One of my many favorite songs is Brian Eno’s “Baby’s on Fire” as performed on the 801 Live album. Its two main virtues are 1) music and 2) lyrics.

First, I should explain that the song is not about infanticide. It seems that “Baby” is a young lady and Baby is feeling amorous and thus “on fire”.

On the music front, the main standout is Phil Manzanera’s guitar work. Of course, if you like that, then you might also want to listen to “Diamond Head” which is the next track on the album.

I should also mention that 801 Live was a breakthrough for live albums. Previously, live albums were recorded by putting microphones on the stage near the instruments. 801 Live was first, or at least one of the first, to record the audio feeds directly from the band’s equipment. The quality of the recording is outstanding.

Lyrics start with a discussion of Baby, a moneymaking scheme to recycle cigarette butts, and concluding with:

But Baby’s on firrrrrrrrrrrrrrre
And the instruments agree that
Her temperature’s rising
But any idiot can see that

Then it ends with thunderous bass and drums, hammering keyboard chords, howling guitars, and something that sounds like an air raid siren.