Björk

Product Details

* Audio CD (June 13, 1995)
* Original Release Date: June 13, 1995
* Number of Discs: 1
* Label: Elektra / Wea
* Catalog Number: 61740
* ASIN: B000002HH2
* Other Editions: Audio Cassette | LP Record
* Average Customer Review: based on 204 reviews. (Write a review.)
* Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,754 in Music (See Top Sellers in Music)
Yesterday: #6,758 in Music

Listen to Samples
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1. Army Of Me Listen Listen
2. Hyper-ballad Listen Listen
3. The Modern Things Listen Listen
4. It's Oh So Quiet Listen Listen
5. Enjoy Listen Listen
6. You've Been Flirting Again Listen
7. Isobel Listen
8. Possibly Maybe Listen
9. I Miss You Listen
10. Cover Me Listen
11. Headphones Listen
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
This Icelandic marvel is such an original that, even after four Sugarcubes albums and a brilliant solo Debut, she remains an acquired taste. "Army of Me" is a turbulent, darkling tune that's almost conventional next to the gloriously eclectic material that follows. Working with Tricky, Soul II Soul/U2 producer Nellee Hooper, and string arranger/one-hit wonder Deodato, Björk looses her helium-fueled voice and surreal wordplay on Gershwinesque pop (the adorable "It's Oh So Quiet"), ambient dub ("Possibly Maybe") and all kinds of fresh dance/pop hybrids ("Enjoy," "Hyper-Ballad," "I Miss You"). Too raw and adventurous for mass success, perhaps, but a more unique, engaging, oddly accessible artist just doesn't exist. --Jeff Bateman
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32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
First Class Post And A Total Masterpiece, January 25, 2004
Reviewer: The Nocturnal Aerial (Leeds, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)
In 1993 Bjork released her debut album "Debut" and simultaneously created one of the most unique and original albums for years. The critics adored it and she was hard-pressed to deliver the goods on its follow-up. She more than delivered in 1995 with the masterpiece "Post." A darker and more mature album than its predecessor, Post is a wonderfully epic album that revived the music scene from a deadly overdose of dance garbage and manufactured pop. It couldn't have come along at a better time.

Not many artists wind up producing a second album that far surpasses their debut, but Bjork - once again - is clearly the key objection to this rule. With harder beats, more creative production and a wider perspective on the world, Bjork created a masterpiece that still sounds as fresh today as it did back in 1995. One can only imagine what was going through her mind as she recorded this album. Bjork not only changed the music scene in the 1990's with this classic album, she changed my own perceptions on music.

"Army Of Me" opens the album in grand style. This is a really good opener for an album, very loud, very brash and hectic. It starts off like an electronic crash, before sliding straight into a thumping bass and percussion. It's an extremely industrial song with mechanical styles and powerful vocals from Bjork. "Hyper-Ballad" is the first masterpiece of the album, and works superbly when juxtaposed next to the song it follows on from. Strings and electronic pulses sweep this song along and Bjork's lyrics about throwing things off cliffs are extremely visual and commanding. "The Modern Things" begins with computer-synthesized beats before exploding into a whirling concoction of chaotic layering of programmed beats. Not the best song on the album, but still a good one.

By far the most famous song from this album comes next, "It's Oh So Quiet." This still remains Bjork's only UK Top 5 song to date, and spent 15 weeks on the chart from November 1995. This song is a technicolor romp through musicals with soft and quiet verses which make way for outrageous musical bursts. Bjork's diverse voice on this song still amazes me to this very day and her complete disregard for anything commercial and stereotypical made this one of the most well-known songs of all time across Europe. "Enjoy" is up next and without a doubt my favourite song on the entire album. This song is more reminiscent of the first track from this album, yet it's heavier and more hectic with more industrial beats. A thumping, pulsating beat just assaults your ears as you listen to it. Bjork's voice is dark and almost scary. Not a song to listen to in the dark! Someone once described this song as like having your head stuck in a cement-mixer. What a superb analogy! The song gradually draws to a close after a loud and sharp horn on the 24th second of the third minute. It's just incredibly powerful, hardcore and atmospheric! Enjoy, indeed!

"You've Been Flirting Again" is a short interlude which makes way for the proceeding song. It's soft and quiet, very tranquil in stark contrast with the song before it. "Isobel" is another album highlight. This is, by all accounts, a masterpiece in music. Strings gently open the song before a tribal drum beat just appears out of no where, as if from the Brazilian rainforest as techno wizardry takes over and a deep bass infects the song. The strings before each chorus are incredibly epic and just open up the song. "Possibly Maybe" is a strange song that starts off like a telephone ringing. It's a sad song about a former relationship and the minimalistic nature of the song captures this. The chorus is strangely catchy as more layers are added.

