Customer Reviews

Family Tree

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

So i finally bought this box set a few weeks ago. It took me this long because I was always skeptical about the price. Now that I have it, i can say that, yes, it IS too much money for what it contains. It's a great item, but should have been at least twenty bucks less!

CD 1 is the first "roots" cd. it contains 2 previously released b-sides from the "Big Time Sensuality" single, "Sidasta Eg" and "Glora". I think "Sidasta Eg is a great song, it is sung in Icelandic, however. "Glora" is a short instrumental track in which Bjork plays the flute, there's not really much to it. The other 3 tracks are from Bjork's participation in the bands Kukl and The Sugarcubes. The only one that really stood out to me was "Ammaeli" (track 4) which I thought was a cute song, even though I have no idea what it is about!

CD2 is the second "roots" CD. The first track is an alternate version of "Immature" that I think might have been a demo version before it was produced by Howie B. for the HOMOGENIC album, since this version is sometimes credited as 'Bjork's Version'. This is a great, stripped-down version of the song which really emphasizes the vocals and piano. It was previously only available on the UK "Joga" CD Singles. Track 2 is a previously unreleased alternate version of "Cover Me", which might also be a demo. It didn't really blow me away, but it's nice to hear a difference.
Track 3 is a great live version of the "Hidden Place" b-side, "Generous Palmstroke", track 4 is a Strings and Vocal version of "Joga" (previously available on the single), and track 5 is the previously released b-side "Mother Heroic", which I think is one of the best Bjork B-sides and I'm really glad of it's inclusion here.

CD3 is the "beats" CD. Tracks 2-5 are previously released B-sides "Karvel" (from the "I Miss You" single), "I Go Humble" (from the "Isobel" single), and "Nature Is Ancient" (from the "Bachelorette" single, although it was actually called "My Snare" on that disc, and not "Nature Is Ancient", but it's still the exact same song.) The REAL gem on this disc, and dare I say it, the ENTIRE box set, is track 1 on this disc, the demo version of "The Modern Things" (previously UN-released). I've always liked this song, and this version from 1991 is SO much better! It just has this whole other dimension than the version which appeared on the POST album. The discovery of this track was worth the whole box set for me. If you don't end up getting this box, at least try to hunt down this track. I'm surprised for a disc titled "beats" they didn't include any dance remixes, like "Violently Happy" or "Big Time Sensuality". Or even "Army of Me!"

cd4 and 5 are the "strings" cd's featuring 9 songs (total) performed with the Brodski Quartet, all of these previously unreleased on audio CD. The strings do MIRACLES to "The Anchor Song", which, before I heard the version included here, was one of my least favorite Bjork songs ever. But this version is so damn beautiful, the strings and bjork's new vocals make it sound like such a sad song. I love this track. "Hunter" also sounds AMAZING with a full-lenght strings accompaniment. pure gorgeousness. The other tracks are "Unravel" (also great), "Possibly Maybe", "Cover Me" (Interesting), "All Neon Like", "Bachelorette", "I've Seem It All" and "Play Dead" (Great).

Disc 6 is the "Greatest Hits" as chosen by Bjork, which I never listen to because all of the songs are on the other albums. It's interesting to see what Bjork chose, but i think this disc was unecessary and maybe could have been replaced by something else. All the trakcs here are album versions except "All is full of love" which is the video version. FYI-Did you know that the video version is ACTUALLY the original version and the version on the HOMOGENIC album is the remix?! I did not know this until I read an interview that Bjork did. Apparently she wanted a different version for the album as she described: "the mood after a thunderstorm". Interesting indeed.

The Packaging: Great Idea, but yeah, it's difficult to re-close properly. I love the 3" mini CD's, and the artwork is interesting as well

So...
should you get it? If you're a hardcore fan who likes to hear rarities and alterante versions, YES. If you're a casual fan, mmm, maybe not. Just stick with the regular Greatest Hits (which, in my opinion, SHOULD have included "Violently Happy"!)
Check out the VOLUMEN DVD too

Everyone who likes Bjork has been tussling with the same problem these last weeks : can I shell out $50 for alternate tracks of music I already possess?
Short answer : Yes, definitely.
Long answer : Bjork, too, seems aware of the silliness of boxed sets, alternate masters and such, so whatever minimal redundancy there is here (e.g. 'Venus As A Boy' again) is hugely compensated by the wealth of new and superb material.
The twelve song 'Greatest Hits' (chosen by Bjork) takes two songs off each of her albums, so you are not 'wasting' 'Debut' or 'Telegram'; the 'Beats' disc covers early tentative versions of songs we know well, often with a hesitancy and delicacy missing in the established songs; the 'Roots' discs will be new to all but the most dedicated Bjorkperson - even there, the versions of Birthday' by Sugarcubes is sung in Icelandic!!
And finally, for people like myself who were stunned by the Brodsky Quartet's take on 'Hyperballad' from telegram, we get a ten song concert with only strings and voice.
Possibly the best things Bjork has ever released?

