It’s already established that I bought the $80 OMD deluxe box for “The History Of Modern.”

100% Records | UK | 2xCD + 2xLP + DVD DLX BOX | 2010 | 100BX7

Likewise the $100 deluxe box for Brian Eno’s new album, “Small Craft On A Milk Sea.”

Warp Records | UK | 2xCD/2xLP DLX BOX | 2010 | WARPCDX207

When I graduated college in 1985, I bought myself a graduation present that was another Eno box. This time on vinyl only. EG Records released a box called “Working Backwards: 1983-1973” which featured all of his solo albums up to that time. None of his collaborative albums were part of this set.

Editions EG | US | 10xLP + 12" EP | 1983 | EGBS 2

Brian Eno: Working Backwards 1983-1973 Boxed Set of 10LPs + 1 EP

Disc 1: Here Come The Warm Jets

1. Needles In The Camel’s Eye
2. The Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch
3. Baby’s On Fire
4. Cindy Tells Me
5. Driving Me Backwards
6. On Some Faraway Beach
7. Blank Frank
8. Dead Finks Don’t Talk
9. Some Of Them Are Old
10. Here Come The Warm Jets

Disc 2: Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)

1. Burning Airlines Give You So Much More
2. Back In Judy’s Jungle
3. The Fat Lady Of Limbourg
4. Mother Whale Eyeless
5. The Great Pretender
6. Third Straw
7. Put A Straw Under Baby
8. The True Wheel
9. China My China
10. Taking Tiger Mountain

Disc 3: Another Green World

1. Sky Saw
2. Over Fire Island
3. St. Elmo’s Fire
4. In Dark Trees
5. The Big Ship
6. I’ll Come Running
7. Another Green World
8. Sombre Reptiles
9. Little Fishes
10. Golden Hours
11. Becalmed
12. Zawinul / Lava
13. Everything Merges With The Night
14. Spirits Drifting

Disc 4: Discreet Music

1. Discreet Music
2. Fullness Of Wind
3. French Catalogues
4. Brutal Ardour

Disc 5: Before & After Science

1. No One Receiving
2. Backwater
3. Kurt’s Rejoinder
4. Energy Fools The Mountain
5. King’s Lead Hat
6. Here He Comes
7. Julie With…
8. By This River
9. Through Hollow Lands (For Harold Budd)
10. Spider And I

Disc 6: Music For Films

1. Aragon
2. From The Same Hill
3. Inland Sea
4. Two Rapid Formations
5. Slow Water
6. Sparrowfall (1)
7. Sparrowfall (2)
8. Sparrowfall (3)
9. Alternative 3
10. Quartz
11. Events In Dense Fog
12. ‘There Is Nobody’
13. Patrolling Wire Borders
14. A Measured Room
15. Task Force
16. M386
17. Strange Light
18. Final Sunset

Disc 7: Ambient 1 – Music For Airports

1. 1/1
2. 1/2
3. 2/1
4. 2/2

Disc 8: Ambient 4 – On Land

1. Lizard Point
2. The Lost Day
3. Tal Coat
4. Shadow
5. Lantarn Marsh
6. Unfamiliar Wind
7. A Clearing
8. Dunwich Beach, Autumn, 1960

Disc 9: Apollo Atmospheres + Soundtracks

1. Under Stars
2. The Secret Place
3. Matta
4. Signals
5. An Ending (Ascent)
6. Under Stars II
7. Drift
8. Silver Morning
9. Deep Blue Day
10. Weightless
11. Always Returning
12. Stars

Disc 10: Music For Films vol. 2

1. The Dove
2. Roman Twilight
3. Matta
4. Dawn, Marshland
5. Climate Study
6. The Secret Place
7. An Ending
8. Always Returning I
9. Signals
10. Under Stars
11. Drift Study
12. Approaching Taidu
13. Always Returning II

Disc 11: Rarities EP

1. Seven Deadly Finns
2. The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)
3. Strong Flashes Of Light
4. More Volts
5. Mist / Rhythm

The box bait was the release of the “Music For Films vol. 2” album, which was only available there as well as the “Rarities” EP. The latter had two non-LP A-sides but missed much rare material that could have been there. The last three tracks, however, were previously unreleased cuts available only on that EP. Apparently, much [but not all] of the tracks from “Music For Films vol. 2” eventually saw commercial release in 2005 on the “More Music For Films” CD, which sported very similar cover art to the box LP of 22 years earlier. The running order was appended with more tracks taking the playlist up to 21 tracks from 13.

Virgin/Astralwerks | US | CD | 2005 | ENOCD 12

Brian Eno: More Music For Films US CD

1. Untitled
2. The Last Door
3. Chemin De Fer
4. Dark Waters
5. Fuseli
6. Melancholy Waltz
7. Northern Lights
8. From The Coast
9. Shell
10. Empty Landscape
11. Reactor
12. The Secret
13. Don’t Look Back
14. Marseilles
15. The Dove
16. Roman Twilight
17. Dawn, Marshland
18. Climate Study
19. Drift Study
20. Approaching Taidu
21. Always Returning (II)

Since I had long wanted his solo records, this made purchase convenient and for the $85 or so it cost at the time, it was fair market value, especially considering the selections of music only in this box. There remain about 10 cuts that are still only available in this box. All of the instances I see of it selling on the web suggests the cost of buy-in was a good investment since the going scale is $200-400 currently.

Tomorrow: The all time winner in the “Now How Much Would You Pay?” sweepstakes.