Album:    Ambient 1: Music for Airports
Artist:   Brian Eno
Label:    Virgin EG Records Ltd
Released: 1978
Summary:  Absolutely sublime music. This album is as essential as it is
          timeless.

I'm not even going to pretend to be objective about this one.  Ambient
1: Music for Airports is one of my favourite albums of all time.  It
is both a timeless classic, and historical as taking music in a
completely new direction.  At a time when most records were getting
louder and louder, Brian Eno was starting to release music designed
to be played quietly, based on the furniture music of classical
composer Eric Satie.  Music for Airports is one of the first ambient
albums, and certainly the first to use that phrase.

It would be worth finding this album for the first track alone,
especially as it is over sixteen minutes long.  This piece mainly
consists of a gentle, repetitive melody played on a piano, with other
instruments interweaving with it.  The result is completely calming.
Just having it on in the background gives the room a warm feeling,
much like ambient lighting does (hence the name of the genre).  When
you actually sit down and listen to it, however, it doesn't appear
too simple or repetitive.  It remains tranquil, warm and inviting.

The second piece of music is played on some sort of synthetic choir.
It is gentle and breathy, and invokes the feeling of floating.  The
price for this is a loss of the familiarity that the first track
provides.  Instead of making you feel safe in a warm, familiar place,
this piece takes you on a strange and unfamiliar journey.

The only problem I have with the second track is that it has a lot
of silence.  It constantly feels like it has gone, only to return
again, but never staying.  Thankfully, the piano returns to join the
choir in the third track.  This eliminates the awkwardness of the
second piece, as it quietly sustains notes through the choir's
silences.

The fourth track consists solely of a synthetic pad, but is still
warm and played in a natural, organic way.  I'm convinced that this
piece of music in particular must have influenced Robyn Miller when
he wrote the soundtrack for the computer game Myst, as it has a very
similar vibe.

In general, this album is relaxing and meditative.  It's great to
listen to while lying down with your eyes closed after a particularly
stressful day, and it's equally useful for brightening up the room
in which you are working or resting.

I'm not saying that everyone should own Music for Airports, but
everyone should at least listen to a few minutes of the first track
in their lifetime.
