Web MasterBjâ€rk, on her beauteous greatest hits album
Bjork
Greatest Hits
Elektra
by Dan Carlin
Oooooh, my dearest, gentlest, fans, I have such a wonderful gift for you! Oh, but what am I saying, the gift is from you! You click-clicked on your computers and chose the songs for my Greatest Hits, and what delightful clicking you did! I was not as happy that you did not select any of my beloved sparkle-crystals from the album called Selmasongs, but you have chosen well, my fans. Bjork is happy!
Hearing old songs like “Venus as a Boy,” and “Human Behaviour,” from my first album, Debut, was like experiencing the return of my long-lost snow leopard kittens, now full grown, proud, and beautiful! I can still rock out to the strong, bassy beat of “Human Behaviour,” flinging my hair about and screaming to the fjord slushing beside my house.
And sometimes I feel that almost too much has been revealed of Bjork in these songs. My song “Hyperballad” scares me some times. Permit me to sing,
It’s still early morning / no one is awake / I’m back at my cliff / still
throwing things off / I listen to the sounds they make on their way
down / I follow with my eyes ’til they crash / imagine what my body
would sound like / slamming against those rocks
But I no longer think such thoughts about slamming against rocks anymore; I have realized that the world is full of love, and I do not want to die.
I still listen with marvelous tears at some of the songs I wrote on my newest album, Vespertine. On “Pagan Poetry” the music boxes we used jingle and tinkle in such a lovely way! I think my voice sounds very beautiful and very sexy on “Hidden Place” and I like the skipping, quickly-shuffling beats of that song. I made a lot of those on my laptop by myself.
I don’t much like the remix that was done of my song “Big Time Sensuality,” but what a joy it was to meet again these other, many, forgotten children of mine! I am glad that you have not merely chosen my most popular songs, for I can no longer listen to those, nor probably, can you! You, my fans, are beautiful and lovely for selecting for me such a lovely gift. It brings me warmth and comfort in the winter. love ~ bjâ€rk
BottomLine:
“…what a joy it was to meet again these many, forgotten children of mine!”
Grade: A-
A tiny disc for a very important band
Nirvana
Nirvana
Geffen Records
by Travis Petersen
“You Know You’re Right,” the first song on this greatest hits collection, is the final song recorded by Nirvana, and has been unavailable until the release of this album. The track reminds listeners why Nirvana was considered the band of the nineties, full of the trademarks of Kurt Cobain’s songwriting-a hushed, restrained beginning building into a storm of distortion and raw emotion. This song is the bait, an attempt to lure Nirvana fans back into stores one last time. And good bait it is; the last good song written by a great songwriter.
Don’t take the bait, Nirvana fans. For the most part, this disc is not for you. The combination of their posthumous live album, from the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, and their Unplugged in New York special more accurately show Nirvana’s greatness, including more songs and better illustrating the diversity of Cobain’s songwriting genius and the band’s punishing execution. Nirvana’s innovation was that they made punk music accessible to the mainstream without sacrificing the anger and the edge of their hardcore background. The combination of those two albums is a perfect representation of that mixture of eloquence, pop sensibility, and power.
This greatest hits package, on the other hand, is a bit of a cheat. At little over fifty minutes, it does not even fill a single CD to its maximum potential. The songs presented here are all good, some of them great-“Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Heart-Shaped Box,” “Rape Me”-but the collection leaves the jaded Nirvana fan feeling a little bit empty. The reason for that feeling is that this album is a result of a protracted legal battle between Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain’s widow, and his former bandmates, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl. Grohl and Novoselic wanted to include “You Know You’re Right” in a boxed set of b-sides, rarities, demos and other material that would not necessarily make a lot of money but would be of interest to die-hard fans of the band. Love, on the other hand, wanted to release a single greatest hits album featuring the unreleased song as a single, knowing that would make more money for the Cobain estate. Love got her wish.
It is hard to call this album a waste, because it contains no filler and is put together chronologically, demonstrating the progression of Cobain’s songwriting well. All of the radio hits are here, but little else. The likely result is that this collection works well for those unfamiliar with the band’s catalogue and interested in getting a little taste, but is a bit of a retread for those who already have Nirvana’s albums.
If you do not have any of Nirvana’s albums but would like the band’s radio songs collected on a single disc, this is the album for you. If you are already a Nirvana fan, the best bet would be to download “You Know You’re Right” off of the internet and not give Courtney Love any more of your hard-earned money.
Bottom Line:
“Courtney Love’s cash-in is an OK representation of a great band.”
