''Post Live'' is a live album by

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

ic singer Björk. It contains live performances centering mostly on Björk's second album, ''Post'', though several songs from her '' Debut'' album appear in drastically reworked versions. Originally released in the 5 disc '' Live Box'' set in 2003, ''Post Live'' was later released separately on 1 June 2004 by

One Little Indian One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In ...

records.

Background

The Post Tour saw Björk travel the world from 1995 to 1996 promoting her second album, ''

Post Post or POST commonly refers to: *Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries **An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal service **Iraqi Post, Ira ...

''. However, the majority of these concerts were not recorded or preserved as Björk did not start having soundboard recordings until the Homogenic Tour in 1997. In 2002 when she was preparing collections of her live performances for '' Live Box'' she had to rely on the audio of videotaped performances of the Post Tour. The recording she chose was of a special free concert given on 27 February 1997 exclusively for members of the Björk fan club. This show took place 4 months after the conclusion of the Post Tour and was recorded at

Shepherd's Bush Empire Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was originally ...

in London. The first release of material from the Shepherd's Bush gig was on VHS on 16 November 1998. Two songs were omitted from the tape, "

It's Oh So Quiet "It's Oh So Quiet" is a song by American singer Betty Hutton, released in 1951 as the B-side to the single "Murder, He Says". It is a cover of the German song "Und jetzt ist es still", Select Work ID and search for 390157329. Performers include ...

" and "Sweet Intuition", the latter a ''Post''-era B-side which had its only ever live performance at this concert. Three years later on 19 November 2001 the concert film was re-released on DVD. When ''Post Live'' was initially announced, it contained 18 tracks including every single song featured on the Shepherd's Bush DVD (albeit with a few of the performances swapped out for promotional TV appearances) and a performance of "It's Oh So Quiet" from the French TV program ''Taratata''. When the CD was finally released however, ''Post Live'' contained only 13 tracks, omitting "

Venus as a Boy "Venus as a Boy" is a song by Icelandic musician Björk, released as the second single from her 1993 album, ''Debut''. The song was written by Björk and was produced by Nellee Hooper, who produced the majority of her debut album. The single was ...

", "You've Been Flirting Again", "

Human Behaviour Human behavior is the potential and expressed capacity ( mentally, physically, and socially) of human individuals or groups to respond to internal and external stimuli throughout their life. Kagan, Jerome, Marc H. Bornstein, and Richard M. ...

", "Crying" and " Violently Happy". ''Live Box'' was released on 18 August 2003. The video of ''Post Live''s "It's Oh So Quiet" is featured on the bonus DVD found in the box set. The stand-alone CD edition of ''Post Live'' was released the following year, on 1 June 2004.

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

stated, "Björk's remarkable voice is constantly at the fore", and called it "a solid collection that displays the charming diva in fine form". Writing for ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'', Scott Plagenhoef called the Shepherd's Bush performances "vital" while criticising the promotional TV appearance substitutes of "Possibly Maybe" and "Hyperballad". Adrien Begrand of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' criticised Björk for releasing various CD and DVD collections following 2001's ''

Vespertine ''Vespertine'' is the fourth studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk. It was released on 27 August 2001 in the United Kingdom by One Little Independent Records and in the United States by Elektra Entertainment. Production on the album ...

'' and also bemoaned the substitution of the promotional TV performances over the complete Shepherd's Bush show but praised her performances on ''Post Live'': "Björk and her five-piece band are on fire on this recording, deftly combining organic instrumentation with electronic improvisation."

Track listing

All songs were recorded at Shepherd's Bush Empire on 27 February 1997 except where noted.

References

{{Authority control 2004 live albums Björk albums One Little Independent Records live albums