Bjork'Greatest Hits'

Elektra Records

Grade: A+


Bjork has always been the mystical fairy of the music industry. From her days fronting the Sugar Cubes, to her breakout as a solo artist, to her Oscar nomination and everywhere in between, she has fascinated her audiences with an intoxicating mix of innocence, intelligence, playfulness and brilliant music. Now, nine years after Bjork's first solo album "Debut" was released to the world, she has amassed the greatest hits of her solo career - fifteen brilliant tracks celebrating the creativity and beauty of this crazy little nymph.

One of the traps of a greatest hits album is getting stuck on only a few songs from a few albums. Bjork has succeeded where many artists fail in spreading out the selection of tracks to encompass all of her solo releases - "Debut," "Post," "Homogenic" and her newest, "Vespertine" - selecting at least two songs from each album, and even including a new song as the last track. Opening the album is Bjork's masterpiece, "All Is Full Of Love."

The mellow, sweeping track welcomes the listener with wide open arms, the singer's lilting, breaking voice settling over your body like a warm blanket. The song really sets the mood for the entire album, with the Icelandic beauty crooning, "You'll be given love / You'll be taken care of ... it's all around you / All is full of love," in such a hopeful, devoted tone that it almost brings tears to the eyes.

The album progresses from this slow mellow opener through "Hyper-ballad" and "Human Behavior," the hit that solidified Bjork as a superstar. It's wonderful and it just doesn't stop; right around the corner lurks "Bachelorette," the incredible "Pagan Poetry" off of Bjork's newest, "Vespertine," and an incredible mix of "Big Time Sensuality," arguably the biggest hit of her career.

The second half of the album affords no breaks either; "Hunter," "Hidden Place" and "Isobel" pack a triple punch that leaves the listener stunned in the most unforgettable way. "Possibly Maybe" and "Play Dead" begin to wind the listener down, and right when you've been lulled into thinking it's the end, she throws a curveball your way - a brand new song, released for the first time. "It's In Our Hands" is an almost perfect blend of what Bjork once was and now is. Her electronic musical experimentation is combined with meandering vocals that harken back to "Debut" in the most delicious way, crooning, "It's in our hands / It always was." It is the perfect end to an incredible album.

"Greatest Hits" offers to the listener exactly what it promises - the greatest work from the amazing career of one of music's most innovative artists. We don't yet know what Bjork has up her sleeve for her next outing, but this is more than enough to tide us over during the wait.