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Product Description
Review
DJ Shadow - aka Josh Davis - emerged during the last decade of the 20th century, helping to bring the art of turntablism to a new crowd outside of the hip hop arena. And didn't he do well. His debut, 1996's Endtroducing, is a disc which stands alone, towering above any potential parallels from would-be peers. Seriously, if Davis had never made it to a second LP, it would have been fine - with his first attempt, the man created a classic, confirming his status as a legend with what remains the final word in crate-digging genius.
When a follow-up did arrive, in the form of 2002's The Private Press, it initially sounded like Davis had perhaps been too distracted by his work on UNKLE's Psyence Fiction LP, released in 1998, resulting in a less-instant, less-impressive collection. But given time, his second record seeped into the senses, ultimately revealing itself as a slow-burn wonder. But album three was a different matter: 2006's The Outsider pushed the patience of the firmest supporter, adding neither light nor tunes to Shadow's catalogue.
So, what now? Davis is in a nothing-left-to-lose situation to regain lost ground, and on The Less You Know, the Better it seems like he's on his way back from the tune-free abyss. Memorable melodies in check, he's railing against the all-pervasiveness of technology: it's either sent the listener lazy, or denying him of a decent return on his investments back in the sample-heady haze of the 90s.
Highlights of this set include the very lovely Sad and Lonely, on which a female voice emotes from yore about the fecklessness of young men over a piano which recalls Carole King's Tapestry. Less successfully, Davis tries to reinvent Tom Vek as Billy-Idol-doing-White-Wedding on Warning Call, and it doesn't do either party any favours. Collaborators du jour Little Dragon shed lead vocalist Yukimi Nagano for the track Scale It Back, on which the singer elevates proceedings in a Prince-like fashion, while De La Soul's Posdnuos is joined by Talib Kweli to pleasingly old-school up Stay the Course.
Davis is a great and nifty producer, more in his element working on collages and atmospheres than acting at being a rock star - something his massive highs of the 1990s may have led him to believe he was. The Less You Know, the Better isn't a bad album at all, and will likely grow into something far more impressive, something that isn't quite evident on first play. Like The Private Press, it could be one the listener returns to down the line and wonders how it didn't initially click. But however excellent this set may prove to be, it will only ever stand in the vast, well, shadow that its creator has cast since releasing the unprecedented Endtroducing.
--Ian Wade
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I remember hearing High Noon and then Organ Donor on BBC radio 1's Evening session as a teenager back in the mid nineties, for me Shadow defined innovation and Endtroducing has become regarded as a timeless classic. I realise that such a totemic piece of work might become something of a burden for an artist, I remember buying the Private Press on the day of release and being brutally disappointed with it. Of course it's a work of genius in it's own right, but my expectations were such that anything less than a carbon copy of Endtroducing would have upset me...having learnt not to judge his albums so quickly I really tried with The Outsider but it failed to impress, it wasn't the hyphy tracks (there are some decent breaks there) but the prevelance of weak guest vocals from a fleeting indy scene that seemed to be watering down the work of a personal sacred cow.
So that's where we were before this album dropped and I can only tell anyone who possibly felt burned by The Outsider that with this album DJ Shadow is back to doing what he does best, which is stirring the heart strings in places, making your head nod in others and leaving you a little disturbed in others.
The Less You Know...opens with the declaration "I'm back" opening a wonderful schizophrenic Back to Front(Circular logic) and hopes are raised straight off the bat. The first five tracks are all strong in their own way, from the throw back cerebral hip-hop of Stay the Course (featuring Talib Kweli and Posdenous) to the gut wrenchingly appropriately titled Sad and Lonely. Track six is the only track I would discard and it's not Shadow's fault, the beat is driving and hypnotic and as an instrumental it would be fine but clumsy mockney vocals by Tom Vek make this a bit of an embarrassment to listen to. What then follows is a near twenty minute string of tracks that take you to another place, perfectly sequenced with your state of mind at heart, these songs brought that sense of awe back, from Tedium to Give me back the nights I can honestly say I was transported.
The only reason I give this album four stars and not five is the inclusion of I gotta rock (an ok track, nothing special...) on the regular release combined with the omission of the stunning Def Surrounds Us,it seems to break the continuity and the mood that had been built. Josh Davis has no obligation to produce any other art other than that which gratifies him personally and, as a long term fan, all I can say is that I'm grateful on this occasion that our tastes have coincided once again.
So that's where we were before this album dropped and I can only tell anyone who possibly felt burned by The Outsider that with this album DJ Shadow is back to doing what he does best, which is stirring the heart strings in places, making your head nod in others and leaving you a little disturbed in others.
The Less You Know...opens with the declaration "I'm back" opening a wonderful schizophrenic Back to Front(Circular logic) and hopes are raised straight off the bat. The first five tracks are all strong in their own way, from the throw back cerebral hip-hop of Stay the Course (featuring Talib Kweli and Posdenous) to the gut wrenchingly appropriately titled Sad and Lonely. Track six is the only track I would discard and it's not Shadow's fault, the beat is driving and hypnotic and as an instrumental it would be fine but clumsy mockney vocals by Tom Vek make this a bit of an embarrassment to listen to. What then follows is a near twenty minute string of tracks that take you to another place, perfectly sequenced with your state of mind at heart, these songs brought that sense of awe back, from Tedium to Give me back the nights I can honestly say I was transported.
The only reason I give this album four stars and not five is the inclusion of I gotta rock (an ok track, nothing special...) on the regular release combined with the omission of the stunning Def Surrounds Us,it seems to break the continuity and the mood that had been built. Josh Davis has no obligation to produce any other art other than that which gratifies him personally and, as a long term fan, all I can say is that I'm grateful on this occasion that our tastes have coincided once again.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is such an epic journey of an album... it has so many dimensions that you keep finding the more times you listen to it..
Wasn`t blown away by it on the first few listens but give it some time and you`ll find some of Shadow`s eclectic skills working some original magic...
Love it....
Wasn`t blown away by it on the first few listens but give it some time and you`ll find some of Shadow`s eclectic skills working some original magic...
Love it....
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you bought 'Endtroducing' you are going to like this. If you are the sort of person who liked Fatboy Slim's recordings you are going to like this. If you're not into this sort of music - mash-ups, cut-ups, sampling, breakbeats, hip-hop, whatever - and want to find an enjoyable window into that world you'll enjoy this. Clever, dumb and catchy. What's not to like?
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