For someone who describes himself as a non musician, Brian Eno has had an outsized influence on music & musician both.

From his early days as a member of Roxy Music, to his own solo albums, to working with a multitude of artists and producing 100s of records, his body of work is massive.

Going through them all is far beyond the scope of this essay, but on his 74th birthday, I thought I'd give a quick primer on my top 5 favorite records he's been involved with.

Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!

From the first notes of "Uncontrollable Urge," this record showed the world what Akron Ohio already knew; that Devo was a band like no other. David Bowie (yes, that David Bowie) was brought in to remix the record after conflicts between Eno and the band arose.

Remain In Light

The 4th studio record by Talking Heads. This was the final studio record Eno produced for the band, but certainly not the last time he and lead singer David Byrne worked together.

My Life In The Bush of Ghosts

A collaboration with Byrne--his first without Talking Heads--recorded mostly in between Fear of Music and Remain In Light. It is built on a foundation of samples and found sounds.

Unforgettable Fire

The best studio album U2 ever recorded. I'll take no further questions at this time.

Laid

In the early 90s, James was looking to take a new direction. Eno was looking to work with the band after learning his wife was a fan. The result was Laid, a record that is a much more stripped down sound than their previous work.

Do you have a favorite record of Eno's? If so, I'd love to hear what it is!