to. Critical reception Contemporary reviews were positive. Electronics & Music Maker felt The Pearl had more unity than Ambient 2, and enjoyed the peculiar mix of Eno's melancholia and Budd's optimism. Sound on Sound described how the album generates oceanic imagery, such as galleons at the bottom of the sea, waves on a deserted beach, and fish swimming silently. Retrospective reviews have also been positive. Ned Raggett, writing for AllMusic, stated that "The Pearl is so ridiculously good it instantly shows up much of the mainstream new age as the gloopy schlock that it often is". Robert Christgau wrote that "These eleven pieces are more circumspect and detailed, and while they do slip into decoration they're the most intellectually gratifying (and emotionally engaging) music Eno's put his name on since his first Jon Hassell LP". A more critical review from Uncut described The Pearl the as "overly tasteful abstraction that eventually proves tedious" and a decorative, "musical equivalent of a lava lamp". Ambient 2 and The Pearl are often discussed together by critics in retrospect as landmark works in ambient and both Eno and Budd's repertoire. In 2014, The Guardian wrote that the albums earned them the title "godfathers of ambient". All About Jazz called the albums "some of the most beautiful music to come out of the early days of the genre". Q wrote that The Pearl built upon the sounds in Ambient 2, and described it as "slow motion cocktail jazz through a padded wall and earmuffs" Pitchfork described Budd and Eno's collaborations as evoking tension "between gentleness and threat, between intimacy and uncertainty, between the thrill of a hint and the human desire to see the whole picture". Track listing All tracks composed by Brian Eno and Harold Budd. Personnel Brian Eno – composition, production Harold Budd – composition Daniel Lanois – production Russell Mills – cover art, design Christina Birrer – photography References External links Harold Budd albums Brian Eno albums 1984 albums Albums produced by Brian Eno Albums produced by Daniel Lanois E.G. Records albums Ambient albums by English artists Ambient albums by American artists Collaborative albums Albums with cover art by Russell Mills (artist)