In all, a very generous set of music, constantly surprising and delightful, which also makes a very understated point of what a complex and serious musical force Bjork is.

The packaging is lovely, too, though as a 46 year old man trying to balance the powder-pink box on my knee and then juggling with all the little bits of paper and artwork, I must have looked an odd sight - like some Japanese schoolgirl unpacking her sushi on the metro.
Wait till you get home to unwrap it.
Five stars is not enough.


interesting, but overpriced with a few sprinkled gems   September 23, 2004
Deep83 (Ca United States)
24 out of 24 found this review helpful

So i finally bought this box set a few weeks ago. It took me this long because I was always skeptical about the price. Now that I have it, i can say that, yes, it IS too much money for what it contains. It's a great item, but should have been at least twenty bucks less!

CD 1 is the first "roots" cd. it contains 2 previously released b-sides from the "Big Time Sensuality" single, "Sidasta Eg" and "Glora". I think "Sidasta Eg is a great song, it is sung in Icelandic, however. "Glora" is a short instrumental track in which Bjork plays the flute, there's not really much to it. The other 3 tracks are from Bjork's participation in the bands Kukl and The Sugarcubes. The only one that really stood out to me was "Ammaeli" (track 4) which I thought was a cute song, even though I have no idea what it is about!

CD2 is the second "roots" CD. The first track is an alternate version of "Immature" that I think might have been a demo version before it was produced by Howie B. for the HOMOGENIC album, since this version is sometimes credited as 'Bjork's Version'. This is a great, stripped-down version of the song which really emphasizes the vocals and piano. It was previously only available on the UK "Joga" CD Singles. Track 2 is a previously unreleased alternate version of "Cover Me", which might also be a demo. It didn't really blow me away, but it's nice to hear a difference.
Track 3 is a great live version of the "Hidden Place" b-side, "Generous Palmstroke", track 4 is a Strings and Vocal version of "Joga" (previously available on the single), and track 5 is the previously released b-side "Mother Heroic", which I think is one of the best Bjork B-sides and I'm really glad of it's inclusion here.

CD3 is the "beats" CD. Tracks 2-5 are previously released B-sides "Karvel" (from the "I Miss You" single), "I Go Humble" (from the "Isobel" single), and "Nature Is Ancient" (from the "Bachelorette" single, although it was actually called "My Snare" on that disc, and not "Nature Is Ancient", but it's still the exact same song.) The REAL gem on this disc, and dare I say it, the ENTIRE box set, is track 1 on this disc, the demo version of "The Modern Things" (previously UN-released). I've always liked this song, and this version from 1991 is SO much better! It just has this whole other dimension than the version which appeared on the POST album. The discovery of this track was worth the whole box set for me. If you don't end up getting this box, at least try to hunt down this track. I'm surprised for a disc titled "beats" they didn't include any dance remixes, like "Violently Happy" or "Big Time Sensuality". Or even "Army of Me!"

cd4 and 5 are the "strings" cd's featuring 9 songs (total) performed with the Brodski Quartet, all of these previously unreleased on audio CD. The strings do MIRACLES to "The Anchor Song", which, before I heard the version included here, was one of my least favorite Bjork songs ever. But this version is so damn beautiful, the strings and bjork's new vocals make it sound like such a sad song. I love this track. "Hunter" also sounds AMAZING with a full-lenght strings accompaniment. pure gorgeousness. The other tracks are "Unravel" (also great), "Possibly Maybe", "Cover Me" (Interesting), "All Neon Like", "Bachelorette", "I've Seem It All" and "Play Dead" (Great).

Disc 6 is the "Greatest Hits" as chosen by Bjork, which I never listen to because all of the songs are on the other albums. It's interesting to see what Bjork chose, but i think this disc was unecessary and maybe could have been replaced by something else. All the trakcs here are album versions except "All is full of love" which is the video version. FYI-Did you know that the video version is ACTUALLY the original version and the version on the HOMOGENIC album is the remix?! I did not know this until I read an interview that Bjork did. Apparently she wanted a different version for the album as she described: "the mood after a thunderstorm". Interesting indeed.

