DJ Shadow - The Outsider (2006)
So, I got to hear an advance promo copy of DJ Shadow's latest album, The Outsider. I was quite surprised -- I had to listen to it a few times through before writing this review, because my first reaction was actually pretty negative. However, upon repeated listenings, it grew on me a bit, and now I can accept it for what it is. But, it should be stated what the album is and what it isn't.
First, what it is: A hiphop album, exploring the genres of crunk and hyphee. In other words, big electro beats with gangsta rhymes. The songs follow the tried-and-true formula of party tunes with bravado rhymes and phat bass. While the album veers from mainstream hiphop for a couple of tracks, these are more "skits" than anything. By and large, the majority of the album treads on old territory, though the production value and sound quality is above average, perhaps. (Caveat: One of the tracks has the absolute worst synth piano I have heard in a loooong time).
Now, what the album isn't -- so as to not get anyone's hopes up, it should be stated right off that this album is not like other DJ Shadow albums. It isn't meditative, vibey, "deep." Whereas DJ Shadow made a name for himself by sampling esoteric albums and creating a very introspective, rare-groove based sound collage, this album ditches all of that in favor of high-energy party beats composed almost entirely on synthesizers. And, as mentioned above, some of the production choices are not so hot. There are still a few nice touches, but in general, the sonic palette has shifted from the analog sounds and vinyl warmth of previous Shadow releases to the realm of electro beats and synthesizer. Also, some of the "touches" that are reminiscient of older Shadow records just come across as parodies of himself. Adding a vocal choir sample ala Building Steam with a Grain of Salt to a party jam just doesn't fit right to me. The choir vibe (like the vibe of previous releases) is very austere, introspective, meditative. It doesn't jive well mixing that kind of thing with the electro-crunk-hyphee style of hiphop party jam.
I guess if I had to summarize the album, I'd say that it's definitely worth listening to, if only to see the new direction that Shadow is going with this album. But, would I recommend buying it? Well that depends if you're into hyphee and un-intellectual "party jam" hiphop. (Note: I don't mean to sound elitist by implying that intellectual hiphop is superior, I'm just stating that those who want to hear sophisticated underground hiphop may be disappointed by the overall gangsta bravado that pervades this album).
The one word that truly summarizes this release is incongruency. The overall sound of the album is incongruent with previous Shadow releases; the segues and skits seperating the tracks are incongruent with the tracks themselves; many of the "Shadow-y" samples used (e.g. the aforementioned choir) are incongruent with the electro-hiphop vibe. These incongruencies would be forgivable if the album had a few killer tracks, but to me, nothing really stands out. There's a famous Howard Hawks quote that goes, "A great movie has 3 good scenes and no bad ones." To me, that means that the definition of a masterpiece is something that has a few memorable, truly excellent parts, and that the rest of it is at least average if not above average. Well, this album is certainly at least average (and probably above average, accounting for the amount of bad music released worldwide)-- but unfortunately, nothing truly stands out. If it had 2 or 3 great songs then I would certainly recommend it, but nothing is coming to mind. The album feels like it hasn't had enough time to mature, to integrate the disparate styles into a solid new style. A new style is certainly being explored, but it hasn't matured enough to stand on its own yet. If this album did not have DJ Shadow's name on it, it would most likely be ignored.
That being said, I do recommend checking it out, if only to see the direction that Shadow has decided to go with his music.
So, I got to hear an advance promo copy of DJ Shadow's latest album, The Outsider. I was quite surprised -- I had to listen to it a few times through before writing this review, because my first reaction was actually pretty negative. However, upon repeated listenings, it grew on me a bit, and now I can accept it for what it is. But, it should be stated what the album is and what it isn't.
First, what it is: A hiphop album, exploring the genres of crunk and hyphee. In other words, big electro beats with gangsta rhymes. The songs follow the tried-and-true formula of party tunes with bravado rhymes and phat bass. While the album veers from mainstream hiphop for a couple of tracks, these are more "skits" than anything. By and large, the majority of the album treads on old territory, though the production value and sound quality is above average, perhaps. (Caveat: One of the tracks has the absolute worst synth piano I have heard in a loooong time).
Now, what the album isn't -- so as to not get anyone's hopes up, it should be stated right off that this album is not like other DJ Shadow albums. It isn't meditative, vibey, "deep." Whereas DJ Shadow made a name for himself by sampling esoteric albums and creating a very introspective, rare-groove based sound collage, this album ditches all of that in favor of high-energy party beats composed almost entirely on synthesizers. And, as mentioned above, some of the production choices are not so hot. There are still a few nice touches, but in general, the sonic palette has shifted from the analog sounds and vinyl warmth of previous Shadow releases to the realm of electro beats and synthesizer. Also, some of the "touches" that are reminiscient of older Shadow records just come across as parodies of himself. Adding a vocal choir sample ala Building Steam with a Grain of Salt to a party jam just doesn't fit right to me. The choir vibe (like the vibe of previous releases) is very austere, introspective, meditative. It doesn't jive well mixing that kind of thing with the electro-crunk-hyphee style of hiphop party jam.
I guess if I had to summarize the album, I'd say that it's definitely worth listening to, if only to see the new direction that Shadow is going with this album. But, would I recommend buying it? Well that depends if you're into hyphee and un-intellectual "party jam" hiphop. (Note: I don't mean to sound elitist by implying that intellectual hiphop is superior, I'm just stating that those who want to hear sophisticated underground hiphop may be disappointed by the overall gangsta bravado that pervades this album).
The one word that truly summarizes this release is incongruency. The overall sound of the album is incongruent with previous Shadow releases; the segues and skits seperating the tracks are incongruent with the tracks themselves; many of the "Shadow-y" samples used (e.g. the aforementioned choir) are incongruent with the electro-hiphop vibe. These incongruencies would be forgivable if the album had a few killer tracks, but to me, nothing really stands out. There's a famous Howard Hawks quote that goes, "A great movie has 3 good scenes and no bad ones." To me, that means that the definition of a masterpiece is something that has a few memorable, truly excellent parts, and that the rest of it is at least average if not above average. Well, this album is certainly at least average (and probably above average, accounting for the amount of bad music released worldwide)-- but unfortunately, nothing truly stands out. If it had 2 or 3 great songs then I would certainly recommend it, but nothing is coming to mind. The album feels like it hasn't had enough time to mature, to integrate the disparate styles into a solid new style. A new style is certainly being explored, but it hasn't matured enough to stand on its own yet. If this album did not have DJ Shadow's name on it, it would most likely be ignored.
That being said, I do recommend checking it out, if only to see the direction that Shadow has decided to go with his music.
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