Customer Reviews

I Care Because You Do

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

One of the greatest things about Richard James is the way he constantly changes musical styles, constantly expands what he and what others consider music. This was the first full length piece I heard from him, and I instantly became an avid follower. The pieces here, especially if you are new to electronic music, go back and forth between the familiar and the alien, even in the same song. But trust me, once you listen to it a few times, you'll want to do so continuously, over and over again, because for some reason the music doesn't grow tired-sounding.

This is not to say that the music doesn't take a little getting used to. Ventolin is the perfect example, because it has this high-pitched noise going throught the song. I first just fast-forwarded it every time. Then I started listening to it, when no one else was around because I thought they might tell me to turn it off. Finally, Ventolin's noise just made sense.

Some of the songs make you want to dance. Some have so fast and amorphous rhythms that you'd have to be a computer to dance to them. Some are truly hauntingly beautiful, especially when he pulls out the strings. All of them delight. Buy it. You won't regret it.

One last note: do any of the song titles seem like anagrams of a sort, say of Aphex Twin?

This is no album to be direspected in the manner in which some reviwers have put down. Can't you see what a work of art this album is? Maybe you should study classical music, then you'll see the genius that lies in this album.

In my opinion, RDJ album is very good, but does not compare in greatness to this one. 'I Care....' may be hard to digest (for those looking for simple latter-aphex music), but it is this one that captures the essence of what experimental music is all about.

This album does not contain his drill n bass sound (what most people here are after), but it does have some of the best sound ever created electronically. Proof? Listen to "alberto balsalm", 'MooKid", "The Waxenpith", etc. Every track here is perfect, in that it captures entirely different moods than their counterparts. They are all brilliantly structured. It's no wonder Richard D. James is being hailed one of the greatest composers of our century.

I am not saying this is the best 'Aphex' release. I just think it is a completely 'well-done' album. It is definitely one of my favourites of his. I think some reviewers are saying this album is utter-nonsense, when they really mean to say "It's good, but it's not for me". It is impossible to call something of this genius 'a bad record'. I just don't see it!

This album is the crowning acheivement in Richard D. James' repitoire. Even though it doesn't have the extremely intricate and complex drumwork of his later albums, this album truly lets his genious shine through. This album is what dancable dreams sound like. This is what a nightmare invading a delicate plain of gazelle sounds like. This album shows what falling in love and breaking up sounds like. It is provides its listeners the pure ecstacy experienced from a first kiss, and the madness harnessed from a first breakup. On this album, Richard D. James has truly taken every emotion there is to be felt, every experience there is to be had and processed them into a form of beautiful dance music that frightens you. It truly is a superb masterpeice in any sense of the word. Not only does this album stand at the height of artistic acheivement and emotional values, it also has a very pop-oriented quality about it by providing melodies that can be hummed throughout a semi-tragic casual friday.

Unfortunately, there are many people that cannot handle the intense experience that is I Care Because You Do. Many people can only percieve noise or at the best, cheap distorted dance music. For the people that percieve this album in this way, I envy you, for you obviously have become perfectly content in every aspect of life and have no further need to be challenged and have no reason to let your emotions grasp to anything of this nature. Again, I envy you. Even with as much as I support and praise this album, there is no possible way for me to fully explain how it can affect you, for I do not know what type of people most of you are. So please listen to some samples. Discover if you are one of the lucky, or one of the people that are still trying to find themselves.

If I had known how good this was, I would have bought it ages ago. I used to be afraid of Aphex Twin, I didn't like it when things mades my head hurt, when I could tangibly feel sounds moving around in my skull, when I didn't want my ideas of beauty, form, MUSIC challenged by the things I listened to. How we shed our childish ways.
This is an incredible album (and I only just bought it, have only heard four tracks. If it ended now I would be perfectly happy, but it keeps going!!!!!) I am astounded at the complexity of this work, the beauty of these alien sounds. I can't wait for this to keep going, I can't wait to explore this album. Being a big IDM fan, I have a lot of freaky CDs, but the joy of what I'm hearin right now, the newness of every beat is rare indeed. I feel excited, lucky to be where I'm at, hearing this for the first time. You probably will be too.

This is my favourite of all James' output. Worth purchasing for the first three tracks alone, each containing subtle, repetitive but gorgeously orchestrated melodies. At first all you hear are beats, and then almost subliminally the music sinks in. Thrill to swelling highs of 'Wax the Nip', the string hooks of 'Icct Hedral', the sparse brilliance of 'Alberto Balsalm' and haunting march of 'next heap with'. Lot's of humour on this album too. If you have patience with ambient sounds, a tolerance for techno beats (you don't need much), and an ear for music with a decent shelf life you should get into this. I've been listening to this one regularly since 96' and it's just as good as ever. Thanks.