Grade: B+
Even in small doses, bad music is still bad music
Adema
Insomniac’s Dream EP
Arista Records
by David Holloway
Pop quiz, hotshot: you’re the lead singer of a semi-successful band that is popular not on its own merits, but because you and Korn vocalist Jonathan Davis are half-brothers. You and your band signed a deal with Arista several years ago and after releasing your first album in 2001, you’re due for another, either because your fans are forgetting that you exist or because of some stipulation in your contract. What do you do?
If you’re the heavy metal outfit Adema, you put together four new songs, combine them with three of your old songs, and pump out an EP. Congratulations, you’ve just bought yourself time before you have to put out a real album.
Adema’s Insomniac’s Dream is a 26 minute reminder that, yes, the band still makes music, and no, they still aren’t very good. For one, their songs sorely lack substance. Take the main verse from “The Way That You Like It”: “You would always say I’d never be s***/ They would always say I’d never be s***/ But look at me now, look at me now!” Exactly. And it doesn’t get much better. Ever.
The EP thing is pretty old hat: Incubus put one out way back when they were called Fungus Amongus. Soulfly pulled the same stunt, and Linkin Park’s latest, Reanimation, is no more than an album of catchy dance remixes. What keeps these bands going is that they have talent, while Adema does not.
The only thing the band has going for them is that they are as heavy as they have ever been-lead singer Mark Chavez III is full of youthful angst and screams a lot, and the guitar riffs and drum beats are hard. Adema also has managed to piece together a pretty resume, including tours with Disturbed and Linkin Park, as well as appearances on Sno-core and Ozzfest. Slipknot has been on the same tours. Big deal. They suck too. Playing with talent doesn’t necessarily make one talented, as Adema surely knows by now.
BottomLine:
“…a 26 minute reminder that, yes, the band still makes music, and no they still aren’t very good.”
Grade: F
Clapton pumps out another great live release
Eric Clapton
One More Car, One More Rider
Reprise Records
by Molly Sutter
Live albums are an intriguing and often over-looked part of the music industry. Most live albums, however, tend to receive the mandatory hype and then fade into the background. Do you even know if your favorite bands have a live album to their credit? If so, tell the truth–do you even listen to it? Eric Clapton makes this live album, the first since his multiple Grammy-award winning stint on MTV Unplugged, worth the listener’s time. Both his amazing talent and the variety of songs spanning the two CDs make this purchase worth it.
The main selling point of this CD is the wide variety of material the double set encompasses, making it especially attractive to people like myself who don’t own any Clapton CDs. The variety is not only the spice of life for listeners, but it shows off Clapton’s incredible ability to play in several different genres, among them blues, pop, and straight-up rock and roll. The second CD is heavy with older hits, such as “Cocaine,” “Wonderful Tonight,” and “Layla.” There’s not much new with them-the sound is superb, Clapton’s vocals are as powerful as ever, and the songs are driven by some wicked guitars and drums, along with the crowd’s incessant chanting. One of the best moments of One More Car comes at the beginning of “Layla,” when the band picks around at some chords before beginning the song. Once Clapton kicks it into gear, the crowd roars its approval, providing the album with a shining moment of appreciation between band and audience.
Clapton also includes some of his more recent hits, such as “Tears in Heaven,” “Change the World,” and “My Father’s Eyes.” As different as these songs are from several of his other hits, there is a power beneath them that is distinctly Clapton. The latter two tunes are pop in nature, revealing a different side of Clapton’s nature that is more mellow but none the less passionate about the timeless themes of love, life, and belonging. The best songs on the album, however, are where Clapton lets loose his inner blues monster on “She’s Gone,” “I want a Little Girl,” and “Have You Ever Loved a Woman?” He wails, he cries, and the audience loves it. The best instance of this is on “Have You Ever Loved a Woman,” where the organ breaks down the song to the bare minimum of sound, then builds it back up again to an explosive, roaring climax. Love is both powerful and scary stuff, and Clapton knows how to handle it.
One More Car finishes up with “Over the Rainbow,” one of those songs that does not seem likely to show up on a famed guitarist’s playlist. But there Clapton is, crooning over those lyrics in a way that would make any Wizard of Oz fan happy. The remarkable thing is that he does a great job, or perhaps it’s not that remarkable-this guy didn’t make the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame three times for nothing. This album is a wonder in that there aren’t any gimmicks, it’s just no-holds-barred Clapton on display, which makes this live album very worthy of respect.
Bottom Line:
“…shows off Clapton’s incredible ability to play in several different genres, among them blues, pop, and straight-up rock and roll.”
Grade: A