Reviews (page 3 of 14)
Such an amazing way of utilizing samples and tracks from other music to transform them into something new. It’s a shame most remixes and samples today feel cheap and lack passion. I have a lot more respect and hope we can get more like this album
I do see why most people like this but unfortunately I’m the odd one out. 5/10
I couldn't wait for this to be over. Its not bad or obnoxious, but I wasn't excited for it, was bored during it, and just waiting for it to end. That said I did hear a lot of familiar sounds within it.
It’s lowkey fire. i can def listen to this while doing work n shit. I love listening to that typa stuff while working cuz it helps tune out other thoughts n shit lol. It’s probably too much for me sometimes but outside of that it’s fire.
Such a fun and chill instrumental hiphop classic, can’t wait to get some of shadows contemporaries on this list! Standouts are building steam with a grain of salt, changling, stem/long stem, mutual slump and midnight in a perfect world.
I think this is one that was probably revolutionary at its time, and is more difficult to appreciate on a first listen today. Fine as background noise, don't think I would seek this out again.
I quite like it, very satisfying on the ear.
Historically the idea of an album entirely of samples would have me up in arms but… // Hello from 3+ months later. Relistened to the song exploder episode and was reminded of his process. Loved the part where he talks about crawling into the studio on a ladder with his wife… underneath(?) in the dark recording her rambling oddities for 20 minutes, thus gifting us with Xanadu and the boardwalk and rollerskating. I still find him and this whole endeavor a bit… idk he’s very concerned with how he’s perceived for his musical choices and acknowledges he’s gatekeepy while also trying not to be sometimes? It remains not for me, but I was glad to re-appreciate
Interesting but I also had enough after 4 songs
Incredibly repetitive, boring
An album almost entirely made from samples. Rare samples, from vinyl. As a piece of art, a 5. As music itself, a really coherent vision but maybe more of a 3. Let’s average at 4.
This took so many goes to get through - occasionally songs have snatches of something amazing but broadly I found this album disjointed and jarring.
Enjoyed this much more than I thought I would but still only marginally more interesting than the kind of ASMR tracks you hear in spas and shops selling crystal healing and aromatherapy paraphernalia.
Ik word er niet vrolijk van
Blugh
3,75
i am neutral about this
The sound quality is excellent, the music is interesting and fresh, and I can’t believe this came out in the 90’s. Aside from background music while gaming or something though, I can’t think of an occasion where I’d have this on. I’m left unmoved, unthrilled.
6/10 - It was decent soft dance for backgrounds, I honestly can't remember anything distinct but that doesn't make it bad
First Listen: Sep 16 2024 any album that samples bjork is a classic in my eyes. crazy immersive instrumental hip-hop, some of the best sampling i've heard since dilla. goat shit
Entrancing hip-hop instrumentals. Great discovery, four stars only cause I don't think it's my thing, as a personal preference.
Looooove this album. Perfect music for chilling/driving at night. As revered as it is, I don’t think it’s a ‘hit you over the head’ sort of album , so I can see people going into it with high expectations and being let down.
90s hip hop, electronica. Debut. Samples of vinyl records. Cool, different approach to a hip-hop album.
Pretty good album. Very chill and hypnotic in a goodcway. Mutual Slump was my standout. 6.2/10
Really good.....like, really REALLY good. Hard to explain, you just need to experience it.
Loved it, exactly my kind of album. Felt like influential of later sampling music I enjoy.
Another case where the cover can tell a lot about the album right off the bat. The story takes place in a vinyl store. DJ Shadow (not Sonic's friend) really did need a lot of vinyl to create the album — considering the lack of vocals, it was the first record ever composed entirely of samples plucked from jazz, funk, hip-hop, and a few films. And the blurry state of the photograph is clearly meant to symbolize the listener's vision, because I almost fell asleep while playing this album. It's an incredibly monotonous, repetitive mid-tempo affair, though it does occasionally reveal interesting melodies. However, that's very rare, given the album's hour-long length. Perhaps the lack of vocals is actually a plus here, in that the record could serve as a good background for work. But nothing more.
Really liked the vibes of this, felt very immersive
7/10
Building steam with a grain of salt is a solid instrumental track This is a good album to have on in the background. Lots of instrumental portions. Solid. I didn't mind having it on. Unsure if I'll revisit.
One of the greatest albums ever made
nothing special
This was better than I was expecting, but still kinda meh.
It’s DJ Shadow’s birthday today. Happy birthday DJ! Your album a pretty cool and chill, I guess.
cool
Not much to say about this. Not my usual thing so I find it hard to judge. What I do know is I enjoyed chilling out listening to this. It's a carefully curated mix of diverse styles creating an atmospheric and moody hip hop album. So eclectic It even manages to include some metal-esque blast beats. It's one of the more original things I've heard doing this list. I'd listen again. 4/5
I love sample albums/plunderphonics. From Girl Talk, to DJ Earworm, to the Avalanches. This is by for the most sophisticated and understated album of the genre I've heard. It is excellent, eclectic and beautiful. It would have got a five if it had a little bit more humour and whimsy in there, but that would probably have changed the album.
garbage
this was very cool, probably wouldn't listen again but i did enjoy it. took a shower to it. it kinda felt like my thoughts
Album fait entièrement à partir de samples, l’album est dynamique tout le long et les drums sont innovants même si on peut y retrouver une certaine ressemblance entre certains tracks. On y retrouve un mélange d’émotions qui se ressentent pendant l’album, ce qui expliqué par l’artiste par des phases de doutes/mal être. HM : Midnight in a perfect world, Building Steam with a grain of salt
A nice chill album with enough complexity to keep me from getting sleepy.
Pretty good as ambient noise
Good! Hadn’t listened to him until now. Enjoyed the layers.
Eh im not into this Dj music mixing stuff
Found this album fascinating, never heard it before and I never would have known it was made in the way it was. Very clever, but also very listenable.
This was better than any electronic album I've gotten so far, although this isn't that. It was interesting and didn't feel boring
Lisa did not like it.
Amazing that this was done only with samples and three devices. A music geek finds a way to make it his own yet show utmost respect to what he's sampling. Like Since I Left You by the Avalanches, it sounds like it was done totally live (yet even more so). This album made such an impression on me - it's cerebral, haunting, and unlike anything that's come out since. Precludes so much in hip-hop and ambiant music. I haven't listened to this in a while and every melody has stuck with me since. A perfect album, amongst the greats.
