Selected Ambient Works 85-92

Good music! Worthy music!

Don't know what hasn't already been said about this album. It's a classic, and one of the best experimental albums of all time.

this album will spoon feed you into the world of the Aphex twin.

Great classic album. Im new to aphex. Good place to start.

sooo ocoool i love this album

Many years ago, when I first heard this CD, I thought that it was rather empty, bleak, and just dull cold electronic music. There wasn't much like it around at the time, so when I played this CD a few times, I got tired of it rather quickly. I even ended up giving it a way to a friend. Then, a few years later, I saw a movie called "Pi". It was a low budget black and white film based on the subject of intelligence and insanity, and the soundtrack that supported this film had a series of artists that I have never heard of before. Watching the film, I just loved all that strange electronic music playing in the background, so I knew I just had to find the CD soundtrack of the film "Pi". On the soundtrack, I saw that Aphex Twin had a track on it. I don't remember this track in the film "Bucephalus Bouncing Ball", but I sure loved this bizarre electronic collage of dissonant noise. Plus, this CD soundtrack introduced me to alot of new artists, all making a new sound in electronic music that I have never heard before. This new music is called IDM, which means "intelligent dance music". But, I think it should be called ADM meaning "addictive music", because that's what this new music has become to me. I have a hard time listening to regular music anymore. This IDM is very motivational music to listen to. This music gives me all sorts of nervous energy which has turned me into a healthier, more physically toned, workaholic. When I'm in an IDM music euphoria, I can't sit still. After buying the soundtrack of "Pi", I ended up buying this Aphex Twin CD once again and listened to it with a more optimistic, more educated awareness, of what is being played here. But, you know, you can't just allow yourself to be satisfied with this one CD. You have to let yourself explore more music like Aphex Twin. And I'm not too crazy about all of Aphex Twin's CD's (Selected Ambient Works: Volume Two is actually a very boring double CD to have to listen to, and it's nothing like this Volume One). However, if you don't have a lot of music like this, than it can seem to become too repetitious and become tiresome rather quickly if you let yourself play this CD too much. Even I don't care to sit through the entire playback of just the one CD. But, I have determined that this music from Aphex Twin should be played within a mix of other Ambient Dub and other various glitch and IDM related electronica. To just play these 13 songs over and over, end to end, can get dull quickly. But if you listen to these songs mixed in with about another hundred IDM instrumentals than you will truly appreciate Aphex Twin's participation in the overall bigger picture of today's electronic instrumentals. Today's IDM. I have this Aphex Twin CD shuffling amongst others in my 200 CD carrousel. These tracks by Aphex Twin are being mixed up with tracks by Autechre, Gescom, Squarepusher, Pete Namlook, Biosphere, The Orb, The Higher Intelligence Agency, Phutureprimitive, Sounds From the Ground, Electric Skychurch, Plaid, Boards of Canada, and various other similar artists of which Aphex Twin belongs with. I also have these songs and other IDM and Ambient Dub tracks burned onto ATRAC CDR's that is made through the SonicStage program made available only by Sony. (Check out some of Sony's ATRAC CD players and find out why burning hours of your favorite tunes onto a single CDR is better than just loading an ipod with mp3s) Burning hard copies is definitely better than just floating your music in a temporary storage unit like an ipod. (You can make 32 hour CDR's, and as many as you want from all your CD's and mp3s. How many songs can your single ipod hold?) Anyway, Kudos to you for discovering this particular Aphex Twin CD, but now, explore some of the other artists I've mentioned above. You will love this new world of sound that you've discovered. It is more vast than you could ever imagine.

Oh, right, it's Richard D. James' music resonating inside my skull. I feel that art criticism says more about the critic than the art in question. It is entertaining to discuss the merits of various artists at parties and social events. In a product review, you have no way of knowing whether our musical interests line up. So go over to youtube and find some of the tracks on this album. Or any of Richard D. James' other work. If you don't know his work yet, you will soon know if you love it or hate it. If you love it, and you own a turntable, then you should buy this album. If you don't, then move along. Practically, this is a fine pressing of Selected Ambient Works 85 - 92. You get two vinyl records in a nice cardboard sleeve. Both sides of each record has tracks pressed into them. As a physical artifact, there is nothing particularly exceptional here, but there are also no problems. If you have previously purchased vinyl, you will get exactly what you expect. If you have not, then rest assured that this is a good quality pressing that is worth your hard-earned dollars. If you believe that vinyl is a waste of your time and money, then please feel free to pass this record up. There are plenty of us, however delusional, who enjoy throwing our money at such frivolous items. Please let us enjoy our illusions in peace.

