Volta

Performer: Björk
Engineer: Damian Taylor; Andy Manganello; Jimmy Douglas; Neil Dorfsman; Vincent Kenis; Hector Castillo; Jonathan Tams; Alex Dromgoole; David Emery; Daniel Morrison
Producer: Damian Taylor; Mark Blakkat Bell; Timbaland; Bjork; Mark Bell
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Adapter: Nico Muhly. Personnel: Toumani Diabat� (kora); David Bobroff, Sigurdur Porbergsson, Emil Fridfinnsson, Eir�kur �rn P�lsson (brass); Susan Panny, Sharon Moe (horns); J�nas Sen (clavichord); Mark Blakkat Bell (keyboards, synthesizer, programming); Timbaland (keyboards); Chris Corsano (drums, percussion); Brian Chippendale (drums); Damian Taylor, Pete Davis (programming). Audio Mixers: Jimmy Douglas; Mark "Spike" Stent; Neil Dorfsman. Recording information: Bjork's Place, New York, NY; Damian's Place, London, England; Gee Jam Studio, Portland, Jamaica; Looking Glass Studios, New York NY; Manhattan Center Studios, New York, NY; Olympic Studios, London, England; Reyk Javik, Iceland; Sony Music Studios, New York, NY; Studio Bogolan, Bamako, Mali; Studio Caraibes, Brussels, Belgium; The 23rd Floor Of The W Hotel, San Francisco, CA; The Boat, Malta, La Gomera And Tunisia; The Cabin, Thingvellir, Iceland; The Pierce Roomsin, London, England. Editor: Damian Taylor. Photographers: Vinoodh Matadin; Inez VanLamsweerde; Nick Knight. Bjork has always been one to follow her muse, and after 2004's MEDULLA, a foray into the sonic avant garde, one had to wonder if she would continue following it straight into the abstract outer limits. But 2007's VOLTA marks something of a return to pop form for Bjork. Not to say that the album is conventional by any stretch--it's still Bjork, after all--but there is greater evidence of her pop sensibility than on any album since 1997's HOMOGENIC. The album's first single, "Earth Intruders," is a case in point. An exhilarating tribal stomp boasting production by Timbaland and clanking orchestration from the Congolese ensemble Konono No. 1, the track is a stunning opening salvo. VOLTA offers other moments of hip-shaking thunder ("Innocence"), alongside more melodic, contemplative fare such as "Wanderlust" and "The Dull Flame of Desire," which features the gorgeous voice of Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons. Varied, engaging, and wildly imaginative front to back, VOLTA is another remarkable release from one of pop's reigning geniuses. Coming off the heels of her quirky, but no less enjoyable for it, 2007 album VOLTA, Icelandic songstress Bjork has released the multi-disc box set VOLTAIC, a deluxe package filled with VOLTA-related live recordings, remixes, videos, and concert tour highlights. Available in no less than five different packagings, including single disc, multi-disc, and multi-disc plus vinyl configurations, there is enough Bjork material on offer here to please even the most diehard fanatic. Leave it to Bjork to make a live album set that can be treated as part of her regular body of work rather than a side note. VOLTAIC reaffirms just how important the live aspect is to her music, and provides a couple of different perspectives on it as well. VOLTA sparked a particularly inspired and lavish tour that, arguably, ended up being bigger than the actual album, tapping into the most dramatic, primal and elegant aspects of Bjork's art overall. It's fitting, then, that the chronicles of the VOLTA tour are just as thoughtfully crafted as the shows were (and since VOLTAIC comes in several different releases ranging from a single live disc to a CD, DVD and vinyl extravaganza, fans can pick the size that suits them best). Given that the live CD was recorded in better conditions than many studio albums get, it's no surprise that the sound quality is excellent. This is not a warts-and-all concert recording with the occasional muddy audio and lots of crowd interaction; instead, it feels like listener is hiding in a studio booth as Bjork and her band perform a flawless rehearsal. Leave it to Bj�rk to make a concert release that can be treated as part of her regular body of work rather than a side note. While Bj�rk fans have occasionally complained about the amount of repackaging of her albums, Voltaic reaffirms just how important the live aspect is to her music, and provides a couple of different perspectives on it as well. Volta sparked a particularly inspired and lavish tour that, arguably, ended up being bigger than the actual album was, but tapped into the most dramatic, primal, and elegant aspects of Bj�rk's art overall. It's fitting, then, that the chronicles of the Volta tour are just as thoughtfully crafted as the shows were (and since