The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
CD Reviews  |  Classical  |  Live Reviews  |  Music Features
Nominate-best-2010

Björk | Voltaic

Nonesuch (2009)
By MIKAEL WOOD  |  July 7, 2009
3.5 3.5 Stars

090710_voltaic_main
As befits an artist who doesn't do much in the conventional manner, Voltaic is a live album unlike many you've heard before. Rather than assemble recordings of songs from various shows, or tape one gig from beginning to end, the singer gathered her live band (whose line-up includes drummer Chris Corsano, synth-meister Damian Taylor, and Mark Bell on "beats and electronics") at London's Olympic Studios three days after her appearance at Glastonbury 2007; the musicians played through their set in a single take, then called it a day.

As Björk no doubt hoped it would, the result — long on material from that year's Volta but also featuring such oldies as "Army of Me" and "Pagan Poetry" — captures both energy and detail. If you found Volta a little dreary, as I did, the versions of "Earth Intruders" and "Innocence" here should cause you to reconsider.

And if you've always loved "All Is Full of Love," well, prepare to love it a little more. Voltaic is available in a variety of configurations; spring for the CD/DVD set if the idea of taking in a Björk concert in Reykjavík is more appealing than it is affordable.
Related: Bat girl, Men plus money equals mess, Fail better, More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Iceland, live, Bjork,  More more >
  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • RSS feed
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article
HTML Prohibited
Add Comment

[ 02/08 ]   Main Street Cruisers  @ Wolf Den @ Mohegan Sun
[ 02/08 ]   2nd Annual Middle Eastern Festival  @ Berklee Performance Center
[ 02/08 ]   Collage New Music conducted by David Hoose  @ Longy School of Music
[ 02/08 ]   "Beat Research"  @ Enormous Room
ARTICLES BY MIKAEL WOOD
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   THE SOFT PACK | THE SOFT PACK  |  February 03, 2010
    This Los Angeles foursome first emerged in 2008 as the Muslims, a name they elected to change after they grew disgusted with and exhausted by all the ignorant — and often racist — bullshit that came out of people's mouths during shows/interviews/conversations.
  •   PRIESTESS | PRIOR TO THE FIRE  |  January 27, 2010
    Now Priestess are back in Indieland, rubbing denim-clad elbows with the likes of Nebula and Black Math Horseman.
  •   LAURA VEIRS | JULY FLAME  |  January 19, 2010
    Thanks to the string of albums she's released over the past decade or so, this Portland-based folkie has cultivated a reputation as a gifted chronicler of the outdoor experience.
  •   ANIMAL COLLECTIVE | FALL BE KIND  |  December 16, 2009
    This nifty little five-track postscript to January's celebrated Merriweather Post Pavilion demonstrates further how adept the members of Animal Collective have become at deploying their bottomless bag of electro-psych tricks in the service of songs.
  •   BIG STAR | KEEP AN EYE ON THE SKY  |  December 09, 2009
    Like most Big Star fans, author Robert Gordon overheats a little in the biographical essay that accompanies this handsome four-disc box set.

 See all articles by: MIKAEL WOOD

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2010 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group