Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2 3LP

This is not only the best ambient album ever made, it is, in my opinion, the greatest album of all time. That's right, the Beatles can go to hell, Richard James made the best album of all time in his bedroom with homemade, solder-burned synthesizers. I realize that there are few people who will agree with me, but the level of melody, mood, and creativity shown in Selected Ambient Works, Volume 2 is unmatched in recorded music.The music on SAW2 touches something deep within our psyche and provokes an irresistible reaction. I've played the album for friends and they've said things like "this music makes me want to kill myself" or "listening to this music makes some bad acid trips I've had look like a kindergarten birthday party", but the point is that it stirred up strong feelings. When is the last time someone said that about a Katy Perry album? You could say "well, Hitler stirred up strong feelings too, that doesn't make him good" and you'd be right, but Hitler didn't write music as far as I know and he thought that Wagner was the pinnacle of musicianship, so that shows you what he knew.I admit that I wanted to kill myself the first time I heard this album too, but for some reason I kept listening to it. When I heard some of the songs I felt really strange, like I was in a dream and I knew something bad was about to happen and I was trying to wake up but I couldn't. Then I realized that I loved it. Maybe I'm the victim of musical Stockholm syndrome, but this music that used to make me feel terrible now makes me feel wonderful because it used to make me feel terrible. I listen to it all the time and have for over ten years and it never gets old. There are no stupid lyrics to screw up the perfection of the melodies, and no one is better than the Aphex Twin at twisting knobs to make a synth sound like a dragon eating its young, robots having sex, geese flying into a jet turbine, someone farting on the bottom of the ocean, the android boy you created to replace your lost son having a malfunction in his voice chip while he tries to tell you how much he loves you, and the sound of your wife destroying the android son in paranoid fear by melting him in the incinerator after luring him in there with the lie that it is a spaceship that will take him back to God. Buy this album and join in on the fun of resisting the urge to murder yourself in hopes that one day Selected Ambient Works, Volume 2 will enrich your life as much as it has mine.

Richard D James aka Aphex Twin is one of the greatest musical geniuses of modern times. With great albums like "Selected Ambient Works 85-92", "Drukqs", and my personal favorite, "I Care Because You Do", "Selected Ambient Works, Volume 2" doesn't fit in with these others. However, that is not a bad thing as this is a unique album in itself. Yes, there are no beats (for the most part) on this double album, but James makes it work like no one else could. The first disc has the more experimental stuff and weird stuff on it. Track #4 will scare you out of your wits while Track #9 sounds like it should have been a part of "The Shining" (Kubrick's version) soundtrack. Track #11 sounds like an alien autopsy. Disc 2 has the more beautiful tracks including the only really "named" track (all of the tracks are nameless but have pictures except this one) in "Blue Calx". The most beautiful of them all is the last one or the "b+w stripes II". Whenever I hear this track, I think of myself flying.This is a great album but it takes patience to listen to. Don't give up on it after one, two, or even three listens. Also, make sure that you have plenty of time to kill in listening to this and preferably on headphones. If you are new to Aphex Twin, I would not recommend this album; however, if you enjoy the music of Richard James, then you will have to pick this album up eventually. And you will not be sorry in doing so.

Right from the start, Selected Ambient Works Volume 2 is a strange, challenging listen. Richard D. James has never had qualms about straying from the norms of ambient/techno/electronic music, but this album's length and weirdness make it nearly inaccessible at first. Aphex Twin defies rhythms and hooks on most of the songs. What's incredible about an album this vexing is that it still manages to trap you. For me, the songs that initially caught my attention were the atmospherically eldritch tracks "Grass," "Tree," "Grey Stripe," and "Spots." During my first listen, I guessed - correctly - that these tracks would become enduring favorites. It took more time to appreciate other tracks. Soon, I found myself wondering how I had ever managed to resist the tranquil beauty of "Rhubarb," "Parallel Stripes," and "Lichen." It took more time yet to appreciate the straight-up bizarre tracks "Radiator," "White Blur," and the maddening "White Blur 2." New listeners will most likely warm to groove-laden selections like "Weathered Stone," "Blue Calx," and perhaps even the oddly catchy "Window Sill." These tracks feature some of the album's sparse percussion and are as close to being "catchy" as the songs get. While this album isn't an easy listen, it's always a rewarding one. Once its caught your attention, you realize you wouldn't want to hear it any other way.

