Brian Eno is a world class collaborator, producing David Bowie’s legendary “Berlin Trilogy” along with seminal albums by Devo (“Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!”) U2 (“The Joshua Tree”) and, most recently, Coldplay (“Viva la Vida”). Most important to this review are three albums from the ’70s and ’80s that garnered Eno the moniker “the fifth Talking Head.” Those three records (“More Songs About Buildings and Food,” “Fear of Music,” “Remain in Light”) are considered by many to be the best three albums from one of the most influential bands of the era. Talking Heads and Eno both met with great commercial and creative success after parting ways, but the announcement this spring of an album pairing Brian Eno with Heads frontman David Byrne had music fans salivating.

Acting as a slip in time, “Everything That Happens Will Happen Today” allows two mature artists to explore the wide range of music that they have inspired. Had it been released 20 years ago, bands like Radiohead, the Flaming Lips and heck, even Coldplay could point to specific songs that inspired their styles. These songs, while fitting perfectly into Eno’s and Byrne’s recent discographies, seem to predate the music by these artists. The ambiant-folk sound blends seamlessly with Byrne’s simple, seemingly effortless lyrics. A fairly straightforward rock instrumentaion is accompanied by electronic backdrops and distortions. These in particular seem to be a kind of throwback and yet parallel many current artists who construct complex soundscapes from simple beeps and clicks (Ladytron, Crystal Castles).

These elements alone would make for an intriguing experiment (not unlike Byrne and Eno’s previous solo collaboration “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts”) but not much more than a nice nod to fans and followers. But Byrne has put some of the sweetest and catchiest melodies of his career over Eno’s musical tracks. The album’s first single “Strange Overtones,” an infectious gem, makes reference to the time-bending nature of the music found here. “This groove is out of fashion/ these beats are 20 years old” Byrne croons, a self-referential wink perhaps, but his lyrical specificity never allows too much room for self-indulgence. This is after all the man who one said, while interviewing himself no less, that he’d like to write a song about hairdos, but not the people under them.

The rest of the tracks are a good mix of methodically paced, densely packed, lilting tunes, although “Home,” “Wanted for Life” and “The River” stand out. “Life is Long” is a great thumpy sing-along track and “My Big Nurse” is a sweet meditation on perhaps God, perhaps simply the unknown, would fit nicely on a late Johnny Cash album.

It’s often hard to judge great artists who have been producing solid music for a long time, despite their departure from the brightest lights of the public consciousness, as good feelings about their past work can cloud middle-aged mediocrity. But Eno and Byrne have sidestepped that old pitfall by embracing their past, which was always and is still experimental rock based around traditional pop formations. Nothing on this album rivals the poppy, good nature of David Byrne’s recent collaboration with Fatboy Slim “Toejam” (the sexy innocence of the video is irresistible) but neither are these long meandering jams. It’s good to see that artists can come home again without abandoning their new lives.