Various Artists - A Brief History of Ambient Volume 2: 1993 "Imaginary Landscapes" (1974-1993)

Ambient 2: Imaginary Landscapes is a 1993 compilation album released on the Virgin Records label, part of its Ambient series. The compilation was issued as a double CD.

In December of 1993, Virgin Records released a second two-disc collection of ambient music as a follow-up to the commercially and critically successful first volume in the series A Brief History of Ambient. Interestingly, the liner notes state that the series title is "an affectionate nod in the direction of Stephen Hawking."

Once again culled exclusively from the Virgin vaults, this second collection is a bit more narrowly focused than its predecessor. On some level, though, it is mostly "more of the same," with many of the same artists (Brian Eno, Amorphous Androgynous, Tangerine Dream, David Sylvian, The Grid, Robert Fripp, Gong, Edgar Froese and Holger Czukay) making another appearance. 'Course, "more of the same" with artists of this caliber isn't really a bad thing. While Volume 1 did feature a track by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, it is Volume 2 that sports a more international roster, with tracks by Baaba Maal [Senegal], Ryuichi Sakamoto [Japan], The Guo Brothers [China], Prince Far I [Jamaica], The Dmitri Pokrovski Ensemble [Russia] and The Tsinandali Choir [Georgia]. Fans of the bands Gong and Soft Cell will be interested to note the solo track by founding member Daevid Allen. Also of probable interest to some is a track by U2's guitarist The Edge from the soundtrack to the obscure Euro thriller Captive.

Track listing / Artist:

Disc One    
01.     "Call to Prayer"       Baaba Maal     3:52
02.     "Tal Coat"       Brian Eno     5:06
03.     "In Mind"       Amorphorous Androgynous     5:26
04.     "Rubycon, Pt. 2" (Edit)     Tangerine Dream     6:32
05.     "The Healing Place"       David Sylvian     5:16
06.     "Crystal Clear" (The Orb Remix: Clear, Like An Unmuddied Lake)     The Grid     6:12
07.     "Nuages"       Ryuichi Sakamoto     2:08
08.     "Wind on Water"       Fripp/Eno     5:15
09.     "Wildlife"       Penguin Cafe Orchestra     8:11
10.     "When Things Dream"       Jansen/Barbieri     2:39
11.     "Magick Mother Invocation"       Allen, Gong     1:33
12.     "Bringing Down the Light"       Sylvian/Fripp     8:14
13.     "Not Another"       Jah Wobble     3:12
14.     "One Flower"       The Guo Brothers & Shung Tian     1:31
15.     "Black Jesus"       God     6:34
16.     "Mountain of Needles"       Eno/Byrne     2:33

Disc Two     
01.     "You Are Here"       Phil Manzanera     1:46
02.     "Bendel Dub"       Prince Far I     3:05
03.     "Slow Kaliuki" (Edit)     The Dimitri Pokrovsky Ensemble     0:29
04.     "Euterpe Gratitude Piece"       Daevid Allen     9:21
05.     "Water Music"       Fripp     1:16
06.     "New Moon at Red Deer Wallow"       Rain Tree Crow     5:01
07.     "Attack of the 50 Foot Drum Demon"       Bass-O-Matic     4:14
08.     "Mekong"       Jam Nation     5:09
09.     "Endless Life"       The Verve     5:15
10.     "Nachtmusik Schattenhaft"       Klaus Schulze     6:31
11.     "Arrival" (Edit)     Voyager     7:14
12.     "Specific Gravity of Smile"       Edgar Froese     9:29
13.     "Orovela"       The Tsinandali Choir     4:54
14.     "Dance #3"       Laraaji     3:02
15.     "Premonition (Giant Empty Iron Vessel)"       Sylvian/Czukay     6:37
16.     "Island"       The Edge     6:37