Album Review: Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks [Extended Edition] by Brian Eno

If you're a Brian Eno fan, you likely know the story. Originally conceived and recorded as a companion for Al Reinert's For All Mankind, Apollo, rightfully (and thankfully) grew to have a life of its own as the ambient master's ninth solo LP. It wasn't always meant to be. Had the documentary chronicling the moon landing landed (no pun intended) as planned, Eno's work likely would have simply remained a soundtrack.

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A decade into a solo career dedicated to aural novelty, Brian Eno released an album intended to transform weightlessness into a kind of spiritual exaltation. On Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks, the former Roxy Music keyboardist/troublemaker took a break from the fractured narratives and lissome grooves he had helped create for David Bowie and Talking Heads, respectively. The occasion? In its original, 1983 form, a documentary consisting of 35-millimeter footage of the six moon missions; the score composed by Eno, brother Roger, and guitarist Daniel Lanois complement its static, clean images.

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As the '80s dawned, humanity was once again turning its eyes to the skies. In March 1983, Ronald Reagan, a former screen cowboy turned 40th President Of The United States, unveiled his latest strategy in an increasingly hot Cold War - a strategic missile defence system which, in a nod to the pop culture of the day, earned the nickname "Star Wars". Star Wars was conceived in the very American spirit that the best defence was a good offence.

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