Thanks for posting about this.
I had always wondered why that song disappeared from the CD release, and was even more surprised when it was not among those slated to appear on this highly anticipated reissue. I always assumed it had something to do with its title or source, but wasn’t sure.
Now I know.
I am looking forward both to this, and the remix site.

Thank you so much for posting this. I had never heard this track before.

Thanks. Only reason it disappeared I think was because of the title. We all know how muslims get soo touchy about things like this… if word of this got out.. they would be pretty pissed.

more self-censorship caused by the fear of Islamo-fascists!

Awesome! I had the UK version of the CD in college but being broke I probably pawned it. I repurchased it a few years ago and had forgotten about the track. It’s great to have back a complete copy of one of the most influential albums I ever heard/owned.

I grew up with the vinyl that had this song on it, and was always curious as to why I could never find it again when I replaced it with the cd version.
Thanks!

this has a bit of an “Across The River” vibe. I can’t remember the name of that violinist. He also did “Himalaya”.

This is amazing.

Holy flippin’ hell, I hadn’t even noticed this cut was cut from the CD.

Absolute masterpiece, the whole record.

Now excuse me while I go buy the new outtakes!

So that’s what’s been missing from my life since I went CD/digital. Time to get out the vinyl collection. Thanks.

Thanks. I think I have this CD somewhere. I had this on tape and played it until it wouldn’t play any more. Thanks to you and Boing Boing for reacquaintin g me with the track

Thank you for putting this up. I hope someone who is bandwidth-rich will also put up a full-quality lossless encoded version.

My copies cd, vinyl, have the song on it - I’m missing something - but I don’t have the version w/ the cover art that you show.
I think you got taken by some rumor.
The songs in question are “Regiment and “a Secret life” - both are on the remaster check amazon.

Also “The carrier” and it’s on the remaster.
Just buy it - It’s complete with added tracks and is one of the best cd’s ever.
Then buy the Folkways/Smithsonian “Been in the Storm So Long: A Collection of Spirituals, Folk Tales and Children’s Games from Johns Island, SC”
for the whole “Moonlight in Glory” and other Star Hall Singers’ songs

I played this track to a good friend muslim from Iran at time of its release he said it was confusing funny not to he’s taste but he was not offended ! but to my western ears it was a new mind blowing sound !thinking about it ,if some body in the middle east was to mix the lords prayer with some rag time dub !!! ???** i would buy it !!

Thanks so much! I was thinking I’d need to record that track off my vinyl copy; it’s one of my favorites.

I listen to “world” music - I hate that term. check out Nusrat Fate Ali Khan - he sings qu’ual (sp?) - Sufi songs - I have no idea what they say but they are beatiful. Ofra Haza is a great singer who I don’t understand. I am currently trying to learn thwhat the words mean to all the Callas Arias that I listen too.
The issue is intent - eno would never denigrate a culture - he venerates the wariety of sounds on earth (and beyond - Listen to the beatiful “Apollo” cd).
I speak Japanese damn near fluently but when I listen to Japanese hardcore I cannot alway understand what is said.

And what about the dub of Linton Kwesi Johnson - Not easy to understand for a few listenings.

The main legal issue with “My Life…” was always the Ghost radio voice on the final cut- that is now on the cd and was removed from the vinyl b/c of an injunction from the dead evnangelical’s estate.

I think there is a hysteria that leads people to assume that radical Muslims want everything censored - they probably do but so do radical Baptists, Maranathas, Fred Phelps and all the other hate mongering “Christian” groups It’s the flip side of the same coin.

Too bad. The recording is probably the only direct exposure to the Koran many of us will ever get.

I hadn’t even realized that my CD copy was different from the vinyl version. I have the vinyl LP verion with Qu’ran on it, but Very Very Hungry on my CD copy.

I am muslim and this doesn’t offend me, or anyone I know, in the slightest. You can buy Quranic music at any shop in London or wherever. Just because this is in a different context does not make it haram. These people do not represent all Muslims! Anyway, my two cents.

Great, more fear and loathing from the people who brought you the “Cartoon Riots.”

I had My Life in the Bush of Ghosts on vinyl many years ago, and Qu’ran was always my favorite track. When it was time to upgrade to CD, I was very disappointed when I found out that Qu’ran wasn’t on it. Thank you!

Doubtless Brian’s explanation excises the genuine fear of genuine violence and waffles instead about “concern for harmonious community relations in a globalised age”, or some such.

Great record anyway. Surprising that a creep such as Eno held onto ‘it’ for so long.

I’m a Muslim musician, and a big fan of Eno and Byrne, and this album. I had never heard of this controversy over the “Qu’ran” track, although I’m not surprised.

For the record, these so-called Islamic clerics are peddling one interpretation, one that is unnecessarily harsh and restrictive in the view of most Muslims. There is a long history of musical expression in Muslim culture, including spiritual music (like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and his tradition) that incorporates scriptural references.

Like any religion, Islam has a spectrum of doctrines and interpretations, and it’s unfortunate when one segment of that spectrum monopolizes the discourse, and even more so when it’s accompanied by the violence or threats of violence, implicit or explicit.

One ancillary point: the proper english spelling of the word is “Qur’an” with the apostrophe after the R, not before it.

Peace

Thankyou for making the “Qu’ran” available. I’ve been listening to the original vinyl release of Bush of Ghosts for 25 years, since I was at college, so had never realised that this track had disappeared. I decided a couple of weeks ago that I wanted a CD version so that I could listen to this album, which I still love, on my iPod. Realising that the remastered version was about to be released, I waited for that. It was only when that arrived yesterday that I realised that Qu’ran had been removed. No matter, I thought, I’ll download the original from the iTunes music store which is still carrying the original CD version; of course I found this had been doctored as well. Anyway thanks to your kindness I’ve been able to reassemble the original album as a playlist. I should add that it was interesting to compare the original vinyl on a good turntable, with the CD on a good player. The vinyl still has a life and spontaneity that the CD can’t match, though the latter is very clean and suits the high production values of the original. I understand the sensitivities which led to this track being removed from the album, but it does seem a shame to let this get in the way of good music; this is a much better track than Very, Very Hungry which was used in it’s stead.

It’s good to hear from a couple of Muslims on this issue. I’m not at all surprised that it is a minority with an extreme view (with veiled or not so veiled threats of violence) who manange to impose their will on the rest of us. Part of the irony here is that this track in no way denigrates Islam and merely presents the Qu’ran in a musical context that makes it more accessible to Western ears. I always thought that it captures some of the mystery and gravity of the Islamic world (I admit that this is highly subjective on my part).

I would guess that the ‘limited time offer’ is up since I can’t find a link to download Qu’ran? Please advise.

Thanks.

That’s right, the file is gone. Stuff is posted here for a limited time only. I try to have only five active files at any given time - when I new song is added, the oldest is taken away.

Sorry if you missed it.

maybe you could post it again, due to popular demand, like some others sometimes do as well ? I missed it too. I tink it’s a special case, ’cause it actually helps artistic freedom of expression and. like Peter, pointed out, it helps selling the new cd as well, since with your help one can re-assemble the whole thing for the i pod. I actually always felt ambigious about the “exoticsm” in “my life … ” and many other records, same for the use of a lot of chinese and japanese voices since then everywhere - “there are so funny / strange aren’t they ?” no, there not. there beautiful.

Gotta second the comment about cowering before Islamofascism. Could you even imagine modern musicians pulling something from a release because Jews or Christians complained that it demeaned their religions. Hell, that’d be a selling point for most. To know that Byrne/Eno caved before this idiotic religion decades before 9/11 is downright maddening.