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Selected Ambient Works 85-92

Aphex TwinAudio CD
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)


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MP3 Music, 13 Songs, 1992 $8.99  
Audio CD, Import, 2009 $41.02  
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Product Details

  • Audio CD (February 12, 2002)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Play It Again Sam
  • ASIN: B00005Y1TL
  • Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #150,012 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

1. Xtal
2. Tha
3. Pulsewidth
4. Agiespolis
5. I
6. Green Calx
7. Heliopsphan
8. We Are The Music Makers
9. Schottkey 7th Path
10. Ptolemy
11. Hedphelym
12. Delphium
13. Actium

Editorial Reviews

Reissue on Play It Again Sam America.

Customer Reviews

Very cleverly done. Normalgoodguy  |  10 reviewers made a similar statement
Probably the best song on this album. Impreza22B  |  6 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
102 of 111 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Finally re-released! Yes! December 3, 2002
Format:Audio CD
Allow me to introduce you to Richard D. James (alias Aphex Twin, AFX, and a slew of other inscrutable pseudonyms), a charming bon vivant from Cornwall who is known today for his delightfully blithe eccentricity and iconoclasm. Before he played at clubs using sandpaper on the turntables instead of records, however, and before that hilariously bizarre "Come to Daddy" video, he made Selected Ambient Works 85-92, and by doing so basically singlehandedly created contemporary electronica.

I have no easy explanation for why Selected Ambient Works is as good as it is. Here's what I've got it down to: this music is possessed of a remarkable spontaneity and unpretentiousness. The best talents always made their work seem like play, like it came effortlessly to them, without taking themselves seriously. The songs on this album are like that. They are marvelous in their simplicity. It's as if Aphex Twin sat himself down and peeled off great song after great song with complete abandon. It's the work of someone who simply loved making sounds - in fact, you can tell when you're at a sound AFX liked particularly, since he tends to linger on his favourites and extend their playing time. That's not a flaw. The sounds are so good that you'll want to linger on them as well.

On this album, Aphex managed to take many a cliche of electronic music and give them all a completely original, unworldly quality. Most of the songs are built around groovy, but more or less conventional dance beats; however, they are bathed in soft feedback and melodies of unearthly beauty. The end result - the waltz-like "Xtal," the exultant "Pulsewidth," the eerie "Hedphelym," the blissfully wincing "Ageispolis," the flight above- and underground of "Green Calx," and so on, and so on, and so on. Electronica is often accused of being emotionless, and more often than not rightly so, but Selected Ambient Works is anything but that. This is beautifully emotional music; it's the music your subconscious plays in your sleep. It's music that for all its simplicity has a richer vocabulary than language.

I find myself at a loss for words. I don't want to use this as an opportunity to practice my adjectives; I only want to get you to purchase this record. Aphex Twin's achievement was aped by many much-touted "electronic wizards," most of whom fancy themselves musical geniuses because they can slap together a beat and a bassline on their computer in their parents' basement, but of course bettered by none of them. James himself never did (though he came close in some later songs such as "On"). Then again, it might not even be possible.

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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Rediscover this highly influential album May 17, 2009
Format:Audio CD
"Selected Ambient Works 85-92" is one of those rare albums where a composer provides clear evidence that he or she is in that special class of artistic genius where true originality is possible. I'm not suggesting that this is Aphex Twin's best album, as best work was yet to come; nor am I suggesting that this is one of the greatest electronic albums of all time. Perhaps it is, but the key is its influence. "SAW" is practically synonymous with that early Warp Records sound (although SAW wasn't actually released on Warp). The album is one of the sacred texts of the Intelligent Dance Music (IDM) movement and on this disc, you can hear the ideas that helped make electronic music what it is today.

"SAW" dates back to a time when Aphex Twin was using a lot of analogue gear and the tracks have a nice warmth to them. Many of the sounds on this album will already be familiar to most listeners since they entered the canon of electronic sounds long ago. The cool thing is, this album is where so much began.

