Customer Reviews

Selected Ambient Works 85-92

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"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

There are albums that change the trajectory of genre of music, "Selected Ambient Works 85-92" is one of those albums. Nothing preceding this release featured this flavor of minimal electronic music. Without "Selected Ambient Works" there would be no "Boards of Canada", "Future Sounds of London", "µ-Ziq", "Autechre", "Squarepusher" etc.

This is the Aphex Twin masterpiece, the album that no electronic enthusiast should be without.

Aphex Twin's "Selected Ambient Works: 85-92" is very odd. It's extremely catchy with a lot of depth. It's dated but somehow sounding completely fresh. It's haunting yet sounds futuristic. And of course, it's a lot of fun while sounding deadly serious. The very first time you hear "Xtal" you'll think it sounds so familiar to you, like you've heard it before....somewhere. Nearly every song on it is like that. The high quality songwriting is present in every song. The masterpiece (and coolest) song is laid smack down in the middle. "We are the Music Makers" starts off with some deep,skittering bass and thin drums. Ten seconds later you here a sample pulled from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate factory and a rhythmic dream awaits you. If every song was a different fruit, then "We are the Music Makers" is the Snozberry. This remastered edition is incredible. I don't know what older ones sounded like, but this is very good sound quality. Get It!!!

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. For example, "Tha" is a lengthy song with little changes, but it never ceases to be interesting and relaxing. "Xtal" is one of the greatest pieces of music i've EVER heard...it just makes me so happy. There couldn't possibly be any improvements to this album because it's perfect. Everyone should own this, and noone has a good excuse not to. Put this at the top of your list of "things to buy"!

Seriously, if you some folk addict or hard rocker you will find at least one song on this album to love.

This is, undoubtedly, the best electronica album of all time. I Love this album. All of the songs. Period. From someone who has been in the music industry professionally, I have heard lots of music. And when it come to Aphex Twin, and any other in this genre, it ROCKS.

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 the Bollocks, Autobahn, so on and so on.

However when there is a review of electronic music of the late 20th Century, this album deserves the accolades. As other have pointed out, without this blueprint, everything else that followed subsequently, techno,house,trance, ambient,soundtracks alternative rock, drum and bass, dub step and pop would of sounded completely different and arguably poorer without it.

Even people not usually listening to his work have probably been exposed to this music- Pirelli, Orange, Saab, Mercedes, Gary Rhodes, Blue Jam, Top Gear-all feature his soundtracks. (and the Aphex Twin is not the only one-Boards of Canada, Air and Autechre also feature as well)

This is electronica's Sergeant Pepper-it is that important.

Richard D James AKA the Aphex Twin (the "Twin" is a misnomer), the young unassuming lad from the West Country, was already making a name for himself as a DJ in the early 90's- his terrifying acid house techno storms like "Didgeridoo" and "En trance to Exit" were already destroying sound systems, if the infamous "Summer of Love `88" and Ecstasy tables were making people happy clappy- Mr James was bringing the bad acid microdots with him-his music was dark, angry industrial noise, and had more in common with Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle and Front 242 than Bomb the Bass or S'Express.

"Ambient House" had already been realized with the Orb's "Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld" which mixed steady 4/4 house and techno beats with ambient soundscapes. What makes this album so different is the diversity of styles that make up the disc.

Starting with the haunting "Xtal", anybody who thinks they are familiar with 4/4 techno or house will be about to tear up the rulebook. The haunting synth line is looped over the top of a dub break beat that seems almost to crush the melody-yet the interlocking rhythm just seems to add more depth. This is proto-dub step almost 20 years before Burial (who many thought was RDJ!) "discovered" it.

The cross pollination continues, "Tha" "We are the Music Makers" "Ptolemy" mixes ambient soundscapes with prime time Detroit Techno, the acid washes of "Pulsewidth", "Heliosphan" "Delphium" and "Actium" contain almost tribal dub beats with pulsing synth lines, the acid bass lines with proto-dub step beats and haunting atmosphere on the magnificent "Agispolis" and the opening track, "I" with its ambient homage to the works of Brian Eno and Steve Reich, the techno acid storm of Green Calx, and the brooding dark industrial menace of "Schottkey 7th Path" and "Hedphlym"-incorporating textures normally found on the works of Stockhausen or Doctor Who (the BBC Radio phonic Workshop being a massive influence on the experimental electronic scene). Classical music structures dominate the proceedings, yet it's as infectious as any pop record.

Even within tracks new ideas are introduced that on paper sound at odds with each other, yet produce driving, hypnotic pulses of energy. Tempo's shift with little effort, the melody and the hook are never lost in a sea of beats- and although the original release did have sound production issues, the power and intensity of each track is never lost, such is the strength of the release.

Anybody who says electronic music is "repetitive" "boring" or is requires little musically ability needs only to be exposed to this for five minutes to realize that Mr James is a master of the beat. His influence and stature reaches far beyond electronic- Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, Phillip Glass, David Bowie, Jean Michael Jarre, Dream Theatre, Dillinger Escape Plan, Tool, Curve, Stockhausen, Madonna (who asked him to re-mix her work, but that's another story!) and almost every contemporary artist and producer has in some way been influenced by Mr James productions.

Do yourself a favour-You Tube "Aphex Twin", behold the power, then buy his whole catalogue. I did 20 odd years ago and I have never looked back...............

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 ..... I don't see this appealing to wider audience.