Customer Reviews

Selmasongs

5 star:		(89)
4 star:		(43)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I think the song "I've Seen It All" is one of the great classics in music. I struggle with the urge to weep every time I hear it because it is so moving.

I love this movie, and I was really impressed by the music. If you love Björk's sound, this will be what you know of her and a few new aspects. The way she used simple sounds to create the beats of "Cvalda" and "I've Seen It All" is amazing! "Cvalda"'s beat starts off with the sounds of noisy machinery in a factory and spirals into a beautiful song. "I've Seen It All" rests on the sounds of a train passing by. The beat you hear is the pattern of the wheels on the tracks, fixed up a little bit of course.

This album is an astonishing thing to listen to, even though there aren't many songs. It also lets you relive the movie, even the heartbreaking scene where Björk's character Selma dies. Buy it!

I think it's now safe to say that Bjork ranks alongside Kurt Cobain and Madonna as the artist whom I have most respect for in the music industry. Her ability to consistently produce groundbreaking, fresh and atmospheric music is a natural wonder to me. The way she proves people wrong by not making music in a sense, but making something completely different. An art form. Undiscovered. Until she creates it. That's why she's a genius, and that's why she will always succeed in making a fantastic record. In 1997 Bjork released "Homogenic," her third solo studio album to date. After listening to this masterpiece, you begin to think Bjork can't do much else in terms of creativity, yet she proved us all wrong in 2000 when she starred in the musical masterpiece "Dancer In The Dark."

Not content with having a leading role in a high-production musical, she also wrote and produced the entire soundtrack, "Selmasongs." The soundtrack is simply one of the best soundtracks that money can buy and ranks alongside Homogenic and Vespertine as Bjork's greatest work to date. Lush sweeping arrangements of orchestral bliss infuse the album with a wonderfully atmospheric and aesthetically-pleasing back drop of sounds, layered on top of each other. The production and composition is first-class and Bjork is, as ever, 100% original in her approach.

"Overture" opens the album. A deep flow of subdued and slightly anticipated instruments introduces the song, and it gradually builds up to a point of almost heart-aching passion at 2:29, and the song gains momentum and flows especially into the first proper song. It's a wonderful instrumental, incredibly dramatic and sets the tone for the soundtrack. "Cvalda" is one of my favourite songs from the album and one of Bjork's best in my opinion. The song starts off with a very interesting beat from an industrial factory. The machines clattering away at work, creating the beat. This then builds up into a gleeful and joyous musical number as Bjork sings so sweetly, "Clatter, crash, clack! Racket, bang, thump!" By the second minute it's an all-out schizophrenia of musical madness. Overall it's a marvellous song that starts off with an expected sense of disappointment but winds up being a mad musical masterpiece.

"I've Seen It All" is up next and a fantastic duet between Bjork and the genius Thom Yorke of Radiohead. The song starts off with a train on a track as its beat, before starting off slowly and in a swaying mood. The song gradually builds into a typical Bjork-esque masterpiece (Yeah, most of her songs are masterpieces!) where she sonically opens up the landscapes of the song by adding depth. It's just a pleasure to listen to such wonderful music, and the verbal-fencing style banter between the two is most humorous. "Scatterheart" is said to be the best song on the album by many who have reviewed this soundtrack. For me this is definitely not the case. There is much better on offer here, yet this is still a good song of somewhat lengthy proportions.

"In The Musicals" makes hardly any sense at all, but then again, it pays homage to musicals, so it's not really meant to! Here Bjork just appears to have picked up any objects she finds and makes a beat out of them, from a basketball at the start to many other various things towards the end. A superb string section works in complete harmony with a percussion section. Superb, as usual. "107 Steps" starts off incredibly close to the ear with a woman whispering "Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten..." and so on, with footsteps in time with the counting. This builds up perfectly to an awesome entrance from Bjork as she sings random numbers. The beat is incredibly catchy and the lush string section that builds up after around 45 seconds is just awe-inspiring. "New World" is the seventh and final song on this brief soundtrack. It starts off subdued and quiet with the sweeping orchestral beat that opened the record. A trippy electronica beat is added in the background, dancing around to Bjork's soaring vocals. She sings with such passion, such amazement and exploration to the things around her, and a general appreciation for life and love.

