DJ Shadow 'The Private Press' C/D?

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Or does it at least make you smile?

In making this record I realized a greater appreciation for the vastness of music. The possibilities are truly endless. Music is also a great healer. I sincerely hope that you the listener, find something in this record that makes you smile.

Just bought it, first impressions: Monosylabik still makes me grin but Six Days made me wince, Mashin'On the Motorway made me groan, + 'Blood on the Motorway made me yawn.

The vocals grate, the beats are sluggish. Difficult-second-album-syndrome or am I underestimating it (after but one listen)?

― stevo, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't think the gap between it and Endtroducing is nearly as great as the reviews are going to make it out to be. That said: Is it an instant classic (like Endtroducing)? Not remotely. Does it have it's moments? Definitely - "Monosylabik", "Walkie Talkie" - which is the type of cut Shadow can do in his sleep, and needed to do more of, and track 18 are pretty great. Kid Koala's already surpassed him, RJD2's almost there. If he realized a great appreciation for the vastness of music, it sure doesn't show up on the record - there are very very few surprises.

― J Blount, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I got it yesterday and we listened to it all the way through. A few duff moments but I definitely reckon it's a decent album. I thought Endtroducing was flawed in places too.

― dog latin, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

i haven't had a chance to listen to the entire thing, but what i heard i thought was good. it's definately a dj shadow album, a lot like introducing - which isn't a bad thing.

― dyson, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

private press

― Ron, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Don't know but I like "You can't go home". A full album of DJ Shadow is a bit too much though.

― Marc, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Two reviews today:

The Independent review DJ Shadow - The Private Press

The Guardian also review:

DJ Shadow - The Private Press (Mo Wax) *****

― DJ Martian, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I find that Independent review quite condescending and offensive, frankly.

― JoB, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah, I like "dullards" rapping over James Brown, dammit.

― Nate Patrin, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Thankfully Beck and the Avalanches showed those niggers how it's done!

― Dare, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

...

― Dan Perry, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Actually I like Beck and the Avalanches too but in the case of Beck I think most of the "creative sampling" stuff should be credited to the Dust Bros. Most of his own sampling is really kind of basic (at least on Mellow Gold).

― Nate Patrin, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Dare, that's not a word I'd use even kiddingly, even if I agree with the thrust of what you're saying. I couldn't even read past the first graf on that Independent review. Let's just say he could've picked better, more, uh, "inclusive" examples and leave it at that.

― M Matos, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Well actually his argument is bullshit (and I'm sure DJ Shadow would agree) so no, he couldn't have picked better examples. Just more PC ones.

― Ben Williams, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Poor choice of words yes but I will cut the journalist some slack since he was in Gang of Four, etc.

― Andy K, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

To clarify: journalist as in the Gill one not the Dare one.

― Andy K, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

You mean this is the guy responsible for the wondrous guitar noise in "At Home He's A Tourist"? Damn.

― Nate Patrin, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah, but those guys haven't been the same since they crossed the picket line.

― J Blount, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Both of the Britcrits used the word "curator" in the first paragraph, and I'm pretty sure both of them thought it was clever. Both of them should be severely beaten (the one who didn't play on "Outside the Trains Don't Run on Time" more severly than the other).

― J Blount, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I couldn't get past the first paragraph of that Independent review. SHAME ON YOU Andy Gill - fucking AWFUL awful awful truncation of sampling/hip hop production. Yeah, Andy, thank god Beck and the Avalanches "showed those niggers how it's done" indeed. What a crock of shit, I don't care if he's responsible for one of my favorite albums ever. If he can't give up any respect to the Bomb Squad(!), Prince Paul, DJ Pooh, Biz Markie, Rick Rubin and Def Jam, et al than he can fucking shove it.

GRRRRRRRR!

― Shaky Mo Collier, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeesh -- could we please refrain from using that word?

― Andy K, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

(assuming I know which word you're referring to) why should we? That's what Mr. Gill's whitey-centric interpretation of sampling implies, and frankly, when someone's busy whitewashing music history, I think it's pertinent - no, NECESSARY - to bring up the racism implicit in that approach.

― Shaky Mo Collier, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

obviously his argument is bullshit; that's not what I'm saying at all

― M Matos, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

It's a different Andy Gill. The 'Independent Gill' is an ex-NME hack.

― Andrew L, Saturday, 1 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Anyway, TPP is a very average piece of work, mostly Shadow-on- automatic-pilot. And cousin Stevo is right (too bad I should have warned you) those vocals are shite. About an E.P. worth of decent Shadow material on it.

― Omar, Saturday, 1 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Yes M Matos, don't mind me I was being stupid ;)

― Ben Williams, Saturday, 1 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

It's a different Andy Gill. The 'Independent Gill' is an ex-NME hack.

And here I thought it was the same Andy Gill all along. The confusion!

I suppose someone would like to tell me now that Go4's Jon King never liked little boys, and that the bass player in that band was never in the Soft Machine.

― Andy K, Saturday, 1 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Shadow-on- automatic-pilot"

That about sums it up. It's a good record, not a great one.