In all, a very generous set of music, constantly surprising and delightful, which also makes a very understated point of what a complex and serious musical force Bjork is.

The packaging is lovely, too, though as a 46 year old man trying to balance the powder-pink box on my knee and then juggling with all the little bits of paper and artwork, I must have looked an odd sight - like some Japanese schoolgirl unpacking her sushi on the metro.
Wait till you get home to unwrap it.
Five stars is not enough.

Now, "Family Tree" is not a bad release. I enjoyed it very much, and gets my personal four stars. But occasional Bjork listeners should definitely skip this box set, and opt for the much cheaper, more general "Greatest Hits" album. On the other hand, fans will enjoy the opportunity to hear early Bjork demos and songs she did with the Icelandic-punk bands the Sugarcubes and KUKL. The definite high point of "Family Tree," however, is the highly anticipated Strings CD's, whose songs are taken from a concert in which Bjork performed accompanied only by the Brodsky Quartet. Here, her songs are reduced to sketches, with her beautiful voice clearly the focus. Without the digital atmospherics of her albums, her simple poetic lyrics take center stage. These two CD's make up nine of the thirty-five total tracks on this release.

In all: if you've been looking forward to hearing the unreleased demos and live performances, get this. If you're a casual listener, save your money, because you probably won't be interested.

When it came down to a decision to to buy the 'Greatest Hits' cd for a not too bad a price or the 'Family Tree' box set for an exorbitant amount I, being the collecting fool I am, went for the latter of the two choices.

Now, first of all I must say that the presentation is quite nice. It is a pink box filled with some mini cd's, a lyric book, a little letter by Bjork herself and her version of the 'Greatest Hits' although bereft of the latest single which can be found on the fans 'Greatest Hits' in stores now. The pink box is covered with a white slip case and is rather quite snazzy, although I find it a bit of a pain to keep all the contents within this box without causing an indentation on the casing of the mini-cd's.

The music is as you would expect, brilliant. There is not a bad tune on here. The string arrangements with the Brodsky quartet are haunting and beautiful, the remixes are also interesting, Bjork that you can dance to, and the roots cd shows off Bjork's progression from the days before the Sugarcubes to her latest musical offerings.

On to the negative aspects of 'Family Tree' which there are a few, minor, but a few. First of all why the need for the miniature cd's? Surely at around twenty minutes each all these songs could have fit on one or two regular sized cd's. Okay, they're quite cute when you first open the box, and the artwork on the slips are nice, but their novelty wears off rather quickly what with having to constantly replace the cd's. I have already mentioned the problem with the pink box itself so I won't dwell on that any more than I have already. However if there is one major complaint to bring up that is the lack of the new song. What is the point of selling a box set for £40 knowing full well that the fans will pay and then leave off a new song that is only available on the 'Greatest Hits' until November 25 when the single comes out? It is an insult to the fans and a deplorable rouse to extract more money from a record buying public that already pays way too much.

So is this worth buying? For collectors, completists and obsessive fans I would say without hesitation, "yes". For Neophytes and borderline fans, stick with the 'Greatest Hits' or any of Bjork's back catalog. The music, the presentation and my penchant for collectable stuff by artists I respect has dulled my minor feeling of being ripped off and I do think it is worth the money. The inadequacy of the box is nothing, the mini-cd's, well I can always transfer the tracks to my computer, and the missing song? I would have ended up buying the 'Greatest Hits' at any rate.

