songs like "The Big Ship" that lean heavily into the ambience... and I really feel like a lot of the solo stuff is trying out ideas that would later surface with Talking Heads, U2, James, etc. Also a creepy dude.

[@pentagrammaton6793]

@@piershollott339 aye, no denying his influence.

[@aarongonzalez7482]

rhis is the best track on the album, for all the reasons you don't like it