Customer Reviews

Selected Ambient Works, Vol 2

5 star:		(120)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I own hundreds of cds from all kinds of genres, yet I have never heard music speak so clearly to me as this Aphex Twin album. This stuff simply can't be categorized. I guess the term "ambient" fits best, but its really a case of no lable being sufficiently decriptive enough to describe what is here. There is no pretense in constructing these sounds to fit a certain musical style. That's why I respect Richard D James' vision so much. No matter where you are, what you are doing, or how you are feeling, there simply is something for any kind of person on this engrossing, 2 disc set. I suppose the only people that won't like this are those looking for instant results, or gratification. You know, the short-attention span type. Still, I'm completely convinced that even the most easilly distracted or bored person would eventually fall under the spell of some of these mesmerizing mood captures. Not songs, mood captures. From compellingly primal evocations to the serenely cerebral and, frankly, settings from seemingly unrecognised, alien-like sectors of the human psyche, this album, more than anything else I've ever come across (Brian Eno's amazing 'Ambient 4: On Land' would possibly equal this depth if it had the sheer variety that's on these 2 discs) captures what it is to be human in sound. The seemingly impossible was achieved here in 1994. That's the highest praise that I think that I could ever give to any music. I simply can't imagine this music ever becoming dated sounding. This exists outside time. Thank you, Richard.

Just great. I am a fan of his music for quite a while and all of his records are special in their own way. Tracks with a little twist only RDJ can add. Sometimes a bit sinister, but thats ok for me! Most of his tracks are sertainly refreshing and energy boosting. A philosopher teacher once said: "to enjoy and appreciate the quality of sertain aspects (of whatsoever) you have to have rotten spots besides it". In case of some of the tracks ("ventolin" (medicine for asthmatic patiens) for example in which you hear a sample of a person hyperventilating), annoying bleeps, cracks and sounds are added in such way that when they fade away in a track you almost feel a releef....a contrast between serenety and rotten (no offence)

I only recently got into Aphex Twin; having heard Selected Ambient Works Volume 1 and deciding that it was one of the best albums I had ever heard, I went out and got this, 26 Mixes for Cash and the Come to Daddy mini-album. What I particularly like about Richard James' work is the variation. The music he produces differs greatly from album to album but I have not been disappointed by any tracks I have listened to. What struck about this album is that is far less accessible that others I have listened to, but as such far more rewarding. Two hours of ambient music is a lot, but if you really listen the changes in the music are very subtle and clever indeed. The first CD is slightly reminiscent of SAW vol.1 but with more continuity between the tracks and, if its possible, a more ambient chilled out synth feel to it. CD 2 encompasses some industrial sounds and haunting vibes of the sort you would not want to listen to on your own in a wood at night. Actually quite scary even in the daytime. If you really take time over this album, its subtleties and quality will become clear, and this is far more rewarding than those wear the strength of tracks are immediately obvious. In short, if you really like your music, and like what you have heard from Aphex Twin then this is the album for you - it is not a good entry point to his music for someone who has never experienced it before. Try SAW vol. 1 for this; I did and I was hooked! Warp is a quality label - check out their other stuff for great beats from Prefuse 73, Autreche, Squarepusher, Nightmares on Wax and Anti-Pop Consortium to name just a few.

I'm not going to comment too extensively, as many before me have adequately done so. Track 3 on CD 1, "Rhubarb" is one of the most moving pieces that I have ever heard. RDJ's music is absolute genius, able to evoke extreme emotions of both joy and sorrow.

This is arguably the best album RDJ has ever made. Just wish Warp would re-release this on vinyl..

My first exposure to Aphex Twin was seeing the video to 'Come To Daddy'. I felt ill after I saw it. I literally had an uneasy feeling that stayed with me for weeks on end. Years later, a co-worker recommended other Aphex Twin music and I realized I had been wrong the entire time. A mind capable of such horrors as 'Come To Daddy',is also capable of incredible beauty and 'Selected Ambient Works' is the pinnacle of that beauty.
Word to the wise: give it time. Play it while driving or working or something. The first time you hear it, it might just sort of be this repetative ambience that doesn't bother you but doesn't excite either. But once you hit stop, there's something that keeps pulling you back. I read a review snippet somewhere ( from Rolling Stone I think)that described the album as 'Some of the most achingly beautiful alien landscapes ever recorded'. I couldn't put it better myself.

This album sticks out the most for me of all the Aphex Twin cds i have. The sounds and songs seemed to have been carved into my head after the first listening to it, and ever since then i couldnt stop them from playing over and over again in my head. Im inspired by his work and when i make my music on Acid Music 4.0, i kinda hear his work from this album in my work on some tracks. My next futur buy is a drum machine so i can really start having fun in the ambient, trance music making business. Recomended buy if u need to mellow out on your own level of relaxation, and a must have for any Aphex Twin fan.

this is an amazing album for what it is, an ambient album. The word "ambient" can really mean backround music of any kind not just relaxing mood music, it can be fast,slow,scary,sad,wierd but this album has some of these things for example on the first disc....track 1 "cliffs" sounds like a typical ambient track of isolation, i get the feeling of walking alone doing nothing just walking. track 2 "radiator" sounds like a ding dong church bell type sound that sounds like something from a supernatural theme to a movie....track 3 "rhubarb" sounds like a theme to peacefullness, i imagine the sunrise with this track.

track 4 "grass" sounds like a haunting ghost theme, a perfect song for a horror movie, i think of ghosts or howling of the wind with this track, imagine how scary this song would be played while a haunting sight of a ghost walking across a gravyard....very eerie.

by far, this album is one of my favorites of all time (and trust me, i listen to a lot of music). this album i think successfully describes shapes, colors, smells, and thought patterns in music. rhubarb is one of the best tracks on the album (it conjures so many concrete memories for me). amazing, amazing, amazing... it completely changed the way i listen to ambient music. if you're an aphex twin fan thinking about buying this album... this is very different than anything he's ever done, but no doubt, you can appreciate it. good to listen to while going to sleep or in deep contemplation of your life. trust me, this album is the one to buy.

Once in a while, once in a very rare while, you hear something that forever changes the way you understand music. Buried amongst Aphex Twin's array of brilliant releases waits this little time bomb. The first time I listened to this in entirety, I was first incredulous, but it went on and on, pulling me deeper into this strange world it wove. By the time the last track had ended, I awoke on the floor, the computer humming in the distance. For the first time I noticed the musical way the fan grated in its casing. I am not sure if I cried; I am not sure if I slept; all that I really knew was that I had found music. Everything up until that point in time had been a prelude for this precise moment, this set of vast sounds.

I spent years chasing the sound. I purchased every Aphex Twin album I could get my hands on, tore into a world of experimental sound that I hadn't even known existed. In the years since then and now, I have found (and continue to find) a wonderful, vast stage of sonic exploration. I have been everywhere from Merzbow's exploding aeroplanes to the lowercase sound of barely audible whistling kettles and 16khz frequencies -- but I have yet to find anything even remotely on the same level of raw emotional power that Selected Ambient Works 2 has somehow bottled up and caged like some wild beast in a slumber.

Where will this take you? Well, that is why it is so potent. It will take you as deep as you mentally and emotionally can. For some, this will be a spiritual experience, for others, a cold terror, or a stolen tear. Others still might find all of the above and more. Do not expect anything, and for goodness sakes do not expect a miracle. At best, you'll get a nightmare.