This was great background music to my post-Socceroos wfh. Stem/Long Stem in particular reminded me of the days where I would listen to lo-fi tracks over the top of police scanner transmissions while I was studying (on reflection, a very weird thing to do)
those drums were relentless (in a great way)! I loved how this album unfolded and how all those sounds fit together, and there were moments I thought sounded so cool (the melody from Organ Donor, foreshadowed in Stem / Long Stem, Building Steam With A Grain of Salt), but as predominantly instrumentals I wanted a bit more at a few points. But still a very cool piece of work
Yeah good background stuff
Perfeksjon er å si det mildt. Integral del av å definere lyden av 90-tallet samtidig som det er helt unikt. Og rent philosophisk, et kapittel for seg selv. Hva før dette var laget så å si kun av samples transformert til noe som knapt ligner kildematerialet? Sampling og detournement var ikke nytt, men hip hop brukte som regel et par gjentagende elementer mens plunderphonics acts som The JAMs siterte wholesale og forvrengte mer enn de satt det sammen til noe nytt og særegent som kunne leve utenfor contexten av låtene de brukte som byggeklosser. Entroducing..... er så ufattelig mye mer enn bare en intellektuell øvelse: musikken kunne talt for seg selv. Ontologien og skapelsen (choppa og fremført nesten eksklusivt på en MPC60) eskalerer bare det som allerede er en artistisk bragd og opphever det til noe som må genierklæres. For mine penger, det beste albumet noensinne.
Et utrolig imponerende arbeid med samples og bare helt knall å høre på
Midnight in a perfect world indeed. Almost a perfect record. It sounds better when listened to in the middle of the night.
Just not really my vibe. Interesting, maybe at another time I could get more into it.
the worst dogshit i've ever listened. 0/10
I can see myself listening to this when I’m studying or when I need some lyric-less background noise. No song was my favorite.
So damn good. Can't imagine the work that went into finding the samples and putting it all together. Trippy at time and hip hoppy at times. Awesome sounds, super intricate.
Absolute masterpiece. Sampling is a true art form when done right.
Cool ass music. Very groovy and you can feel the influence it will have in the electronic music landscape and even rap too. Such a good album
Incredible
This was decent. Good music to listen to the in the background. Back when electronic music was analogue.
I liked this just fine. It's not "GREAT" and it's nothing I'd turn to if I found myself wanting to hear DJ mixes and hip-hop.
It is a fine electronic music album
still a classic
What could be better
seminal instrumental hip hop album
Some fun background music. I actually love albums like this, where I can’t tell where one song ends and one begins. It was fun to work out to. But at the end of the day, there weren’t any tracks to latch on to. A fun time in the headphones.
reall don't know what to make of this - Kraftwerk witk some Blackstar or spa music?
i already really liked this album before learning it appears on 1001 :3 im very tickled by the hypnotic feel of this record ^,^
Parece um monte de som aleatório. Se o artista queria passar alguma mensagem, teria que ir mais a fundo, sem tempo agora irmão. Tem que ter pelo menos algo agradável na superfície, se quiser buscar algo mais fundo.
An impressive feat of crate-digging and some awesome beats here. Creates such a cool atmosphere. Building Steam is SUCH a good song with the piano sample and just the vibe it generates. Occasionally instrumental albums can get a little repetitive for me but this is a classic.
I dont do music without lyrics, I know I know its low iq but that shit is boring fuck moozart or wtv
#009 I heard the name and that critics were very positive. But as I am totally not interested in DJ stuff I I don’t consider as music but as a cut and paste exercise which might also be considered as art but not sure if I call that real music. I could also not listen to this in one go. It bored me although sometimes some interesting musical patterns were observed, but at the same time realizing that it was not created by the artist but only found and copied and pasted onto the collage. Which might be a craft on its own but does not fit in my definition of making music. Also as there is no additional lyrics on top of it (like e.g Beastie Boys Paul’s Boutique
LOVED transmission 3 and stem / long stem medley, the rest were just alright
Prejuzgué mal, me sorprendió. El libro de citas de Walter Benjamin versión musical.
Listens: 4 Standout Tracks: Building Steam With A Grain of Salt, Stem/Long Stem (Medley), Transmission 2, Organ Donor, Midnight In A Perfect World If you like downtempo instrumental trip-hop with a dash of break-beat, some jazz and maybe a little funk, all sourced from vinyl samples, this album is FOR YOU. This album is 100% for me. It's good chill music. It's good work music. It's just Gooood.
I know some people might think this is just background music, but for me, Endtroducing is the absolute GOAT of sampling. DJ Shadow didn't just throw some loops together; he used an old Akai MPC60 to piece together tiny bits of vinyl into this moody, cinematic masterpiece. It’s got that perfect trip-hop vibe, totally nostalgic but still feels fresh every time. The level of craft here is insane, it’s basically just a bunch of borrowed sounds turned into a whole new world. Tracks like "Midnight In A Perfect World" and the drums on "Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt" make me feel like I'm wandering through some dusty, forgotten record store at 3 AM. It’s hypnotic, super chill, and honestly the gold standard for sample-based stuff. Even after all these years, it’s still the best thing to put on when I really just want to zone out and get lost in the music.
what is happening
Fine background noise, but way too long
Endtroducing is almost the definition of an album that’s worth listening to and knowing. DJ Shadow didn’t invent sampling, as it had been around for some time before this album, and was certainly crucial to the sound of hip hop among other things, but he took the technique an extreme, building an entire album from fragments of sampled records and elevating sampling to an entirely new level of art. The reference point here is hip hop, and it’s kind of that, but it’s simultaneously something so much more than that. This year is the 30th anniversary of the release of Endtroducing and DJ Shadow has been on social media posting short videos of the newly working again MPC 60 he built this album on. It’s pretty amazing to watch and listen to these small fragments of sound he pulled from a doubtlessly massive record collection being sequenced into the tracks on this album. It’s a monumental achievement.
Surprisingly enjoyable early electronic album. Pretty cutting edge
8/10 - This is a really good album. The orchestration on every song is ethereal Fav Tracks: Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt, Stem / Long Stem - Medley Heard before? ---–- ❌ Saved a Song? ----- ✅ Saved Album? --–-- ✅ Will Listen Again? -- ✅
Me gustó bastante a pesar de ser algo bastante raro para mí
Good beats but entirely too long to be interesting.
It's ok when it's doing the ambient work properly
Just makes me feel nothing and bores me
This did not appeal to my tastes, but the production was interesting.
I can imagine this is a great background record, as it all kind blends into one track. I appreciate the artistry and skill of mixing, but I did find it a bit repetitive sadly.
Really enjoyed this. I need to get into this genre more.
This is simply a big collection of nothing. 1 star or F-.
Very baller and moody and skillful yes yes yes Highlights: "Building Steam with a Grain of Salt", "Changeling", "Midnight in a Perfect World"
It made me feel like I was in an elevator.