"I Miss You" is a dramatic return to the dancefloor. It's an outrageous song with many musical influences such as a trumpet and crazy samba beats towards the end. Bjork's vocals are just free and carnal. A true highlight of the album, if not her career. "Cover Me" contrasts the hectic power of the last track in a song in which Bjork states, "I'm going to prove the impossible really exists!" And prove she does with a haunting and tropical beat. It's hot, muggy and sticky like in the dead of night of a rainforest. The emphasis and enthusiasm showcased in her voice is just downright inspirational. It's a short song which leads us into the next song wonderfully. "Headphones" is a brilliant song, if a little over drawn. At almost six minutes it's to be expected but the little electronic impulses that dart around the song totally make it an enjoyable listening experience. The crackling in the background and Bjork's vocals of "Oh, oh, oh, oh, ah, ah" in any arrangement just scars itself onto your brain.

OVERALL GRADE: 10/10

Bjork is a new discovery for me. I've known her as a star for far too long, and avoided her music because it didn't conform to society's standards and expectations. How wrong I was. Bjork Gudmundsdottir is truly a remarkable woman. She's a total genius and I'm not lying when I praise her as one of the greatest female artists of all time! There is such a wide range of music on offer on Post, yet Bjork manages to hold it all together with ease. This is one of the best albums that money can buy and one of the very few you can listen to over and over without getting bored of. Buy it now and discover just what all the fuss was about. show less

Product Details

* Audio CD (September 23, 1997)
* Original Release Date: September 23, 1997
* Number of Discs: 1
* Label: Elektra / Wea
* Catalog Number: 62061
* ASIN: B000002HPV
* Other Editions: Audio CD | Audio Cassette | LP Record
* Average Customer Review: based on 295 reviews. (Write a review.)
* Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,895 in Music (See Top Sellers in Music)
Yesterday: #5,569 in Music

Listen to Samples
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1. Hunter Listen Listen
2. Joga Listen Listen
3. Unravel Listen Listen
4. Bachelorette Listen Listen
5. All Neon Like Listen Listen
6. 5 Years Listen
7. Immature Listen
8. Alarm Call Listen
9. Pluto Listen
10. All Is Full Of Love Listen
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Headline-grabbing personal upheavals turn into introspective surges on Homogenic, the third album by Icelandic singer Björk. Driven inward after a bizarre year accented by a much publicized mail bomb, airport cat fight and brawl between ex-lovers Tricky and Goldie, Björk gets lost in a wash of strings and minimalist techno patterns on her latest outing. The eccentricity and stylistic schizophrenia of Debut and Post have been cast away in favor of darker, more sublime edginess. Filled with songs about paranoia, heartbreak, and lost faith, Homogenic not only showcases more mature themes, but a more uniform mood. Notch that up to Björk's decision to produce the album herself. Aside from a few nominal collaborations with Mark Bell of obscure techno outfit LFO and the Icelandic String Octet, this is the purest representation of the artist's vision. Little did we know that such a quirky personality would have such a bleak world view. Homogenic is almost too heavy to take in sitting, and songs, like the grating "Pluto," are downright unlistenable. But there are moments of inspiration that burn through the dark clouds, particularly on the contemplative "Joga" and the uplifting "Bachelorette." --Aidin Vaziri

Product Description
Same Details as the Limited Digipack Format, Except Not Limited and Packaged in a Jewel Box. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
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27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
A stunning album - but it takes time to really enjoy it., December 23, 1999
Reviewer: Kitsune Spiritchaser (my spot in the forest, watching the leaves dance above me) - See all my reviews
The first time I listened to Homogenic, I was a little disappointed. I missed the eclectic sounds of Bjork's previous album, Post. To me Homogenic 'all sounded the same'. Then I listened a few more times, and it was only then that I really heard and appreciated the music. Now I consider it to be Bjork's best yet.

A strange but effective mixture of hard techno beats and string octet performances is the 10 song backdrop for Bjork's unique voice. The album starts with 'Hunter', a searching, determined track. It moves through songs of loneliness, desire, and passion. Track 9, Pluto, is the album's intense climax. The sheer energy in this track is astonishing (and you simply cannot turn the volume up enough, in my opinion). Homogenic closes with the soft, peaceful 'All Is Full Of Love', a song so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes.

