''Gling-Gló'' is the only studio album by
Björk Guðmundsdóttir & tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar, consisting of
Björk Guðmundsdóttir on vocals, Guðmundur Ingólfsson on piano, Guðmundur Steingrímsson on drums, and Þórður Högnason on bass. The album's title "Gling-gló" is the
Icelandic equivalent of the English
onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia (or rarely echoism) is a type of word, or the process of creating a word, that phonetics, phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Common onomatopoeias in English include animal noises such as Oin ...
"ding dong", referring to the sound that a
bell
A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...
makes.
Most of the songs were recorded on 1 September and 3 September 1990 at Stúdio Sýrland, except for two tracks, which were recorded on 23 August 1990. It was produced by Tómas Magnús Tómasson, the bassist of Stuðmenn. The album was released in October 1990 by
Smekkleysa. It received mixed reviews by critics.
Background and recording
Most of the songs were recorded on 1 September and 3 September 1990 at Stúdio Sýrland. "Ruby Baby" and "I Can't Help Loving that Man" were recorded on 23 August 1990 on Ríkisútvarpið (National Icelandic Broadcasting Service) for ''Djasskaffi'', a radio programme hosted by Ólafur Þórðarsson. It was produced by Tómas Magnús Tómasson, the bassist of Stuðmenn.
Composition
Most of the songs are sung in
Icelandic.
Several of these songs are covers of jazz standards translated and sung in Icelandic. Three are sung with a noticeably different musical arrangement: "Bílavísur" (originally "
The Blacksmith Blues"), "Ég veit ei hvað skal segja" (Theresa Brewer's "
Ricochet Romance") and "Pabbi minn" ("
O Mein Papa").
"Þad sést ekki sætari mey" is misattributed in the liner notes as a "
Rodgers & Hammerstein" composition,
but is instead an interpolation of
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...
's "You Can't Get a Man with a Gun" from the musical ''
Annie Get Your Gun''.
Track listing
Note:
The last track on the bonus edition, “I Can’t Help Loving That Man” is also known as “I Can’t Help Loving You” on certain versions of the album.
Personnel
*
Björk Guðmundsdóttir – vocals, harmonica
* Guðmundur Ingólfsson – piano, tambourine
* Þórður Högnason – bass
* Guðmundur Steingrímsson – drums, maracas, Christmas bells
* Tómas Magnús Tómasson – production, mixing
* Georg Magnússon – technician
* Óskar Jónasson – photography, cover
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Gling-Gló''.
Year-end charts
Certifications and sales
Notes
References
External links
Björk official websiteLyrics to ''Gling-Gló'' album songs
(in Icelandic)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gling-Glo
1990 debut albums
Björk albums
Jazz albums by Icelandic artists
Vocal jazz albums
Icelandic-language albums
One Little Independent Records albums