Four of Brian Eno’s influential albums were reissued on vinyl at the tail end of last year, following up an additional four that came out in 2017. Those reissues comprised Eno’s “rock” albums from the 1970s, while this more recent batch collects four of his so-called “ambient” works: 1975’s Discreet Music, 1978’s Ambient 1: Music for Airports, 1978’s Music for Films, and 1982’s Ambient 4: On Land.
As with the first batch, these four albums are now available on ordinary 33 rpm single discs, and on special two-disc 45 rpm versions, mastered with greater fidelity using the half-speed process. The 45 rpm versions also split each album across four sides instead of two, meaning you’ll have to get up twice as often to flip the disc, and, in one case, a side-long track being split in two. All four of these albums are important recordings, and are certainly worth hearing, but which versions should you get, the 33 rpms or the 45s? It’s tough to say.