Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. cliffs
2. radiator
3. rhubarb
4. grass
5. mold
6. ropes
7. circles
8. weathered stone
9. tree
10. domino
11. steel plate

Disc 2:

1. blue calx
2. parallel stripes
3. metal grating
4. windowsill
5. b+w stripes
6. siding nails
7. corrugated tubing
8. lichen
9. leaves
10. tassels
11. rusty metal
12. b+w stripesII

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4539 in Music
• Released on: 1994-04-12
• Number of discs: 2

Amazon.com
British electronics wunderkind Richard James (alias Aphex Twin, AFX, Polygon Window, etc.) claims he heard the compositions on Selected Ambient Works, Volume II in lucid dreams. Like abstract paintings composed of shades of a single color, James's resonant explorations of specific timbres linger close to a central idea on each cut, incorporating just enough variation to remain disturbing. While its predecessor, Selected Ambient Works '85-'92 drew on seven years' worth of material, the uniform quality of these untitled tracks, plus their judicious sequencing, suggests they were assembled over a shorter period. Clocking in at over 150 minutes, the double-disc set (if this is "selected," how many hours of outtakes remain?) provides an exemplary introduction to the quieter facets of James's expansive, idiosyncratic aesthetic. --Kurt B. Reighley

Customer Reviews

Ambient/electronic for those who don't know history
I've been a huge fan of "electronica" since I heard the first synth on a pop record, say about 1968. Since then, I've availed myself of just about every bit of electronic music I could find.

When this came out in 1994, I was underwhelmed, and listening to it right now I still am.

This is bland, formulaic, and trite. Folks who think this is relevant have never heard Another Green World or maybe Music has the Right to Children or even something like Feed me Weird Things.

I've never understood the cult around Mr. James, because to me he's not even in the top 10 much less number 1.

In the Year 3008
Admittedly I'm not a fan of Richard James' berserk musical gestures. I'm usually left crushed shrugging my shoulders and shaking my head. Not being popular in the conventional sence, nonetheless he has grown a cadre of dedicated enthusiasts......Out of his chaos comes "Selected Ambient Works 2". Carefully analyzed refined compositions. James takes the ambient genre into a new measure. An innovative 2 disc set that avoids falling into that peculiar quagmire which entraps many ambientarians....Strangely transparent simply curved compositions employ unnaturally elogated texts and haunting melodies. A masterful work executed under an alien hazed torchlight. Mysterious timeless music which shall be evaluated and appreciated for millenniums. (But why did he put titles onto these pieces on subsequent editions?)

Richard D. James goes the minimalist route
Compared to the earlier ambient album by this artist, Volume 2 is a step forward in every sense. It discards much of the easy going, low-key techno beats of the earlier Volume in favor of a true descent into a minimalist soundscape. The whole album sounds far more sparse and ethereal in comparison to Volume 1. Depending on your tastes and needs, you'll either be fascinated or bored and annoyed.

Atmosphere is the all pervading artistic sensibility at work here. This is a musically liberating conception, opposed as it is to the noise and stress of everyday life symbolized by the aggressive nature of much of pop music. Instead of brutal noise and vacuous musical value, Richard D. James wants to slow down our constantly moving environment and hault the continual desensitization of our senses.

This is a wind down album, perfect for listening to at 3 a.m. in the morning, all alone, away from the frenetic madness that most people deal with on a day to day basis. Some of the tracks can be slightly disturbing in their atmosphere. James is never shy about creating a creepy, quasi-modernist avant-garde vibe.

But just wait until you listen to track 3 on disc 1, entitled "rhubarb" and track 8 on disc 2, entitled "lichen". Slow, melodic minimalism of the kind you don't find very often, capable of transporting you into a blissful state of which Beethoven himself would be proud.