2002-08-01 | The Trumpets Sound: All is Well!
On this very good first day of August we do a bit of catching up with this press release which fell into our mailbox, and marks for us a new beginning as bjork.com will be in the next few months publishing a number of specials ranging in interest from the early era to the present in the life of a musician.
Without further delay here are these written words:

On Monday 7th October, Björk releases a collection of songs that span her solo career to date.

Simply entitled "Björk's Greatest Hits", the album has been compiled by a unique web vote, which enabled fans to choose which tracks were their favourites and/or best reflected her career. Interestingly, her biggest hits were not necessarily amongst the most chosen tracks and thus the final track listing truly demonstrates that this album is not simply a commercial entity, but a true representation of Björk's evolution into the eclectic and pioneering artist we know today.

The 15 tracks mark Björk's progression as an artist and retrospectively reflect on a solo career that has spanned more than a decade, including the release of four solo albums, "Debut", "Post", "Homogenic" and most recently "Vespertine". Tracks include: "All Is Full Of Love", "Play Dead", "Human Behaviour" and "Venus As A Boy" amongst others.

To compliment the release of the "Greatest Hits", Björk will also release a special box set entitled "Family Tree" comprising six CDs; five 3" and one 5" of her favourite songs which in Björk's words represent "the story of how I got to where I am today and in my musical words to say how I developed as a musician".

"Family Tree", the six CD box set, will also be available from October 7th and will include tracks, some previously unreleased, taken from Björk's whole career, not just her solo career.

The "Family Tree" project will include one CD on which Björk compiles her own 12-track 'greatest hits', and a series of 3" mini-CDs divided into Roots, Beats and Strings collections.

The two mini 'Roots' discs will together comprise 10 tracks, including some Sugarcubes tracks and Glóra, a piece Björk wrote on the flute when she was 15. This CD includes tracks from Björk's career, which demonstrate where she "took the biggest leaps as a songwriter".

The 'Beats' CD, which comprises 4 tracks, displays the very first experiments in rhythm Björk did with Graham Massey and Mark Bell after leaving The Sugarcubes and gives the first hints at the importance electronica was to take in her solo work.

Last but by no means least, are two 'Strings' CD's on which Björk, for the first time, confronts and accepts the formal musical training she received as a child. These discs feature the classical arrangements of Björk's songs by the Brodsky Quartet first heard at the breathtaking shows they played together in England.

The "Family Tree" box set will be packaged in a custom made transparent rose coloured plastic case, ingeniously configured to house the six disc set. The box will also include a 16 page lyric book, a map guiding purchasers through the "Family Tree" collection and individual packaging for each branch of the tree. This unique package, and that of the "Greatest Hits", have both been designed by the acclaimed Parisian designers 'M/M', and feature illustrations and photos by the Icelandic artist Gabriella Friðriksdóttir.

The "Family Tree" collection will be the first collection released of it's type and promises to provide the definitive insight into the many facets which make Björk the truly individual, enigmatic and experimental artist she is. This collection will provide fans and collectors alike with a fascinating insight into the many different musical paths she has taken and into the influences and inspirations that have helped make her the artist she is today.

For Björk, no "Greatest Hits" album could be released without this sort of back up and the "Family Tree" promises to fill in all the gaps that the release of a simple "Greatest Hits" CD could never provide.

The albums will be released simultaneously on Elektra Records, One Little Indian Records and Universal on October 7th and represent the career of an artist that has continuously set precedents and broken boundaries and become the musician we know today.
[This message was edited Wed Sep 4 7:09:14 PDT 2002 by SkletonKee]

Thanks for the info Skel. I gotta check it out. I love her music.

That is a MUST get!

i've bben very interseted in Bjork recently, sounds neat. I think Prince should do something like that.

I can't wait for this.

I've been anxiously awaiting this release as well!!

Thanks so much SkletonKee , fantastic news .

