Favourite Albums of All Time

[BlueStar]

I wanted to create a thread where people can share their favourite albums of all time! I am very much an album person, I rarely listen to isolated songs, I want to full experience of an album, a journey in sound with a beginning, middle and an end. This thread is a tribute to albums that have moved you in some way. Write a few comments about the album, why you love it and maybe include a song or two

I would like to start off with an album I've had for several years but which I am currently transfixed by...

( ) by Sigur Ros



This album is not perhaps the most accessible for the Sigur Ros albums, I would recommend newbies first check out 'Agaetus Byrjun', 'Meo Suo I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust' or 'Takk'. The untitled '( )' is a more demanding listen, but is worth the investment - it's a work of art. Sigur Ros famously said in an early interview that they don't intend to become superstars, but they were going to change the way people think about music, and I'd say they certainly have. They are, in my view, the only band that have matched, and possibly eclipsed Pink Floyd when it comes to vast, expansive soundscapes, innovation and experimentation.

As with Agaetis Byrjun, their breakthough album, ( ) is a product of the band's origin. Roughly split into two parts, each with four tracks, it conjures images of snow-covered mountains and vast icy wildernesses. It is sung in 'Hopelandic', an invented language and apparently features only twelve syllables sung throughout the album in different ways. The first four songs (each track is untitled, although there are names out there) are comparatively serene and majestic - achingly sad and delicate, deep, lush and evocative. Soundscape music at its best. An almost otherworldly quality pervades the music, like alien lullabies, and yet earthy at the same time.

The last four songs are perhaps more intense and demanding. The latter tracks evoke a post-apocalyptic wilderness...everything has been destroyed. Jonsi, whose voice is a remarkable instrument in itself, sings with haunting beauty and power, as if expressing all of humanity's pain, fragility, tenderness, hope and love...echoes in an icy wilderness. In turns ethereal and earthy, he sings with a power and passion that might almost make Lisa Gerrard blush. The last two songs, in particular the remarkable final piece, gradually evolve from flowing, placid and peaceful into rousing, raging and dramatic finales filled with almost unbearable emotion.

This album is deeply beautiful and sad, powerful and intense. It crafts incredible soundscapes and is immensely evocative and moving. It may be too raw or alternative for some, but for those with an open mind, it is an incredible experience in sound. I love it just as much as the other Sigur Ros albums, but for some reason I'm hooked on this one in particular at the moment. Again, I'd recommend people check out the other albums before this one though, they are probably necessary primers!