Customer Reviews

51-13: Singles Collection

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a fine Aphex singles collection originally released in Australia and Japan for AFX's January 1997 tour - Warp didn't have much distribution in Australia at the time and this disc served as an intro to many Australian/ Japanese tech fans.
The singles included were very hard to find in Oz at the time,
and for that reason this disc was great. Also note the price at the time was AUS$20 ( US $12).
So why complain 8 years later that this is an overpriced rip-off?
It is what it is- 4 top Aphex singles. Also [...]didn't exist at the time for Warp Records Downloads, and buying the four singles (re-releases)seperately will cost similar, and only net you a couple of extra tracks.

Its also means you can listen to a full albums' worth of tunes rather than play the singles back to back.

Anyway - Donkey Rhubarb, Ventolin , On and Icct Hedral are worth the price, and for most fans, this disc is an easy way to find said tracks

Mick James

The music is brilliant, no doubt. But the entire idea of making a compilation of "rare" tracks to appease those who feel unfortunate in not having said tracks/ep's or whatever, kind of makes me sick. This is barely half of the tracks on the ep's in question, but they will satisfy most of the people wanting them. Then, the rest of those people will crave more and are thus willing to pay for the originals, so that the company or what/whoever will have a bit more money than before. Now that's cleared up. I did not give 5 stars because the cd has very little "flow" - just a collection of in themselves good/stellar tracks. And "Respect List", in my opinion, could well have been kept hidden on the Ventolin EP - it's just a spoken list of people obviously deserving respect, including cannibal Albert Fish for some reason.

Here's a bit of info about some of the tracks for you. This only applies to the JAPANESE version as it's the one I have. I cannot answer for its compatibility with the other version (UK? US? Europe?)

01. On --> Has been taken from the US single and is edited slightly when compared to the UK single. No matter how this track claims to be 7 min 09 sec (As the UK version) on the back of the cd, it's still 6 min 52 sec when played. The correct label of this track would be US Edit or something.

03. Ventolin [Crowsmengegus Mix Edit] --> Has obviously been edited, what was almost 6 min (including the 40 sec "Respect List") on the Ventolin EP is now a mere 1 min 40 sec.

07. 73-Yips --> same as with track 01, "On". This track is 4 min 15 sec in the UK and 4 min 13 sec in the US.

09. Ventolin [Marazanvose Mix Edit] --> Is NOT to be found on the original Ventolin EP. Instead, this track combines the entire Ventolin [Marazanvose Mix] and the last minute or so from the Ventolin [Praze-An-Beeble Mix], both found on the Ventolin EP.

10. Ventolin [Asthma Beats Mix] --> Claimed to be a mono version in the japanese cd booklet. I compared the two versions (the other being on Ventolin Remix EP) and found no differences whatsoever. Maybe they are both in mono, I don't know.

Hope you've been helped. Bye

Rarely stopping at any loops or lethargy, 51-13 Aphex Singles collection is a chest full of quirky songs that for some reason or another are instantly identifiable as his, or inspired by him. Included are several remixes of the ear-splitting "Ventolin", each of which are almost but not entirely unlike the original, (including a remix by Cylob Ind.), Some songs from his On EP (1994) and his great Donkey Rhubarb EP. There is one track not found on other discs, this is the last track, the "respect list", done in MacInTalk Pro computer voices. My most favoured tracks are "On", "Donkey Rhubarb", and tracks 6, 10 and 9. Of suprise value is the rendition of "Icct Hedral" from "...i care because you do" by Philis Glass using full instrumentation and vocals. For those who are used to Aphex Twin's rather bare liner notes, these are full of information. Unfortunately, I have not found a translation from Japanese. This album seems to be a good complement to "...i care because you do" and probably an easier listen than "Richard D. James Album". Still, in all likelyhood, most people buying this album won't do it before buying a great many others, in which case all I've said is of moot value. But if you are wealthy, and want something of value, treasure this disc.

Have you seen this odd disc and wondered what it was? Well, wonder no more! It's just a quick hack job, doubtless meant to cash in on Aphex Twin's reputation, that somehow manages to exploit both the artist and his fans. Specifically, it contains three singles - "On," "Ventolin," and "Donkey Rhubarb." That's it. There aren't any bonus tracks, live tracks, new tracks or anything special whatsoever. Oh, wait - I forgot that the last track, "Respect List," is one that doesn't appear anywhere on any other Aphex Twin release. Too bad that it consists only of thirty-eight seconds of computerized voices reciting a bunch of names. That's it. That's the whole track. Now tell me, was there any point to including it other than to lure fans into buying the disc?

