Before and After Science - Definition and Overview

Before and after Science is a 1977 album by Brian Eno. It is less experimental than its predecessor Another Green World. The songs in the first half (Side 1 of the original album) are energetic, while those in the second half (side 2) are languid and pastoral.

Track listing

1. "No one receiving" (Eno) - 3:51
2. "Backwater" (Eno) - 3:43
3. "Kurt's rejoinder" (Eno) - 2:53
4. "Energy fools the magician" (Eno, arr. Jones/Eno) - 2:05
5. "King's lead hat" (Eno) - 3:53
6. "Here he comes" (Eno) - 5:40
7. "Julie with..." (Eno) - 6:20
8. "By this river" (Eno, Roedelius, Moebius) - 3:03
9. "Through hollow lands" (Eno, arr. Frith/Eno) - 3:54
10. "Spider and I" (Eno) - 4:08

Personnel

• Brian Eno
• Paul Rudolph
• Phil Collins
• Percy Jones
• Rhett Davies
• Jakie Liebezeit
• Dave Mattacks
• Shirley Williams
• Kurt Schwitters
• Fred Frith
• Andy Fraser
• Phil Manzanera
• Robert Fripp
• Achim Roedelius
• Möbi Moebius
• Bill MacCormick
• Brian Turrington

Miscellaneous

• The song "Kurt's rejoiner" features a sample of Dada artist Kurt Schwitters.
• "Kings Lead Hat" is an anagram of Talking Heads, and the song is indeed a Talking Heads pastiche.
• "Through Hollow Lands" is dedicated to Harold Budd.
• In the booklet inluded are four pictures of lithographs made by Peter Schmidt. Early vinyl copies of the album included copies of the lithographs themselves. The titles of these prints are “The Other House”, “Look at September, Look at October”, “Four Years” and “The Road to the Crater”.