SELECTED AMBIENT WORKS 8592 [VINYL]

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.

I won't say much about the music itself, other than the fact that two+ decades haven't diminished its brilliance; still an essential title in any electronic music collection. What I will try to review, however, is the 2013 vinyl edition that I purchased from Amazon UK. Since this is an official reissue, you will get the original iconic artwork on the cover, and not that hideous trashy-3D-horse image that appeared on a bootleg release from a few years back. The cover is a bit flimsy and not a gatefold, but from what I gather this was also the case with the first pressing. The record itself is well pressed, on two 150g slabs of vinyl, with no audible surface noise. Though there's no info on whether the same stamper from the last official (remastered) reissue in 2006 was used or not, the sound quality is great, with a quite decent dynamic range. (Of course, the fact that this album is practically a collection of home recordings--and, if AllMusic's story is to be believed, one that survived maulings by a cat--should already warn you not to expect an audiophile-level of sound quality. All in all, this is a highly recommended edition of an indispensable album. Get it before it goes out of print (again).

I couldn't believe my luck when I saw this on Amazon. The option to Pre-Order a brand new repress of Selected Ambient works 85-92! This is one of Aphex Twin's most acclaimed albums and it is a brilliant vinyl to collect while you have the chance. It is a MUST HAVE for any Aphex Twin fan. The songs feature a range of beautiful analogue/synth sounds that are both relaxing and at times exciting. The high quality standard of the tracks continues throughout, as some people disagree with when talking about Selected Ambient Works Volume 2. My personal favourites on this album include Xtal, Heliosphan and Green Calx. It is brilliant that this has been repressed and makes me ask, will Aphex Twin come out of his shell again soon and release more of his eagerly awaited albums? Some sources suggest he has 6-10 albums ready to release but this cannot be for sure. If you want to get more vinyls of his, be sure to get "Richard D. James" and "...I care because you do". Maybe even give Windowlicker and Come to daddy a try while they are on Amazon at a reasonable price! If I had to criticise anything about the product I'd say that the packaging material is a LITTLE flimsy. However the original artwork makes up for it :)

No skips no crackles, looks great, mint condition, 5 stars

I already had this on CD but being that I am back buying Vinyl again this was a must have. Its Richard D James at his absolute best in my opinion. Beautifully presented and the pressing is of a very high quality its a must have for anyone who is keen on electronic music at its finest. I wish they would release the second collection to a greater audience on vinyl also unfortunately its very rare and very expensive.

This review is of a CD version of the album purchased in February 2019. The album itself is as good as the reviews say but this version of the disc has some problems. There are some strange audio dropouts here and there. They don't detract terribly from the listening experience but unlike the other glitches, distortion etc they were definitely NOT put there intentionally. YMMV but bear this in mind when ordering.

Not normally an ambient music fan but came across Aphex Twin via a mate at uni years ago and have kept dipping in and out of his stuff. Some of his albums are, I find at least, hard to listen to in such as they are complex and difficult. This beauty is however very accessible, easy to listen to and still maintains a complexity that separates it from the normal pap that turned me off ambient as a musical genre. Overall it's now one of my favourite and most used records in my collection. Notable tracks include Xtal, Pulsewidth, Ageispolis, Green Calx, Heliosphan, Schottkey... to be far the whole damn album.

A great album if you would like to listen to something a little different. I love Schottkey 7th path which used to have a great video on MTV and can understand the lengths the chap went to to make sure it sounded just right by listening to it myself. If you have any interest in music production have a read up on him as it is very interesting. Polygon windows(surfing sine waves) is also worth a listen aswell if you would like to venture of the beaten track a bit with electronic music.

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.

Good music! Worthy music!