So good. I hadn't listen to DJ shadow in St just 15 years. This was a lovely reminder of how great he is
Awesome
1st song is a 5/5 2nd song is 1/4...boring 3rd 3/5 4th 1/5 yawnsalot 5th don't care to keep listening what a bore 1/5
Pre Listen: Never heard of the guy. Based on the title, artist name, and album cover, guessing it'll be rap? No expectations, outside of that. Notable Tracks: Building Steam With a Grain of Salt - Definitely not the genre I was expecting, but I'm ok with that! I hope it stays like this. Number Song - Recognized the "Louder, Louder!" sample used, that was also used in a previous album I enjoyed, by Public Enemy. Nice. Stem/Long Stem - My favorite track on the album. It's just sort of a nice sampler from everything else here. Midnight In A Perfect World - I didn't hate this song by any means, but it was my least favorite on the album. The vocal samples just weren't it for me. Transmission 1, 2, 3 - I liked these little segments. I've heard similar things to this in more modern albums I enjoy, so it was surprising to hear stuff like this here. Post Listen: I had to listen to this album front-to-back like 3 times to really solidify my opinion on it. I kept bouncing between a 3, 4, 5, it was all so different and unexpected. This album had some of the smoothest, cleanest, thumping rhythms and beats I've heard on here yet. The sample work was overall pretty damn good, it did have some goofy shit here and there, akin to something you might find in a YouTube Poop. I really enjoyed all the songs for the most part, though they did start to blend together. I had to keep going back to find the titles of the songs I liked most, it was hard to tell them apart. The album goes on for longer than I'd like, but each track individually feels right, generally. Really I just couldn't believe this album came out in 1996. The style of the sound feels so much more modern, I swear I've heard some of the songs here have influence in tons of modern tracks I adore. After much deliberation, 4/5.
Interesting!
When the Solesides/Quannum crew were doing their thing I was good friends with a massive hip hip head, and he was obsessed with all the Quannum artists. It was an infectious passion, given the quality of the music. DJ Shadow being foundational makes Endtroducing.... one of of the very very few DJ album I ever picked up on wax. Now, how does it hold up? The style is so tied to that time and place for me. I would say still good. But I kept wanting Gift of Gab or Latyrx to start spitting some smooth bars. A bit of a long hour of music.
A long time ago, we had a ‘Band of the Month’ in the flat. The concept was pretty self-explanatory: you could only listen to one artist for an entire month. We had a tracking spreadsheet and everything. The honourees were Springsteen, Sigur Rós, DJ Shadow, and then we decided it was a terrible idea and abandoned the project entirely. Anyway, my month of non-stop exposure to DJ Shadow brings back more painful memories than joy. To be fair to Mr Shadow, this is a ridiculous way to listen to music, and I only have myself to blame for the bad times. We must accept the consequences of the choices we make in life.
Organ donor is amazing the rest hurt my ears
finally listened to this one... it really is good!!!
I've completely forgotten this after listening. I mean if u are a big fan of expert sampling and mash-ups this will work for you. But this was very forgettable to me, not much here that I would actively put on other than for background noise tbh. Fav Track: Changeling
One of the greatest achievements of (post-)modern music. Brings pre-Turtles hip-hop sampling culture (3 Feet High and Rising, Paul’s Boutique, etc.) to its logical conclusion - *every* sound is a sample. Is it trip hop? Is it a beat tape? Is it ambient music? Truthfully, it doesn’t matter. It’s the sound of midnight in a perfect world.
There's a lot of love for this, and I get it, but not troubling my shelves. Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ❌️ ★★★☆☆ (6/10) Total reviewed : 348 Already owned : 77 Purchased : 16 To buy : 3 Nope : 252
okej w tle
this music is really, really repetitive.
Seeing the other reviews on this one, I expected to be disappointed. Was pleasantly surprised, especially knowing what went into making this album happen. Having an ear for what sounds good, picking through all the samples, knowing which beats work in tandem with each other, and combining all that to transform these records into something entirely unique is an art form in itself that deserves appreciation. This album is an atmospheric and melancholic collage of sound that left me wanting more. Would definitely revisit this one!
Different.
The album that showed us all that one can make true art with an Akai MPC sampler. Obviously five stars.
507/1089 - Great variety of tracks but not enough variation inside the tracks for my taste.
It's alright, best part is the drum samples- lyrics are okay.
Pretty sure I've listened to this before but very solid plunderphonics, great to study/work to
3/10 - Definitely some personal preference in here but not striking whatsoever. Not offensive by any means, just lacking substance to make the album worth listening to.
Legend has it that he still hasn’t sorted out his parking tickets
It's interesting. The thing I liked the most is the Orion sample (in, "The Number Song"). The track "Stem/Long Stem - Medley" is probably my favourite track (very good). I also enjoyed "What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt. 4", "Midnight in a Perfect World" or "What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt. 1 - Blue Sky Revisit). It's a solid 3 stars for me.
Is it electronica-inflected hip-hop or hip-hop-inflected electronica? I’d probably say the latter. But it’s smart and interesting. Even jazzy.
oof. Critical darling that is some interesting musical feat but does not feel like listening to music to me.
Got into it more the longer I listened
For some reason I haven’t properly listened to this, despite having friends at university who were into it, and I’m almost certain I’ve listened to it in their company but it’s a long time ago. It’s incredibly well crafted and right up my street, although my prevailing thought while listening was that I could expect a 5 star album but it falls slightly short of that sky high expectation. It’s very long and my schedule meant I ended up listening in 2 sittings, however, conversely, the longer it went on, the more I enjoyed it (or perhaps I was in a better mood for it in the 2nd sitting). In any case, I’ll give it the time it deserves in future.
It's an interesting approach to experimental music. It's like Hip-hop, Experimental music, and Electronic music all in one. It's Hip-hop but without rapping almost. An interesting album that's also really good!
Beats were fire but that’s all it was …
An album you feel. Some really cool use of so so many samples, cool shit
This is hard to judge. It was immensely popular among my friends back in the day, and I can kind of see why. In its good moments, it has a lot of groove and vibe ... ultimately though, it sounds very 90s and outdated.
Rap is not my favorite genre, but this is a pretty good album overall
Vibes. The beats pleasing and foggy. One time is enough
+4
I can understand the geniosity of DJ Shadow and his complex sound and drum patterns, but I found out to challenging to endure listening to more than just a song.
4.2/5
het is echt leukkk???/ meer van dit plz
ik hou echt van samples na samples na samples DIT is een goede dj. dit was echt een mix van triphop/boardsofcanada/hiphop
Shite
chuj nie zapisalo sie a n pamietam co naposalam chyba ze fajne ale te pisenki brzmia tak samo
samplers samplers samplers samplers samplers y más samplers. hoy no conectó
Es muy raro el concepto del álbum, quiero entender para dónde van estos tracks. Las voces con eco o de fondo son basura, algunos tracks tienen bases buenas de hip hop, de todas formas no consumo esta mezcla. Me gustó más la tapa que los tracks. Napalm Brain safa porque se escucha una batería al menos, el sample al final es bueno, es más fuerte y llamativo. Pero la caga que al final el único buen tema se transforme en una canción con 3-4 ritmos distintos. Top Pick: Midnight in a perfect world (es buena) Me gusta el disclaimer de Twin Peaks the Transmission 3, me da curiosidad saber la conexión entre esto y la serie de Lynch. Esto encontré: The culmination of these audio clips gives the album an unsettling, dream-like finish that perfectly encapsulates the mood of Lynch's universe. Nada más para agregar una reseña media falopa como este álbum. Seguro entra en los 100-150 peorcitos álbumes.
i enjoyed this. very cool
Eh? Didn't care for that one.
