Brian Eno – “Fickle Sun (iii) I’m Set Free” (The Velvet Underground Cover)
Brian Eno has always been one to defy convention, but not quite to the degree he has on his upcoming two-track album, The Ship. Yeah, the album only contains two songs, but it’s still the standard length of an LP, clocking in at just over 47 minutes. He’s already shared the 21-minute opus that is the title track, and that in itself could be an EP as it’s really a few songs in one. The second track, “Fickle Sun,” also comprises multiple movements, and today he’s shared the third and final section, a cover of the Velvet Underground’s 1969 song “I’m Set Free.”
“I’m Set Free” was already one of the Velvet Underground’s most chill songs, but Eno makes it even more serene, like a soothing comedown from all the drugs the proto-punks ingested. Eno adds elegant strings, beautiful piano, and filling harmonies to vocals that barely register as more than quiet hums. Leave it to the art-music virtuoso to class up a punk tune.
The Ship is out 4/29 on Warp.