roosta
08-22-2006, 05:31 AM
Right, I finally got round to hearing this, and hear are my initial, generally inarticulate thoughts on it.
Possibly the most feared-by-fans album in history, lots has been said about the radical new directions Shadow was going on this one. I had heard bits and bobs, but wasnt put off. I always liked "3 Freaks" even tho the emceeing left a lot to be desired but still having heard so many long time fan's voice their fears i to began to wonder if this was going to be a monumental failure.
It isn't.
Im gonna do this on a track by track basis lest I wander off into a mess of words and commas.
INTRODUCTION
Opens with a weird voice over describing a Mad Max style character living in a desolate futurisitic world. Probably a metaphor for Shadow's position in the music game or something. Good backing track but too long.
THIS TIME
After the dark foreboding doom of the intro you'd think we were about to go into some apocalyptic beats and eerie atmospherics but its actually quite a breezy upbeat tune, similar to Quannums "CHanged my mind". Good stuff
3 FREAKS (FEAT KEAK DA SNEEK)
Easily the most divisive track Shadow has ever put out, this has seperated people into the Love It/Hate It camps. I love it, its silly, loud, energetic and most importantly features the hip-hop seal-of-approval, it makes your head nod. The rapping is sub-par, but doesnt detract from it.
DROOP-E-DROP
A pointless skit featuring some mad yolk jabbering on in a usual hip-hop shout out style with some hyphy gibberish.
TURF DANCING (FEAT THE FEDERATION)
In a million years i never thought id hear a track on a DJ shadow album bout dancing in the club. But hear it is, and its great. The best hyphy track on the album its a good oul club song with a great hook. To be honest I dont know much about hyphy, it seems like a relative of crunk to me and as such this is like some Lil Jon stuff, but even better.
.KEEP EM CLOSE (feat. Nump)
Not great at all. Poor rhyming over sub-par beats. The only true low point of the album. Cheesy pianos, Synthisier horns, g-funk esk sound effects and really bad rapping. But.....i still dont skip it for some reason. Maybe its growing on me. But still, in with the rest of this stuff, sub-par.
SEEING THANGS (FEAT. DAVID BANNER)
A solid hip-hop track, kind of a half-way house between his hyphy stuff and his usual hip-hop instrumentals. Programmed beats with trademark atmospherics over it make for a good song with Banner delivering good political rhymes accusing the US government of, amongst other things, controlling the weather (in a pact with the devil, of course)
BROKEN LEVEE BLUES
At this point the album swaps sides, Shadow pulls out the sampler and tells the Turf Dancers to take a break. Again a reference to hurrican Katrina this is a strange little blues type thingy featuring little more than a guitar the whole way through. It also displays one of the more apparent things about the album which is the lack of his trademark big drums....
ARTIFACT
...which, tho, are out in force in this one. Some people have called this the successer to "Mashin on the Motorway" but it reminds me more of "High Noon". Well, High Noon on a drug-fueled rampage. Punk-rockish drum spasms and guitar stabs and other strange sound effects make for a great track.
BACKSTAGE GIRL (FEAT PHONTE OF LITTLE BROTHER)
When i first heard this i hated it. I dunno if it was that im so used to Phonte on 9th Wonder beats or that I was so excited to hear one of the best rappers out there at the mo with one of the best producers and that it didnt live up to what i had in my head. But, on repeated listens this has really grown on me. Phonte, as always, delivers the good, and Shadow builds a fantastic blues-based hip-hop soundscape that grows and grows. Top stuff that gets better and better with every listen. One of the highlights of the album now.
TRIPLICATE SOMETHING HAPPENED
This is a really good instrumental track with one almost fatal flaw. It features some amazing samples and has a great moody feel to it, but the entire time you are waiting for the drums to come in hard......and they don't. Kind of like when you first heard "Blood on the Motorway" and you keep waiting and waiting for the drums to come crashing in, and for a while you think they won't but when they finally do they are really rewarding and that delay is what makes the track. Here however, we have some really good soundscape production and the teasing of a kick drum....but it never becomes one of those quintesential Shadow breakbeat tracks. However, if this doesnt convinvce someone to score their movie, nothing will. Still a good song.
THE TIGER (FEATURING TWO FELLAS FROM KASABIAN I THINK)
This is the one song where Shadow, (having already expressed his love for hyphy) gets to properly play around with his other love; 60s psychedilic rock. Features a drum track that reminds me of another hip-hop song i cant remember for the life of me and lots of swirling guitars and a rock-vocal bout tigers or something. Very much like Shadow-era UNKLE. I dont know what else to say, i like it.
