In the late 1970s and early 80s, Brian Eno took a series of detours from his established career as a progressive rock collaborator and producer. The resulting works comprised a four-album series known collectively as the Ambient pieces. The last of these, Ambient IV: On Land, was released in 1982. While the previous two works in the series had been largely collaborative, On Land returned to the mostly solo vein that had characterized Ambient I: Music for Airports. The sound of this fourth installment was quite different from its predecessors. While the previous projects had emphasized the pulsating intervallic relations of certain rhythmically manipulated pitch collections, On Land took on an even more ethereal sound, one which focused on timbre, texture, and surreal sonic effects; these included vaguely decipherable animal noises, industrial strains, and hushed buzzes, hums, and splashes. This new sound met with mixed reviews. While some found the surface sounds interesting, many saw the piece as conceptually unadventurous (compared with, say Stockhausen). As one critic mercilessly penned, "Brian Eno's 'Ambient Music' is certainly ambient...but it's certainly not music." ~ All Music Guide
