Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
TAPESTRY OF VOICES, 20 Oct 2004
Bjork has really pushed the boundaries on this remarkable album. Assisted by the Icelandic Choir, London Choir and other musicians like Rahzel (of The Roots), Björk delivers a spooky and gripping album where vocal chords take the place of instruments. At times it sounds inaccessible, like a tuneless vocal growl, while at other times the listener is enraptured by the sweeping harmonies. Some of the lyrics are in Icelandic and others are based on English poetry but it's all very organic and authentic. It reminds me of Meredith Monk's Dolmen Music and the experimental stuff of Scott Walker. Here you'll here the human voice in all its glory and stunning variety. And its many moods too. Medulla might not appeal to all her fans, but I found it to be a bold musical statement with plenty of charms. Repeated plays should reward the more adventurous listener.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding Perfection, 5 Jun 2006
Though reading a few reviews prior to purchase, I didn't know exactly whether my expectation would fit the reception.
I can delight in explaining to you that this is elaborate, extravagant, and a real wonder to enjoy.
What surprised me was that for this album she had collaborated with, amongst others such as 'The Icelandic' and 'London Choir'.... Rahzel, whom I had previously afforded my attention for his work with Philidelphia hip-hop band 'The Roots'. This highly acclaimed and regarded human beat box creates the beats and percussion for many of the tracks throughout, and his talent is quite simply exceptional.
As if his exceptional talents weren't enough, add the vocal and musical genius of Bjork at her very most outstanding perfection.
This album could be considered experimental by some, due to its concept in creation, and entire lack of instruments, though with Rahzel present, you will think you are hearing a drum kit.
This is a BIG album with a BIG and grandous sound afforded by the choirs, the scale, extent, and beauty of the project, if you have even an ounce of taste, will leave you spellbound.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Utilising Her Most Unique Instrument to the Fullest ..., 5 April 2006
It is almost impossible to view any film, listen to any piece of music or read any literature created post-September 11 without being informed of the dreaded events forever connected to that day. The senselessness of the violence, its display of the fragility of the human condition and the sinister machinations behind the attack made people so frightened, so self-aware and so angry that it ignited popular opinion and discussion. MTV icons such as Pharrell Williams and Eminem suddenly became pro-Democrat sounding boards whilst Britney Spears publicly stood by Bush and his whacking, turning Michael Moore into the new American movie superstar. Amid the paranoid flux of international threat and pop politics gone awry, Björk, who had moved to Manhattan just before the attack, withdrew into her own world with a second child on the way. After the floaty poetry of "Vespertine", as well as touring the premier opera houses of the world with that album, Björk was keen to get "primitive and silly" again, as she has said in interviews. And "Medúlla" was the result ...
"Medúlla" has become, and most likely will remain, a point of contention for Björk's fanbase (even the hardcore ones). Acapella albums rarely work, and are often accused of being relatively samey with a particularly heavy reliance on choirs. And since her auspicious "Debut", Björk's music has developed a reputation for moments of orchestral splendour mixed with the best state-of-the-art programming that money can buy. What people forget though is that if anyone outside of the nu-R&B/Soul collective was to make an acapella album, surely Björk and her distinctive voice would be the most appropriate to take on such a challenge. And even if she uses the choirs more than once (can't be helped when they sound this heavenly, though!) the result is her most punky, dance-flavoured album in a while, as well as her most political and contemporary.
"Medúlla", meaning "marrow" in Icelandic, serves up quite a mixed bag of pop songs, first off. Those keen to write off the album as Björk trying to be more leftfield than her reputation has already established really ought to listen to these pieces again because, aside from the instrumentation, Björk hasn't proved her pop royalty better since Post. The likes of "Who Is It (Carry My Joy On The Left, My Pain On The Right)", "Mouth's Cradle" and "Triumph Of A Heart" boast the kind of buoyant melodies that Cathy Dennis would kill to concoct and are made all the more accessible with the choice of human beat boxes, which give them an almost-urban feel (Rahzel of The Roots, British beatmaker Shlomo and Japanese prodigy Dokaka all make indelible appearances). Alongside these we have some slow burner stunners where Björk allows her fellow vocalists to be even more experimental. In the avant-corner we have Canadian throat singer Tagaq and Faith No More's Mike Patton, but the ultra-special guest is Robert Wyatt, who puts in tremendous work on both "Submarine" and "Oceania". All this without a mention of the choirs (all arranged by Björk herself) heralds the Icelander's most varied and collaborative album to date.
The most beguiling thing about "Medúlla", however, lies in the themes prevalent throughout the songs themselves. Rather obviously, she has reserved songs almost exclusively about singing and songwriting for an acapella album, infusing them with as dramatic and textured a soundscape as can be found on either "Homogenic" or "Vespertine" thanks to the dearth of vocal talent on display. Key examples include "Pleasure Is All Mine", "Submarine" and "Triumph Of A Heart", each cementing Björk's placing as a unique vocal star. The most lyrically potent songs, however, exhibit explicit degrees of social consciousness and are about Björk and her relationship with the present world, more so than her previous albums. The most moving of these include "Vökuró", an Icelandic standard that has Björk sing to her daughter in her native tongue, and "Oceania", with Björk's melody and Sjón's ever-reliable lyrics (hear "Isobel", "Bachelorette" and the SelmaSongs album) providing a voice for the ocean, from which we have all evolved and continue to grow from. And proving that Bush-bashing is as inescapable as it is enjoyable, Björk commits said indulgence with "Mouth's Cradle" in an inspired coda, heralding the album's most epic moment. In its unselfish celebration of unity and uniqueness of the human voice, "Medúlla" is not only Björk's most upbeat album since "Debut", but easily registers as her most uplifting.
Although, "Medúlla" does have its fair share of rubs. Firstly, there is the vocal editing and programming, which often morphs the choirs and beatboxing into a keyboard signature that at times appears too sophisticated for the average human voice. You can take this as Björk cleverly commenting on the vocal distortions that tune many a pop star's voices towards unsingable octaves or most likely just feel ambivalent towards an acapella album relying so heavily on post-production software. And for the passing listener, the tracks sung exclusively in Björkian gibberish will seem like filler despite the harmonies that burst forth ("Öll Birtan" and "Midvikudags"). Granted, it was going to be hard to live up to "Vespertine", but "Medúlla" does offer up more stirring stuff than most pop stars can shake a stick at, and you cannot say fairer than that. As an "up-yours" to modern pop culture and a celebration of the voice, both what it can say and what it can achieve, "Medúlla" should be applauded.
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