It was okay.
prvi album s ovog kaj sam zapp cuo prije. najbolji drum work ikada 10/10
não era o que eu esperava, mas é mto melhor do que eu esperava
Al principio bueno, como para ir caminando a buen ritmo. La 2da mitad es más de lo mismo
It's been years since I've listened to this stone cold classic. Sounds even better now (and it always sounded amazing). As I'm listening to it now, I'm taken by how dreamy it is. The whole thing moves from idea to idea in a very floaty kind of way, like so many samples that are random yet weave together as though it all makes dream-like sense. Also gives me a coastal haziness feel (perhaps the Bay area vibes seeping through the production). Blew me and everyone else away when this came out. Was like nothing else and set an impossibly-high new standard. The ingenuity of creating this sample-laden masterpiece with the technological limitations of the time surpassed everything else up to that point. I admittedly listened to it sooo much that I had to put it down for a long time, really until now. Glad I reopened it 'cause it's like hearing it with different ears/brain (was 17 when this came out). Even so, it carries deep sentiment and takes me back. It's like past, present, future, timeless really. So much good shit to note, but can we take a second to highlight the sampling of the melody from Bjork's Possibly Maybe on the track Mutual Slump??? Like holy fuckin' goosebumps, I'm literally crying. Genius album. Absolutely gem of the 90s. Often lauded and deservedly so. Masterpiece.
8/10
Sometimes an album has the perfect artwork. The cover of “Endtroducing” visually represents what you're about to experience so absolutely perfectly, it's no wonder it's become so iconic. We went to a talk in my hometown a few years ago with Brian Cross, or B+ as he's known professionally, the Irish photographer responsible for this brilliant cover image. It was shot in Rare Records in California, but we’ve all been in a record shop just like it. A place where hip hop kids, club DJs, rock and indie guitar dudes all knock elbows with each other sifting through rows of dusty vinyl as the owner’s disgruntled cat looks on. This was where DJ Shadow spent so much of his time crate-digging to find interesting material that he could sample. This is apparently the first album that was built entirely from samples. Old forgotten records are given a second life, mined for moments of obscure funk, jazz, soul, rock, spoken word, and drum breaks. “Endtroducing” shares its DNA with hip-hop: breaks, turntables, dusty drums, looping, sampling. But the mood is more cinematic, melancholic, and abstract. Shadow turns crate-digging into composition. “The Number Song” is a track that stands out to me. Those huge beats get my attention, but as with everything else on this album, the samples are so unexpected. Like, it shouldn't work so well, but it does. “Midnight in a Perfect World” is another track that I keep coming back to. It sounds like it exists in a space somewhere between Portishead and Massive Attack. And, of course, there's the absolute mind-blowing vision to set the organ of Giorgio Moroder’s “Tears” to big beats in the song “Organ Donor”. It's not just a cut-and-paste collection of samples and loops. “Endtroducing” is record shop crate-digging turned into fully formed songs that feel atmospheric and emotionally rich.
revolutionized sample-based music
4.5/5. This is one of those albums that makes me really appreciate sampling as an art form. DJ Shadow flips so many bits and pieces from songs and movies and other things to create an hour of fantastic, dense and atmospheric instrumental hip-hop. And despite all of the sources being pulled from it’s still extremely cohesive. Great album overall that’s brimming with creativity.
Still not my genre.
Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt -- this mix is fucking fye There are a few good songs here, but nothing special.
Great 90s hip hop instrumentals. It’s jazzy, chill, juxtaposed with modern samples.
Beats…
No one would question whether this was executed supremely well, just not the type of album I would seek out to put on.
Smooth. Love the artistry is takes to mix beats like this. Soothing enough accompany paperwork.
Uh, fine. I guess: some beats, some samples
A freaking 1 hr+ of a freaking mediocre nonsense.
Album 206. Endtroducing..... (https://open.spotify.com/album/7N0W5QxnRMP3s1mMxfQo1p?si=fX00Am1_QrCBsRoQnYbiYQ) — DJ Shadow (1996) Well, it's cool. It's an instrumental hip hop album built entirely from samples. 3/5 Liked: — Napalm Brain / Scatter Brain
Wow, what a terrible album! According to Wikipedia, DJ Shadow’s debut album *Endtroducing...* is “composed” of vinyl samples, which in itself is enough to warrant the worst possible rating. But DJ Shadow takes it even further, randomly splicing together random snippets and, despite the electronic beats, failing to maintain even a basic sense of rhythmic consistency. Nevertheless, the production doesn’t give the impression that any of this is accidental—so he clearly intended this result. I’m at a loss for words to write anything meaningful here—this is by far the worst of the 300 albums so far. OMG, so bad...
Nah, I'm sorry, but this really sucks. It just does.
I dabble in trip hop sometimes, so knew "Building Steam With a Grain of Salt" and "Midnight In A Perfect World" going in, but also enjoyed "Number Song" and "Organ Donor"
One of my favourites of all time. Despite being over an hour long and being (mostly) instrumental, it doesn’t feel long or boring at all, something that rarely happens to me (but maybe it’s also because I have a weak spot for sample-based music). The songs have the same dark and cold vibe, but are distinct enough to keep it interesting. Many samples come and go throughout the tracks, but they stick to a certain theme. I love the big drums on here. Favourites: Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt, Changeling, Midnight In A Perfect World
I saw this was hip hop/sampling and after Avalanches, thought I was in for a big disappointment. After 30 seconds, I realized this is what sampling is SUPPOSED to sound like. Never heard DJ Shadow before and did not even realize instrumental hip-hop was a thing. Artistry here is great and the first song (Building Steam...) was a treat.
Really solid from start to finish. I loved it.
probably the best instrumental hip hop album ever. crazy sampling and bangers. 9/10. first listen tracklist ranking: 1. What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt. 1/Transmission 3 2. Stem/Long Stem/Transmission 2 3. What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt. 4 4. Changeling/Transmission 1 5. Napalm Brain/Scatter Brain 6. Organ Donor 7. Midnight In A Perfect World 8. Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt 9. Mutual Slump 10. The Number Song 11. Untitled 12. Best Foot Forward 13. Why Hip-Hop Sucks In '96
Important≠Good
Definitely up my alley. I love instrumental drum/bass/piano & sampled music. Songs are a bit longer than they need to be. I was thinking they would develop more than they did. Mutual Slump is my favorite track.
Unbearable this album is FUCKING NOISE POLLUTION FOR THIS TO BE IN THE “1001 albums you must hear before you die” this album is the album that is gonna kill you with how bad it is and no offense to anyone who likes it though.
Didnt know beats could be corny
One of the more interesting electronic albums I’ve heard from the 90s. 𝘌𝘯𝘥𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨….. builds a really distinctive atmosphere entirely out of samples, loops, and beats, but it never feels cold or purely technical. A lot of it has this strange, late-night, almost cinematic mood that makes the album stand out from a lot of other instrumental electronic music from that era. What impressed me most is how cohesive it feels despite being built from so many fragments. You can hear the hip-hop foundation underneath it all, even though the album works more through mood and texture than through traditional songs. At the same time, it doesn’t completely hold my attention all the way through, and some sections start blending together after a while. Still, compared to a lot of 90s electronic music, this feels much more creative and memorable than most.
legal
Not too shabby. Chill electronica - pleasant listen
Boring
some nice sounds but not my thing to be honest wouldn't listen to it again
Not my Vibe
Cool beats that get old.