This album came right before RDJ became famous (though "fame" may seem like an oxymoron when describing the still-niche electronica genre, a level of fame which might make Britney Spears scoff seemed to have a profound impact on the outlook of this bedroom knob twiddler). So forget the incessant images of a grinning/leering Richard, and Chris Cunningham's perversely brilliant videos. Though Richards face does appear on the cover, ironically I think at this point it was as much a bid for celebrity as a comment on it; I remember when the album came out I thought "Ugh, what an ugly portrait, who is this guy?" Now everyone knows. I wonder if Richard has ever received any award for self-promotion - aspiring musicians should follow his inspired example. Squarepusher, ever the slow learning idiot-savant, just seems to have caught on fifteen years later with Ultravisitor, featuring his emotionless mug.

Anyway, moments of "f**k with the listener's head" music do appear here, eg. on the track Ventolin, but at this point they were the exception rather than the rule. What you get is a continuation of the subliminal vibe present on both Selected Ambient Works albums, only with harsher beats(I think Autechre took many of the harsh beat/fragile melody innovations on display here, and ran with them in their own direction.) When I say subliminal, I mean it; another reviewer here said it was "mind control music" and he has a point. If I were a psychologist studying music (or perhaps Boards of Canada, who seem fascinated with discovering the mathematical underpinnings of great music), I would dissect this album to try and figure out how the simplest of tones, and the simplest of contrast in melody and rhythm, evoke such vivid mental images and strange feelings. Incidentally, Richard said he used to have the ability to lucid dream, and that all of his pre-Drukqs music sounded "yellow" to him. I'm somewhat dubious of his synesthesia claims given his penchant for self-promotion, but I bet there's something to this. It's funny how you can tell if something is made for the artists' enjoyment, or to satisty/annoy his fans (this sort of evaluation has little to do with artistic merit - there have been many pop albums with clear target demographics that were nonetheless brilliant.) To my ear, I Care Because You Do is one of the best examples of the former type of album; it sounds like Richard made it for himself, though you can see him toying with the idea of celebrity in the cover art and playful song titles, many of which are near anagrams of "Aphex Twin."

Back to the music. Well, it's hard to classify. I will say that this album has a "cowboy western" motif not present in RDJ's other work. Really. Listen to Wax the Nip, Wet Tip Hen Ax, and Mookid and I swear there is a whistling sort of melody that brings to mind Ennio Morricone and Clint Eastwood squinting at the sun. As others have said, there's also a serious "classical" vibe to the melodies, that caught Philip Glass' attention among others. If you've listened to Drukqs and find the idea of Aphex Twin aspiring to Erik Satie legitimacy sort of sad, don't fret: the "classical" arrangements here sound much less forced and are really beautiful.

I'm a bit tired of people labeling RDJ a "genius," as though everything he puts out is pure gold. I think somehow the label genius is only applied if an artist has a prickly, attention-getting personality, a dash of charisma and fame-hunger. Why do people never say, for example, that Orbital are geniuses, when their Snivilization and In Sides albums show better consistency and have tracks that to my ear blow much of Aphex Twin's work out of the water? Who knows. Anyway, point being that this album is still a bit uneven like all Aphex Twin stuff. As is often the case with electronic artists, it seems as though RDJ has trouble finding good bridges for songs. Even the much-praised Alberto Balsam has a boring drum breakdown in the middle that bugs me every time. Like I said it's subliminal, and much more likely to put you in an altered state of consciousness, than stimulate the way the Richard D. James album does. Nevertheless it fully rates five stars, and if you are someone who's just curious about this "Aphex Twin" guy, you can't go wrong with this album or the Richard D. James album, though I'd start with the Come to Daddy EP, which is the purest distillation of RDJ's "genius" to date IMO.

In the world of Richard D. James, anything goes. If you want to move into that old bank vault that's up for sale, feel free. If you want to buy an old military tank and drive it around the country side, no problem. If you want to make an album of entire ambient melodies with no beats that's over two hours long, go right ahead. And if you want to blend elecronica, hip-hop, classical, and industrial music into one revolutionary album, while taking breaks to add samples of scissors clipping and tapping on pots and pans, please do so. Such is what we've been given with the album ICBYD.

