Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) is a 1974 rock album by Brian Eno. The album continued the experimental, lyrically cryptic music Eno had incorporated on his previous album, Here Come the Warm Jets.

Many of the songs contain references to China or Chinese culture. The title of the album originated from the name of a Maoist opera (one of the eight model plays), which Eno said he encountered in San Francisco in the form of postcards advertising a performance. He had no interest in seeing the opera, but its title (which he felt sounded at once medieval and modern, romantic and practical) fascinated him.

The original vinyl release has a locked groove on side one, at the end of "The Great Pretender". The original album was issued in a gatefold sleeve, and the cover art is comprised of 4 prints of 1500 unique lithographs by the artist Peter Schmidt.

One of the lines from "The True Wheel" ("We are the 801, we are the central shaft") provided the name for the 1976 prog rock ensemble, 801, which included Eno and Phil Manzanera. The same song provided the name for Manchester funk band A Certain Ratio.

Track listing

Side one

1. "Burning Airlines Give You So Much More" – 3:18
2. "Back in Judy's Jungle" – 5:16
3. "The Fat Lady of Limbourg" – 5:03
4. "Mother Whale Eyeless" – 5:45
5. "The Great Pretender" – 5:11

Side two

6. "Third Uncle" (Eno, arr. Brian Turrington) – 4:48
7. "Put a Straw Under Baby" – 3.25
8. "The True Wheel" (Eno, Phil Manzanera) – 5:11
9. "China My China" – 4:44
10. "Taking Tiger Mountain" – 5:32

Covers

The British gothic rock band Bauhaus covered "Third Uncle" on their third album The Sky's Gone Out.

In 2004 the entire album was covered by Caroleen Beatty and Doug Hilsinger as Brian Eno's Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy, using the first of the postcards for which the album was named as cover art. This version runs ten minutes longer than the original version.

Personnel

• Brian Eno – vocals, electronics, snake guitar, keyboards
• Phil Manzanera – guitars
• Brian Turrington – bass guitar
• Freddie Smith – drums
• Robert Wyatt – percussion, backing vocals

with "Special Guests":

• Portsmouth Sinfonia – strings on "Put a Straw Under Baby"
• Randi and the Pyramids – chorus on "The True Wheel"
• The Simplistics – chorus on "Back in Judy's Jungle" and "Taking Tiger Mountain"
• Andy MacKay – brass on "The Fat Lady of Limbourg"
• Phil Collins - extra drums on "Mother Whale Eyeless"
• Polly Eltes – vocals on "Mother Whale Eyeless"