OVERALL GRADE: 10/10

All in all, I cannot recommend this soundtrack enough. I haven't actually seen Dancer In The Dark yet, but I do plan on doing so. I have, admittedly, been trying to pick this album for any possible flaws. I can, as always with masterpieces by Bjork, find none at all, except one - it's a little bit too short. At just over thirty minutes, it's a short and brief soundtrack, but it really is worth paying top money for it because you're sure to get years of musical enjoyment out of this. Selmasongs was the fourth album by Bjork that I bought (around a month ago), and I haven't looked back. Rumour has it she's got a new album out this year, and I am so buying it! But whilst I wait, I know I can revel in the madness and musical beauty that is Selmasongs. Buy it now and treasure it forever.

The movie "Dancer in the Dark" is one of the best movies I've ever seen. The music is one of the things that made it so great. Bjork's voice is one of the most unique and beautiful in music today. She isn't the typical person you'd imagine doing a musical, though. This soundtrack includes most of the songs from the film, including the amazing sound collage "Cvalda" and "I've Seen It All", a beautiful and amazing duet with Thom Yorke of Radiohead (this version of the song is far superior to the one in the film. I listened to the soundtrack version long before I saw the movie, and I was dissapointed by the film version. Thom should have played Jeff in the movie). While every song on this soundtrack is just amazing, it's what's not on there that spoils this disc a bit.
First off, the closing number (we'll call it "The Next To Last Song") is nowhere to be seen on this disk. I know that it would be a little bit tough putting the song on the soundtrack without revealing plot points, but the lyrics are heart wrenching and amazing. On the subject of plot points, the song "Scatterheart" has had its lyrics seriously reworked. All the other actors' voices have been removed alltogether and some of their parts sung by Bjork. the line "you just did what you had to do" is replaced with "you'll just have to find out for yourself". This doesnt really make much sense. Also, the version of "My Favorite Things" that Selma sings while she is in a very dire situation (I wont say what) could have been pumped up with instruments and given a good treatment. If the songs in the movie were all included in their film version, this CD would have scored a 6, but because of these omissions, I can only give it a 4

when i firs saw the film "dancer in the dark" i
looked forward this cd to be released.the best björk songs
that i've listened till that time were "i've seen it all","scatterheart" and
"new world".björk began to
change her style with this songs and, she did better.
although,"scatterheart" is different and a bit spoiled
in this cd but,the other songs are devastating.especially
"i have seen it all"is better with thom yorke than movie version...
but i offer you to have movie versions too...

overture**
cvalda*****
i've seen it all*****
scatterheart***** (for movie version)
in the musicals*****
107 steps*****
new world*****

when i firs saw the film "dancer in the dark" i
looked forward this cd to be released.the best björk songs
that i've listened till that time were "i've seen it all","scatterheart" and
"new world".björk began to
change her style with this songs and, she did better.
although,"scatterheart" is different and a bit spoiled
in this cd but,the other songs are devastating.especially
"i have seen it all"is better with thom yorke than movie version...
but i offer you to have movie versions too...

overture**
cvalda*****
i've seen it all*****
scatterheart***** (for movie version)
in the musicals*****
107 steps*****
new world*****

It is short but nothing short of absolutely beautiful (and I don't use that word often). It absolutely kills me everytime. If it had the acappella version of New World from the end of Dancer in the Dark I wouldn't be able to listen to it without breaking down. Such an amazing movie and such staggering music. Life altering.

As a long time Bjork afficionado, I have to say that "Selmasongs" is one of the singer's best and, not coincidentally, one of the most listened to in my collection. Considering I found the movie to be quite a piece of shlock, it's a testament to what an incredible artist she is that the cd is one of my favorites. Instead of being a reminder of the nauseatingly shaky camera work and bad acting, it is now a collection of related songs illustrating the travails of one woman. In other words, we have Bjork's interpretation of a story about morality, trust and love. Highlights include the exhilarating "Cvalda," the Thom Yorke ballad "I've Seen It All" and the melodic "Overture." On a final note, it's a great cd for traveling, one of those that is perfect for pulling away from the train station, taking off on the plane or any other contemplative mood.

I bought this before I saw the film. And I liked it. I really did. But then I got the movie, and I watched it, and it blew me away. And now, the soundtrack is even more meaningful to me. If you like Bjork, and/or you have this album and haven't seen Dancer in the Dark-go see it. I can't really explain it very well. I'm just glad we have Bjork. Ahhhhh.

Oh, and the film, it will tear you to pieces. Sorry.

My wife and I purchased the CD long before seeing the movie, and I have to say that the CD stands very well on its own. And I am not much of a Bjork person.

One warning, though: the movie is so horribly depressing that since seeing it we haven't been able to listen to the CD.