Greatest Hits (Björk album)
Encyclopedia
Greatest Hits is a compilation album released in November 2002 featuring the songs of Iceland
ic singer Björk
. Although not all of Björk's singles are included on this collection, all of the songs on Greatest Hits were released as singles. The tracks were selected by fans through a survey on Björk's website. Greatest Hits presents the songs in descending order of most-popular votes, with the exception of "It's In Our Hands" which was a new song and appears at the end of the compilation.
Several of the songs are presented in their radio (or single) remix
ed forms, most notably "Big Time Sensuality" (the Fluke
version featured in the promotional video, and not the shorter "Minimix" as featured on the single). "Possibly Maybe" includes the famous electronic sounds that were temporarily deleted off the Post version of the track, and "All Is Full of Love" is presented in its single version.
As with many greatest hits compilation album
s, some of Björk's biggest singles were absent. The most obvious omission is "It's Oh So Quiet", her highest-charting UK hit. Also missing are "Alarm Call", "I Miss You", "Cocoon" and "Violently Happy" as well as any pre-Debut material.
The tracks "Human Behaviour", "Big Time Sensuality", and "Venus as a Boy" are taken from Björk's 1993 album Debut. "Play Dead" was originally released on the Young Americans movie soundtrack (1993) but was included on some editions of Debut.
"Hyperballad", "Army of Me", "Isobel", and "Possibly Maybe" are from the 1995 Post album. "All Is Full of Love", "Jóga", "Bachelorette", and "Hunter" are from her 1997 Homogenic
album. Finally, "Pagan Poetry" and "Hidden Place" are found on her 2001 Vespertine
album.
The artwork on the CD was produced in collaboration with Iceland
ic contemporary art
ist Gabríela Fridriksdóttir. It is the only one of Björk's album covers that includes both a logo and a title.
Greatest Hits was released on the same day as Björk's Family Tree box set, which contained a "greatest hits" disc on which the songs were chosen by Björk. Greatest Hits and the greatest hits "as chosen by Björk" have seven tracks in common.
The Greatest Hits album was also listed on Blender magazine
's "500 CDs You Must Own".
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic singer Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
. Although not all of Björk's singles are included on this collection, all of the songs on Greatest Hits were released as singles. The tracks were selected by fans through a survey on Björk's website. Greatest Hits presents the songs in descending order of most-popular votes, with the exception of "It's In Our Hands" which was a new song and appears at the end of the compilation.
Information
There were two online surveys preceding the release of Greatest Hits. The survey that gave the tracklist was one where fans voted for their favourite single-tracks. Another one was conducted simultaneously where fans could vote for their favourite of all her songs, albums tracks as well as B-sides. This sometimes is the cause for some confusion about the authenticity of the fan-selected tracklist concept because interestingly enough the results from the single-track survey doesn't always match with the overall survey. For example, "Hyperballad" was the song receiving most votes from Björk fans on the overall survey, but appears as the second track on Greatest Hits. The results of both surveys can be seen on Björk's website.Several of the songs are presented in their radio (or single) remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed forms, most notably "Big Time Sensuality" (the Fluke
Fluke (band)
Fluke are an English electronic music group formed in the late 1980s by Mike Bryant, Jon Fugler and Mike Tournier with Julian Nugent as the band's manager...
version featured in the promotional video, and not the shorter "Minimix" as featured on the single). "Possibly Maybe" includes the famous electronic sounds that were temporarily deleted off the Post version of the track, and "All Is Full of Love" is presented in its single version.
As with many greatest hits compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
s, some of Björk's biggest singles were absent. The most obvious omission is "It's Oh So Quiet", her highest-charting UK hit. Also missing are "Alarm Call", "I Miss You", "Cocoon" and "Violently Happy" as well as any pre-Debut material.
The tracks "Human Behaviour", "Big Time Sensuality", and "Venus as a Boy" are taken from Björk's 1993 album Debut. "Play Dead" was originally released on the Young Americans movie soundtrack (1993) but was included on some editions of Debut.
"Hyperballad", "Army of Me", "Isobel", and "Possibly Maybe" are from the 1995 Post album. "All Is Full of Love", "Jóga", "Bachelorette", and "Hunter" are from her 1997 Homogenic
Homogenic
Homogenic is the fourth studio album by Icelandic musician Björk, released in September 1997. Produced by Björk, Mark Bell, Guy Sigsworth, Howie B and Markus Dravs, it was released on One Little Indian Records...
album. Finally, "Pagan Poetry" and "Hidden Place" are found on her 2001 Vespertine
Vespertine
Vespertine, is the fifth studio album by the Icelandic recording artist Björk, released on 27 August 2001. On this album, Björk creates a quiet, introverted world of microbeats and personal lyrics...
album.
The artwork on the CD was produced in collaboration with Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic contemporary art
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
ist Gabríela Fridriksdóttir. It is the only one of Björk's album covers that includes both a logo and a title.
Greatest Hits was released on the same day as Björk's Family Tree box set, which contained a "greatest hits" disc on which the songs were chosen by Björk. Greatest Hits and the greatest hits "as chosen by Björk" have seven tracks in common.
