Bleep

Thirty years on from its initial release, 1990’s Wrong Way Up remains one of the most beloved LPs in both Brian Eno and John Cale’s impressive back-catalogues. Despite the pair having made music together since the mid-70s, Wrong Way Up was their first official link-up. It proved to be an inspired collaboration, with the two avant-garde luminaries pushing each other towards more accessible songcraft while still maintaining the bold arrangements and compositional dexterity that each had become so celebrated for.

‘Spinning Away’ and ‘Been There Done That’, Wrong Way Up’s best-known tracks, are both masterful examples of both artists' pop sensibilities. The former's transcendent spiral is reminiscent of Talk Talk and Prefab Sprout while the latter draws from Devo and Talking Heads. These tunes also prove to be good entry points into the rest of Wrong Way Up. ‘Spinning Away’s fragile, almost baroque stateliness crops up many more times over the course of the album, while the abandon of ‘Been There Done That’ can be heard on ‘One Word and ‘Crime In The Desert’ - the latter of which nods to Eno’s work in Roxy Music.

Now Wrong Way Up comes reissued by All Saints Records, complete with the two bonus tracks which graced the album’s 2005 edition - included on the CD and digital editions, downloadable alongside the vinyl. All formats come replete with an illuminating interview with Eno given around the time of the record’s release.

John Cale and Brian Eno’s cult-classic 1990 LP Wrong Way Up is given a thirtieth anniversary reissue, allowing a whole new generation of listeners to fall for this milestone in both careers.