ICBYD, in my opinion, is the absolute pinnacle of the Aphex Twin sound, rivaled only by SAWII and parts of Druqks. All the tradmark elements of RDJ's music are present (at least the most crucial elements, that is), along with superb arrangements, fantastic classical instrumentations and plenty of dark, brooding undertones. Other than the tracks Ventolin and COYS, the album is trully flawless, and at times mesmerising. Mentally and emotionally stimulating, the album succeeds where SAWII failed in the way that it never gets sluggish and boring (not to take anything away from SAWII, which is itself very great). From start to finish, the songs plung you into a sonic hypnosis of sorts, sending you from one end of the musical Aphex ocean to the next as you struggle to stay afloat on the waves. Soothing, exiting, and even scary at times, the sound never fails. This is THE sound of futuristic classical compositions, or at least I hope so. Initially quite challenging, I admit, the album certainly isn't for everyone, especially hardcore elecronica/drill fans. However, if you do feel up to the challenge, are looking for an album of music unlike anything else out there, and appreciate an artist with the ability to fuse old and new technologies into a trully mentally stimulating experience, then ICBYD is the album for you.

Richard James started the trend of Ambient Techno, this album is a collection of wonderful computer made sounds you'd never heard of before. Maybe a little bit before it's time but looking back on it now almost 10 years later this still sound great and not dated at all. The majority of the songs here are rather slow though, James later become quite well known for songs like "Windowlicker" and "Come to Daddy" but even if some songs got fast beats here they're still considered ambient with beautiful meliodic sounds. Wether you're into techno, it's a beautiful sound experience on "I care because you do". It's really fascination what the genius James could do with his music. I can't pick out songs that are better then others, cause I like most of the songs here. "Ventulin" is awesome though and "Come on you slags" sound like a 80's video game even if that song in particular sound a little dated by now. "Next Heap with" sound like organ but get's faster later on, diffrent from the others. "Moo Kid" is probbaly the closest you come to klimax here, it's beautiful slow ambient only James cpuld be making. Other then that, all songs are interesting. Just put on the record, it work's all days. Defenitely recommended.

This album is truly amazing. I am usually VERY critical about albums, I spend hours in the CD shop deciding which one to get. When I heard this, I was lost for words.

I discovered Aphex Twin a couple of years ago, but only bought one of his albums a little while ago. That was the Richard D. James album. After many listens (it's hard to digest at first) it became a huge favourite.

"Which other album of his shall I buy now?" I asked myself. I read the reviews and listened to the samples of I Care Because You Do and I wanted it immediately. When I heard the music on this album, it grabbed me like no other music had before. Does anyone else get the feeling when the music "pulls a string" inside you? Well, almost all of the ones on here did for me. It refreshes your soul and uplifts you and puts your ears in heaven, all at the same time. Music doesn't get finer than this.

From when the album starts right through till it finishes, it will captivate you. I'll describe the album to give you an idea of its contents...

It is definitely IDM and it has a lot of happy, dark but beautiful orchestrated stuff (violins and stuff) put to sometimes laid-back and sometimes very fast and rhythmical beats. It's a lot more mature in comparison to the RDJ album and the songs are much more emotional. As some reviewers have said, certain songs could make you cry with happiness and sadness and other emotions you won't have felt before.

However, watch out for track 5. At first you will hate it because it is SO painful on the ears, but after a few attempts you will ignore the screeching sound and listen to the music behind.

The album as a whole will take you on an incredible journey that will leave you feeling completely blown away. It is a truly wonderful experience.

I hope this review has helped you, because I think everyone in the world should have a copy of this CD it is so amazing. Thank you everyone and thank you Richard D James!

I've been listening to this album for four years, and it hasn't left heavy rotation since I went out and bought (yes, physically left the house and purchased, no downloading this gem!) the CD. From "Acrid Avid Jamshred" all the way to "Next Heap With", this disc weaves up and down in 64-odd minutes of the most intelligent dance music. Favorite tracks include "The Waxen Pith", "Icct Hedral", "Wet Tip Hen Ax", "Mookid", "Cow Cud Is A Twin", and one of my favorite tracks from any genre of music (eat your heart out Beethoven, Bach, Mingus) "Alberto Balsam". That steel-drum sound -- don't even ask how he produces that -- the rhythms, and that haunting/enchanting melody have landed this track on mix-tapes for people who hate techno. I was nervous when I put it on a mix for my mom; it is now one of her favorite tracks! Okay, so if you are keeping track, I listed nearly every track as one of my favorites. This is that kind of album!