This was alright. I was grooving and humming along the whole time, but by the end I was kinda done with it. Three stars.
Banger album. So many action sports videos have used tracks for parts
Some of the best beats I’ve ever heard, crazy that it’s all sampling
techy
Cool but also tiring.
Why? This album just confused me on why it's a part of this list. Interesting and not un-enjoyable but no clear point to the music. Lots of cool sample, but just appear randomly in the songs. Fave Songs: What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt 4 and Pt 1 (Pt 1 is the best song of the album by far)
Palju lahedaid mõtteid ja juhuslikke harmooniaid. Aga see DJ on vahepeal ikka kohutavalt tüütu. Rikub hea loo ära mingi suvalise jutusample'iga. Siin plaadil olevast materjalist saaks väga palju head ambient muusikat välja võluda, aga Shadow ise pole seda teinud. 3.1/5
Loved this album so much. Felt very SH2/SH3, and made me think a lot about Akira Yamaoka. Good stuff.
Great! Didn’t know what to expect, but eclectic
Bezveze album, bilo mi je zanimljivo u par trenutaka, ali stvarno ništa posebno. 2/5, 3/10
I don't mind this.
Well this album was definitely a journey. A lot of the time I felt like I was listening to 'Local on the 8s' on the Weather Channel lol. There was another song that sounded liked I was watching some 90s crime drama and another that sounded like a Bach organ piece. Will I listen to it again? Probably not.
Not for me
I don't hate it. You might be surprised to hear that, given the abysmal rating I'm giving the album. Admittedly, I'm a little proud of the rating. This is the first album I've come across in this project that 1) I was very familiar with before starting, and 2) I really don't like. My first one-star to a classic, highly--regarded album? Maybe it's a badge of honor. I respect it more than anything. I know it's a big deal to a lot of people, including other musicians. And that's fine. But I still find it monumentally boring. From the intro track, I always get tricked into thinking that the album will be full of exciting cuts and scratches, chopped-up sentences and the like. It isn't. Well, not entirely. That's about 10% of it. The other 90% is droning beats that go on far too long. Every time a new song starts, I hear the first beat loop, and I realize that this is the beat I am going to get tired of very quickly. I still like the vitality of The Number Song, and the kickass intro to Mutual Slump. That's about it. I cannot, for the life of me, get into the rest of the album. Everything about Endtroducing makes me want to listen to something else of which it reminds me. The mountain jazz of Eivind Aarset and Nils Petter Molvaer. The SimCity 4 soundtrack. Anything but this.
Couldn't wait for it to be over
Such a sick album. I am a sucker for 90's samples drum. This is just an all around great album, I don't really know what else to say about it. High 5!!!
Sound-y. Right away you feel like this is the medium of a man who can't express himself otherwise. Into it.
I listened to this album awhile back, it was suggested as the DJ's album of albums and the trendsetter that all DJ albums have to answer to. I rember not being all that impressed. I do like a handful of his later songs but I remember thinking this is more like a sketchbook of unfinished ideas and beats, exactly what you'd expect in the mid-90's. Overall it was better than the first time I heard it and it felt more complete. I could hear samples from other artists and stuff that may have been stolen from this album (start of "Long Stem" and again at the start of "Organ Donor" - that's the melody which Swollen Members commandeered for their hit, "Fuel Injected"). I can hear influence on the Beastie Boys and some of their work that followed as well. I liked "Building Steam With a Grain of Salt", which is one of the two big tracks (36M listens) on this album. Overall it was better than the first time I heard it and it felt more complete. It's a little bit too much of the same thing to be an album I'd listen to over and over. The most popular track, "Midnight In a Perfect World" was good, a bit redundant and it sounds dated. All in all, 3 out of 5. I can feel the influence and the fact this was a bit revolutionary at the time.
Yesterday's album was a Cocteau Twins work where it seemed like the treble was turned all the way up. This record feels like the bass got pushed up, instead. More electronic music (seriously, how much *IS* there on this list??), but this one was more to my tastes. Heavy sampling and a palatable, dreamy quality, this one hits better than some of the other electronic music we've had (it feels like LOTS of others). (3/5) Middle of the road stuff that's appropriate for a long drive.. not sure I'll be back but I appreciate the mixing artistry.
I think I just have a hard time respecting this stuff. Some of the instrumentation here is incredibly solid (drums, piano, electric guitar, horns), and it's laid together in interesting and provocative ways. But who's playing them, and how much does that matter? Sampling of this magnitude feels equivalent to chopping pictures out of a few dozen magazines and creating a collage that the becomes an entirely new piece of art, but in 2026, isn't that the equivalent of AI slop? No doubt I'm overthinking it and should just dig the parts I dig, but the judgmental asshole in me needs answers... As a composition, this is pretty good in places (Napalm Brain/Scatter Brain might have been my favorite track), a little boring and repetitive in others. Not sure that I'll ever feel called back to it, though, so it's another ceiling of 3/5 from me.
