BJÖRK: DEBUT LIVE (1994; 2003)
1) Human Behaviour; 2) One
Day; 3) Venus As A Boy; 4) Come To Me; 5) Big Time Sensuality; 6) Aeroplane; 7)
Like Someone In Love; 8) Crying; 9) Anchor Song; 10) Violently Happy.
In 2003, with pregnancy keeping her away from
active creative duties, Björk diverted herself by rummaging through a ton of
recorded tapes, left over from a decade of touring, and discovering enough of
interest to put out a whole big chunk, modestly titled Live Box, with each of four CDs representing selections from the
four tours focusing on her first (and best) four albums. Originally, the box
was only available as a whole, but already the next year it was chopped up and
the four live albums became available separately (for a limited while).
Since Björk is first and foremost a studio
artist, and second, a visual entertainer, it is natural to be somewhat wary of
the product — and, since it never seems to be an integral part of her discography,
to forget it altogether. But once you do get access to the recordings, it
becomes obvious upon the very first listen that this is a mistaken attitude. In
her «violently happy» prime, Björk's seeker instincts were buzzing everywhere,
in respect to everything, and live presentation of her songs gave her a great
pretext to go on experimenting with them even further. Unlike so many famous
«art rock» acts, a good «Björk live» experience is never construed along the
lines of «how faithfully can I reproduce my music on stage?» — it is much more
in line with the old Bob Dylan vibe of «how can I give my songs a second life
on stage?». For that reason, while I would not go as far as to coerce anybody
into collecting live bootlegs, the four discs of Live Box are really a terrific add-on, worth every penny.
And the first of these discs is perhaps the
best illustration of what I am saying. All of the tracks on it, except for
ʽVenus As A Boyʼ, are actually taken from Björk's little yellow dress performance on MTV Unplugged
in 1994 — in other words, a setting that demanded,
by definition, that performers rethink and re-sensify their material, and thus,
almost no electronic instruments or effects are brought to the table. Instead,
songs from Debut are rearranged as a
curious eclectic mix of... well, whatever is found at hand.
For ʽHuman Behaviourʼ, for instance, at hand is
found a harpsichord, which loyally takes care of not just the basic melody, but
also the growling electronic solo at the end of the track — which gets you
a-thinkin' that the harpsichord, come to think of it, has a pretty «electronic»
sound all by itself, compared to pianos and organs. ʽOne Dayʼ is transformed
into a fumbly extravaganza of tablas and chimes, completely dominated by
percussion and giving the illusion of Björk performing in the middle of a
busting sonic jungle. ʽCome To Meʼ suffers without the tragic orchestration of
the original, but the homely mix of tablas, harpsichords, and flutes is still
an interesting alternate take on things. And so on — I think that of all the
songs, only ʽLike Someone In Loveʼ does not differ too much, because it was a beatless harp-driven song in the
first place.
I would never say that the rearrangements
«improve» on the originals: Debut
was one of the most thoughtfully and sensibly produced and arranged records in
1990s art-pop, and it is unlikely that Björk would have spent as much time
coming up with this plastic surgery for a one-time MTV performance as she spent
creating the songs in the first place. So, ʽOne Dayʼ will sound less poignant
and desperate here, and ʽViolently Happyʼ will have less psycho-menace, and
ʽCome To Meʼ will not possess as much of that dark-forest mystery, and the list
goes on. But we are really supposed to think the other way here — how, even with the relatively short time elapsed
between the release of Debut and
this performance, she already had the ability to present the material in such a
completely new light — perfectly adapted to the «cozy» setting of a concert in
the Unplugged series. Of course,
some major credit has to go to her partners as well, particularly the
percussionist Talvin Singh (who would eventually go on to become a superstar in
the «Asian Underground» movement), the keyboard player Leila Arab, and the
other keyboard player Guy Sigsworth — they do some great teamwork here, loyally
following the black-haired lady wherever she wishes to go and getting into all
the grooves with just the right amount of soul.
In a certain way, Debut Live may be the best album of the four — especially if, like
me, you also consider Debut to be
not just a «debut», but an album totally on par with everything Björk has done
ever since. Here we still have a fresh young artist, not too spoiled by
stardom, not yet having gone over the top, drunk with her own genius, and
seeming more content to just enjoy her own muse rather than becoming The Great
Mother of the Revolution of the Mind. Already bursting with creativity, but
not yet overflowing with narcissism. How is this anything other than an
unbearably nostalgic thumbs up?
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