Rating:
Genre:
New Age
Release Date: 08/31/1990
Run Time: 45:05
Largely thought of merely as a mostly stillborn offshoot of
Brian Eno's larger
ambient music series, the
Fourth World series of albums, in collaboration with trumpeter
Jon Hassell, is actually an entirely separate beast.
Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics starts off from the same basic idea as
Hassell's previous solo albums, like
Earthquake Island and
Vernal Equinox: a blend of
avant-garde composition,
jazz soloing, and African and Middle Eastern rhythmic forms. This album adds only
Eno's characteristic production touches, like the reversed echo that adds a ghostly, unreal edge to
Hassell's trumpet solos on the side-long
"Charm (Over Burundi Cloud)." The rest of the album, including the African hand drummers on the hypnotic
"Delta Rain Dream" and the swirling, almost speech-like solos of
"Griot," is pure
Hassell. Although this album was never a chart hit and has become surprisingly underappreciated over the years, its influence on what has since become known as
tribal techno is incalculable, as has its influence on those
art rockers who have picked up a
world music vibe.
Peter Gabriel in particular owes a fair chunk of his royalty checks from
Security onward to
Jon Hassell.
~Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
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