Rating: 
Summary: Great perfomances!
Review: A wonderful collection that features two great television performances from MTV; highlights include "Human Behaviour" & "One Day" from "MTV Unplugged," and "Jóga" & Bachelorette" from "MTV Live."
Rating:
Summary: Bjork: MTV Unplugged/MTV Live
Review: Bjork is one of the most amazing artists ever to grace my ears and her MTV Unplugged DVD is a ride of wonderful emotions.
Review I: MTV Unplugged
The MTV Unplugged performance is nine song concert of Bjork's 1993 album "Debut". If you are a fan of Bjork's other performances, this is not even close to her later shows. At this time, Bjork's solo era was in it's infancy so you won't see her running around the stage twitching and screaming.
1): HUMAN BEHAVIOUR: She comes out wearing a yellow dress and says "Thank you". The song begins to play, and it barely sound like it. Then she starts to sing and her angelic voice brings the song to life.
2): ONE DAY: One Day is another favorite from "Debut". This song sounds amazing unplugged with all of the percussion instruments. It sounds like a percussion ensemble performance interlude, with a vocalist.
3): COME TO ME: This song sounds amazing here, the record, and the "VESSEL" release. It sounds almost like the album, only a little less intense. She makes it subtle. Like a lullaby.
4): BIG TIME SENSUALITY: This song starts out very rough with the organ type sound. Then it greatly intensifies when she starts sings.
5): AEROPLANE: This song is nothing short of perfect. Her voice soars and the MUSIC IS INCREDIBLE!
6): LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE: Again, it's amazing and she not even thinking about singing because it just flowing out like water
7): CRYING: The song sounds a bit like a .midi file but it gets better because it becomes something so different than the Debut's Crying.
8): ANCHOR SONG: She sings the song and she sounds great but the music soars better than the record.
9): VIOLENTLY HAPPY: Violently Happy is nothing like the record. This song sounds the most unplugged, but Bjork still dances like its a club remix. It's a little long, and it ends a bit abrupt. This isn't the VESSEL version though. She ends it perfectly.
----
Review II: MTV LIVE
MTV LIVE: BJORK is a collection of songs taken from her "Homogenic" Tour. The sound is DISGUSTING, especially from MTV. Homogenic was released in 1997, and was filmed in 1998. But why does 1994's Debut: Unplugged performance have better sound and image quality.
1): YOU'VE BEEN FLIRTING AGAIN: First off, this is the ICELANDIC version and sounds just as amazing. This song is beautiful and starts out the Homogenic experience. The sound gets a 7/10.
2): ISOBEL: Isobel sounds so perfect here. Bjork's voice is better, the music is better, the visual is better! Sound gets a 2/10.
3): HUMAN BEHAVIOUR: Human Behaviour sounds like it does on Vessel. It's a little traditional for Bjork. Sound gets 6/10
4): BACHELORETTE: This song sounds so beautiful but it's a shame WE CAN'T HEAR IT!!! Sound gets a 0.
5): JOGA: Joga is one of the best songs from Homogenic. The live version is just as good. Sound gets a 6/10
6): PLUTO: Now with Pluto, the bad sound quality actually helps because the song is so deep and dark and she's being held down. The sound gets a 6/10 but because it works awesomely: 8/10.
MTV Unplugged Recommendations: HUMAN BEHAVIOUR, AEROPLANE, COME TO ME
MTV Live Recommendations: ISOBEL, YOU'VE BEEN FLIRTING AGAIN, PLUTO
Unplugged gets a 95/100 and Live gets a 45/100
Other Recommendations: VESSEL DVD/VHS
Rating: 
Summary: Re-master the sound for the "MTV Live" show!
Review: For "MTV Unplugged" (1994) Bjork performs: "Human Behaviour", "One Day", "Come To Me", "Big Time Sensuality", "Aeroplane", "Like Someone In Love", "Crying", "Anchor Song", and "Violently Happy". For "MTV Live" (1998) Bjork performs "You've Been Flirting Again", "Isobel", "Human Behaviour", "Bachelorette", "Joga", and "Pluto".I love the "MTV Unplugged" performances. I recently bought the "Debut" album, so this is a nice companion piece seeing how she interpreted her "Debut" songs in a live setting back then. Standouts are "Human Behaviour", "Big Time Sensuality", "Crying", and "Violently Happy". The "MTV Live" looks cool but the sound is AWFUL! Did they even have a sound engineer and sound editor for this? You can barely hear Bjork's voice! At first I thought the problem was because of my TV. I played the DVD on another TV and my computer DVD drive. Sounds the same! Arrrgh! Seriously, I barely hear her even though it's visually obvious that she's really working her pipes in most of the songs. I had to blast the volume really high to somewhat hear her. They should really re-master this portion the video because it certainly looks very interesting. The filming has a dreamlike ambiance and Bjork (along with her band) displays exciting showmanship throughout. I rate the "MTV Unplugged" portion 4 out of 5 stars, and the "MTV Live" portion 2 out of 5 stars which averages the whole DVD 3 out of 5 stars. It's a shame my viewing experience in the "MTV Live" show is disrupted by the nerve-wracking, unbalanced sound. It's worth checking out this video for the "MTV Unplugged" performances because you get a pleasant, entertaining glimpse of the early chapter of Bjork's solo career. And you can HEAR her diverse, versatile, emotive voice!