Variety: 3 Adequacy: 5 Listenability: 5 Uniqueness: 3 ( yes it's almost all samples, but it's an original concept so let's split the difference between a 1 and a 5.) Emotionality: 1 = 3.4 rounded down to a 3 "I enjoy stealin', it's just as simple as that/ Oh well, it's just a simple fact/ When I want something, man, I don't wanna pay for it" This is an album I missed completely when it was released, but found later in the early 2000s after it had been hyped up as worthy and important. And it was very easy to see why. It never became a staple for me, but got plenty of play, and there are several elements memorable enough that I can recall them very well. I expect this to maybe not hold up as well as other similar stuff that came after. THE TRACKS "Building Steam with a Grain of Salt" - The template to all the "chill beats to study by" playlists starts here I think. We begin on a very self serious sounding note, and while this is damn solid stuff, I immediately start to notice the cracks and wrinkles I never did before ( it has been a LONG time) as this is at 30 years old. "The Number Song" - This one is putting me in mind of The Chemical Brothers, and that is not a good thing. Though this is much easier on the ears than their last one. I can appreciate this one, but it's not one I would put on for pleasure. I'd much rather listen to the sample of that beat the song is built around - "Baby Don't Cry" by The Third Guitar. "Changeling" / "Transmission 1" - This one is a bit more interesting and despite also relying most heavily on the drums from another great song, this one adds a lot of textures and accents to make the trip worth it. Checkout "Soft Shell" by Motherlode though when you get the chance. "What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 4)" - I wonder if any indie video game designers cite this album as an influence. This very much feels like it could be the open-source soundtrack to some lo-fi indie darling puzzle game from the 2010s. "Stem/Long Stem" / "Transmission 2" - If the last one was a puzzle game soundtrack, this one's the score for a dungeon explorer. Dialogue samples easily the worst part of this, but there's too much else to like. "Mutual Slump" - My favorite track on the album up to this point. Bonus points for pulling that great little synth riff from Bjork's "Possibly Maybe." "Organ Donor" - built around a god-tier organ riff from Georgio Moroder's "Tears", this one hits just as well as the previous one. Ok, I change my mind - this one is my favorite track. It's also the one that first enters my mind when I think of this album. "Midnight in a Perfect World" - One of the ones I remember getting a music video, so much have been pushed pretty hard. I can see that. Trip Hop would have been having a moment I think and this slots in very well there. "Napalm Brain/Scatter Brain" - When your whole album is already one giant medley, what exactly is the point? As often occurs with these end of record medleys, this one has the stink of leftovers about it. More boring than bad though. The one black mark on an otherwise solid album. "What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 1 – Blue Sky Revisit)" / "Transmission 3" - A fine closer with some lazy, but not leaden saxophone which opens up into a jazzy trip hop number. And we get samples from both Twin Peaks and Prince of Darkness! HIGHLIGHTS - "Building Steam with a Grain of Salt" - "Changeling" / "Transmission 1" - "Stem/Long Stem" / "Transmission 2" - "Mutual Slump" - "Organ Donor" - "Midnight in a Perfect World" - "What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 1 – Blue Sky Revisit)" / "Transmission 3" MIDLIGHTS - "The Number Song" - "What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 4)" LOWLIGHTS - "Napalm Brain/Scatter Brain" FINAL THOUGHTS I don't think I've reached anywhere close to a burning out point after 80 albums, but I was really tempted to just write "Why DJ Shadow Sucks in '26" as the entirety of my review. But I knew ahead of time That wouldn't gel with whatever rating I was gonna give it, and besides I'm sure someone already thought of that. Right? Having just recently listened to The Avalanches Since I Left You puts this one in perspective. Recording sessions for this apparently started in '94 ( and I imagine conceptually had to have been felt out maybe even a few years earlier) so it definitely casts a long shadow. I appreciate the ideas and execution, but I think I almost always prefer the followers who build and expand upon the original ideas rather than the pioneer who paved the way. Avalanches right away felt more fun. Important to be sure, but it's on the edge of becoming a historical curiosity at this point. The Homo Erectus of turntablism. It didn't leave me cold by any means, and I still enjoyed it enough. But mainly as background music I didn't feel liek I had to engage with much. Active listening on this was ... difficult. My favorite part of this is that decades now ( jesus...) I'm able to easily find all the sample sources. And holy cow, they are DEFINITELY worth checking out. Sampled: - I gave up listing stuff two songs in. Worth investigating yourself though: https://www.whosampled.com/album/DJ-Shadow/Endtroducing...../ More than a couple of people are out there doing the lort's work and have made some curated playlists of the sample sources. Here's a solid one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EGiMLnJdnA&list=PLUFuQ4VtRkEDKh_F7tvlGEeDB8aIYjhTC&pp=0gcJCcsEOCosWNin PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS FURTHER LISTENING - Since I left You by The Avalanches - You've Come a Long Way, Baby by Fatboy Slim - Music Has the Right to Children by Boards of Canada - Donuts by J Dilla - Deltron 3030 by Deltron 3030
In listening to this I heard a decades early precursor to those "chill beats to study by" trend, as one friend in my group put it. I certainly use music like that when necessary but it is background noise. This is brain scrubbing music. It’s a cipher of sound that lets the listener bring whatever thoughts they want to bring to the experience. My personal speculation is that is its appeal and why a great many people enjoy it. Myself, I could only muster indifference. I don't hate it, but neither does it excite me even to contemplation. Or did it? It certainly prompted a bit more thought than I expected this morning, I guess.
first listen sick prod
Ich liebe es!
Vinyyli sampleista luotua musiikkia. Tosi siisti ajatuksena, mutta instrumentaali kappaleet jää hiukan puuttumaan jotain. Levyllä on toki hyviäkin kappaleita ja hyvä fiilis. Mukama myös suomalais samplee. Parhaat: Midnight In A Perfect World, Mutual Slump, Changeling
midnight in a perfect world is so dreammyyyyy .... ! mutual slump (without overdubs) is also so peaceful ... it is reminding me a bit of what i recognise in OLI XL's music? there is also this 'pling' in the background that triggers me because it is similar to the sound of receiving an email on outlook lol
Honestly at first this sounded like pretty standard 90s rap/r&b but actually it's quite ahead of its time. A lot of cool and interesting sounds. Good album.
Nice palate cleanser for the albums lately. Sometimes a long dj hype session is just what the Dr ordered
Interesting album made even more interesting when you learn it won a Guinness world record for first album completely made of samples
Das ALbum verstehe ich nicht, Organisierter Krach
An album I know very well, although it makes me feel old knowing i was listening to this 30 years ago
Some fun pieces of electronica here. It holds up surprisingly well after thirty years.
Endtroducing..... announced DJ Shadow as a turntable auteur, stitching together dusty samples, murky grooves, and fractured breakbeats into something moodier and more atmospheric than most electronica of its era. “Building Steam with a Grain of Salt” opens with haunting piano loops and trip-hop cool before the drums veer off into stranger territory, while “Changeling” locks into a hypnotic groove that’s indulgent but effective. Shadow’s greatest strength is his ability to create atmosphere — the record often feels like a late-night radio transmission drifting through static. The problem is that Endtroducing..... can also feel self-consciously weird for the sake of it. “Stem/Long Stem – Medley” builds genuine cinematic tension before random vocal snippets and drum breaks clutter the track, and “What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt. 4” ruins its mellow groove with an obnoxious processed vocal effect. Even “Organ Donor,” with its muscular riff and pounding drums, sounds like it’s waiting for a rapper who never arrives. There’s enough invention here to understand the album’s cult reputation, but despite its groundbreaking status, it never quite feels essential.
Nice background music, but didn't really care for it
Anything DJ normally gives me the fear but this was actually pretty enjoyable. Nice mellow tunes
I enjoyed it
Incredible sampling, can see why UK hip-hop scene has exemplary taste of samples and mixing-all done on one device Almost a triple album with the kind of layers he has brought in
Comfortable classic, comfortable 5. RYM: Y (#67) Saved a song: Y
I don't know what to think of what I listened to, other than I definitely will need to revisit it many times. I liked a lot of the beats and sampling choices, the thing that stood out the most was the repeated motifs throughout, and the sampling of Twin Peaks in the final song. I liked this. I want to listen to it more. Edit: I changed the rating. Upon many relistens, this album is near perfect. Each song could be singled out as a masterclass in sampling and instrumental hip-hop.
why are there barely any words.
Not sure how I haven't heard this album before. This isn't RAP but a journey through some moody music through the mind of an artistic genius.
I liked this album as a whole; an hour of 90's hip hop beats you can get lost in.
