"Third Uncle"
Song by Brian Eno
from the album Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)
ReleasedNovember 1974
RecordedSeptember 1974
StudioBasing Street Studios, London
GenreArt rock,[1] proto-punk
Length4:48
LabelIsland Records
Songwriter(s)Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera
Producer(s)Brian Eno

"Third Uncle" is a 1974 song by the English musician Brian Eno, released on his second solo album Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy).[2] The song was recorded at Basing Street Studios in Notting Hill, London, in September 1974, and produced by Eno. It has been highly influential and covered by many artists, most notably by the Goth rock band Bauhaus in 1982.

The song is based around a two note bass guitar pattern by long time Eno collaborator and ex-Roxy Music bassist Phil Manzanera, which in its stuttered playing, and use of an echo guitar pedal, borrows from the Pink Floyd track "One of These Days", although the basses is played with a guitar pick rather than splapped as with the Pink Floyd song. Behind this are two rhythm guitars, each playing frenetic, staccato chords.[2] Eno's vocals are sung in a near-monotone voice[3]

Along with the title track of his 1974 debut album "Here Come the Warm Jets", "Third Uncle" remains one of Eno's best known songs. It has been highly influential. A live recording appears on the Manzanera lead "super-group" 801's 1976 album 801 Live.,[4] This version has been cited as a forerunner of punk rock, and by AllMusic writer Dave Thomas as "furious...positive madness."[2]

Bauhaus cover

"Third Uncle"
Song by Bauhaus
from the album The Sky's Gone Out
Released22 October 1982
Recorded1982
StudioRockfield Studios, Monmouth, England
GenrePost-punk, art rock, punk rock
Length5:14
LabelBeggars Banquet
Songwriter(s)Brian Eno

The song was covered by the English Goth rock band Bauhaus for their 1982 album The Sky's Gone Out.[5] Describing the basis for the cover in 2017, Pitchfork wrote that "Eno..contributed...to goth’s sonic DNA, especially in his love for synthesizers and abstract instrumentation. His pre-ambient solo career is full of aggressive, gleefully perverse proto-goth songs."[3]

Personnel

  • Brian Eno – vocals, electronics, guitar, keyboards
  • Phil Manzanera – guitar
  • Brian Turrington – bass guitar
  • Freddie Smith – drums

References

  1. ↑ Rogers, Jude. "Brian Eno – 10 of the best". The Guardian, 25 January 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2023
  2. 1 2 3 Thompson, Dave. "Third Uncle Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 October 2023
  3. 1 2 "The Story of Goth in 33 Songs". Pitchfork, 25 October 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2023
  4. ↑ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig. Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books, 1995. p. 129
  5. ↑ Blistein, Jon. "Bauhaus Close Reunion Run With Rare Cover of Brian Eno’s ‘Third Uncle’". Rolling Stone, 2 December 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2023

Sources

  • Sheppard, David. On Some Faraway Beach: The Life and Times of Brian Eno. Chicago Review Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1-55652-942-9
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