GLING-GLÓ (WITH TRÍÓ GUÐMUNDAR INGÓLFSSONAR)

Björk's pre-"Debut" album (if that isn't an oxymoron) is the real oddball in her solo discography: a collection of unplugged Icelandic jazz standards, with a little added Irving Berlin and Oscar Hammerstein, sung in the local tongue and never intended for international audiences. Strictly speaking it wasn't, of course, a genuine solo album. The sessions were attributed to Björk Guðmunsdóttir & Tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar, but it was the young celebrity singer in the spotlight, as usual.

When the album was recorded in 1990 Björk was still a member of The Sugarcubes: a precocious 25- year old post-punker looking for avenues of expression outside the limited scope of her band's eclectic New Wave sound. It wouldn't be unfair to say her vocal artistry was still a work in progress, as demonstrated by the overworked trademark growl effect here. But the unexpected change of musical pace was evidence of a restless creative spirit, almost ready to emerge from its chrysalis.

It was a big hit in the home country, which probably says more about Iceland than about the music itself. In retrospect the novelty value saves the album, at least when measured against the singer/songwriter's later explorations into modern electronica. I can't say your Björk library would be incomplete without it; the album is undeniably pleasant but still entirely disposable. For dedicated fans the album would obviously have more value, but it's still an album for dedicated fans.