This is an awesome album, perfect for any type of room decor as well if you’re looking to buy good music with a cool album cover. Very relaxing and great album! One of my personal favorites from aphex and my all time favorite song xtal is on here!

Das Debüt von Aphex Twin ist eine wunderschöne Platte. Kaum zu glauben, dass sie schon vor 20 Jahren, im Februar 1992 erschien. Für mich klingt das wie frisch aus der Plattenpresse und auch irgendwie zeitlos. Bei Richard D. James scheint vieles geheimnisvoll und verschroben zu sein, zum Beispiel der eigene Künstlername oder einzelne Titel. Was hat man sich unter Tha oder Hedphelym vorzustellen? Anderes klingt nach griechisch-römischer Antike (Ageispolis, Ptolemy, Delphium, Actium) oder nach Wissenschaft (Xtal, Pulsewidth, Green Calx, Heliosphan, Schottky, Ptolemy). Eine einfache, klare Aussage hingegen enthält der Titel "We Are The Music Makers". Und dies könnte auch insgesamt das Motto dieser gelungenen Platte sein. Die informativen "sleeve notes" von Wil Troup sprechen von moderner elektronischer Musik zwischen Acid und Ambience. Auch wenn ich mit Acid nichts am Hut habe, so wirkt die gesamte Platte auf mich persönlich doch sehr harmonisch und rhythmisch geprägt. Einzige Ausnahme ist das sich in der Mitte befindende Stück Green Calx, das wegen seiner eher experimentellen, hektischen Gangart und den teils knarzenden, teils fiependen Spielhallengeräuschen vom melodischen Gesamteindruck der Platte ein wenig abweicht. Wie schon der Albumtitel nahelegt, verbindet man diese Platte im allgemeinen mit dem Genre Ambient. Das macht auch Sinn, wenn man an die Verwendung von Umweltgeräuschen und sphärischen Klängen denkt. Wegen der starken rhythmischen Komponente frage ich mich allerdings, ob man hier vornehmlich von Ambient sprechen sollte oder ob man sich nicht lieber mit anspruchsvollem Techno begnügt. Ambient ist meiner Meinung nach eher Musik mit sparsam eingesetzten Beats und Rhythmen, wie dies zum Beispiel im Nachfolgewerk Selected Ambient Works Volume II weitgehend der Fall ist. Das Debütalbum, SAW 85-95, zeichnet sich jedoch auch durch rhythmische Qualitäten aus, und einige Stücke nehmen m.E. sogar bereits Drum & Bass vorweg. Wie dem auch sei, SAW 85-95 ist eine sehr empfehlenswerte Platte, an der es nichts auszusetzen gibt. Der Ferrari für Freunde elektronischer Musik.

Album capolavoro della musica elettronica ad un ottimo prezzo!

Reedición en vinilo de una de las joyas de la música electrónica y uno de los álbumes más influyentes de la música en general. El vinilo viene en presentación de carpeta simple y doble vinilo. Ya tenía la reedición remasterizada en Cd de hace unos años con el artwork original, pero por el precio que está actualmente en Amazon en formato vinilo, no he dudado en hacerme con uno de mis discos favoritos en este maravilloso formato. La única pega que le pongo es que no hayan hecho una edición gatefold o al menos más lujosa, ya que este álbum lo merece. Queda al menos el consuelo de decir que la calidad sonora de esta reedición es excelente, que es lo más importante. Si sólo vas a tener un disco de música electrónica en tu colección, hazte un favor a ti mismo/a y que sea éste.

Très bonne qualité sonore du vinyle. Mon album préféré d'Aphex Twin.

I've been quite a casual enthusiast of electronic music for some time, instrumental music in general, as well as music that challenges my preconceptions. I finally became bored of the general level of idiocy of modern music and started to listen to my Leftfield albums again, as well as classical music, and found a new love for the electronic, instrumental sound. I discovered this album via youtube, liked every single track and finally bought it, while discovering Squarepusher and Autechre. To think it was composed when I was a child is quite astounding; its sound is a good five years ahead of anything else of the time, but innovation alone is not enough for a five star review: the technical quality of the compositions draws attention; I can listen to many of these tracks repeatedly, and discern another feeling or quality they evoke amongst their layers. This has always been the advantage of instrumental music; there are no lyrics to anchor feelings or thoughts to the composition, and so we can interpret it as a pure art form. I concede that some aspects may be too minimalist for some, but that is just down to unfamiliarity with anything challenging. After enduring years of the hard-sell, in-your-face dance-rock of Pendulum et al, then hearing the unsettling but entrancing Window Licker by this virtuoso, I was sent straight here and later artists of the same tradition. It is also startling that these pieces were composed around the time of the Stock-Aitken-Waterman empire's first hits. A monument to electronic music, and the artist versus mediocrity.