SKU: 53502666006

Before And After Science

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Before And After SciencePrefacing the ambient music which Brian Eno would pursue later on, Before And After Science pulled off the feat of uniting pro and anti punks in 1977. For record buyers, 1977 felt long and momentous. If you were on the pro side of the punk debate, the initial euphoria had been somewhat tempered by tabloid and or physical abuse, and mixed feelings over Sex Pistols crossing into the mainstream with a performance on Top Of The Pops. Meanwhile, those on

Prefacing the ambient music which Brian Eno would pursue later on, ‘Before And After Science’ pulled off the feat of uniting pro-and anti-punks in 1977.

For record buyers, 1977 felt long and momentous. If you were on the “pro” side of the punk debate, the initial euphoria had been somewhat tempered by tabloid and/or physical abuse, and mixed feelings over Sex Pistols’ crossing into the mainstream with a performance on Top Of The Pops. Meanwhile, those on the “anti” side of the fence were bemused and outraged to find their favorite well-established artists dismissed as irrelevant dinosaurs – often, surprisingly, with little significant impact upon their long-term popularity. Either way, a palpable exhaustion had set in by the year’s end, which is where Brian Eno’s Before And After Science came in.

Whether they acknowledged it or not, punks and reactionaries alike needed a respite from the tumult. Brian Eno’s fourth solo album, originally released on the Polydor imprint in December 1977, surreptitiously pulled off the not-inconsiderable feat of uniting both factions as an almost incidental by-product of its casual otherness.

For punks, Eno carried a certain cachet as the outrageous rebel who generated blizzards of pointy noise with the early Roxy Music, while the top-tier musicianship of album guests the likes of Phil Collins and Percy Jones (at that point the seamless rhythm section of jazz-rockers Brand X) ensured that Before And After Science boasted a proficiency attractive to those who still sent in their nominations for the “best instrumentalist” polls in Melody Maker.

Side One of the original vinyl release – subtitled Fourteen Pictures, with reference to the album’s ten songs, plus the four subtle prints by artist Peter Schmidt which came with initial pressings – features a clutch of enigmatic but generally uptempo compositions. “No One Receiving” draws upon the numbed, swaying, and disconnected avant-funk (“Nobody sees us alone out here among the stars”) that characterized side one of David Bowie’s Low, which had been released in January 1977, with Eno as one of Bowie’s key collaborators. “Backwater,” amiable and remorselessly catchy, boasts a scuttling drum pattern by Jaki Liebezeit of Can, and could so easily have been a hit single had anyone thought to release it as such. (Oddly, it eventually surfaced as a single in 1986, nine years later.)

“Kurt’s Rejoinder” features a sample of avant-garde artist/poet Kurt Schwitters reciting his surrealist tract “Ursonate,” and finds Eno offhandedly assuming the role of dance caller: “Do the do-si-do, do the mirror man, do the Boston crab, and the allemande.” “Energy Fools The Magician,” a spacious instrumental in tense suspension, is underscored by Percy Jones’ flurry of pinging bass harmonics, while “King’s Lead Hat” – an anagram of Talking Heads, with whom Eno was in thrall at the time – is a pleasingly raucous word salad that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on his 1974 debut album, Here Come The Warm Jets (“The killer cycles, the killer hertz, the passage of my life is measured out in shirts”).

As for the subdued, meditative fare on Side Two, there could be no finer preface to the ambient experiments which Eno would pursue in succeeding years. Taken together, the five tracks constitute a consoling, weightless, “ocean music” suite (to paraphrase Eno himself). “The radio is silent; so are we,” Eno observes on the gorgeous reverie “Julie With…,” while Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius of Cluster add the gentlest gravitas to “By This River” (“You talk to me as if from a distance”).

Topped and tailed by “Here He Comes” and “Spider And I,” Side Two of Before And After Science utilizes what, for Eno, are quite conventional, linear melodies. But in their understatement, a wellspring of implied emotion broils beneath the still surface.

 

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SKU: 53502666006

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Sydney
Grantham, US
★★★★★ 4
Cute but not durable
Color: Blue Octopus, Color: Blue Octopus
My dog LOVES the toy and was so excited to get it. It is so cute…but not durable like advertised. My chewer was able to rip a hole by the evening we received it. We like it…just not excited for the clean up
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Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2026
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Katchan22
Carnegie, US
★★★★★ 5
Cost effective option to find what kind of toys you new small pup will enjoy.
Color: 12 PACK PUPPY TOYS
This was a great puppy toy assortment. It is great because it has different types so you can figure out what types of toys your new pup will enjoy. This package is only suitable for small dogs. Also, I do t think they would be good for aggressive cheers. But if you are looking for a cost effective bunch of small new puppy toys this is perfect. There was no smell, the sound of squeaker were average high pitch, soft and moderately durable, design and appearance were generic. Not high quality but a good assortment. Not suitable for long term use IMO.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2025
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Darlene E.
Belleville, US
★★★★★ 5
Love this and very durable!!
Color: Blue Spider
This spider is HUGE! It's sooooooooo nice! My 3 boys love it! They love chewing on all the legs and it's so big that they can all lay around it and each chew on a leg at the same time! They also play tug of war with it at times! It's stuffed with a cushiony material. It does not bounce. It's lightweight. Has no smell. It's so much fun for my boys! Love it! It has great durability as my one boy who literally destroys all his toys has not broken it and they've had it for 3 months so far! This alone speaks volumes! Highly recommend!
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Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2026
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Mary
Port Orchard, US
★★★★★ 5
Dog toy
Color: Blue Octopus
Great dog toy very durable great 2 dogs to play tug of war
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Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2026
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anchoredsoul36
Cuba, US
★★★★★ 4
Aggressive chewer (terrier) approved!
Color: Blue Octopus
I would give five stars except for one small area. The back seam was too easy to access to get the squeaker out (literally under half an hour of him playing). ***BUT*** the legs are SO strong and can be used for tug of war and they are crinkly and he loves it. Highly recommend!
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Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2026

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