A somewhat disappointing recording. The indifferent balance leaves some tracks “flat” and this detracts from the ambient feel as there is a loss of the feeling of spaciousness.I have not set out to write reviews of the music content as “beauty is in the ears of the listener”. These reviews are about the quality (or not) of the recorded sound. To read about how the reviews are done please see my profile. • Clarity – Perfectly clear • Channel separation - OK • Channel balance – Varies from track to track. Some feel spacious making full use of left, right, centre, other tracks are disappointing sounding like a mono recording • Sound Stage – Varies due to the vagaries of the channel balance. At its best it is very good. Some tracks are however very disappointing • Distortion – Non audible, however as a very ambient recording it is not always easy to discern between accidental and intentional distortion. It is worth noting that there is an audible “hiss” in the background on some tracks • Compression – Non audible • Atmosphere – Reasonable, some tracks are very disappointing and seem very flat. Other tracks are OK but this is not the most atmospheric recording • Bass – low frequencies – Reasonable, not very wide ranging • Treble – high frequencies – OK does not seem clipped or shrill • Vocals – Non clearly audible or used as instruments in loops or samplesAs a general rule of thumb recordings from the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s are nearly always better on the original vinyl. Remasters often fail to please as it’s just not possible to make a silk purse from a sows ear, i.e. the original recording lacks the necessary detail to be processed digitally and show an audible improvement. Indeed such processing can make the sound worse.Modern recordings which have been processed digitally from start to finish can be as good as vinyl. CD’s are often unfairly criticised for being poor quality. This is not the case, it is the original recording or the process which is to blame. Modern “remasters” can both enhance and degrade a recording. The statement GIGO (Garbage In Garbage Out) is the limiting factor. Ignore this at your cost.

This one is for late night lovers, Jazz veterans, adventures seekers, heavy weed smokers and of course all the music lovers out there. It is not always easy, but hey, we are here to suffer, just to define our happiness. Try it with headphones, or hifi sound system, cheap stereo system... whatever..IT IS Aphex Twin at his BEST. Have a deep, warm and strange FUN.

If you have never heard this record then you should just stop reading now and buy it!This album is the pinnacle of Richard D.James' output as the Aphex Twin. Two hours of the most beautiful, deep, calming, unsettling, haunting, alien music you will ever hear. I must have listened to this over a thousand times since it's initial release some 20 odd years ago and have gone through numerous copies of which this is my latest.This album takes the idea of "discreet" or ambient music, as initially made popular by Brian Eno and pushes it beyond anything you can imagine. Track 3, commonly referred to as "Rhubarb" (none of the tracks have conventional names just abstract photos) is simply the most gorgeous piece of music I have ever laid ears on.This album is essential and you need it in your life.

Disc 2 is brillicantly unsettling and towards the end there are shades of atonality which are reminiscent of Wendy Carlos's Beauty In The Beast. If you're looking for uneasy warmth you've found it.Disc 1, on the other hand, is utterly underwhelming. It's benign and barely worth the effort of listening to - real spa treatment room material.I'd certainly recommend buying it but do yourself a favour and leave Disc 1 in the case.

I suspect reading some of the negative reviews about this album, that some people didn't know what to expect with this album, even though the word 'ambient' is in the name. I'd say it's more ambient orientated than his first, and maybe that's what some people dislike about it.This album in particular is an ambient album, and if you don't normally listen to or like ambient music, then this album may not be for you.However for those people that do like ambient music, like myself, I think it's a great album.I try to get to listen to albums before buying, either by listening to it on Apple Music which we subscribe to, or on YouTube. I rarely gamble on something I've not heard before, but if you do I recommend that you only buy this album if you genuinely like ambient music. Don't go by the review ratings, because if you look at lots of ratings many albums get average ratings of 4.5 stars, which for any individual album will tell you very little about whether you as an individual will like it or not. Phil