Hard to complain with this one. Insane sampling
dj shadow going beast mode with the samples tbqh
Great record. Each track is unique in its own way, with each also being quite an interesting listen Favourite Track(s): Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt, Midnight In A Perfect World Least Favourite Track(s): Stem/Long Stem, Mutual Slump
Álbum que solo da gusto escuchar de fondo. La música varía y intenta experimentar pero al final del día solo lo volvería a escuchar si tuviese que abrir un café y poner música de fondo. O capaz ni eso.
Me gustó, dentro de los de música más de fondo fue el mejor por ahora, pero sigue siendo un tipo de música que no me interesa mucho. Me gusta concentrarme en lo que escucho y en este no había nada muy wow.
Maybe if I were stoned.
2.75. I had a buddy in college who got me into DJ Shadow. This was kinda nostalgic. Definitely something I could put on in the background to do chores/house work.
In the 90s, my brother was an amateur DJ (graduation parties not turntables) and car stereo guy and would listen to a lot of this type of stuff all the time to “test his system”. There would be a cool beat or something interesting and then the song would continue for 6 more minutes of that. This reminded me of being trapped in the car with him on the way to school.
I guess this is good background music. It didn't annoy me but it didn't really inspire me either.
2 - Mostly listenable, occasionally not.
Why is this even on the list?
Definitely better than study music. I'm adding this t my regular rotation. 4/5
Heard Before? Many times. Notes: - i can live without interludes on any album, although these aren't particularly egregious, and "Why Hiphop Sucks in 96" gets a giggle from me every time. - extremely bass-heavy mix is great for cars or huge stereos, but sounds a bit odd in headphones. - drums drums drums. my favorite part of the album is the frequent and unpredictable beat slicing. "Organ Donor" forever. - the platonic ideal of sample selection and arrangement. - this album put me on to David Axelrod, which dimmed the magic a bit (Shadow took more than a little inspiration), but my goodness, those are wonderful records. if you have yet to hear "Song of Innocence", drop everything and spin it right now. Verdict: The archetypal cratedigging album, and still exciting. Listen Again: A good one to revisit every few years.
great music for when I want to get a lot of work done and I'm also maybe thinking about the backrooms
snoozefest
Something I can get down with having in the background, but it’s not what I would choose to listen to
Meh. I can get the foundational nees this has
Took this thing on a walk and I was pleasantly surprized. Pretty amazing what you can do with just a sampler and little else.
Maybe lacks a bit of texture that I like from the best trip-hop actions, and suffers a little from being the first out the gate, and the sounds become more normal place, but still an incredibly engrossing and atmospheric album
This is one of those albums where if anyone saying it's their favorite, they're lying in hopes you won't give it a listen. It's background music. It works for what it is, and I would listen if nothing else was sounding right, but it's just boring. The thing is: it has so much potential. The beats are good, the tone is there, it's just missing an element (that would make it interesting).
This is a very typical 1990s album to me putting the producer-genius at the forefront with soundscapes out of beats and sample with some keyboards and scratching. It sounds great if you love the music and the scene and I would've liked it when I was younger. Nowadays I'm not so impressend and wouldn't have this album on a list like this.
I just have zero interest in sample-only music, especially when there's a lot of talking and it goes on for an hour. 1.5/5.0: Bad
not bad considering its made up entirely of samples but not super interesting either
Hip-Hop ist nicht meins
It has a handmade, ramshackle quality that sets it apart from other tapes of lo-fi beats to study/relax to
I like a lot of moments here but find my attention drifting a lot while listening. Songs are long and a little self indulgent. It's definitely something I appreciate more than I enjoy but respect the craft.
Been a long time since I listened to this album all the way through. It really is worth doing and focusing on. Takes me back to my time in the US which is when I first heard this I think.
Not a genre I even knew existed, yet several of the tracks were hauntingly familiar. Very good, but felt more like background music or maybe a soundtrack than something I want to listen to actively.
Not my kind of music. Anything with repetitive electronic beats needs to have some decent hip hop over the tip or I'm out, it seems
Nothing wrong with this one. Some cool beats and one song that I really loved a lot ("Changeling") But one of the 1001 greatest albums of all time? Let's not get crazy
A classic!
It was pretty good, the beats were very good, but I'm not the biggest fan, still it was impressive beats, just a bit too repetitive
i am inside the computer
Plunderphonics. Veldig kreativt, lekent og tidløst. Jeg syns likevel det blir for kjedelig, altså. Top 3: Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt, Midnight In a Perfect World, What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt. 1 - Blue Sky Revisit
Ich hab ja erst spät zum Hip Hop gefunden und dieses Album anfangs überhaupt nicht beachtet. Für mich gehörte der Rap immer dazu. Gut, dass ich das heute anders sehe. Sehr entspanntes Ding.
Unfassbar abwechslungsreicher Klassiker
Meh.
Today’s album is primarily going to be enjoyed on flight AA1929. The intro caught my attention right away. Second track already sounds dope. It sounds familiar but I can’t say for sure that I’ve ever heard it … so we have another artist who has a big influence …? I thought I had varied music tastes but two days in I’m realizing I could’ve been doing better. This percussion fucking slaps. MEMORY UNLOCKED - my good childhood friend used bits and pieces of some of these songs on remixes he would make in high school. Oh my god, the nostalgia this just brought me. This is peak ADHD brain juice. It’s both chill and relaxing, but interesting. It scratches that racing thoughts itch. This is 100% going into my regular music rotation. Organ Donor’s into is totally sick!!
I usually do not listen to albums without some sort of consistent vocal part, whether that be singing or rapping, etc. I've been trying to expand my horizons when it comes to this, and Endtroducing helped me appreciate music like this even more. Endtroducing is not just an album, it is an experience, and one I quite enjoyec
Kind of like Revolution 9 if it sounded good and lasted an entire album. Pretty nice sounds here and there but feels like background music a lot of the time. Making deliverately abrasive sounds in the middle of an otherwise good song continues to be a dogshit decision though.
It's a good album, just doesn't resonate with me as a full album for whatever reason
2.5 Cancion 3, 6
sampling made individual. that's what's enjoyable.
Más o menos
Never heard of this album, but I'm always down for a good hiphop album. I'm wondering because it's just DJ Shadow if it'll be mostly instrumental. Nowadays, you'll see a DJ put out a single, but has several major rappers on the track doing a verse. Real drums?? If only I could rap, this is a great album to do so on. Definitely feels like something a "snob" would listen to. Don't get me wrong, it's great so far. I love an instrumental, especially hiphop fusion. It does give off "white, NPR listener". I've had NPR on my radio plenty, so that can be self inflicted. So far "Organ Donor" is the coolest track. Really stands out. Speaks to my inner goth.
I can appreciate this, but maybe one time of listening is enough for me. Don't think I will have the urge to play his again, although I can understand the value. I respect the strove to create this kinda album with very minimalistic gear. I read from the Wikipedia article, that Q reviewer described this as "a cinematically broad spectrum so deftly layered that the sampling-is-stealing argument falls flat" and I tend to agree.
No notes. Quite simply one of the best and most important albums of all time.
