Search - Aphex Twin :: 51-13: Singles Collection

No, that's not it.

Angry Mofo | 01/11/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Have you seen this odd disc and wondered what it was? Well, wonder no more! It's just a quick hack job, doubtless meant to cash in on Aphex Twin's reputation, that somehow manages to exploit both the artist and his fans. Specifically, it contains three singles - "On," "Ventolin," and "Donkey Rhubarb." That's it. There aren't any bonus tracks, live tracks, new tracks or anything special whatsoever. Oh, wait - I forgot that the last track, "Respect List," is one that doesn't appear anywhere on any other Aphex Twin release. Too bad that it consists only of thirty-eight seconds of computerized voices reciting a bunch of names. That's it. That's the whole track. Now tell me, was there any point to including it other than to lure fans into buying the disc?It's also not a point in the disc's favour that one of the three singles contained within it is "Ventolin," one of Aphex Twin's weakest moments in general and probably his worst single. The original song is, let's face it, awful, and none of the remixes are good, either. But even aside from that, this CD doesn't even feature the three singles in their entirety. It lacks two B-sides from the "On" single (to say nothing of the remix of the title track), and one from "Donkey Rhubarb" - although, I might add, there was enough space for all of these songs left on this CD. Completists, thus, are left unsatisfied, and have to hunt down the original singles anyway. The rest of us have to pay an exorbitant amount of money to wade through piles of frequently unlistenable non-music, like "73-Yips" (one of Aphex Twin's worst creations, and thus, of course, the only one of the "On" B-sides that WEA bothered to include on this CD), to get to the few good parts.What really irritates me, though, is the fact that, all of the above points notwithstanding, fans will _still_ have to buy this disc. Why? Because, ever since the Donkey Rhubarb single went out of print, it's the only easily available CD that contains "Donkey Rhubarb" and "Pancake Lizard," two of Aphex Twin's finest moments, as well as a good alternate version of "Icct Hedral" that's quite possibly better than the one on I Care Because You Do. The disc also contains "On," another of AFX's best songs - in fact, it's the first track on here, no doubt meant to serve as bait - but it's widely available for a far more reasonable price on its own still-in-print single. To summarize, WEA have done everything they could do to make fans buy this disc, and nothing to actually ensure their satisfaction. They should be ashamed of themselves for doing this, and so should Warp for letting them do it."

One of the best from RDJ

George Moore | Jamestown NY | 11/27/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"ok i'll start off with the reasons this cd lost a star. first, the last time i checked a cd's full length is around 80 minutes, so if this is a collection from 3 singles, what happened to the other 2 tracks from the On single? they definitely would have fit. Also the price is quite high, youre better off buying a used copy which is what i did, amazon sellers are usually very reliable. so it was worth the [money], which is what youd pay for an american version at some insanely highpriced chain like FYE or something.
anyway, this cd reminds me more of a mix cd of i would make of aphex twin material. its a fun listen and doesn't lose your attention, not that any aphex twin really does, but every track is different. don't be discouraged by the multiple remixes of ventolin, if this cd had no track listing you would have NO idea that these were all remixes of the same song. donkey rhubarb is great, even though i can't help but think of the disturbing video for it every time i hear it. anyway i love this cd, if youre just getting into the work of richard d james, i'd say start with i care because you do and move both forward and backwards into his huge repertoire of music. this is a good buy for the music, but not the price."

I Rated This 5 For The Music

Pithy Commentz | CT | 01/30/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The price for 12 songs, you can just cop independantly at warpmart.com or download for free on some shareware, is overwhelming. I'm sick of warp getting away with pricing things high just because they're based in Europe. They have an office in New York, so I don't see what the problem is, other than the fact they want to grab all the dough off of hard-working Americans as they possibly can."