Rating:
Summary: Re-master the sound for the "MTV Live" show!
Review: For "MTV Unplugged" (1994) Bjork performs: "Human Behaviour", "One Day", "Come To Me", "Big Time Sensuality", "Aeroplane", "Like Someone In Love", "Crying", "Anchor Song", and "Violently Happy". For "MTV Live" (1998) Bjork performs "You've Been Flirting Again", "Isobel", "Human Behaviour", "Bachelorette", "Joga", and "Pluto". I love the "MTV Unplugged" performances. I recently bought the "Debut" album, so this is a nice companion piece seeing how she interpreted her "Debut" songs in a live setting back then. Standouts are "Human Behaviour", "Big Time Sensuality", "Crying", and "Violently Happy". The "MTV Live" looks cool but the sound is AWFUL! Did they even have a sound engineer and sound editor for this? You can barely hear Bjork's voice! At first I thought the problem was because of my TV. I played the DVD on another TV and my computer DVD drive. Sounds the same! Arrrgh! Seriously, I barely hear her even though it's visually obvious that she's really working her pipes in most of the songs. I had to blast the volume really high to somewhat hear her. They should really re-master this portion the video because it certainly looks very interesting. The filming has a dreamlike ambiance and Bjork (along with her band) displays exciting showmanship throughout. I rate the "MTV Unplugged" portion 4 out of 5 stars, and the "MTV Live" portion 2 out of 5 stars which averages the whole DVD 3 out of 5 stars. It's a shame my viewing experience in the "MTV Live" show is disrupted by the nerve-wracking, unbalanced sound. It's worth checking out this video for the "MTV Unplugged" performances because you get a pleasant, entertaining glimpse of the early chapter of Bjork's solo career. And you can HEAR her diverse, versatile, emotive voice!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful and Unique Performances
Review: I absolutely love this DVD. It presents two very different Bjorks, in different settings and at different parts of her career, though both succeed admirably in conveying the spirit and magic of live Bjork intimately and lovingly. The MTV Unplugged performance is astounding, demonstraiting the younger Bjork with beautiful and unique arrangements, courtesy of an incredible number of musicians (including Talvin Singh, tabla player extrordinaire). Almost all of the songs from Debut are represented, but seeing them performed with all live musicians rather than electronics casts a dramatic new light on them, and the arrangements are all top-notch (the harpsichord Human Behavior being a personal favorite). And the sight of Bjork in a bright yellow and incredibly short dress playing in front of a room of stuffy, black-clad, 1994 hipster types is laugh out loud funny, and displays wonderfully her irreverance and sense of humor. She flits around the stage barefoot, bouncing from one end to the other and singing like a pixie while the audience sits mostly somberly, evidently not sure quite to make of the sprite on stage. This was very early on, surely before Bjork's reputation as a beautiful weirdo was well-established, so it is amusing to watch their bemused reactions to our favorite Icelandic Queen. The Live and Loud segment is also quite astounding, with a string octet and Mark Bell on beats in the back. The instrumentations are much more like what one hears on the albums, though the passion comes through in spades. Bjork is beautiful, looking more properly dressed for the occasion than the previous performance, though nothing short of furious in her singing. Pluto is a notable example as Bjork pushes it to a simply explosive climax. As for the much-derided effects and goldfish... I have to admit, I thought they were kinda neat, putting a surreal spin on the otherwise very professional-looking proceedings. All in all, I'd say this is a stunning portrait of an incredible performer, full of all the heart, fury, and occasional cheesy special effect that makes us love music in the first place. Order (or, better yet, purchase from your local independent record store!) with confidence.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful and Unique Performances
Review: I absolutely love this DVD. It presents two very different Bjorks, in different settings and at different parts of her career, though both succeed admirably in conveying the spirit and magic of live Bjork intimately and lovingly. The MTV Unplugged performance is astounding, demonstraiting the younger Bjork with beautiful and unique arrangements, courtesy of an incredible number of musicians (including Talvin Singh, tabla player extrordinaire). Almost all of the songs from Debut are represented, but seeing them performed with all live musicians rather than electronics casts a dramatic new light on them, and the arrangements are all top-notch (the harpsichord Human Behavior being a personal favorite). And the sight of Bjork in a bright yellow and incredibly short dress playing in front of a room of stuffy, black-clad, 1994 hipster types is laugh out loud funny, and displays wonderfully her irreverance