Una fotografia abbastanza modesta e semplice: una donna abbigliata con un maglione infeltrito, le mani appoggiate delicatamente sul viso, quasi a voler ulteriormente celare un alone di timidezza ed ingenuità già di per sé manifesto e abbastanza appariscente. Nel lontano 1993, lo stile dell'ecletticissima Björk non presagiva neanche remotamente le "stravaganze" eteree/fiabesche/magiche/misteriose/enigmatiche degli ultimi lavori, in primis Medulla e Biophilia: nel baricentro focale dell'allora tendenza Grunge, fatta appunto di essenzialità e sobrietà (almeno dal punto di vista del look) totalmente contrapposte alla magnificente sfarzosità degli spettacoli pop mainstream, il folletto islandese al suo "debutto" calzava perfettamente il mood dell'epoca. Eppure, oltre quella scialba copertina, oltre la foto di ingresso che pare essere stata scattata nella Russia Sovietica postbellica, era confezionato un autentico gioiellino discografico, una miscela di sounds, fantasia, sentimento, raffinatezza, sensualità, umore.
Debut si presenta come uno speciale viaggio intimistico-artistico nella sperimentazione sonora, in cui neanche i rumori, le stonature e i richiami della natura vengono lasciati da parte, rifiutati, disdegnati, ma al contrario immersi e amalgamati in un grande calderone dance/trip-hop. Sono ancora lontani i tempi della maturazione estrema di Medulla, nel quale natura e artificio compongono una sola, univoca opera di senso e spiritualità, tuttavia già sussiste la percezione di avere in mano un lavoro refrattario dallo scatolone pop-commerciale, una sorta di "cubo di Rubik" multifacce - e multicolori - da comporre, ricomporre e gustare sino all'ultimo tassello.
E la tracklist comincia proprio con una dinamitarda esplosione di suoni, rumori e bassi: Human Behaviour, marcia celtico-folk Sinead O'Connor style dalle evidenti ispirazioni ambient-trip hop, è l'anima vitale del disco, la summa di tutte le sue percezioni astratte e sensoriali, il coronamento della dialettica fra luce e oscurità. Un piccolo balzo ci porta poi alla frivola eurodance/techno di Big Time Sensuality e Crying, alla fresca e solare litania tribal-ambient dell'orientaleggiante Venus As A Boy e alla perla house di Violently Happy, una delle migliori espressioni di dance alternativa anni '90.
Sperimentazione, eclettismo, si diceva: eccovi allora le "stonature" unplugged di fiati impazziti in The Anchor Song, le porte sbattute, la folla chiassosa di un party e il tono vocale pseudo-adolescenziale ascritti nel ballabilissimo contesto di There's More To Life Than This, l'etereo, iper rilassante ed evanescente infuso trip-hop/ambient di One Day - quasi a voler anticipare gli effluvi iperuranici di Bachelorette e Medulla. Degni di nota, infine, Like Someone in Love, trionfo di archi e romanticismo da serenata old school, Play Dead, malinconica, addirittura straziante e disperata espressione trip-hop e il funkeggiante balletto da cabaret (con tanto di epilogo tribale) di Aeroplane.
Intrufolatosi spontaneamente nella diatriba nineties fra commercialità pop e puro, verace eclettismo alternativo, il Debut della primissima Björk riusciva perfettamente a vestire i tratti di uno e dell'altro, facendo affiorare un doppiogiochismo camaleontico - ancora acerbo e incompleto - che strizzava gli occhi agli appreciaters di tutta quanta la musica, di tutta quanta l'arte sonora, di qualunque melodie potesse arrivare ai padiglioni, alla mente e al cuore dell'attento ascoltatore. E la fiaba björkiana era solamente all'inizio...
Björk, Debut
Human Behaviour - Crying - Venus As A Boy - There's More To Life Than This - Like Someone In Love - Big Time Sensuality - One Day - Aeroplane - Come To Me - Violently Happy - The Anchor Song - Play Dead
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 Human Behaviour (04:10)
If you ever get close to a human
And human behaviour
Be ready, be ready to get confused
There's definitely, definitely, definitely no logic
To human behaviour
But yet so, yet so irresistible
And there's no map
and a compass
wouldn't help at all
They're terribly moody
And human behaviour
Then all of a sudden turn happy
But, oh, to get involved in the exchange
Of human emotions
Is ever so, ever so satisfying
Oh oh, and there's no map
Human behaviour, human
Human, human behaviour, human
Human, human behaviour, human
Human behaviour, human
And there's no map
And a compass
Wouldn't help at all
Human behaviour, human, human
Human behaviour, human,
Human behaviour, human,
Human behaviour
There's definitely, definitely, definitely no logic
Human, human
Human behaviour
Human
There's definitely, definitely, definitely no logic
Human, human, human, human.
