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With DEBUT, the Icelandic thrush Bjork Godmundsdottir (late of the Sugarcubes) brings her knowing innocence and quirky voice to bear on an engaging program of renegade pop tunes. The unusual instrumental textures on songs such as "Human Behavior," fleshed out with timpani, small percussion instruments, vibraphones and harps, suggests a post-modern version of Phil Spector.
As a singer, Bjork's swooping octave leaps and guttural cries betray the elemental contradictions in her music. She projects the girlish innocence and barely constrained sensuality of a wise child, old beyond her years (the techno-reggae romanticism of "Venus As A Boy," the bouncy house changes of "Big Time Sensuality" and "Violently Happy"), and sometimes she sounds like she's trying to rediscover how such doe-eyed love might actually feel, as if for the first time (the mysterious groove of "One Day" and the jazzy standard "Like Someone In Love," with its spare harp accompaniment).
There's a pronounced techno feel to DEBUT, with its airy synthesizers and spacious, uncluttered mixes, but without the cool, mechanized detachment of that genre. On "Aeroplane" Bjork combines a saxophone quartet with Middle Eastern-flavored percussion to steer her tale of obsessive love just outside of the pop mainstream, while the unusual saxophone harmonies of "The Anchor Song" lend a folkish color to her extended metaphors on home and erotic immersion. It's precisely Bjork's sense of adventure that gives DEBUT such a cool exotic flavor.
Personnel: Björk (keyboards); Björk (vocals); Jon Mallison (guitar); Corky Hale (harp); Gary Barnacle, Mike Mower, Oliver Lake (brass); Bruce Smith , Nellee Hooper, Luis Jardim (drums, percussion); Talvin Singh (tabla); Jhelisa Anderson (background vocals); Garry Hughes, Marius de Vries, Martin Virgo, Paul Waller (keyboards, programming).
Recording information: Beats Studio, Bombay, India; Livingston; Matrix; Milk Bar Toilets; Olympic; Summa Studio, Los Angeles, CA; Swanyard; TownHouse; Wild Bunch; Workhouse.
Director: Talvin Singh.
Photographer: Jean Baptiste Mondino.
Arrangers: Björk; Sureh Sathe; Oliver Lake.
Personnel: Bjork (vocals, keyboards); Jon Mallison (guitar); Corki Hale (harp); Oliver Lake (alto saxophone); Gary Barnacle, Mike Mower (horns); Marius De Vries, Paul Waller, Martin Virgo (keyboards, programming); Garry Hughes (keyboards, Hammond organ, programming); Luis Jardim (bass, drums, percussion); Bruce Smith, Nellee Hooper (drums, percussion); Talvin Singh (tabla); Jhelisa Anderson (background vocals).
Engineers include: Jim Abbiss, Nellee Hooper, Howie Bernstein.
Q (12/99, p.76) - Included in Q Magazine's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s." Q (1/94, p.85) - Included in Q's list of `The 50 Best Albums Of 1993' - "...an album of tantalising contrasts....manages to be bubbly, exhilarating, brazenly dance-oriented and satisfying all at once..." Q (7/93, p.85) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...Bjork Godmundsdottir's voice was undoubtedly the jewel in The Sugarcubes' crown and in the relatively sparse setting of this solo debut she reclaims all her old wit and joissance....a surprising, playful collection..." Melody Maker (1/1/94, p.76) - Ranked #6 in Melody Maker's list of the `Albums Of The Year' for 1993 - "...a fantastic DEBUT..." Musician (7/93, p.90) - "...what makes her singing memorable isn't the odd assortment of growls, moans and chirps she relies upon, but the emotions those sounds convey..." NME (Magazine) (12/25/93, p.66) - Ranked #1 in New Musical Express' list of the `Top 50 LPs Of 1993' - "...DEBUT is a musical treasure chest of organic techno beats, twinkly jazz serenades and otherworldly nursery rhymes, disregarding categories and [displaying] a bewitching faith in pop's ability to challenge..." NME (Magazine) (7/3/93, p.35) - 9 - Excellent Plus - "...an album that believes music can be magical and special...."
Good Debut Bjork's first disc is a fine blend of techno, pop, quirky lyrics, and innovative singing. Most of the songs are pretty good except for a few slow clunkers. The overall sound is a little thin at times. It's too bad because these songs are begging for remixes. However, the many CD single remixes following the release don't do the songs justice either. Bjork would make better albums in the future, but none with this much commercial potential. Submitted by a reviewer (Milwaukee, WI) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Iceland invades the Music Scene... again... I was not a typical Bjork fan. I first heard a few tracks... but it wasn't until I heard "Big Time Sensuality" in 1998... yes... five years after the actual release that I became intrigued with the entire album. Post... which is the sophomore album to follow up Debut is also a sure winner... However.. Homogenic... it is a far cry from her past work. I find it blends too many of the same sounds in one album. Her first two albums offer such a ecclectic mix. Submitted by a reviewer (Houston,Tx / London, UK) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Is a great musical experience, indispensable in your collections I can find a great and complite work. All the songs are perfectly made. i recommend to listen all the c.d, from track 1 to track 12. You will feel the rhythms of the inspirating dreams.
Submitted by a reviewer (Bogotá, Col) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
How often is EVERY song on a CD simply amazing? For you Bjork fans, there is no exception: you MUST own this album...her first full release "Debut" is undoubtely her best album. Note: try to get your hands on the Euro import version with bonus track "Play Dead", the most intense track on the album and (sorrowfully) not on the US release. Those new to Bjork: she is in a genre all her own. Will be one of the best CD's you own. Submitted by a reviewer (Upstate NY, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo This review is for a different format.
Good Debut
Iceland invades the Music Scene... again...
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