Isn't Anything

My Bloody Valentine | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 15, 1993)
• Original Release Date: 1988
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sire / London/Rhino
• ASIN: B000002MJ0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,106 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #39 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Shoegazing
  • #71 in Music > Alternative Rock > British Alternative > General

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: MY BLOODY VALENTINE
Title: ISN'T ANYTHING
Street Release Date: 06/15/1993
Domestic
Genre: ROCK/POP

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Pupating genius is genius nonetheless.", October 22, 2004

By 

MaratsBathing "Sail" (NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Isn't Anything (Audio CD)

It would be far too easy for me to simply slap this album with a 4 and a half star rating, state, "this isn't Loveless," and call it a day, but instead, I'm choosing to review this (outstanding) album as if the monumental, phenomenal, perhaps-best-album-ever Loveless was never created.

The humbly titled Isn't Anything is one of the most underrated and tragically ignored albums ever. I would say that it's easily among the top 25 albums of the 80s, but hardly anyone has a strong opinion on it. It has become massively influential throughout the alternative/indie world, but never duplicated.

Looking at the cover art and song titles like "Soft As Snow (But Warm Inside)," you're given a clue as to how the album sounds: distant, distorted, and dreamy. The song craft is strong, the vocals are ethereal, and the guitars are deliciously, noisily lush. Listening to the sound samples on Amazon does no justice to this album, for it is far better experienced on headphones during a sweltering summer day or a bitterly frigid winter night.

In my humblest opinion, Isn't Anything is certainly essential.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece in its own right, June 12, 2006

By 

Polite Young Man (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Isn't Anything (Audio CD)

I don't usually take issue with Amazon's editorial reviews, but Roni Sarig makes two big blunders. First, he calls Isn't Anything "worthy of Creation [Records]'s 'shoe-gazing' heritage." Before this album, there was no such "heritage." This album created such a buzz in the UK, Creation used its producers and sound engineers to make pop bands like Lush and Ride sound as much like this record as possible ... this was the album that set off the shoegazer movement. Despite those efforts, though, no one ever managed to create an album that sounded just like this, not even MBV's follow-up. Second, Sarig and many other reviewers seem to think Isn't Anything is merely a step towards greatness. This album does not have the insane, orchestral density of Loveless, but for that reason it's able to deliver a much wider variety of pleasures. The bass-driven stop-start of "Soft as Snow," the relentless guitar attack of "Feed Me With Your Kiss," the pairing of quavering tremelo and creepy, childlike vocals of "No More Sorry" ... each of these tracks is a perfect, unique jewel. You can hear many of the tools Kevin Shields and his band would use to construct Loveless, but in a more spare arrangement that allows you to hear each element much more clearly. Many tracks make dramatic use of silence, something MBV never did later in their career. You can also hear the band flatout rock. You can't call "Feed Me," "You Never Should" or "Sueisfine" "dream pop" ... they're pure adrenaline. This is, to be sure, a more conventional rock album than Loveless, but it still sounds like nothing else. If it came out today, we'd be falling all over ourselves to praise it.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lucky Accident, September 1, 2004

By 

Bryan L. White (Duncanville, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Isn't Anything (Audio CD)

I bought this out of a cut rack for $3.99. It sat in my CD tower for at least 5 years before I ever really listened to it.I couldn't stand the way it sounded over my stereo and I came close to trading it.I brought it to work and put my headphones on and it sounds like a completely different album.I really like the whole experience. I'm lucky I brought it up here-it was going nowhere at home but I'm playing it a couple of times a day over my headphones. I don't know anything about this band,I bought it on a whim,but I'd reccommend this album and I may follow up on this band.