Baby's on Fire

Infobox Song
Name = Baby's on Fire


Border =
Caption =
Type =
Artist = Brian Eno
alt Artist =
Album = Here Come the Warm Jets
Published =
Released = 1973
track_no = 3
Recorded = Majestic Studios, London
Genre = Art rock, glam rock
Language =
Length = 5:19
Writer =
Composer = Brian Eno
Label = Island
Producer = Brian Eno
Tracks =
prev = "The Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch"
prev_no = 2
next = "Cindy Tells Me"
next_no = 4
Misc =
Audio sample? ="Baby's on Fire" is the third track on English musician Brian Eno's 1973 debut album, "Here Come the Warm Jets". It is an example of the predominantly glam/art rock style Eno employed at the time, praised for its guitar solo by King Crimson member Robert Fripp.

Writing and recording

Eno recorded the "Baby's on Fire" during the "Here Come the Warm Jets" sessions in September 1973 at Majestic Studios, London, where he had previously recorded the majority of his earlier material. The track was produced by Eno, who handled production and mixing duties on the bulk of the album's recording, and was created with musicians Simon King, Marty Simon, Robert Fripp, Paul Rudolph, and John Wetton.cite album-notes
title = Here Come the Warm Jets
bandname = Brian Eno
year = 1973
format = Vinyl back cover
publisher = Island Records
publisherid = ILPS 9268
mbid = 46a2f184-ef38-4025-a6e8-c0507f790d90] The song is a bizarre fantasy about a photography session involving a burning infant and unthinking, laughing onlookers.Tamm, 1995. p. 110]

Live recordings of the song have appeared on various Eno recordings, the first being "June 1, 1974", performed with Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Ollie Halsall and Eddie Sparrow.cite album-notes
title = June 1, 1974
bandname = Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Eno & Nico
year = 1974
format = Vinyl back cover
publisher = Island Records
publisherid = ILPS 9291
mbid = ] Eno spoke positively about this performance, saying, "The instruments were incredibly out of tune, so out of tune you wouldn’t believe it. But it sounds fantastic. There’s one little bit in it where there’s a riff between the guitar and one of the bassists, and they’re so out of tune it sounds like cellos. Amazing! I mean if you tried to make that sound in the studio it would have taken you ages. You wouldn’t have thought of making it, in fact, it’s such a bizarre sound. And the piano and guitar are quite well out of tune as well. Ha!"Tamm, 1995. p. 48]

Musical composition

"Baby's on Fire" is 5 minutes 19 seconds long.Cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:difqxqt5ldfe|title="Here Come the Warm Jets" album review|author=Huey, Steve|accessdate=2008-05-09|publisher=Allmusic] The song begins with a tense high-hat and bass line, along several different kinds of electronic sounds. Eno's vocals enter after this, being described as "nasal" and "slightly snotty". Following this first section of lyrics there is a guitar solo by Paul Rudolph and Robert Fripp with shifting drum beats as backing; the soloing continues through with the return of Eno's vocals as the song ends.Cite web|url=http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:wpfqxqldldhe|title="Baby's on Fire" review|author=Huey, Steve|accessdate=2008-05-09|publisher=Allmusic]

Release and reception

"Baby's on Fire" has received positive reviews from critics, mainly noting the guitar solo. Douglas Wolk of "Blender" described the song as "a two-note wonder built around an all-hell-breaks-loose guitar meltdown by King Crimson’s Robert Fripp",Cite web|url=http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=2169|title=Brian Eno : (various reissues) Review on Blender :: The Ultimate Guide to Music and More|date=|author=Wolk, Douglas|accessdate=2008-08-05|publisher=Blender] while Chris Ott of Pitchfork Media called the track "earth-shattering".cite web |url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/36725-staff-list-top-100-albums-of-the-1970s/page_8|title= Pitchfork Feature: Top 100 Albums of the 1970s|accessdate=2008-05-10 |format= |date=23 June 2004 ]

Personnel

*Brian Eno – vocals, synthesizer, guitar, keyboards, treatments, instrumentation
*Robert Fripp – guitar
*Simon King – percussion
*Paul Rudolph – guitar, bass guitar
*Marty Simon – percussion
*John Wetton – bass guitar

Technical personnel

*Brian Eno – producer, mixer
*Chris Thomas – mixer
*Derek Chandler – recording engineer
*Denny Bridges, Phil Chapman, Paul Hardiman – mixing engineers
*Arun Chakraverty – mastering

Notes

ources

* cite book
last = Tamm
first = Eric
title = Brian Eno: His Music and the Vertical Color of Sound
date = 1995
publisher = Da Capo Press
isbn = 0306806495

External links

* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:wpfqxqldldhe "Baby's on Fire"] at Allmusic
* [http://www.last.fm/music/Brian+Eno/_/Baby's+on+Fire "Baby's on Fire"] at Last.fm
*MusicBrainz track|id=03f99283-5fa0-4c3d-a54c-e285c760b147|name=Baby's on Fire