Bjork Guðmundsdóttir is a singer/songwriter with a great expressive range & an interest in many kinds of music including popular, hip-hop, alternative-rock, torch songs, folk & classical. Björks musical career began at the age of eleven, when she began studying classical piano in elementary school. One of her instructors submitted a recording of Björk singing Tina Charles song I
Love to Love to
Radio One, an Iceland radio station. The recording was aired nationally; upon hearing it, a representative of the record label Fálkinn contacted Björk with a record contract offer. With the help of her stepfather, who played guitar, she recorded her first album, eponymously entitled Björk, in 1977, which featured several Icelandic childrens songs & covers of popular songs such as the
Beatles Fool on the Hill, sung in Icelandic. The album became a smash hit in Iceland, though it was virtually unknown elsewhere. Punk music began to have an influence on Björk; at the age of fourteen, she formed the all-girl punk band Spit & Snot, shortly followed by a jazz fusion group called
Exodus in 1979.
The first of
Bjorks live videos to be released end up being the fifth part of her fantastic
Live DVD Series, with Vessel being available on VHS for nearly ten years now. Not a concert video as such but more of a personal recollection of the Debut tours, peppered with live performances & interview snippets with the titular chanteuse herself, as well as clips of her jamming with her bandmates . Directed by
Stephane Sednaoui, who directed
Bjorks videos for
Big Time Sensuality & Possibly Maybe as well as photographed
Bjorks iconic sleeve for Post, after original choice Jean-Baptiste Mondino pulled out, the result is a slight but utterly beguiling sift through
Bjorks world of music.
The live performances are shot efficiently, but nowhere near as match the visual virtuosity of later shows, but the effect is cheerfully cheap ... with little more than a handful of players, however, Bjorks early ability to bewitch the listener is already audible. The best performances here are of Aeroplane & the little heard B-side Atlantic, which has Bjork dance giddily to the tune of a lovely flute. One Day, Big Time Sensuality and, of course, Human Behaviour also make noteworthy appearances on the set list.
The best part of the DVD, which is missing from the others in the series, is the interview snippets with Bjork where she talks about moving to London, finding her band & songwriting in general. Her best quote is when she cheekily confides that music isnt her one & only love: Im addicted to people too! The deranged debauchery before Violently Happy, also, is a sight to behold too , highlighting the great company Bjork keeps herself in. And watching her jam to a car alarm in the middle of the street is a joy to witness. Certainly weaker than the other live DVDs, but still a nice little film ...