You don't have this album? What are you still reading this for? Go out and experience it for yourself - I promise you won't be disappointed. show less

Product Details

* Audio CD (August 28, 2001)
* Original Release Date: 2001
* Number of Discs: 1
* Label: Elektra / Wea
* ASIN: B00005NG4X
* In-Print Editions: DVD Audio
* Average Customer Review: based on 377 reviews. (Write a review.)
* Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,662 in Music (See Top Sellers in Music)
Yesterday: #1,272 in Music

Listen to Samples
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1. Hidden Place Listen Listen
2. Cocoon show more Listen Listen
3. It's Not Up To You Listen Listen
4. Undo Listen Listen
5. Pagan Poetry Listen Listen
6. Frosti Listen Listen
7. Aurora Listen Listen
8. An Echo A Stain Listen Listen
9. Sun In My Mouth Listen Listen
10. Heirloom Listen Listen
11. Harm Of Will Listen Listen
12. Unison Listen Listen
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Ever since Björk's vital, effusive 1993 debut, her music has been increasingly intimate, gently private, and concerned with seclusion. It's typical then that Vespertine's first single is called "Hidden Place." The studious solitude is rewarding, though. Vespertine is a lush, gorgeous swell of midpace electronica, symphonic strings, and Björk's uniquely alien, spectral vocals. There are fantastical wonders here. "Cocoon" (another eulogy to withdrawal from the world) is delicate as a breath, Björk sounding too fragile to be flesh as she lauds "a beauty this immense." "Pagan Poetry" and "Aurora," likewise, are adrift in an enchanted reverie. When she chooses, she crafts killer tunes; "It's Not up to You" is as lovely as anything on Post. Yet, frequently, on such tracks as the yearning, glancing "Undo," Björk seems to be simply thinking aloud, reveling in this wildly rich and visceral music. She's reclaimed cutting-edge electronica, so often the province of geeks and technicians, for the poets and the passionate. Vespertine is a landmark, a revelation, and a truly fabulous achievement. --Ian Gittins
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36 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
Wake up to the sound of Iceland. Wake up: It's BJork's time, August 28, 2001
Reviewer: MANUEL J HERNANDEZ "http://askmanny.com" (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
It's always been challenging to classify the work of Icelandic super-star BJork, as she's always come up with something that escapes any previously conceived category tags: if you think of her as a techno artist, maybe you're right for a few songs; but then she morphs altogether, and comes back reborn playing songs such as 'It's oh, so quiet' or 'All neon like.' At that point you stop trying to find a tag for her music, and just take it at face value: as one of the greatest samples of music (and even visual) art that can be found these days.

With "Vespertine," her newest album, the former lead voice of The Sugarcubes, Bjork takes her music to a new level. With five very successful, and progressively more experimental -yet more mature- albums under her belt, and an immersion into the acting terrain with her outstanding performance in 2000 as Selma, in Lars Von Trier's film "Dancer In The Dark" (the film for which her own album "Selmasongs" served as soundtrack), she comes back with a production that is far more peaceful, adult and introspective than her any of her past work.

This time the seat of producer has been taken by long-time BJork collaborator (with Keyboards and Programming) Marius DeVries, and a most eclectic selection of artists have been summoned by BJork making of this album a larger-than-life experience: California based electronica duo Matmos, jazz composer/arranger Vince Mendoza (same from 'Dancer In the Dark'), and harp virtuosa Zeena Parkins, just to name a few. It's very much like those albums from the seventies, such as the first solo efforts of Peter Gabriel, where the lead artist counted on the talents of several session musicians, but still retained the true essence of the creative genius.

Heavenly choirs like the voices of children or mermaids ('Hidden Places,' 'An echo and a stain,' 'Unison'), whispering lyrics (closing section of 'Pagan Poetry'), the sound of harps and strings, and an instrumental track ('Frost') serve as the musical framework to a set of very mature lyrics, to complete the musical spell of "Vespertine."

The entire album is a musical masterpiece, worth listening a thousand times, but my favorite tracks by far are: 'It's not up to you' (an instant hit), 'Pagan Poetry' (reminded me a lot of "Joga", from Homogenic), the groovy 'Heirloom' ("I have a recurrent dream, every time I lose my voice I swallow little glowing lights my mother and son baked for me..."), and the two closing tracks, 'Harm of Will' (with lyrics written by independent film director Harmony Korine) and 'Unison' -two of the most beautiful BJork songs I have ever heard. show less

Reykjavik find. Endlessly fascinating hyperreal journey into the world of an original artist who uses fashion, her body and photography to imagine new worlds.