Voltaic comes in several different releases ranging from a single live disc to a CD, DVD, and vinyl extravaganza, fans can pick the size that suits them best). The basic version of Voltaic offers a live CD recorded in one take at London's Olympic Studio, just hours before Bj�rk and her band -- which included Volta collaborators Mark Bell and Chris Corsano as well as the ten-piece all-female Icelandic brass section/choir she put together for the album -- played 2007's Glastonbury Festival. Given that the live CD was recorded in better conditions than many studio albums are, it's no surprise that the sound quality is excellent -- almost too excellent. This is not a warts-and-all concert recording with the occasional muddy audio and lots of crowd interaction; instead, it feels like the listener is hiding in a studio booth as Bj�rk and her band perform a flawless rehearsal. While this approach is a little removed, the results are impressive: the Volta tracks ("Earth Intruders," "Wanderlust," "Vertebrae by Vertebrae," and "Declare Independence") actually have more impact here than they did on the original album, while the classic songs ("Pagan Poetry," "All Is Full of Love," "Hunter," "I Miss You") adapt to the percussion-heavy Volta approach well. While the versions of Voltaic that include a DVD capture even more of the concert experience, this release still offers fans a taste of the power and precision of the Volta live shows. ~ Heather Phares Once again finding harmony and creating alchemy between seeming opposites, on Volta Bj�rk is bold but thoughtful, delicate yet strong, accessible and avant. The intricacy and complexity of projects like Med�lla and Drawing Restraint 9 suggested that she might have left the more direct side of her work behind, but Volta's opening track and lead single, "Earth Intruders," puts that notion to rest: the song literally marches in, riding a bubbling, ritualistic beat courtesy of Timbaland and Konono No. 1's electric thumb-pianos. Bj�rk howls "Turmoil! Carnage!" like incantations over the din, and after several albums' worth of beautiful whispers, it's a joy to hear her raise her voice and volume like this. "Wanderlust" follows and provides the yin to "Earth Intruders"' yang, its horns and brooding melody giving it the feel of a moodier, more contemplative version of "The Anchor Song." These two songs set the tone for the rest of Volta's pendulum-like swings between sounds and moods, all of which are tied together by found-sound and brass-driven interludes that give the impression that the album was recorded in a harbor -- an apt metaphor for how ideas and collaborators come and go on this album. Timbaland's beats resurface on "Innocence," another of Volta's most potent moments; a sample of what sounds like a man getting punched in the gut underscores Bj�rk's viewpoint that purity is something powerful, not gentle. Antony and the Johnsons' Antony Hegarty lends his velvety voice to two outstanding but very different love songs: "The Dull Flame of Desire" captures swooning romance by pairing Bj�rk and Hegarty's voices with a slowly building tattoo courtesy of Lightning Bolt drummer Brian Chippendale; "My Juvenile," which is dedicated to Bj�rk's son Sindri, closes Volta with a much gentler duet. Considering how much sonic and emotional territory the album spans -- from the brash, anthemic "Declare Independence," which sounds a bit like Homogenic's "Pluto," to "Pneumonia" and "Vertebrae by Vertebrae," which are as elliptical and gentle as anything on Vespertine or Drawing Restraint 9 -- Volta could very easily sound scattered, but this isn't the case. Instead, it finds the perfect balance between the vibrancy of her poppier work in the '90s and her experiments in the 2000s. ~ Heather Phares

Spin (p.90) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[W]hether she's orchestrating a B-movie death march or a seaside fantasia, her vision is worth the price of submission." The Wire (p.52) - "[An] excellent album....She is clearly controlling and shaping the direction of these tracks, forging something foreign and idiosyncratic but without a hint of kookiness." The Wire (p.35) - Included in The Wire's "50 Records of the Year 2007". Vibe (p.70) - "With grace and gumption, she creates a dazzling sonic cosmos all her own." Global Rhythm (Publication) (p.52) - "VOLTA is a collection of frequently unexpected and mostly quite enjoyable sounds. Take it as a contiguous work, unique and worthy of repeated listening..." Q (Magazine) (p.82) - Ranked #19 in Q's "The 50 Best Albums Of 2007" -- "[Her] most vibrant album in 10 years."

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