An Intricate And Complex Work Of Artistic Genius

Where to begin with such a musical treat such as this? Describing how much I adore this nifty little arrangement is near impossible because my love for Bjork blinds it so much. It was a few days after Christmas in 2003 when I saw Bjork's debut album "Debut" for sale and bought it on the off-chance that I would like it. Little did I know that I was about to embark on the most profoundly amazing musical experience of my life. 2004 for me was Bjork. No one else. In the space of the year I have acquired pretty much her entire back catalogue on CD, and "Live Box" was a welcome addition to this last month.



To firstly understand the importance of a project such as this one must first understand the way in which it is constructed. Bjork is both a visual and musical artist whose work appears to be the end result of just one person's hard work, when in fact everything she does is a collaborative effort. She has always let other people have a say in the work that she does, and she does this because she wants to develop a connection and really make the most of a particular project. This may be a design for a CD cover, a photo shoot, a concert, or even a remix. She knows she can't do all this herself, so she has others helping her, which I find very interesting. With the input of others (and her vision pushing the project forward) she is able to create really big projects, whether it be musically or visually, that boast many different formats and challenge the limits of what that particular field contains.



Undoubtedly one of the best examples of this collaborate effort can be seen in one of Bjork's concerts, which is superbly displayed in this Live Box. Consisting of four live albums, it is a must-have for any Bjork fan. The four CD's are all complete live versions of her first four solo studio albums "Debut," "Post," "Homogenic" and "Vespertine." Bjork especially picks musicians for her tours who are willing to alter the framework of her music while keeping the structure and order the same. She also chooses arenas that are specifically designed for her music. For example, the music on the live Vespertine album was all recorded in opera houses. She chose this because the acoustics of her music would benefit better from the structure of the opera house rather than in a large arena where a lot of the sound would be lost. That's the thing with Bjork, you see: she's not in this to make a quick buck. Her career is her life and we as human beings should respond to this and embrace her passion. She might be in a world of her own, but hey, I'd rather be in hers than the one we're currently in...



The theatrical design of the stage is also very important in the production of shows like this. Her team all offer their opinion and Bjork will choose the ones she thinks are the best, from costume design, stage props and the order of songs. Her live shows seem simple and effortless because of all the hard work that has gone into them. Not many people know what goes on backstage, making it seem effortless. Only when something is effortless is it pure. Now I haven't talked much about the actual music in this collection, but Amazon sells each album individually. Don't worry, I shall be writing reviews for all four individual Live CD's and in great detail - this is too good a collection not too. I felt that it was important to tell newcomers about Bjork's collaborative efforts to make them appreciate her music in a way that is different to any other artist. When you listen to the music on these albums, think of what I said above and if you're ever confused about Bjork's credibility and genius, you'll know why.



This Live Box was released in the summer of 2003 and went down a storm with Bjork fans. Retrospective projects of this size are normally reserved for dead Jazz musicians or classical composers. For a 39-year-old pop star with a mere four solo albums to her name to get this kind of treatment is unprecedented. If any other living musician were to release a similarly grandiose project, it would be seen as an act of unforgivable hubris. This collection also contains a superb DVD which features performances of the songs "One Day," "It's Oh So Quiet," "Joga," "Aurora," and "It's Not Up To You" from different stages during Bjork's career. All in all this collection comprises of four superb CD's and 55 live songs. It is a stellar collection of ground-breaking and misunderstood beautiful music that will be treasures for the rest of time. Essential.

glad to own this release

I have adquired lots of Björk's material. I wanted the this Live Box because it had the 4 live cd's, with songs that were carefully chosen as the best performances, and it also included the bonus Dvd with 4 tracks that had been released in her other respective Dvds and the exclusive and wicked performance of It's Oh So Quiet at Tatarata (not in any of her dvds). A lot Of people prefered to get the individual cd's but I thought of buying the whole box cause of the money saving and the special dvd. Now that I have it in my hands, I don't regret it. I forgot to mention it also includes the Live Book, which consists of a booklet with an extensive interview by Ási to Björk, where she explains about touring, the musicians, the adventures of doing an album, her icelandic roots and more. It's very nice to read the interview because it's like she's storytelling. There you can see that she's reasonable and creative woman, and you can listen to the live records that have fascinating and entertaining bits of shows from the tours of Debut, Post, Homogenic and Vespertine. She's and excellent live artist, and so she proves that in this set. I was personally amazed by this collection of live songs that were magical, warm, charming, sheltering, beautiful. Definitively worth the buy. I thought it would be better off to get all the live albums at once to hear bits of each. It's so good to see a good compilation of live tracks like this one, and I'm am happy to see Björk really took her time to share these incredible performances for everyone who would want to listen to them.

Not as good as seeing her live... but...

I was really excited to find out that bjork was going to be releasing live albums, and one time when I was in denver at a record store, I was surprised to see all of them in stock as I had forgotten the release date. I wanted the vespertine one, and had it in my hand, but accidentally got homogenic live... this review is based primarily around that one, and losely around the other three discs.



The homogenic and vespertine ones are the best,(in my humble opinion) The sound quality is excellent on all of them but it is missing a little oomph on the low end. There are alot of little subtle things that are added into the songs that make them that much more enjoyable, but you might have to listen harder on some songs (immature) than others.



One of the best things about listening to these albums for me, is the nostalgia factor, and she doesnt miss a note. Alot of favorites like Joga (this version is without a beat) and possibly maybe ( extra verse and more imrpovised melodies!) appear on the Homogenic version as well as unexpected gems like so broken and the opening track ( I am not typing that title)

This is good to fulfill any curiosity about her live show but it is no substitute for the real thing when you compare the two.



I will say though that alot of the live versions of songs on homogenic like: all neon like, and pluto, are given new life and I like them much more than the studio versions.



One more thing is that not all of the songs on the albums were recorded from one set, and there is a little bit of a lack of concert feel because of it ( so broken is taken from a tv performance) but its not such a big deal. The booklets contain really nice interviews and photots that helped make the whole package really enjoyable... but I dont know what they were thinking with that picture on the cover of the homogenic disc.



For my money, I'd get the vespertine disc before homogenic,(just because vespertine is my favorite bjork album) and then buy the debut and post if you have the studio albums, as the performances are not much different from the studio counterparts, and there arent really any extra songs you didnt hear on the albums for incentive.

It's cheaper to pick out the "live" discs by priority instead of buying an expensive boxset, but I might be wrong...



The homogenic one serves as a really great way to get your snobby metalhead freind into bjork as it offers quite a bit of stuff from her back catalogue as well as homogenic songs. uh... because everyone knows bjork is pop music for metalheads and hardcore kids (if you dont believe me count the meshuggah shirts in the crowd, and watch all the people headbang to pluto. I am serious.)



The only bad thing about this box set is that it's a little spendy, but you can just buy all of the discs seperately if you want one (or two) and not the other... and sometimes the "feel" of a live setting is a little akward because the production on some songs is diferent, but thats just a little nitpicky thing that isnt even a big issue.



This thing really makes me want to see her live again, some of you dont know what youre missing (not to be a jerk and rub it in * cough*) but this is the next best thing, I promise. If you love bjork, you need this, you wont listen to the studio albums much though afterwards. I love the live albums and I am very glad they were released.



There is alot more passion and the whole thing feels so much more organic and heartfelt than some of the song's counterparts on the studio records, this thing kicks ass!