Massive Bjork fan here , roll on October

Bjork has set the track listing for her upcoming box set Family Tree, due October 8th. The collection will include one full-length disc of her favorites -- many of which overlap with the fan-picked greatest hits set also due October 8th -- and five discs of rarities and ephemera.
Two "Roots" discs each offer five tracks of the Icelandic singer's early material; a four-song "Beats" CD showcases her work with unconventional rhythms; and two "Strings" discs offer orchestral arrangements of Bjork's songs.

Family Tree track listing:

Greatest Hits:

"Venus as a Boy"
"Hyperballad"
"You've Been Flirting Again"
"Isobel"
"Joga"
"Unravel"
"Bachelorette"
"All Is Full of Love"
"Scatterheart"
"I've Seen It All"
"Pagan Poetry"
"It's Not Up To You"

Roots (Disc One):

"Sidasta Eg"
"Glora"
"Fuglar"
"Ammaeli"
"Mamma"

Roots (Disc Two):

"Immature"
"Cover Me"
"Generous Palmstroke"
"Joga"
"Mother Heroic"

Beats:

"The Modern Things"
"Karvel"
"I Go Humble"
"Nature Is Ancient"

Strings (Disc One):

"Unravel"
"Cover Me"
"Possibly Maybe"
"Anchor Song"
"Hunter"

Strings (Disc Two):

"All Neon Like"
"I've Seen It All"
"Bachelorette"
"Play Dead"

Cool,

Bjork is a very talented artist

I was just sending this tracklist to all my favorite people! This will probably be a costly set but well worth it. She has a way of taking her songs and making them completely new again my way of remixing and remaking them. I've been a collector for nearly a decade now and I never get tired of hearing a new version of one of her old songs. This is gonna rule totally. I'll probably transfer all the 3" material to disc so that I can keep this in good condition. She's also announced the release of her Royal Opera House performance on dvd and the single release for "It's In Our Hands". If you haven't heard this song yet, you're in for a treat. I first heard it on Napster about a year and a half ago when the Vespertine tracks first started leaking and it's one of my favorites. She closed many of her 2001 shows with this song.

Here is the tracklist for her upcoming dvd:

1. Frosti
2. Overture
3. All is Full of Love
4. Aurora
5. Undo
6. Generous Palmstroke
7. An Echo, A Stain
8. Hidden Place
9. Cocoon
10. Unison
11. Harm of Will
12. It's Not Up To You
13. Pagan Poetry
14. Possibly Maybe
15. Isobel
16. Hyperballad
17. Human Behaviour
18. Joga
19. It's In Our Hands

So twelve songs on or related to the new album. That's a great ratio. She's done a good job of documenting each of her tours so far- Vessel and Unplugged for Debut, Shepherd's Bush for Post, Cambridge and MTV Live & Loud for Homogenic and now this. I expect this will be the best yet because the choir, orchestra, acoustics and sound system were the most precise and perfect thing I've ever heard live. She just keeps getting better and better. Prince watch out, cuz if she keeps this up, you've got some stiff competition.

I can't wait!

I'm stunned by Bjork's organic beauty of words and music.
I had Vespertine on repeat play when I was driving out of town to be with the one I'm falling in @#$% with and it was nothing short of a spiritual experience.
The planets were definitely lined up that night...kiss kiss

I CAN'T WAIT !!!

ps...thanks for all the updates on this, Nathan!

LovePrince, LoveBjork, LoveNathan

Finally!! I am literally drooling over this!! She's one of my all time faves

endorphin74 said:

Nathan? Who's Nathan? :O

Now, *this* would be well worth $150...


(I couldn't resist...)

Y'all seem so excited,I feel left out...lol...I don't own any of her music.I guess this box set would be the "ultimate" place to start,huh?
[This message was edited Thu Sep 5 4:04:47 PDT 2002 by DavidEye]

Get Vespertine DavidEye.

It's all there.

Who's Nathan?

SkletonKee said:

sorry, I should've thanked you for your awesome thread!

Nathan (Tron) has been sending me near weekly updates on the progression of this set, and I get so excited with each e-mail!

Keep the news coming though, I get hungrier and hungrier each time I read about it!

LoveBjork, LoveTron, LoveSkletonKee