Perhaps one of the most unique, innovative and identifiable sounds in music today hails from the hypnotic, heart-aching voice of a woman from, of all places, Iceland. Bjork has touched the music world in such a way that she can't avoid being a major influence for modern acts. After more than a decade of solo recordings, in October of 2002 her greatest hits album was released. Interestingly enough, this wasn't a compilation of her biggest hits, but was compiled by web votes cast by her fans. Their choices are said to be both favorite tracks and ones they thought best reflected her career.
This album is only a reflection of her career so far. She by no means feels that her greatest songs have been written, but that now she has a clean slate to work from. These fifteen tracks will take you reeling from one album to the next. If someone wants to be introduced to Bjork, or any musician for that matter, a sampling of their "greatest hits" album is a nice introductory way of familiarizing yourself to the artist.
Repetitive words usually make me think that artists are unoriginal or so methodic that I become sea sick listening to them repeat the same few words. However, I can listen to the music of Bjork and not want to step out of a song until she is done. This is evident on the hypnotic first track, "All is Full of Love". The album then jumps into one of Bjork's trademark songs, as well as the most popularly voted track on the album, "Hyper Ballad". Just a few tracks later is "Joga", the first single from her Homogenic album. The combination of strings, electronic sounds and whispers of base stir a powerful and emotional feeling in the listener. The sense of urgency resides in the vocals, and the song feels as though it would be sung or played during the climax of either a theatrical performance or movie.
The next eleven tracks are virtually flawless selections from her career. The songs from
Vespertine add much relief from her staggered earlier works (a few of which have reminiscent sounds of the eighties), and help the album to have a steady flow to it. The selections from
Vespertine, which could be heard over speakers in retail stores, yoga studios and hip bars at its release, are the tracks that carry the second half of this album.
This CD is a wonderful introduction to Bjork for new fans. For the more dedicated fans, the simultaneous release of her Family Tree album, which includes one CD of twelve of Bjork's personal favorite songs, as well as five 3" CDs of her music, may be a more appropriate choice. Yet her Greatest Hits album contains unique and identifying songs from the career of one of the most unique and musicians in the industry today.