In my top 10 albums of all time...magnificent stuff 5/5
n é muito meu estilo mas achei interessante ele ser composto apenas por samples de outras músicas
tenho uma certa inveja dos anos 90
1. Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt 2. Midnight In A Perfect World 3. Stem/Long Stem hm: Napalm Brain / Scatter Brain, Organ Donor
no me gusto muchito
Fucking the best
O SHADOW O SHADOW MEO O SHADOW FAVS (top 3): changing, mutual slump, midnight in a perfect world mençoes honrosas: building stream with a grain of salt, stem/ long steam esse album é MUITO RUIM, eu ouvi ele quando eu tava morrendo de sono e odiei mas as vezes era pq eu tava com sono n achei justo dar nota baixa mas gente... PESSIMO mesmo sem sono, é 1 hora de album de musicas extremamente sem graças, as q eu curti mencionadas a cima sao consideravelmente ouviveis mais de 1 vez com muita força de vontade. tem interludes fraquessimos que nao trazem nenhum toque pro album, é um album sem graça e sem nada. hypei pq o nome dele é SHADOW mas deveria trocar pra nao ofender meu mano shadow desse jeito. nota final: 1/5
Really not my thing.
Definitely not what I was listening to in 1996 (more jangly pop and grungy rock), but I like the groove of the album. “Building Steam With a Grain of Salt” is a great jam.
This is the best reason to do this 1,001 albums project. I'd never heard any of this before, and spent the entire hour's run-time asking myself: Do I like this? The answer is...not yes. It's not an album, a style, for me. But the answer isn't 'no' either. I think there's just a little too much random-ness in the samples for me to really get into it, specifically the 'soundbites' (as opposed to the music). But damn, do I appreciate the dedication, focus, talent it took to blend all of this together and create something entirely new. So it's a 3...but one I smile on, not one I set aside.
Un estilo instrumental tranquilo que a veces se pone algo energético con la batería de fondo. Batería 10 de 10.
90’s Electronica
A great collection of samples but not something I would listen to again. It was kind of boring to be honest.
Super influential album, especially back in the day. I remember listening to DJ Shadow on my Dell DJ (digital jukebox, lol). I think the Beastie Boys heavily influenced DJ Shadow and he was a major influence on today's high-sample mixers like Girl Talk.
I wanted to like this album so bad, but it's just ... boring.
Czasem interesujące atmosfery i beaty, czasem zanudzające na śmierć. Doceniam to, że cała płyta została zrobiona z sampli. 7/10 Ulubiona piosenka: Mutual Slump
Like it's not good but I didn't get it
I liked this album much more than I thought I would after hearing that it was the first completely sampled record. If true, the album gets additional cred for its innovation and influence. Considering that this was really a bunch of bits strung together, the resulting tunes are much more cohesive than I was expecting. I found myself really enjoying the trippy vibe. When reading up on the album after my first listen, I learned that DJ Shadow felt like vocals would clash with the mood he was trying to evoke on the album. I agree. I especially think that forcing rap over these beats would not have worked. As someone who hoped this project would help me gain a greater appreciation of hip hop, I think I’m going to explore more instrumental work. I will be listening to this album again in the future. Both of sources of personal inspiration for new musical journeys factored into my rating.
Wasn’t looking forward to this to be honest, but I found it a surprisingly food listen.
Tried to appreciate this more and just couldn’t. Kept forgetting to pay attention. A couple decent tracks, otherwise just background music for me.
This was really cool, especially knowing that it's all made from vinyl samples. I do prefer hip-hop with rapping I think and something like techno if it's just sounds, but this was still good. Funny how some albums are great for studying and others are distracting. Jimi Hendrix yesterday was good. So is Lou Reed. This wasn't but I got used to it because it makes the work so much more enjoyable. Contrary to expectations, I preferred it through even a small bluetooth speaker to headphones. Maybe that was just the times of day or maybe it's a music for chilling out to, for having on while you lounge about the living room or sit in the sun with friends. Top track: Mutual Slump, I really liked the little voice clips in that one
There's subversive, there's immersive, & there's inventive: Entroducing..... is all three. The best trip-hop album out there, mainly b/c it's more hip-hop than it is trip-whatever, DJ Shadow's masterful debut simultaneously gives you an entrance & an exit point for the hip-hop universe. In other words, it is an elevated project that we're somehow still catching up w/, but it never asks too much of the listener - if you'd like, you could just turn this thing on & saunter thru its textures, excited now to check out what else the rappers & djs have to say. What I love most about it is that it's futurism & nostalgia at the same time: that's the gift of sampling, no? Here you are, blessed w/ this technology, but a dj's mind is historical, i.e., digging as dialectics, dig?
So good. Starts off strong and seems to get better and better as it goes on.
One of my go-to albums when it gets dark. Night drive? Perfect Night walk through town? Perfect Night train? Perfect Night cap before bed? Perfect
nice instrumental hip-hop beats, put some some somgs in my playlist even.
Completely forgettable.
I tend not to read the site reviews before I leave my own, but I'm quite familiar with this album...I've owned it since I heard it at college. So I decided to read some of the reviews while giving it another listen, and maybe I shouldn't be shocked, but I was surprised at how many people see this as purely an album of samples. Which it is, 100%. But I guess that's the last thing on my mind when listening to this album. It's just a great and emotive album, regardless of the origin of its sounds. It's a hip hop record, but also ventures a little outside that, too. I came to this record back in the 90s just knowing "Midnight In A Perfect World", but fell in love with all of it. And I'm very happy to be listening to it again tonight.
Nope...
This album was surprisingly good, wasn't too hopeful or knew what to expect for a 'Instrumental Hip Hop' album. It's literally what the name says, but it's a lot more than that. This album features heavy sampling and distorting and twisting those samples around and creating art from it, it's like the hip-hop equivalent of Since I Left You (even though the former released before the latter album.) It's quite moody and nocturnal, which makes it quite soothing and relaxing. The album cover is pretty great as well. The song "Building Steam With A Grain of Salt" is pure bliss and perfection, it's one of those songs that spring up to me every now and then that reminds me that music is so great, to the point that it makes living and existing totally worth it. I definitely see myself returning to this one. Highlight Song/s: "Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt" and "Midnight In A Perfect World"
Elsker at få en 5’er jeg aldrig har hørt før
Det trækker jo nok en smule op at man ved hvordan den er lavet, men ejjj hvor lyder det også bare lækkert helt i sig selv!
Loads of sick samples in this. Nicely put together. Fun listen.
Trash
My ADHD brain really liked this in parts. The music purist in me not so much. But I guess it was cool overall. Not as good a use of sampling as Discovery by Daft Punk.
A genre defining album. I bought this when it came out. Saw him live as well at Brixton academy and the show was so good.
Dope beats and objectively good music, but not really something I'd revisit.
I have heard of DJ shadow, but didn’t realize how prolific he is. This album W’s a bit more atmospheric than I typically like, but enjoyed the curated an thematic tracks as a whole.
Super cool and sick