02 Crying (04:52)
I travel
All around the city
Go in and out of
Locomotives
All alone
There's no-one here
And people everywhere
Crying 'cause I need you
Crying I can feel you
Crying 'cause I need you
Crying 'cause I care.
It's a hot day
And i'm dressed lightly
I move carefully
Through the crowd
Here everyone
Is so vulnerable
And i'm as well
There's no-one here
And people everywhere
Crying 'cause I need you
Crying I can feel you
Crying 'cause I need you
Crying 'cause I care
Only if a ship would sail in
Or just someone came
And knocked at my door
Or just, or just something
Crying 'cause I need you
Crying I can feel you
Crying 'cause I need you
Crying 'cause I care
03 Venus as a Boy (04:42)
His wicked sense of humour
Suggests exciting sex
His fingers focus on her
Touches, he's Venus as a boy
He believes in beauty
He's Venus as a boy
He's exploring
The taste of her
Arousal
So accurate
He sets off
The beauty in her
He's Venus as a boy
He believes in beauty
He's Venus as a boy
04 There's More to Life Than This (recorded live at the Milk Bar toilets) (03:21)
Come on girl
Let's sneak out of this party
It's getting boring
There's more to life than this
It's still early morning
We could go down to the harbour
And jump between the boats
And see the sun come up
Sample : There's more to life than this
There's more to life than this
There's more to life than this
I could nick a boat
And sneak off to this island
I could bring my little ghettoblaster
There's more to life than this
But then we'd have to rush back
To the town's best baker
To get the first bread of the morning
There's more to life than this.
Sample : There's more to life than this
There's more to life than this X4
06 Big Time Sensuality (03:57)
i can sense it
something important
is about to happen
it's coming up
it takes courage to enjoy it
the hardcore and the gentle
big time sensuality
we just met
and i know i'm a bit too intimate
but something huge is coming up
and we're both included
it takes courage to enjoy it
the hardcore and the gentle
big time sensuality
i don't know my future after this weekend
and i don't want to
it takes courage to enjoy it
the hardcore and the gentle
big time sensuality
07 One Day (05:24)
One day, it will happen
One day, one day
It will all come true.
One day, when you're ready
One day, one day
When you're up to it.
The atmosphere
Will get lighter
And two suns ready
To shine just for you
I can feel it, I can feel it.
One day, it will happen
One day, one day
It will all make sense.
One day, one day
You will blossom
One day, one day
When you're ready.
An aeroplane
Will curve gracefully
Around the volcano
With the eruption that never lets you down.
I can feel it, I can feel it
And the beautifullest
Fireworks are burning
In the sky just for you
I can feel it, I can feel it
One day, one day, one day, one day
One day, one day, one day, one day
08 Aeroplane (03:54)
I can not live
Peacefully without you
For even a moment
I miss you terribly
When you're away
He's away
This ain't right
I'm alone
I'm taking an aeroplane
Across the world
To follow my heart.
How come
Out of all the people in the world
Only one
Can make me complete
One word, one word on the phone
Makes me happy
One touch, but one touch directly
Makes me ecstatic
He's away
This ain't right
I'm alone
I'm taking an aeroplane
Across the world
To follow my heart
10 Violently Happy (04:59)
Since I met you
this small town hasn't got room
for my big feelings,
violently happy
'cause I love you,
violently happy
but you're not here
violently happy
come calm me down
before i get into trouble
I tip-toe down to the shore,
stand by the ocean-
make it roar at me
and I roar back,
violently happy
'cause I love you,
violently happy
but you're not here
violently happy
overemotional
violently happy
I'll get into trouble
real soon
if you don't get here
baby!
violently happy
'cause I love you
violently happy
I'm aiming too high
violently happy
it will get me into trouble
violently happy
i'm driving my car
too fast
with ecstatic music on
violently happy
I'm getting too drunk
violently happy
I'm daring people
to jump off roofs with me
only you
can clam me down
I'm aiming too high
Soothe me...
11 The Anchor Song (03:32)
I live by the ocean
and during the night
I dive into it
down to the bottom
underneath all currents
and drop my anchor
this is where I'm staying.
This is my home
Carico i commenti... con calma
Altre recensioni
Di bauer
Rimango completamente stregato dalla sua voce e dalla bellezza delle canzoni.
Un caleidoscopio di suoni, voci, emozioni, sensazioni che rendono questo cd una piccola opera d'arte.
Di MarcoP
Big Time Sensuality e Violently Happy sono apici ai quali la Dance Moderna non riesce più ad arrivare.
Bjork gode di un dono naturale ovvero la sua inconfondibile voce che oltre essere un valore aggiunto è anche il suo punto di forza.
