Telegramis the first full-length and second overallremix albumby Icelandic musicianBjörk,released on 25 November 1996. The album is a collection of remixes of several tracks from her albumPost,which had all previously appeared as B-sides of the UK versions of the singles offPost,except the "Enjoy" remix which was previously unreleased. The cover was shot by Japanese photographerNobuyoshi Araki.All of the songs onPostwere remixed, excluding "The Modern Things" and "It's Oh So Quiet".The collection also included one new song entitled" My Spine "which was originally slated to appear onPostbut was pushed out by "Enjoy", becoming the B-side to the UK "It's Oh So Quiet" single instead. The album has sold 228,000 copies in US according toSoundScan.[3]
| Telegram | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Remix albumby | ||||
| Released | 25 November 1996 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 47:13 | |||
| Label | One Little Indian | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Björkchronology | ||||
| ||||
Content
editFor meTelegramis reallyPostas well but all the elements of the songs are just exaggerated. It's like the core ofPost.That's why it's funny to call it a remix album, it's like the opposite.Telegramis more stark, naked. Not trying to make it pretty or peaceable for the ear. Just a record I would buy myself. Like a letter to myself. Sort of... "fuck what people think". It's a truth thing.
— Björk in an interview withBlah Blah Blahin 1996.[4]
The track listing was originally going to containTalvin Singh's "Calcutta Cyber Cafe" mix of "Possibly Maybe" andPlaid's remix of "Big Time Sensuality".[5]The Japanese version does not include the original version of "I Miss You".
The original UK LP pressing contains an alternate third track, the "Further Over the Edge Mix" of "Hyperballad" as opposed to the more commonly heard "Further Over the Edge Mix" of "Enjoy". The remixes are nearly identical with the major difference being the chopped up vocals come from "Hyperballad" for the "Hyperballad" version and from "Enjoy" on the "Enjoy" version. To date the "Hyperballad (Further Over the Edge Mix)" is exclusive to the original UK vinyl pressing while the original CD pressing and all subsequent CD and vinyl pressings contain the more common "Enjoy" version.
Björk also declared that the release ofTelegrammeant the end of an era consisting ofDebutandPost.[6]
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The A.V. Club | mixed[7] |
| The Guardian | [8] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [9] |
| Pitchfork | 7.9/10[10] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [11] |
| Rolling Stone | [2] |
| Select | [12] |
| Spin | [13] |
| USA Today | [14] |
The compilation was well received by music critics.Stephen Thomas ErlewineofAllMusicwrote, "Telegramworks as an excellent introduction to techno foralternative popfans unsure of where to begin exploring. "[15]According toCMJ New Music Monthly,musically the album contains "a real and surprising taste for recent trends in dance music".[16]Douglas Wolk ofCMJ New Music Monthlyfelt the music ofTelegramwas "actually better thanPost",describing the tracks as" well-considered reworkings ".[16]TheRolling Stone Album Guidegave the album three and a half stars, and stated it "shed new light on the songs".[11]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Possibly Maybe"(LucyMix) | Björk | 3:02 |
| 2. | "Hyperballad"(Brodsky QuartetVersion) | Björk | 4:20 |
| 3. | "Enjoy" (Further Over the Edge Mix) |
| 4:19 |
| 4. | "My Spine" |
| 2:33 |
| 5. | "I Miss You"(DobieRub Part One – Sunshine Mix) |
| 5:33 |
| 6. | "Isobel"(DeodatoMix) | 6:09 | |
| 7. | "You've Been Flirting Again" (Flirt Is a Promise Mix) | Björk | 3:20 |
| 8. | "Cover Me" (DillinjaMix) | Björk | 6:21 |
| 9. | "Army of Me"(Masseymix) |
| 5:15 |
| 10. | "Headphones" (ØRemix[A]) |
| 6:21 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3. | "Hyperballad"(Further Over the Edge Mix[B]) | Björk | 4:20 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "I Miss You"(album version) |
| 3:59 |
Notes
Charts
edit| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums(OCC)[17] | 59 |
| USBillboard200[18] | 66 |
Release history
edit| Region | Date |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 25 November 1996 |
| United States | 14 January 1997 |
References
edit- ^abcErlewine, Stephen Thomas.Telegram -BjörkatAllMusic.Retrieved 26 September 2012.
- ^ab"Telegram".Rolling Stone.Retrieved14 June2016.
- ^"Got charts? Creed, Eminem, No Doubt, 'NSYNC have something in common".MTV News. 25 January 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 4 December 2014.Retrieved27 October2021.
- ^"Blah Blah Blah".bjork.fr.Retrieved14 July2014.
- ^Flick, Larry (28 September 1996). "Dance Trax".Billboard.In The Mix.
- ^"The Bomb Changed my Life".Blah Blah Blah.30 November 1996.
- ^Thompson, Stephen (19 April 2002)."Björk- Telegram".The A.V. Club.Retrieved6 June2016.
- ^Sullivan, Caroline (29 November 1996). "Music: This week's Pop CD releases".The Guardian.
- ^Scribner, Sara (12 January 1997)."Pop Music; Bjork 'Telegram,' Elektra: Home Edition".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved7 August2021– viaProQuest.
- ^"Bjork: Telegram: Pitchfork Review".Pitchfork.15 February 2001. Archived fromthe originalon 15 February 2001.Retrieved31 December2017.
- ^abBrackett, Nathan (November 2004). "Björk".Rolling Stone.The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. p. 3.
- ^"New Albums".Select. January 1997.Retrieved13 June2016.
- ^Discography Björk.SPIN Media LLC. June 2007. p.74.Retrieved14 June2016.
spin bjork telegram review.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^Gundersen, Edna (22 January 1997)."Pop/Rock Album Review".USA Today.Archivedfrom the original on 16 November 1999.Retrieved24 December2018.
- ^Erlewine, Stephen Thomas."Telegram – Björk".AllMusic.Retrieved13 June2016.
- ^abWolk, Douglas (March 1997)."Björk / Telegram / Elektra".CMJ New Music Monthly.p. 12.Retrieved14 June2016.
- ^"Björk | Artist | Official Charts".UK Albums Chart.Retrieved 24 December 2018.
- ^"Bjork Chart History (Billboard200) ".Billboard.Retrieved 24 December 2018.
