Seeing as how Brian Eno basically invented Ambient music in the 70's and produced some of the biggest albums by David Bowie, Talking Heads and U2, it's easy to forget that Eno actually started out as your basic singer/songwriter type of guy. Actually, he started out as the keyboard player for Roxy Music, but we won't get into that melodrama here. Eno's solo career started off sparklingly with 1974's Here Come The Warm Jets, and he followed that up with the even more brilliant Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) and Another Green World. It was after that trifecta of genius however that Eno started moving away from traditional song-oriented material altogether, and headed towards creating music that reflected mood, tone, and simple structure without vocals - which were heavy into ambiance (hence the now named style Ambient). It's been over 25 years since Eno has made an album that was vocal driven, but Another Day On Earth changes all that. Considering the fact that Eno sings on almost every track.

With all the excitement of a new vocal Eno album, it's easy to let expectations run high, but temper your enthusiasm, because to call Another Day On Earth underwhelming would be a gross understatement. True, there are a few great tracks here, such as the David Byrne-esque "This," the beautifully string heavy "How Many Worlds" and the atmospheric "Just Another Day," but most of Another Day On Earth just feels phoned in. It's almost as if Eno wanted to re-kindle his early work, but just wasn't sure how to get back there. Like Hansel and Gretel after the birds had eaten their trail of bread crumbs - Eno seems to have lost his bearings in these particular woods. That, and the fact that most of these songs are just so devoid of any kind of energy whatsoever - make for quite a lackluster listening experience. Diehard fans of Eno will definitely be curious to hear this new work, but Another Day On Earth certainly won't usher in any new fans.