DJ Shadow Album: “Private Press [Japan Bonus Tracks]”

Josh Davis aka DJ Shadow is a pastiche turntablist. His m.o. on the groundbreaking Endtroducing... was the breakbeat suite, mini-symphonies culled from pieces of thousands of slabs of vinyl. He was as meticulous as an animator hand-painting each cell. It paid off. Not only was Endtroducing... groundbreaking in the underground, it was a (relative) commercial success. In the six years since its release, no other DJ or turntablist collective has come close to Shadow's genius. Though The Private Press is a more accessible work they still - to sample that old hack MC Hammer - can't touch this. Davis loves arcana. He opens and closes The Private Press with a recorded spoken letter, over cocktail jazz, from a California family to a friend, and these homey bookends indicate Shadow's new warmth. On the first record, he was showing off (he had a right). On The Private Press, his aim is to communicate as directly and unfettered as possible. The song titles aren't grand metaphors, like Endtroducing...'s "Building Steam with a Grain of Salt", but literal: "Fixed Income", "Six Days", "Blood On the Motorway", "You Can't Go Home Again". His cribbed vocal samples express basic desires, joys, and fears which the music takes to poetic extremes. On The Private Press, DJ Shadow says more with beats, with incisive edits, than most lyricists who split open a vein and bleed on the page.

I'm a big fan of Endtroducing. It a classic for electronic, jazz and soul music out there. I've just picked up Private Press a few hours ago and i'm currently writing this review under a "first spin" perspective. First impressions are...

1) Definitly still has the "Shadow Theme" that means listening to it I can still pick up all the Shadow signiture. Piano and spoken work bits are still visible. Rustic vinly sound still prominant in some songs. However, the sound feels more refined compared to Endtroducing. The songs sounds more "processed". I don't think this is a bad element. Its just a different side of the Shadow's artistic skills.

2) It's not as dark as Endtroducing.

3) Shadow's "epic" song structures are still intact.

4) Feels less cohesive. Not a bad thing ! Private Press unlike Endtroducing is more diverse in its soundscape. Endtroducing had one theme running through teh album where as Private Press is more diverse in themes. But don't get me wrong it's still a cohesive album just more diverse in sounds compared to Endtroducing.

5) The latter part of the album exhibits a slight 80s groove. However altered to sound fresh.

conclusion: Great Album... I can already tell that the second spin should reveal even more intresting tidbits on this album. The album definitly sound like the Shadow. It still has the structure of Endtroducing but refined to open a whole new soundscape for the Shadow

Dj Shadow is in my honest opinion one of the most overlooked artists in music today. Threading the thin line between commercial and underground, and finding his niche somewhere in between (as UNKLE says, the middle ground between light and shadow) DJ Shadow continues to impress with every release he puts forth. I was fortunate enough to pick this album up right after its release, and actually purchased it before I bought Endtroducing, which is by far DJ Shadow's best album, and one of the best albums ever made. By sampling elements from just about anywhere Shadow combines elements from our pop culture to create mini-movies of his songs which few artists can touch in terms of sheer production value, and the emotional effect that is created while listening to his music. I am actually glad I bought this album before Endtroducing as it has given me the time to truly appreciate this album for what it is; a work of art, and a continual growing of Shadow's talents. Had I bought Endtroducing before this and writtwn a review I'm sure I would have garnered it with a 4 star review, but that is simply not the case here. While Endtroducing is always going to be leaques above and beyond this album, Josh Davis has found a way here to go above and beyond what should be expected of an album, and given us an album that I'm sure years from now I will still find elements in it that will grow even more on me with time. Best enjoyed while driving or relaxing at home (possibly with a little mary in tow, if you know what I mean), the songs fluctuate with peaks and valleys of highs and lows, and the beats are flawless, especially when compared to a lot of the mainstream garbage that is put out in the record industry on a regular basis. See the thing is that Shadow bases his music upon how he feels, and artists that do this correctly achieve an emotional reaction from their music that the true artists of our world truly achieve. Radiohead for example has a way of doing this, and it is not surprising then that one of DJ Shadows favorite artists is Radiohead, they both fuse these elements into their music, and achieve monumental status in my opinion. The package design is equally well done as well showing an artists eye for presentation, and a graffiti influenced design to the overall package. If you enjoy this album then I highly recommend any of Shadows works: Endtroducing, Preemptive Strike, The Private Press, and In Tune and On Time, which is a live set recorded in support of this album. UNKLE is also a well thought out album which bridges the gap between hip-hop, rock and techno, with guest appearences by Mike D of the Beastie Boys, Thom Yorke from Radiohead, and others from throughout the music industry. If you've never heard of DJ Shadow before, then I must say that you are missing out, if you are at all interested in underground music, do yourself a favor and pick up any of Shadow's albums or collaborations, I guarantee you will extremely impressed, as with any good album the songs have a way of growing on you over time. Peace out!

I am not familiar with Dj Shadow's music for the most part, maybe a track or two here from his Unkle project but I have always been curious about his music and whether it lives up to the critical acclaim that I read about in various magazines. Just recently I saw the video for "Six Days" from "Private Press" and became immediately hooked by what I heard. That song alone reminded me of Talvin Singh's music on "OK". That song alone convinced me to buy "Private Press". And what would you know but I would find a copy of this cd in the same used cd bins that I found Sasha's new album in? Talk about a stroke of luck. I immediately loved this entire album on the first listen. Dj Shadow did prove to me that his music is worthy of all the critical acclaim. I definitely plan on buying his breakthrough "Endtroducing" album in the very near future. I am not a big fan of sampling but what Dj Shadow does in his music greatly impressed me. "Private Press" definitely earns a spot in my best of 2002 list.

i have to admit that DJ Shadow is an artist that i have forgotten about -- not the forgotten where the CD is gathering dust deep in files of a CD collection, Endtroducing still gets much airplay in my personal listening world alongside Lovage & UNKLE -- but thinking that a new album would be forthcoming was something that i never thought about. it seemed like an impossibility and this, my friends, is what i meant by forgotten, i was sure that DJ Shadow had faded into a world of playstation vibes when this album came and entered my life.

right now it is playing on my computer as i play it. i must say that The Private Press is one of the most relaxing and at the same time one of the most challenging pieces of music i have heard in some time. where Endtroducing was simply a wild ride of beautiful vibes filled to the brim like a well laid back movie soundtrack, The Private Press is a different beast all together, and i have to say that i love it. some songs are almost downright abrasive when first listened -- challenging to the listener especially in a followup to an album that exuded extreme listenablity in any track. here some of the tracks are initially disorienting -- harder rap vibes, strange mixing -- here is a more layer challenging work than the previous. i don't know if it is a better album - i am going to have to give it a few years because Endtroducing is something that close to six years later still astounds me.

though i am not saying that all of The Private Press is abrasive collages (and even them are not really that abrasive after repeated listens - it is just jarring at first) -- DJ Shadow excels at the moody soundtrack instrumental moments, slowly weaving an unknown tale that is filled with more emotion and feeling than any of the house/trance/techno/whatever/music i have ever heard. i myself have always found house to be the most emotionally distant music besides avant garde noise work -- but DJ Shadow's music is always filled with a raw passion and emotion that is excellent.

this album is the same. it is a more challenging listen than his debut, much more layered, much deeper, it is sometimes initially abrasive - the vocal additions seem strange at first but after some time seems to be quite perfect. that is probably the best that i can say about the album -- initially unsure, almost confusingly abrasive only to revel itself to be quite perfect and quite wonderful.