Bjork has 4 full-length albums. The first two (Debut and Post) are full of songs that she says she had to get out of her head after all those years. They are stylistically all over the place but hold up pretty well. Her next two (Homogenic and Vespertine) are more conceptual, although in a way that is at once very hermetic and tongue-in-cheek. For zorn-listers, this is where I would start. The two albums are meant to go together as opposites: Homogenic is the constrained extrovert beaming out flourescent at the cracks, Vespertine is more content to spread out under the kitchen table and lightly kiss itself on the arm. She has explained in interviews that the conceptual division/unity between these albums goes all the way down to the string writing (strongly recorded octet vs. a huge orchestra that only surfaces from time to time). zorn-listers probably know that Zeena Parkins plays harp on Vespertine. That said, I would equally recommend her live representations of these two albums. There was a 4-CD "Live Box 1993-2003" with each of her albums presented in a collection of live recordings. These are now being released individually from bjork.com. I would start with either of the two more recent ones. They show her true musicianship, vocal talent and experimental sensibilities. Vespertine Live is Bjork, Zeena, and Matmos (true experimentalists themselves), backed by a Greenland women's choir and a full orchestra. It's less personal than the studio album, more fleshed out and colorful. Debut Live features a crazy lineup: members of the World Saxophone Quartet, Talvin Singh on tabla, a small gamelan orchestra, Corky Hale on harp, and others on wine-glass harmonica, tuba and harpsichord. In brief: start with Homogenic and/or Vespertine, Live or studio. --- Andrew Mortensen <andrewm@mail.selc.com.au> wrote:
Bjork recommendations anyone?
thanks Andrew
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