Endtroducing…
DJ Shadow’s debut album is a piece of music from someone who is a quite clearly a fan of music. The albums composition is made almost entirely from samples, with DJ Shadow fusing different, even some may consider opposing, genres together to create something unique; on “Stem/Long Stem” the combination of violin samples, among others, with a quick, heavy metal-esque drum beat creates a new altogether inspiring sound. The genre of the album is something reminiscent of instrumental hip-hop, heavy on fast, driving drum beats. DJ Shadow’s pioneering use of samples in Endtroducing… would inspire and influence the next generation of musicians, with the simple message that minimal equipment is required to produce music.
Odelay.
“Wow. We’ve sure got a lot in common, Beck. I always dreamed of being a musician-poet who transcends genres even as he re-invents them, just like you.” Beck’s Odelay, as Bender Bending Rodriguez so eloquently describes, is a fusion of multiple genres that borders on genius. Rarely does a song belong to a single genre, with the album incorporating elements of country, folk, hip-hop, electronica and rap to name a few. Beck is clearly not afraid to experiment, and while not all of his attempts land on the mark, more often that not he creates a sound for someone; you can’t please all of the people all of the time after all. Oh and Odelay is word, just look it up in the Becktionary.
The Score.
Having listened to and reviewed The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill only a few weeks ago, The Score, the album she recorded directly before as part of the hip-hop trio Fugees, foreshadows the superstardom she was destined to reach with Miseducation. The range that Hill displays on her solo debut are glimpsed on The Score, with her soulful vocals taking centre stage on “Killing Me Softly”, while her complex rapping ability shines throughout. It feels like something of a disservice to only mention Hill, as her fellow Fugees contribute significantly to the overall sound of the album with their more than capable rapping quality, however it is Hill that drives this album to such a level of greatness. The production on The Score is perfect for the lyrical styles of the three rappers, such as on “How Many Mics” where the beat is simple and quiet, allowing the words of the writers to be the focus of the song. The influences on Fugees when recorded The Score are apparent, with reggae deeply rooted in their consciousness, apparent in their cover of “No Woman No Cry”, but also other 90s hip-hop artists; the title track baring a strong resemble to Wu-Tang’s “Da Mystery of Chessboxin’”. Fugees use the album to criticise the glamorisation of the gangster rap scene that was prominent during the 90s, such as in Red Alert’s introduction as well as the lyrics of “Cowboys”. The Score is one of the best hip-hop albums of the 90s, and considering the competition, that really is saying something.
LONG SEASON.
Fishmans’ sixth album is a single thirty five minute track, which can be split into five parts. Each part is unique, although there is a motif woven throughout the album to give the sense of a continuous piece of music. The more experimental aspects of LONG SEASON, in particular part 3, work well as a departure from the conventional sounds on the album. The production is very minimalist, the drum beats are fairly simple with the aforementioned motif repeating for long periods and a light bass accompaniment playing in the background. This is the kind of music which is ideal for lazy summer weekends, laying on the beach watching the tide rolling in and out. The album is a thoroughly enjoyable piece of Japanese ambient electronica with a refrain that is likely to crawl into your ear and stay there for days.
Coming Up.
I have to admit I was a little disappointed by this. I had so fallen in love with Suede’s debut album that I’d placed it, and the band along with it, on a pedestal so high it was unlikely Coming Up, their third, would stop it from toppling. After something of a commercial failure on their second album, Dog Man Star (yet to be judged whether this was justified), Suede returned with a much more mainstream sound compared to their self-titled debut. The album is much more pop oriented, with each song essentially an extended chorus serving the sole purpose of repeating the title of the song as much as possible. The dynamic guitar riffs that were so dominant and which drove my fondness for Suede have been replaced by a highly diluted guitar that fades into the background, owing mostly to the departure of original guitarist Bernard Butler during the production of Dog Man Star. The album is by no means bad, the sound is much more glam rock and it succeeded in establishing Suede among the Britpop elite, I, perhaps naïvely, was expecting something more however. Brett Anderson’s lyrics are quite possibly the highlight, with his biting criticism of celebrity obsessed culture on “She” and “Starcrazy”, and his opinion of the UK drug scene on “Beautiful Ones” and “The Chemistry Between Us”.
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