The Greatest Hits album was also listed on Blender magazine
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
's "500 CDs You Must Own".
Track listing
- "All Is Full of LoveAll Is Full of Love"All Is Full of Love" is a song by Björk, released as the fifth and final single from her album Homogenic. The version of the song used in the video is actually the original version of the song, while the version on Homogenic is a remix by Howie B...
" (Björk) – 4:47 - "Hyperballad" (Björk) – 5:22
- "Human BehaviourHuman Behaviour"Human Behaviour" is Icelandic singer Björk's first solo single, taken from the album Debut. It contains a sample of "Go Down Dying" by Antonio Carlos Jobim. The lyrics reflect on human nature and emotion from a non-human animal's point of view. The song is the first part of a series of songs that...
" (Björk/Nellee Hooper) – 4:12 - "JógaJóga"Jóga" is a song by Björk, and the first single from her 1997 album Homogenic. It features a mix of classical string instruments with heavy electronic beats which is present in the whole album.-Background:...
" (Björk/Sigur Jon Birgir Sigurdsson) – 5:05 - "BacheloretteBachelorette (song)"Bachelorette" is a song by Björk, released as the second single from her 1997 album Homogenic.The song was originally written for a film by Bernardo Bertolucci, but the project was withdrawn...
" (Björk/Sigur Jon Birgir Sigurdsson) – 5:15 - "Army of MeArmy of Me"Army of Me" is a song by Björk, released in 1995 as the first, and leading, single from her second solo album Post. The song also appeared, later in the same year on the soundtrack of Tank Girl as well as in the soundtrack of Sucker Punch in 2011...
" (Björk/Graham Massey) – 3:56 - "Pagan PoetryPagan Poetry"Pagan Poetry" was the second single from singer Björk's album Vespertine. The single peaked at number 38 in the UK and number 12 in Canada. It was written and produced by Björk with additional production by Marius De Vries and mixed by Mark "Spike" Stent...
" (Björk) – 5:14 - "Big Time SensualityBig Time Sensuality"Big Time Sensuality" is a song by Björk, released as the fourth single from her 1993 album Debut. The song helped boost Björk's popularity worldwide, particularly the U.S., where she charted for the first time.-Background:...
" (The Fluke Minimix) (Björk/Nellee Hooper) – 4:55 - "Venus as a BoyVenus as a Boy"Venus as a Boy" is a song by Björk, released as the second single from her 1993 album Debut.-Background:Björk explained in an interview with David Hemingway:...
" (Björk) – 4:40 - "HunterHunter (Björk song)"Hunter" is a song by Björk, released in 1998 as the third single from Homogenic. The song peaked at number 43 in the UK Singles Chart and at number 55 on the French Singles Chart.The song also appeared on the soundtrack to The X-Files movie....
" (Björk) – 4:15 - "Hidden PlaceHidden Place"Hidden Place" is a song by Icelandic recording artist Björk, taken from her fourth English language , Vespertine . It was written by Björk, Guy Sigsworth and Mark Bell and produced by Björk...
" (Björk) – 5:28 - "IsobelIsobel"Isobel" is a song by Icelandic singer Björk. It was released as the second single from her 1995 album Post. The lyrics describe a primitive girl who seems to be a personification of Mother Nature, and who tries to warn the technological world of its potential dangers. The music is underscored by...
" (Björk/Hooper/De Vries/Sigurdsson) – 5:47 - "Possibly MaybePossibly Maybe"Possibly Maybe" is a song by Björk, released as the fifth single from her 1995 album Post. It is a song with deep electronic tones and soft beats that reflects on potential love....
" (Björk/Nellee Hopper/De Vries) – 5:05 - "Play DeadPlay Dead (song)"Play Dead" is a song by Icelandic singer Björk, and was released as the third single from her 1993 album Debut.-Background:It is a dark piece underscored by moody strings with lyrics about acting numb to prevent emotional pain....
" (Björk/David Arnold/Jah Wobble) – 3:55 - "It's in Our HandsIt's in Our Hands"It's in Our Hands" was a single released along with Björk's Greatest Hits CD in late 2002. The song was previously heard during her Vespertine Tour in 2001. The song relies heavily on a sample taken from To Rococo Rot's song Die Dinge Des Lebens from the album The Amateur View...
" (Björk) – 4:15
Charts
| Country | Peak position | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 20,000 | |
| Australia | 84 | |
| Austria | 64 | |
| Canada | 50,000 | |
| Sweden | 52 | |
| Switzerland | 24 | |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
115 | 170,000 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Electronic Albums Top Electronic Albums Dance/Electronic Albums is a music chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the top-selling electronic music albums in the United States. The chart debuted on the issue dated June 30, 2001. It originally began as a fifteen-position chart and has since expanded to twenty-five... |
2 |
Certifications
| Region | Provider | Certification(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina | CAPIF | Gold |
| Canada | CRIA Cria A cria is the name for a baby camelid such as a llama, alpaca, vicuña, or guanaco. It comes from the Spanish word cría, meaning "baby". Its false cognate in English, crya , was coined by British sailors who explored Chile in the 18th century and were quick to describe the camelids onomatopoeically... |
Gold |