Here we have 5 mini-CDs (3-inches) and a normal-size CD similar (but not identical) to GREATEST HITS.
Somewhere in the world, there are people who have kept half an eye on Bjork's career but never bought one of her albums. People who may not feel inclined to buy one of her proper albums, yet have heard enough of her to desire more than the GREATEST HITS. If these people exist, FAMILY TREE will appeal to them. However, experienced Bjork fans are likely to regard FAMILY TREE as a terrible wasted opportunity.
It contains:- some familiar, easily-obtained album tracks; a handful of the many non-album single-sides she's released since 1993; two (only two) genuine rarities from the '80s; and an abbreviation of the famous 1999 London concert with the Brodsky Quartet (omitting some of the most interesting one-off moments from that concert).
Perfectionism is a virtue where `proper albums' are concerned. But to assemble a compilation like this, an artist needs some understanding of the "hardcore fan" mentality - of the devoted followers and their interests and desires. Unfortunately Bjork, like most artists, lacks that understanding. When this box was released in 2002, Bjork had a 25-year recording career behind her. Fans knew all too well that a great deal of her most interesting, even revelatory, work was unavailable - either deleted or confined to bootlegs.
Whether Bjork realises it or not, her reputation would have been enhanced by a box of four or five full-length CDs, consisting mostly of rare/previously unreleased material, spanning her entire career from child-stardom through Tappi Tikarass, the Sugarcubes and Kukl, to the present day. Instead she's given us this unsatisfactory product. And now she's made the same mistake twice, with an equally inadequate live box set.

Bjork's legacy stretches back to the time when she was in the Sugarcubes. A solo career has been nothing short of being extraordinary. Though not your super blockbuster kind of artists, Bjork is definitely one of the most artitically inclined.

An early pioneer of electronica, Bjork has subtely infused her music with all things werid but musically beautiful. There are many highlights in Bjork's luminous career:

The early dance roots on Debut

The big trip-hop beats on Post

The electronic blithe pop of Homogenic

The haunting chill of Selmasongs

The emotional assualt of Vespertine

On this extensive set of 6 Cds, Bjork picks her own version sof Greatest hits which are songs she really liked and these are really the essence of Bjork's music independent of commercial success. On the few other dics, she gives fans a treat of her beats, strings, roots and favorite words (lyrics).

My favorite here would be CD3, the Beats CD. Featuring an eclectic mix of songs heavily laden with Beats, the best tracks are found here. The Modern Things off Post has a new industrial and modern sound overlayed. Karvel is a semi trip-hop affair that's bound to be a feast for the ears. Karvel and Nature Is Ancient finish the 4-track mini CD with further aplomb.

The two Strings CDs, on the other hand, feature an extensive collection of 9 songs played with The Broadsky Quartet, both live and in studio. The effect here is often a lush and grand orchestral setting, especially during the instrumnetal portions of the songs. Bjork's voice blends seamlessly with the lushcious strings of The Broadsky Quartet.

As the name suggests, the two Roots CDs, is a back-to-basics package with Bjork bringing some of her earlier works such as Glora and Mamma, alongside some newer songs such as Immature and Joga played to minimal technical production. The very best here is the Strings and Vocal version of the originally electro-hardbeat Joga.

This is a great way to collect some of Bjork's rarer demos and unreleased songs which would otherwise be unavailable or cost much more individually.

A great treat for fans.

As a Bjork completist I was in the record store on my way to work this morning to buy this box set and Bjork's "Greatest Hits" CD.

Obviously produced for her diehard fans, this collection isn't exactly for the casual listener. It comes with six discs (1 full length and five CD3's), compiling 35 tracks.

First the packaging: The pink box and slip cover are very nice. The artwork included in the booklets and on the credits leaflet is really cool and there is a nice write-up from Bjork, explaining the ideas behind each disc. The only problem I had was packing all the discs, the book, etc. back into the pink box after the first time I had opened it. I kinda felt like I was cramming them in there to get the flap closed properly and I just know that eventually the little clasp is gonna snap off. Overall, it is put together very well and its definitely more original looking than other box sets I own. Much care has gone into its presentation, obviously.

The music, of course, is fantastic. Most of it I already owned from collecting all of Bjork's singles and B-sides, but there are still a number of tracks that are new to me: a remixed version of "Modern Things," a live version of "Generous Palmstroke," the live recordings she did with the Brodsky Quartet, the Kukl track. The full length disc contains "greatest hits" as chosen by Bjork. Although a few tracks overlap with the fan's voting-on-Bjork's-website version, there are some differences ("Unravel," "Scatterheart," "I've Seen It All" to name a few). I don't know how necessary this disc was, but it is interesting to see what Bjork's picks were, as compared to her legion of disciples.

