Customer Reviews
Fresh 
2008-02-06
Could Richard D. James ever predicted, way back in 1985, what people would be cherishing these years later? It's nearly 2008, but this album sounds like it could come from the year 2020 and still sound good. Ambient music may be one of the most calm music out there, with a lot of soul that fans always wonder why so many people give such a fuss about disney music. It's hard to believe music like this comes from electronics.
Okay, it may be a bit cliched, but for those of you who were introduced and know Aphex Twin by the Come To Daddy song (which was an accidental hit according to Richard, he didn't really like it), prepare to be surprised. Indeed, there's no hint of creepiness or fear in this album, it's light and fear free. It's still an ambient album at heart, but it's got one of a kind melodies and some cool rhythms. Aphex Twin was making his own kind of music sense the beggining. And thankfully, there's some great music on here!
There truly isn't a bad song on this album, although it's a bit long and demands you to be in the right mood to be able to sit through it. There's not much else to say to any electronic music fans out there. Get Selected Ambient Works, or at least check it out. You won't be dissapointed. If you don't like, at least you say you tried. You can't be an electronic fan and ignore music like this.
8.5/10
Update: This album is being remastered and rereleased, if you haven't seen it on amazon yet.
some of my favorite electronic music 
2007-10-26
The first 3 tracks on this album are so simple, yet so great. The melodies speak to me of peace, bliss, higher consciousness, compassion, yea, all the finer, nobler abilities of humanity. They have a loving, innocent child-like quality that I love to hear. These lift my spirit.
The rest of the songs, to varying degrees, tend toward more of a worldly feel, more towards the abrasive, cynical, jaded, whereas the first 3 seem to be completely unchained from all the baser worldly aspects and worries these times we find ourselves in so readily and abundantly produce.
Does it get better than this? 2007-07-15
Selected Ambient Works 85-92 is, in a word, brilliant. I've only recently discovered the genius that is Richard D. James, and though I am also a fan of his later stuff, I think this release is not only the best Aphex Twin album but quite possibly one of the best electronica albums out there right now.
For those of you familiar with his later work, let me get this out of the way and let you know that you won't find any of RDJ's trademark schizophrenic percussion or use of creepy children's voices here. SAW 85-92 is haunting, ambient, otherworldly, yet strangely nostalgic and familiar-- the best way I can describe it is it's kind of like an underwater acid trip.
If you are a fan of electronica, the best advice I can give to you is grab this album, turn off the lights, find somewhere comfortable to lay down, put on your headphones (this is important-- something seems to get lost when you play this over regular speakers) and let SAW 85-92 take you on a journey through the corridors of Richard D. James' brain. You won't regret it.
A Classic 2007-07-02
This Album is an all out classic. It is arguably the greatest Ambient album of all time. I highly reccomend it. Each track although sounding similar are very different. the only track that doesn't fit here(and I am not alone) is green Calx, it's much too abrasive, almost like something from James' other moniker Caustic Window
If you want a piece of electronic history I think it's a must have. If you enjoy BOC and early Autechre and Seefeel work than it is also a must have.
One of my favorite CDs 2007-01-16
This is, in my opinion, Aphex Twin's finest work. The songs are energetic, but at the same time, very relaxing. Aphex Twin always uses strange song titles, and this CD is no exception. My favorite songs on it are Xtal, Ageispolis, and Heliosphan. Almost all of the 10 other songs are great as well. I recommend Aphex Twin to all of my friends, who normally listen to hardcore and metal, and they love it.
Although electronic music has been around for decades, I believe that IDM began right here with Aphex Twin 2006-10-30
Reissue on Play It Again Sam America.
Better Than Ambient 2 2006-07-10
I really like the first half of this album a lot, but the last half just seems to run together (Especially the last 3 songs). Every song on this CD would be considered ambient, excluding Green Calx, which is still a very good song.
If your a fan of Aphex Twin, I'd Reccomend buying this.
Like no other that came before or since.... 2006-06-24
Can't add much to the other stellar reviews here except to say, in 1992/3 when this disc got out, it was like nothing that ever came before. The tape hiss present on most tracks give it a surreal, wistful and lost quality like it had been made 2 decades previous and just recently discovered.
I think that quality is usually called "timeless classic", but this is early 90s techno (I wont call it 'early techno' out of respect for Kraftwerk), and because of its alien nature, it feels simultaneously timeless and otherworldly. Its sinister, trippy, blissful and dangerous, aching, beautiful, foreboding and appealing. In a word: brilliant.
Classic ambient electronica [4.5 stars]. 2006-05-28
I'm a newcomer to Aphex Twin and the world of electronica in general, but even a rank newbie can recognize brilliance when he hears it. And this is no exception.
It's hard to believe that British wunderkind Richard D. James was only a teenager playing around with synths and samples (dating back to 1985, no less). This album's composition remains wholly undated and refreshingly accessible (an aspect that isn't always present in later Aphex Twin) laden with hooks in the form of catchy basslines, clever beats, and intriguing found sounds. Every track is at least above-average, and some are amazing--opener Xtal, with its blissed-out female vocals and waltz-like rhyhtm, is a track that I wish could last double its 5-minute run. Same with the dancy Pulsewidth and Heliosphan, the proto-IDM of Green Calx, and the serene beauty of I.
In fact, I'm only docking the half-star because the merely good tracks (ie. Tha, Ptolemy) stretch for a bit too long while the great tracks get cut short. Oh well, that's what the repeat button is for...
Absolutely necessary for the foundation of an electronica collection, and just great in general (so long as you're not expecting insanely complex Rubik's Cube IDM like Autechre). "We are the Music Makers," indeed.
Superb Album 2006-03-01
This must be one of Aphex Twin's best albums. It really is a work of art, and perfectly captures the mood of ambient music of the late 80s and early 90s. Classics such as Pulsewidth and Actium carry you off into other dimensions. If music could be expressed in images, then I think fractals would be the best visual expression of this.
A must have!