It's also not a point in the disc's favour that one of the three singles contained within it is "Ventolin," one of Aphex Twin's weakest moments in general and probably his worst single. The original song is, let's face it, awful, and none of the remixes are good, either. But even aside from that, this CD doesn't even feature the three singles in their entirety. It lacks two B-sides from the "On" single (to say nothing of the remix of the title track), and one from "Donkey Rhubarb" - although, I might add, there was enough space for all of these songs left on this CD. Completists, thus, are left unsatisfied, and have to hunt down the original singles anyway. The rest of us have to pay an exorbitant amount of money to wade through piles of frequently unlistenable non-music, like "73-Yips" (one of Aphex Twin's worst creations, and thus, of course, the only one of the "On" B-sides that WEA bothered to include on this CD), to get to the few good parts.

What really irritates me, though, is the fact that, all of the above points notwithstanding, fans will _still_ have to buy this disc. Why? Because, ever since the Donkey Rhubarb single went out of print, it's the only easily available CD that contains "Donkey Rhubarb" and "Pancake Lizard," two of Aphex Twin's finest moments, as well as a good alternate version of "Icct Hedral" that's quite possibly better than the one on I Care Because You Do. The disc also contains "On," another of AFX's best songs - in fact, it's the first track on here, no doubt meant to serve as bait - but it's widely available for a far more reasonable price on its own still-in-print single. To summarize, WEA have done everything they could do to make fans buy this disc, and nothing to actually ensure their satisfaction. They should be ashamed of themselves for doing this, and so should Warp for letting them do it.

It was I who wrote the "Bulldozer..." review a few months back and now I've returned to answer a question I found a couple of reviews below mine : the one about the ending of Ventolin [Marazanvose Mix Edit]. On the Ventolin Ep cd it says "Everything by Richard D. James except laughing by mum on track 2".

I was more than ecstatic to find this on the racks in a Michigan record shop several months back, while on the same day finding "Donkey Rhubarb". I had the strange "Ventolin" single already, and looked forward to the remixes brought forth by this collection. I've not yet heard a Richard James track I haven't liked, and this is certainly a mix of some of his best and strangest stuff. Although 51:24 is a worthy album length, I couldn't help but wonder why they didn't try to fit more tracks on it. Oh, well, a definite must-have for any true fan, or for anyone lacking the 4 EPs that this draws from.

This CD contains some "great hits" by Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin. The music on the CD is from several tunes he have composed, but mostly they are re-mixed tunes of tracks like On, Donkey Rhubard, and Ventolin. The Ventolin remixes are very good, like always when Richard do something. I still missing tracks like Hangable Auto Bulb, Xtal, and more. So it's more a remix cd of the very good "Ventolin".... Overall I really recommend this CD for the real collector of Richard's music.

I could tell you a million times to go out and get this cd,but you know how people can be.If your an aphex fan and don't own this, i have news for you, your not a real fan.I liked every single track on this album.Check out pancake lizard or one of the ventillin remix's.WELL WORTH THE BUCKS.

thanks to this cd i could get many tracks i wouldnt have found any other way... and this is aphex's material, so there is very good music in here, a bit disconnected though. From the begining, till the philip glass orchestated Icct hedral, this cd comes to be tremendous, beautiful and with lots of energy, ambient and melody all together as only richard knows to assemble.. after that, the last three ventolin remixes show very little music and more a bit of humor and electric tricks, which i like, but may dissapoint a first time listener, this is why i would recomend other rdj albums to begin, but for aphex's lovers of course very recomendable.
To conclude:
great... very great album till the 8th track, and nice extrange material for the joy of fans till then on.
I only didn like the horrible smell of money for warp behind this.

ok i'll start off with the reasons this cd lost a star. first, the last time i checked a cd's full length is around 80 minutes, so if this is a collection from 3 singles, what happened to the other 2 tracks from the On single? they definitely would have fit. Also the price is quite high, youre better off buying a used copy which is what i did, amazon sellers are usually very reliable. so it was worth the [money], which is what youd pay for an american version at some insanely highpriced chain like FYE or something.
anyway, this cd reminds me more of a mix cd of i would make of aphex twin material. its a fun listen and doesn't lose your attention, not that any aphex twin really does, but every track is different. don't be discouraged by the multiple remixes of ventolin, if this cd had no track listing you would have NO idea that these were all remixes of the same song. donkey rhubarb is great, even though i can't help but think of the disturbing video for it every time i hear it. anyway i love this cd, if youre just getting into the work of richard d james, i'd say start with i care because you do and move both forward and backwards into his huge repertoire of music. this is a good buy for the music, but not the price.