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Most accessible aphex twin cd

Richard W. Todd | 05/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I think, of all the aphex twin I've heard, this is the most accessible collection of songs. The songs are enjoyable, and as another reviewer noted, their stripped down simplicity gives them a lot of energy. I was expecting a more eclectic, difficult album, but I enjoyed it regardless. It was actually kind of a treat to hear such straightforward music under the Aphex Twin moniker."

A uncompromising collection of his earlier work.....

fetish_2000 | U.K. | 10/20/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For a artist, that can move from the relatively hushed brilliance of his critically acclaimed "Ambient" albums, through to the Skittering & Fractured Breakbeats of his "Richard D.James" album. Aphex Twin has never been a person that's been afraid to play with peoples expectations of his music.



Collected here, is a series of pre-fame Aphex Twin tracks (collated from various EP's and Singles), that although conceived, to give an overall perspective of his music (even though it is sold as a 'Collection' of sorts), but, more to provide a musical snapshot of where he originally started, as opposed to where he's currently ended up today. And because the majority of tracks here are complied from various EP's & Singles, buyers should be warned that there is a decidedly 'Disjointed' feel to the tracklisting, with no continuity to the sequencing of the tracks. Moving from somber and atmospheric Experimental Electronica one minute (The sublime "Digeridoo" is a great example of how truly creative his work can be), through to something a little more brooding and anxious ("Isopropanol" veers more towards Ambient Techno). Moving into the more accessible side of his music is "Polynomial-C" that feels more in line with the progressive techno/Industrial cross-over that he would later go on to perfect under the alias "Polygon Window", that's crunching and slightly abrasive, yet somehow mantains a rhythmic element, under the most strenuous of conditions.



So the question is, are these collection of tracks truly deserving to be included on this album?? Yes!!, of that there is no doubt, but if taken as a whole album, its something of a mess (although a fantastically created one). As tracks lurch wildly from restrained Electronica one minute, to (relatively) fierce and uncompromising Techno the next, and it's such a stylistic change in tempo, that the listener can't help but sit up and notice the rapid fluctuation in tempos. So...right about now, your probably asking yourself, "If he's criticising the tracklisting so heavily, why is he giving it 5 Stars???.....Simple, because these tracks were never designed to be pieced together from various sources and compiled to sit next to each other. So this was always going to be a fragmented listen, plus this isn't the place to start if your a first time listener to Aphex Twin, this is almost certainly aimed at those that have cut their teeth on his work previously, and are already familiar with what to expect (I.e. Anything). Taken as a coherent album...this fails, but as a relatively random collection of some of his more exceptional work, this'll take some beating."