I don't see anyone picking this up except those of us in her rabid cult-like fan base, and I think she knew that. It's obviously designed and put together with a lot of consideration from the artist herself and it shows. Just another reason why Bjork is the most creative and magnificent performer in music right now.

First of all, in the interest of fairness to her fans, Björk offers TWO Greatest Hits collections: 1) a nice, comprehensive cheap one, just fine for general fans, and 2) Family Tree, which is deeper and more personal, intended for enthusiasts (or those who are budding).

This way, everyone can get what they want, and no-one can RIGHTLY complain about it being "too expensive."

Family Tree is Björk's own chosen "soundtrack" to her career, spanning over 20 years, and involving many collaborators (other people who well deserve to be credited and, by law, paid for their contributions) not appearing on the cheaper, fan-chosen Greatest Hits.

Add the artwork and her favorite lyrics - both chosen because of importance to her - finally you'll realize that this singularly personal retrospective more than fair in the additional cost, provided you are (or feel you may be, as I did) enthusiastic about her work.

The main 5-inch disc collection of 12 originals (her "Greatest" choices) leaves behind the often enjoyable, yet less intimate pop/techo-driven studio stylings of "Big Time Sensuality", "Army of Me" and "Possibly Maybe" (those original versions are on the OTHER Greatest Hits), in favor of deeper, more personal, theatric, and romantic songs.

These include the sweeping, beautifully sobering, Oscar-nominated orchestral "I've Seen It All" (a duet with brilliantly chosen Thom Yorke of Radiohead) and the dark, foreboding "Scatterheart" (a kind of "Bachelorette meets Vespertine"), both high points of Selmasongs (in case you passed on that CD and would prefer spending the extra money on this instead).

Also unique to the main 5-inch disc "greatest" collection are the sweet romantic simplicities of "You've Been Flirting..." and "Unravel" (sweetened a second time by Brodsky Quartet's heart-tugging string arrangement on Strings Disc 1).

The main-disc compilation wraps up with another unique track, the assertive, warmly sassy "It's Not Up To You" (the inclusion of which, as the last track, is perhaps a subtle tongue-in-cheek reminder to listeners that, ultimately, she's the only valid judge of her work, pace and progress).

While also including classics such as "Hyperballad", "Jóga", "Isobel", "Bachelorette" and "Venus as a Boy" on the main disc, the multi-disc set showcases other much more (obviously) personal "Greatest Hits" than the less-expensive, mainstream fan-chosen collection. Not to mention, harder-to-find early work, obscure musical revelations, and live string accompaniments, among them a better-than-original recording of "The Anchor Song."

The bottom line:

If you love Bjork's work... Or if you only own Vespertine, and/or Homogenic or Post, and you really like it... Or if you know you like Bjork, and especially her more emotional, dark, and orchestrally-driven material... You cannot go wrong with this very personal, intimate, meaningful collection.

If you're not sure that you're a Björk enthusiast, or if you dislike string accompaniments, AND you are holding on pretty tightly to your money... Or if you feel Debut is ber best CD... feel free to buy the cheaper pop-driven Greatest Hits CD, chosen by the people, for the masses.

And don't complain that she wasn't fair in giving you this option!

Of course, be sure to check that your CD player will accept 3" minidiscs (most newer models will).

The music is a must for all Bjork fans, but the small discs dont play on all players. My Mac laptop can't read them and I can't put them on my iPod. I guess this adds to their mystique in some way, they can only be experienced with my walkman on special occasions! Just a word to the wise.

I was very anxious to buy this box set because I am a great fan of Bjork. I think her music is innovative and beautiful. I'm sure the music is great on this box set, but I am unable to play any of the 3" CD. I have to warn those people that are on the fence about this set. I would not buy it unless you know for sure you're stereo is capable of playing 3" discs. I shelled out $... and learned the hard way. I can only play the Greatest Hits CD, which is sort of anticlimactic since I own all of Bjork's previous releases. My stereo cannot play the 3" CD's. Also, I cannot even download the songs from the CD's onto my Mac and burn my own CD from them because I have a slot loading CD-ROM drive. I am very disappointed and am just baffled as to why Bjork, Inc. decided to releases these songs in this format. Would it really have compromised her artistic integrity to releases the CD's on a regular 5" format? I feel like I've been ripped off. Please know that I have nothing against Bjork or her music. In fact, I love her music. I'm just annoyed that I cannot listen to it.