Originally
published in Skyscraper
The Private Press is certainly lighter, more humorous fare than
Endtroducing, DJ Shadow’s masterful debut. The whole album,
from the opening intro clip to the end, is oddly interspersed with
touching familial sound bites. “Walkie Talkie,” for
example, begins with an innocent sample of two lil’ kids requesting
to hear a story, but then it trips right over into some glorious
profanity: "I'm a bad, mother-fucking DJ." Those are pretty
much the lyrics to the entire song, and they’re accompanied
by some furious scratching by the Shadow himself. “Right Thing”
begins with a DJ’s spoken expression of his worst fear and
then loops that into a tune. The song then morphs into “GDMFSOB”
(What does that stand for?), a sonic sprawl of beats, handclaps,
‘80s-style synths and samples. You can play Spot the Spock
Snippet to find the words that bridge the two songs.
“Mashin’ on the Motorway” is
a raucous and profane freeway ride I initially found annoying
because it sounded so out of place on the album, but the hysterical
humor of the tune grew quickly on me, and now it’s a must-listen.
It features a godawful driver’s narration (courtesy of rapper
Lateef) as he navigates the road rage of other drivers amidst
a symphonic flurry of beeps and curses.
Believe it or not, this silliness
segues perfectly into the far more somber and stately "Blood
on the Motorway," which, at more than three times the length
of the previous song, takes a while to evolve, but eventually
incorporates some New Order-esque keyboards and familiar DJ Shadow
chimes. Then there's a brief patch of silence and a new section
of the same song begins complete with almost alarmingly earnest
vocals. Not all the songs here have vocals, but that is another
primary difference from Endtroducing: a number of songs have lyrics.
Written, not, er, appropriated lyrics. And for those fans who
prefer the sprawling atmospheric instrumentals that comprise Endtroducing,
Shadow does offer tracks like “Fixed Income,” “Mongrel
Meets his Maker,” and “Giving up the Ghost.”
Neither as groundbreaking nor consistent an experience
as Shadow’s debut, The Private Press, is more of an aural
roller coaster ride. So listeners expecting Endtroducing II may
be disappointed, but this album ain’t without its charms,
and Josh Davis hasn’t lost his touch. Or his scratch.
Robert Stribley
Official
Web site
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