― scott, Saturday, 1 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't think that Kid Koala has surpassed him at all, but the thing is that it's not relevant at all. Kid Koala is Sesame Street-turntablism, while DJ Shadow is... well, Shadow. Scratchcratchratchatch and What Does Your Soul Look Like (for example) are both fantastic but they're worlds apart.

― Orange, Sunday, 2 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

If you can find DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist's "Brainfreeze" on the web you will love it. There are two 25 minute tracks and they are God- like.

― Brent, Sunday, 2 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

True - "Brainfreeze" pts. 1 and 2 are better than anything on Private Press.

― J Blount, Sunday, 2 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Much to my shock, I find myself really enjoying most of The Private Press. Applying Ned's astoundingly good interpretation of DJ Shadow (if indeed it was Ned) - basically, Shadow as GOTH rather than as hip hop producer - it's definitely a notch up from Endtroducing. The goth tracks (the long moody ones with lotsa piano) are more lugubrious and limping and lushly labrynthine than before, more overloaded with heavy eyeliner and black on black satin.

Of course perhaps the only reason I can enjoy it is that I never found Endtroducing particularly *astounding*, so the idea that Shadow has to "progress" and "save"/"revolutionise" hip hop (heh like the fuck it needs saving) is totally lost on me. Correspondingly, most of the tracks that demonstrate advancement and/or a dedication to hip hop are just there - "Monosyllabik" is interesting but that's about it, and the uptempo jungle track ("Mashin' On The Motorway"?) is like Fatboy Slim on diet pills. On the other hand, the swerve into electro-tinged eighties-sounding stuff at the end of the record is inspired. "You Can't Go Home Again" for example is great - it's, like, The Cure's "A Forest" reimagined as instrumental drum & bass! And all the vocal tracks rule.

― Tim, Saturday, 8 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

seven years pass...

i like this a lot - but then i never found entroducing, a few tracks aside, as revolutionary as a lot of people seem to have, so PP actually seems more interesting.

― titchy (titchyschneiderMk2), Thursday, 7 January 2010 11:47 (sixteen years ago)

i wouldn't call it "revolutionary" but it is "good" -- tbh, a 13-yr-old record can't really sound revolutionary.

― Patriarchy Oppression Machine (history mayne), Thursday, 7 January 2010 11:51 (sixteen years ago)

TPP is also good!

― Patriarchy Oppression Machine (history mayne), Thursday, 7 January 2010 11:51 (sixteen years ago)

it didnt sound revolutionary when it came out to me either, but then i was a hardcore hip hop head, so i thought it was slightly dreary nytol music.

― titchy (titchyschneiderMk2), Thursday, 7 January 2010 11:53 (sixteen years ago)

you were why hip hop sucked in 96, obv.

― Patriarchy Oppression Machine (history mayne), Thursday, 7 January 2010 11:56 (sixteen years ago)

I love this album. Overall it's better than Endtroducing, though the high points aren't as high.

― Communi-Bear Silo State (chap), Thursday, 7 January 2010 12:43 (sixteen years ago)

this album is good but its kinda like claiming 'Portishead' is better than 'Dummy'

― mdskltr (blueski), Thursday, 7 January 2010 12:45 (sixteen years ago)

I like this only a cig-paper less than Endtroducing, but maybe I wasn't hardcore enough.

― Shart Habit to Break (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 7 January 2010 12:46 (sixteen years ago)

i listened to this a lot last year for some reason. 'you can't go home again' is pretty classic.

― pyramid of geezer (haitch), Thursday, 7 January 2010 13:09 (sixteen years ago)

love this record

― hey trader joe's! i've got the new steely dan. (Jordan), Thursday, 7 January 2010 15:53 (sixteen years ago)

Made my top albums of the decade.

― Hell is other people. In an ILE film forum. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 7 January 2010 16:05 (sixteen years ago)

Finally a topic on ILM I feel qualified to weigh in on (not that it always stopped me before). It was indeed an instant classic. With songs like "Giving Up The Ghost", "Mongrel/...Meets His Maker", the aforementioned epic d&b feel of "You Can't Go Home Again", and Jesus Christ "Fixed Income". Wow, man. I actually prefer the live version of that last song (from In Tune And On Time) because it gives me chills every time I hear, but still just incredible. I think it threw people off because he had sort of latched on to the electronica bandwagon by that time but I've always drawn to well-produced atmospheric music and this album generally serves me better than Endtroducing in that regard.

Now if only someone could convince me The Outsider had more than one or two decent song on it...

― viborg, Thursday, 7 January 2010 20:08 (sixteen years ago)

eh, *always been drawn, *songs - I need to learn to either sleep or edit better.

― viborg, Thursday, 7 January 2010 20:09 (sixteen years ago)

Now if only someone could convince me The Outsider had more than one or two decent song on it...

That is an impossible task, not worth the undertaking

― WARS OF ARMAGEDDON (Karaoke Version) (Sparkle Motion), Thursday, 7 January 2010 21:00 (sixteen years ago)

Please note that Andy Gill, the journalist who writes music reviews for the Independent newspaper in the UK, is NOT Andy Gill , the legendary guitarist with Gang of Four. This is a common mistake.

― rendition arctor, Friday, 8 January 2010 15:59 (sixteen years ago)

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