and sense of humor. She flits around the stage barefoot, bouncing from one end to the other and singing like a pixie while the audience sits mostly somberly, evidently not sure quite to make of the sprite on stage. This was very early on, surely before Bjork's reputation as a beautiful weirdo was well-established, so it is amusing to watch their bemused reactions to our favorite Icelandic Queen. The Live and Loud segment is also quite astounding, with a string octet and Mark Bell on beats in the back. The instrumentations are much more like what one hears on the albums, though the passion comes through in spades. Bjork is beautiful, looking more properly dressed for the occasion than the previous performance, though nothing short of furious in her singing. Pluto is a notable example as Bjork pushes it to a simply explosive climax. As for the much-derided effects and goldfish... I have to admit, I thought they were kinda neat, putting a surreal spin on the otherwise very professional-looking proceedings. All in all, I'd say this is a stunning portrait of an incredible performer, full of all the heart, fury, and occasional cheesy special effect that makes us love music in the first place. Order (or, better yet, purchase from your local independent record store!) with confidence.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing! Finally Bjork from 94' Live & Unplugged
Review: I have been waiting for this for 8 years adn all I can say is WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I watched this and taped it back in the day, my VHS broke and FINALLY I have it back and 98579579287% Better on DVD... Pick this up and see how flexible an artist Bjork is with her amazing music... PLUTO! OMG!
Song 1 to song end, incredible! You will watch and repeat it over and over... better than CD's ... You get to see cute little Bjork too AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I LOVE IT!! MY ICELANDIC PRINCESS!
Rating:
Summary: Pure Ecstasy
Review: I have been watching the R2/PAL version of this DVD for a couple weeks now and it is truly excellent. This DVD features two complete mtv performances. Both shows were recorded in 1994 during the promotion of "post". Tracks 1-10 MTV unplugged:
human behaviour, one day, come to me, venus as a boy, big time sensuality, violently happy, crying, like someone in love, aeroplane, anchor song Tracks 11-16 MTV live'n'loud.
you've been flirting again, isobel, human behaviour, bachelorette, joga, pluto The Unplugged stuff utilizes very unique instrumentation, even for Bjork. At one point I counted eight percussionists playing on one song. There are many musicians involved, tied together by an excellent tabla player featured on every song. Bjork is vibrant and her voice sounds younger and fresher than it does today. The Live and Loud stuff is not as raw, esp. the video presentation, which has gone through more MTV-style post production. The video quality on the DVD is generally good, but nothing spectacular. The disc I have been watching is only DD 2.0 (stereo), but still sounds great. Absolutely essential purchase for any Bjork fan!
Rating:
Summary: Essential Bjork Paraphenalia
Review: I more-or-less agree with these other reviewers. Bjork, by simple fact of her personality and skill at live performance, is phenomenal. The DVD is somewhat less so. The MTV Live segment was distracting. The producers were so excited to be putting special effects into the production that they ignored the music itself and seemed to be competing with it for viewer attention. The Unplugged portion of the DVD was great. I enjoyed all the arrangements immensely and loved to watch Bjork bop about the stage in bare feet. Of course I would have loved extra DVD features like interviews or a 'Behind The Scenes' featurette, etc., but knowing how _Volumen_ is I wasn't expecting anything. I'm giving this DVD only 3 stars because, in the end, this is 2002 and we all expect a little more than the bare minimum when it comes to DVDs we pay [money] for.
Rating:
Summary: A Good dvd But Not Bjork at her Best
Review: Okay, the only reason I bought this dvd was to complete my Bjork collection. The first half of the DVD is quite entertaining, watching Bjork skip around stage in that outrageously bright yellow short dress she wears. Now I had thought my main focus would be on the busy Miss B. but this DVD shares the light with other musicians backing up our favorite eccentrically-beautiful Icelandic singer. And yes the tabla player was amazing in this performance, Talvin Seing or whatever his name is, is remmarkably outstanding on this DVD and on the Debut album. As for Miss B. well okay she always brings a smile on our faces whenever she performs but her performance seemed kinda comprimising...or maybe she was still in development of an on stage act. Whatever, anyway well for the second half of the DVD which in my opinion was mediocre, in fact hell they could've left this portion out. to sum it up in all of my collection of her performances, I rate this as the worst set to buy. Don't buy this unless you're a big Bjork fan.
|
