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Review
This could be the only realistic way in which to measure Björk's success, whose music is respected and adored by such a diverse range of people.
There are 15 tracks, most of which come from her four solo albums. The album begins, very appropriately, with 'All is full of love': it is well nigh impossible to ignore any emotional response to Björk's music, whose voice, lyrics and philosophy fuse with the very best of production and orchestration to create life enhancing music.
Relive the snapshots of Björk's confessionals, quirks like throwing things off the tops of mountains, her bewilderment and admiration for potential mates and the human race in general, and her tendency to hide as self defence. The earlier tracks sound as fresh as ever, and it is surprising to realise that her earlier work is just as self assured and accomplished as the most recent Album, Vespertine. The vast orchestration in context is reminiscent of her home country, and the drama in the tracks take more from programmatic classical music than pop. For instance, the opening trumpet and violins, from which emerges an African-style drumbeat and dirty guitar conjures up all too well the other-world that 'Isobel' inhabits.
The fans picked well: this album is full of beautiful moments, like the timpani of 'Human Behaviour', the point at which the bass kicks in on 'Joga', plus the opening harp on 'Pagan Poetry'. Amust for any fan of Björk; even if you already own all the tracks, the choice and order of this compilation make it an essential. --Lucy Davies
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Customer Reviews
The album comprises a selection of fifteen songs, spanning all four of the Icelandic singer’s studio albums. They are diverse enough to appeal to a variety of listeners; yet retain within them the distinct sound that the world has come to know as Björk Gudmundsdottir. Although the omission of material from Dancer in the Dark’s Selmasongs and Post’s ‘It’s Oh So Quiet’ are questions worth asking, there really isn’t much to complain about in terms of content.
A gorgeous remix of Homogenic’s ‘All is Full of Love’ opens the album in surprisingly gentle style, flowing onto early hits ‘Hyperballad’ and ‘Human Behaviour’ before hitting its stride in the sheer vocal drama of ‘Joga’ and the full-bodied lyrical marvel that is ‘Bachelorette’. ‘Pagan Poetry’, the beautifully obsessive centrepiece of 2001’s Vespertine, follows a sinister sounding ‘Army of Me’ and precedes the bouncy grooves of ‘Big Time Sensuality’.
The second half of the album loses a little momentum, perhaps caused by what is evidently a random track order that manages to lump together four or five sparse electronic tracks at the back. This having said, songs such as ‘Hidden Place’ and ‘Hunter’ do give an accurate presentation of the darker side of Björk that surfaced circa Homogenic, focusing more on sonic landscapes and atmosphere than traditional song structure. The placing of melodic bass-driven rarity ‘Play Dead’ near the end is a welcome change of pace for the album, closing finally with ‘It’s in Our Hands’, a previously unreleased electronic number that would have sat snugly on Vespertine.
It’s nearly impossible to pick out the highlights from an album compiled of highlights, and for anyone not yet introduced to Björk’s near-inhuman larynx and kooky Icelandic charm, the Greatest Hits album is a great place to start.
Fourteen of Bjork's nineteen cuts have made it to the tracklist here, alongside her new single, "It's In Our Hands". Tellingly missing however is her breakout hit "It's Oh So Quiet", her only single that reached the top 5 in the UK (albeit the only song that Bjork herself detests). However, purists will be pleased with the selection on offer here; the video version of "All Is Full Of Love" is used here, not the lesser album version, and the almighty Fluke remix of "Big Time Sensuality", as heard in the promo video, makes an indelible appearance. The rest of the songs are dutifully clipped from the albums in a fan-friendly, "no radio edits here!" vein. Though "All" polled in at number one with fans, runner-up "Hyperballad", "Pagan Poetry", "Isobel" and "Play Dead" are just as amazing.
But the happiest surprise is the new song, "It's In Our Hands", which confirms that, at 37 and after twenty-five years of creating music, Bjork isn't giving up anytime soon, which is music to all her fans' ears! And for those out there who would like to hear more from Bjork, check out the expensive-but-extensive "Family Tree" collection, which goes back to when Bjork was writing music at 15! And the drawings, which are individually numbered and based on each song, are cool too!
Well worth it!
"All is full of love," with it´s low-key sensitive lyrics blends excellently with the strings and effects. It´s a nice opener. I love,"Hyperballad," this track really builds nicely at the end, whereras Bjork doesn´t change the pitch of her voice. Other highlights are the rangy strings on,"Bachelorettee," the pounding drum beat of,"Hunter," and the slickly worded pop of,"Bigtime sensuality."
Bjork has always angled between the alternative and euphoric pop, something that males her music very versatile. I really like the passion and force of her voice on,"play dead," I wouldn´t usually warm to songs like this,but it´s got something special. Bjork, both lyrically and stylisticly adds her only little twist to things that mark her out from her peers.
The music has a panoramic quality to it, Bjork´s tracks always sound intense and dramatic, sometimes the music can be a little over the top but she invariably hits the spot. A unique voice and well worthy of it´s five stars this.
this is an amazing collection of bjorks amazing hits like all is full of love, bachelorette . . . . . Read more
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