The Packaging: Great Idea, but yeah, it's difficult to re-close properly. I love the 3" mini CD's, and the artwork is interesting as well

So...
should you get it? If you're a hardcore fan who likes to hear rarities and alterante versions, YES. If you're a casual fan, mmm, maybe not. Just stick with the regular Greatest Hits (which, in my opinion, SHOULD have included "Violently Happy"!)
Check out the VOLUMEN DVD too


A release for the fans   November 28, 2002
13 out of 14 found this review helpful

Now, "Family Tree" is not a bad release. I enjoyed it very much, and gets my personal four stars. But occasional Bjork listeners should definitely skip this box set, and opt for the much cheaper, more general "Greatest Hits" album. On the other hand, fans will enjoy the opportunity to hear early Bjork demos and songs she did with the Icelandic-punk bands the Sugarcubes and KUKL. The definite high point of "Family Tree," however, is the highly anticipated Strings CD's, whose songs are taken from a concert in which Bjork performed accompanied only by the Brodsky Quartet. Here, her songs are reduced to sketches, with her beautiful voice clearly the focus. Without the digital atmospherics of her albums, her simple poetic lyrics take center stage. These two CD's make up nine of the thirty-five total tracks on this release.

In all: if you've been looking forward to hearing the unreleased demos and live performances, get this. If you're a casual listener, save your money, because you probably won't be interested.


Violently Happy? (somewhat)   November 11, 2002
Simon A. Woodhart (Bristol, UK)
13 out of 14 found this review helpful

When it came down to a decision to to buy the 'Greatest Hits' cd for a not too bad a price or the 'Family Tree' box set for an exorbitant amount I, being the collecting fool I am, went for the latter of the two choices.

Now, first of all I must say that the presentation is quite nice. It is a pink box filled with some mini cd's, a lyric book, a little letter by Bjork herself and her version of the 'Greatest Hits' although bereft of the latest single which can be found on the fans 'Greatest Hits' in stores now. The pink box is covered with a white slip case and is rather quite snazzy, although I find it a bit of a pain to keep all the contents within this box without causing an indentation on the casing of the mini-cd's.

The music is as you would expect, brilliant. There is not a bad tune on here. The string arrangements with the Brodsky quartet are haunting and beautiful, the remixes are also interesting, Bjork that you can dance to, and the roots cd shows off Bjork's progression from the days before the Sugarcubes to her latest musical offerings.

On to the negative aspects of 'Family Tree' which there are a few, minor, but a few. First of all why the need for the miniature cd's? Surely at around twenty minutes each all these songs could have fit on one or two regular sized cd's. Okay, they're quite cute when you first open the box, and the artwork on the slips are nice, but their novelty wears off rather quickly what with having to constantly replace the cd's. I have already mentioned the problem with the pink box itself so I won't dwell on that any more than I have already. However if there is one major complaint to bring up that is the lack of the new song. What is the point of selling a box set for 40 knowing full well that the fans will pay and then leave off a new song that is only available on the 'Greatest Hits' until November 25 when the single comes out? It is an insult to the fans and a deplorable rouse to extract more money from a record buying public that already pays way too much.

So is this worth buying? For collectors, completists and obsessive fans I would say without hesitation, "yes". For Neophytes and borderline fans, stick with the 'Greatest Hits' or any of Bjork's back catalog. The music, the presentation and my penchant for collectable stuff by artists I respect has dulled my minor feeling of being ripped off and I do think it is worth the money. The inadequacy of the box is nothing, the mini-cd's, well I can always transfer the tracks to my computer, and the missing song? I would have ended up buying the 'Greatest Hits' at any rate.


Botched Set!   July 3, 2003
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

Here we have 5 mini-CDs (3-inches) and a normal-size CD similar (but not identical) to GREATEST HITS.
Somewhere in the world, there are people who have kept half an eye on Bjork's career but never bought one of her albums. People who may not feel inclined to buy one of her proper albums, yet have heard enough of her to desire more than the GREATEST HITS. If these people exist, FAMILY TREE will appeal to them. However, experienced Bjork fans are likely to regard FAMILY TREE as a terrible wasted opportunity.
It contains:- some familiar, easily-obtained album tracks; a handful of the many non-album single-sides she's released since 1993; two (only two) genuine rarities from the '80s; and an abbreviation of the famous 1999 London concert with the Brodsky Quartet (omitting some of the most interesting one-off moments from that concert).
Perfectionism is a virtue where `proper albums' are concerned. But to assemble a compilation like this, an artist needs some understanding of the "hardcore fan" mentality - of the devoted followers and their interests and desires. Unfortunately Bjork, like most artists, lacks that understanding. When this box was released in 2002, Bjork had a 25-year recording career behind her. Fans knew all too well that a great deal of her most interesting, even revelatory, work was unavailable - either deleted or confined to bootlegs.
Whether Bjork realises it or not, her reputation would have been enhanced by a box of four or five full-length CDs, consisting mostly of rare/previously unreleased material, spanning her entire career from child-stardom through Tappi Tikarass, the Sugarcubes and Kukl, to the present day. Instead she's given us this unsatisfactory product. And now she's made the same mistake twice, with an equally inadequate live box set.