ERASE YOU (FEAT CHRIS JAMES)
Another UNKLE type song (in that it features rock vocals) this is the closest to old type Shadow drum programming on the whole album. The vocals remind me of Radiohead's "the Pyramid Song" although proper Radiohead fans will probably call me a bastard heretic for that. This is the kind of song that indie Shadow fans will crave, and probably thought this is all he did (their knowledge of Shadow being UNKLE and "Entroducing" only). Good song.
WHAT HAVE I DONE
Very similar to "Triplicate" some AMAZING sounds and what not with some woman rabbiting on bout something i have no idea is about, but the production is great, lots of pianos, and guitars and stings. Again you wait for the drums,but they never come but by know its become kind of the theme of the album and doesnt really detract from it, specially on repeated listens.
YOU MADE IT (FEAT CHRIS JAMES)
Forget 3 Freaks or any of the Hyphy stuff, THIS is the biggest curve ball on the whole album. At first I was convinced that this was put in here by accident....the best (and possibly most accurate) way to describe this is its like Coldplay. Really. Even the singer sounds like ur fella out of Coldplay. But....don't let this put you off, its actually a good song. Subtle drums, accoustic guitar and stings all in the mix. But really, very Coldplay ish.
ENUFF (FEAT Q-TIP AND LATEEF)
Another straight up hip-hop track. A good party hip-hop song with Lateef and Q-Tip trading good rhymes over possibly one of Shadow's straighest hip-hop tracks ever, lots of jolly pianos, stuttering drums and shit. The hook is a little bit weak and cheesy, but over all a good tune.
THE LAST SONG FEATURING E-40 THAT I HAVNT HEARD.
Probably good, who knows, i dont have it. When i buy the album ill let you know, till then try and stay calm and go about your lives.
Overall this is a good album. Not his best, probably is his worst, but by saying worst i always feel that implys its bad, and its definitely not. It definitely is a change of direction. In many ways the album can be seen in two parts, the hyphy first act which then ,through the Banner song, slowly moves into the second act which could be described as more traditional Shadow..though it is still a departure. Some of it as i said harks back to UNKLE, others like "Artefact" could have come from his previous albums. Other tracks show Shadow less interested in breakbeats but more so in building atmosphere though the other samples etc. If this album proves anything its what a diverse and talented producer Shadow really is, he's raised his own bar here. In interviews Shadow has always said he has no desire to repeat "Entroducing" again and again and isnt worried bout losing fans by not doing so and I think thats the right thing to do. In this album hes made a solid body of work, and on repeated listens it starts to make sense (initally the idea of hyphy tracks in with some of this other stuff seems bizarre).
On a scale of 1-10 i give it a pat on the back and a firm "Well done"
Possibly the most feared-by-fans album in history, lots has been said about the radical new directions Shadow was going on this one. I had heard bits and bobs, but wasnt put off. I always liked "3 Freaks" even tho the emceeing left a lot to be desired but still having heard so many long time fan's voice their fears i to began to wonder if this was going to be a monumental failure.
It isn't.
Im gonna do this on a track by track basis lest I wander off into a mess of words and commas.
INTRODUCTION
Opens with a weird voice over describing a Mad Max style character living in a desolate futurisitic world. Probably a metaphor for Shadow's position in the music game or something. Good backing track but too long.
THIS TIME
After the dark foreboding doom of the intro you'd think we were about to go into some apocalyptic beats and eerie atmospherics but its actually quite a breezy upbeat tune, similar to Quannums "CHanged my mind". Good stuff
3 FREAKS (FEAT KEAK DA SNEEK)
Easily the most divisive track Shadow has ever put out, this has seperated people into the Love It/Hate It camps. I love it, its silly, loud, energetic and most importantly features the hip-hop seal-of-approval, it makes your head nod. The rapping is sub-par, but doesnt detract from it.
DROOP-E-DROP
A pointless skit featuring some mad yolk jabbering on in a usual hip-hop shout out style with some hyphy gibberish.
TURF DANCING (FEAT THE FEDERATION)
In a million years i never thought id hear a track on a DJ shadow album bout dancing in the club. But hear it is, and its great. The best hyphy track on the album its a good oul club song with a great hook. To be honest I dont know much about hyphy, it seems like a relative of crunk to me and as such this is like some Lil Jon stuff, but even better.
.KEEP EM CLOSE (feat. Nump)
Not great at all. Poor rhyming over sub-par beats. The only true low point of the album. Cheesy pianos, Synthisier horns, g-funk esk sound effects and really bad rapping. But.....i still dont skip it for some reason. Maybe its growing on me. But still, in with the rest of this stuff, sub-par.
SEEING THANGS (FEAT. DAVID BANNER)
A solid hip-hop track, kind of a half-way house between his hyphy stuff and his usual hip-hop instrumentals. Programmed beats with trademark atmospherics over it make for a good song with Banner delivering good political rhymes accusing the US government of, amongst other things, controlling the weather (in a pact with the devil, of course)
BROKEN LEVEE BLUES
At this point the album swaps sides, Shadow pulls out the sampler and tells the Turf Dancers to take a break. Again a reference to hurrican Katrina this is a strange little blues type thingy featuring little more than a guitar the whole way through. It also displays one of the more apparent things about the album which is the lack of his trademark big drums....