In 2008, the year of the re-release, SAW sounds dated, but not in a bad way. The song construction is timeless, but style of the album is firmly rooted in the early 90s acid house and inchoate IDM scene. The remastered version keeps the sounds true to the original, but everything sounds a bit more forward and present. As mastering levels increased over the years, some of this early music began to sound a little anemic when played at the same volume. The remastered tracks now sound full and rich, and the overall sound matches what we expect from contemporary recordings. If you have the original, as I did, I'm not sure if the price of upgrading your recording is necessarily worth it. You'll have to make that call for yourself, but it is a fun way to rediscover a beloved classic.

If you're an electronic music enthusiast and you don't have SAW already, now is the time to buy it. If you're just starting to check out Aphex Twin, SAW would certainly be an option, although I might recommend "The Richard D. James Album" or "I Care Because You Do" first, since they reflect his mature sound and his main body of work overall. Ultimately, SAW is an album we should all have in our collections
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24 of 27 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Light, airy, beautiful May 7, 2003
Format:Audio CD
This is an album that puts a smile on my face, right from the first few notes. Full of lovely synth textures and beats that are at once interesting and unobtrusive, it is great music for a rainy afternoon indoors, or for playing softly while you go to sleep.

I haven't found many albums of this particular electronica subcategory ("ambient techno" or whatever they're calling it these days) that retain my interest as much as this one does. It's much more interesting to me than "Music Has the Rights to Children" by Boards of Canada, for instance. I find the layering of ryhthms on this album to be of a better design, and I love humming along with the bass lines - they are often wonderful melodies in themselves.

One caveat: it's definitely not a challenging record. It's good and safe for folks who like their beats to be in 4/4 and their sandwiches built on Wonder white bread, but those Autechre fans looking for their next intellectual conquest will no doubt find it lacking.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Groovy, but now that this sound has become commonplace, it takes...
Selected Ambient Works 85-92 was the debut album of Aphex Twin, the moniker of Richard D. James. Throughout his teenage years (he was only 21 upon the release of this collection... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Christopher Culver
5.0 out of 5 stars A stone cold classic
There are many albums that have the tag "classic"- Sergeant Pepper, Zeppelin IV, A Night at the Opera, 1999, Wish You Were Here, Master of Puppets, Number of the Beast, Never Mind... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Isoprophex
4.0 out of 5 stars Best for fans of electronic or ambient music
I think this is a pretty good cd but I must say that I think it would only suit someone who has a like for ambient/electronic music ..... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Brit in San Francisco
4.0 out of 5 stars Songs In The Key of Ambience
Richard D. James has put together a solid collection of sounds on this release. On some Aphex Twin releases, it will take a couple of listens before the music sets in. Read more
Published on May 16, 2011 by Ashley M. Blanchard
5.0 out of 5 stars Anyone Can Love This Album
Seriously, if you some folk addict or hard rocker you will find at least one song on this album to love.
Published on January 2, 2011 by rosesalve
5.0 out of 5 stars Changed the course of electronic music
There are albums that change the trajectory of genre of music, "Selected Ambient Works 85-92" is one of those albums. Read more
Published on April 20, 2010 by Tart Green Apple
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful
I'd heard nothing but good things about this Aphex Twin album, and it met all expectations. The songs are faultness, brilliantly made, and highly inspirational. Read more
Published on July 24, 2008 by Courtney
4.0 out of 5 stars Fresh
Could Richard D. James ever predicted, way back in 1985, what people would be cherishing these years later? Read more
Published on February 5, 2008 by Private Quentin Tarantino Fan
5.0 out of 5 stars some of my favorite electronic music
The first 3 tracks on this album are so simple, yet so great. The melodies speak to me of peace, bliss, higher consciousness, compassion, yea, all the finer, nobler abilities of... Read more
Published on October 26, 2007 by DURGAZ
4.0 out of 5 stars A must have ambient electronic album. Why is so much good stuff out of...
I've owned this Aphex Twin album for many years and find it a great way to overview Richard D. James and his early development. Read more
Published on September 23, 2007 by dv_forever
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