ARTIFACT
...which, tho, are out in force in this one. Some people have called this the successer to "Mashin on the Motorway" but it reminds me more of "High Noon". Well, High Noon on a drug-fueled rampage. Punk-rockish drum spasms and guitar stabs and other strange sound effects make for a great track.
BACKSTAGE GIRL (FEAT PHONTE OF LITTLE BROTHER)
When i first heard this i hated it. I dunno if it was that im so used to Phonte on 9th Wonder beats or that I was so excited to hear one of the best rappers out there at the mo with one of the best producers and that it didnt live up to what i had in my head. But, on repeated listens this has really grown on me. Phonte, as always, delivers the good, and Shadow builds a fantastic blues-based hip-hop soundscape that grows and grows. Top stuff that gets better and better with every listen. One of the highlights of the album now.
TRIPLICATE SOMETHING HAPPENED
This is a really good instrumental track with one almost fatal flaw. It features some amazing samples and has a great moody feel to it, but the entire time you are waiting for the drums to come in hard......and they don't. Kind of like when you first heard "Blood on the Motorway" and you keep waiting and waiting for the drums to come crashing in, and for a while you think they won't but when they finally do they are really rewarding and that delay is what makes the track. Here however, we have some really good soundscape production and the teasing of a kick drum....but it never becomes one of those quintesential Shadow breakbeat tracks. However, if this doesnt convinvce someone to score their movie, nothing will. Still a good song.
THE TIGER (FEATURING TWO FELLAS FROM KASABIAN I THINK)
This is the one song where Shadow, (having already expressed his love for hyphy) gets to properly play around with his other love; 60s psychedilic rock. Features a drum track that reminds me of another hip-hop song i cant remember for the life of me and lots of swirling guitars and a rock-vocal bout tigers or something. Very much like Shadow-era UNKLE. I dont know what else to say, i like it.
ERASE YOU (FEAT CHRIS JAMES)
Another UNKLE type song (in that it features rock vocals) this is the closest to old type Shadow drum programming on the whole album. The vocals remind me of Radiohead's "the Pyramid Song" although proper Radiohead fans will probably call me a bastard heretic for that. This is the kind of song that indie Shadow fans will crave, and probably thought this is all he did (their knowledge of Shadow being UNKLE and "Entroducing" only). Good song.
WHAT HAVE I DONE
Very similar to "Triplicate" some AMAZING sounds and what not with some woman rabbiting on bout something i have no idea is about, but the production is great, lots of pianos, and guitars and stings. Again you wait for the drums,but they never come but by know its become kind of the theme of the album and doesnt really detract from it, specially on repeated listens.
YOU MADE IT (FEAT CHRIS JAMES)
Forget 3 Freaks or any of the Hyphy stuff, THIS is the biggest curve ball on the whole album. At first I was convinced that this was put in here by accident....the best (and possibly most accurate) way to describe this is its like Coldplay. Really. Even the singer sounds like ur fella out of Coldplay. But....don't let this put you off, its actually a good song. Subtle drums, accoustic guitar and stings all in the mix. But really, very Coldplay ish.
ENUFF (FEAT Q-TIP AND LATEEF)
Another straight up hip-hop track. A good party hip-hop song with Lateef and Q-Tip trading good rhymes over possibly one of Shadow's straighest hip-hop tracks ever, lots of jolly pianos, stuttering drums and shit. The hook is a little bit weak and cheesy, but over all a good tune.
THE LAST SONG FEATURING E-40 THAT I HAVNT HEARD.
Probably good, who knows, i dont have it. When i buy the album ill let you know, till then try and stay calm and go about your lives.
Overall this is a good album. Not his best, probably is his worst, but by saying worst i always feel that implys its bad, and its definitely not. It definitely is a change of direction. In many ways the album can be seen in two parts, the hyphy first act which then ,through the Banner song, slowly moves into the second act which could be described as more traditional Shadow..though it is still a departure. Some of it as i said harks back to UNKLE, others like "Artefact" could have come from his previous albums. Other tracks show Shadow less interested in breakbeats but more so in building atmosphere though the other samples etc. If this album proves anything its what a diverse and talented producer Shadow really is, he's raised his own bar here. In interviews Shadow has always said he has no desire to repeat "Entroducing" again and again and isnt worried bout losing fans by not doing so and I think thats the right thing to do. In this album hes made a solid body of work, and on repeated listens it starts to make sense (initally the idea of hyphy tracks in with some of this other stuff seems bizarre).
On a scale of 1-10 i give it a pat on the back and a firm "Well done"