Reviews (page 7 of 14)
Yay another album of 5 second loops that go on for 7 minutes straight. A couple of the tracks would be cool if somebody rapped a verse over them or something.
it's fun vibes and I appreciate an instrumental heavy experimental album. It's particularly great throughout, but it has bright moments. I don't know about a top 1001 but didn't mind it
cool but not sure if i come back, good inspiration
Really good to just vibe to while driving The bass in what does your soul look like 4 is incredible
3.6 1x flagged to listen again
Some experimental stuff that wasn’t too bad. A bit long but ok for the genre.
it's giving 3rd wave coffee shop, but i don't hate it. kind of cool ambient music
Every single second of this album is a gem. Every beat, scratch, sample, hook, whatever is perfect. Iconic and deserving of that adjective.
I'm all for a good beat, but then what?
Every time I’ve heard this I’ve enjoyed it, but it’s not something I see myself revisiting. The impact of this record speaks for itself, and if someone puts it on, I’d enjoy it, but if I want hip hop there’s so many other records I’d rather hear. If I want instrumental music, there’s so many other records I’d rather hear. Regardless, this is still an influential and thoroughly enjoyable album.
Some great songs but also some that don’t work as much, still appreciate the work that went into this
It reminds me of funk. It would be great to listen to on a night drive. I kind of like it
This is for someone... not for me.
A beautiful, very atmospheric record that I come back to every few years. As one of the main players of the Mo’Wax label, DJ Shadow helped bring instrumental / abstract hip-hop to maturity while staying true to its underground roots. He perfected the art of layering, made a few fantastic albums, and yet never stopped being a DJ (I’ve seen him perform in a club in the early 2010s, and he didn’t disappoint). His first album displays the same weakness many abstract hip-hop LPs from that period do : it’s a bit hit-and-miss, with some excellent ideas and some less judicious ones. Another thing I regret is that Shadow is not really a scratcher, something that could have benefited some of his compositions. Overall, this album is still a classic for me, even if it’s a bit rough around the edges. Building Steam, Stem and Organ Donor are haunting, eerie pieces of music that I never get tired of. Ideally I’d rate it a 4,5*. It’s really a pity that the most abstract side of Mo’Wax is so under-represented on this list. DJ Krush, an even better artist than Shadow in my opinion, would have fully deserved a place here – but apparently it’s almost impossible to be on this list if you’re not American or European.
Álbum revolucionario para el sampling, un álbum que sorprendentemente me gustó de mucha formas y me hizo un paraíso sonoro.
0’5
Best Song: Midnight in a Perfect World Recorded and produced DJ music is like produced jam bands, it works better live. This is nothing special. I guess it works while cooking dinner. 3/5.
It’s a no for me
Not my thing at all. I know the music may have been unique and groundbreaking, but too repetitive for my tastes.
Solid 3, enjoyed the album but no standouts for me
Really good stuff - it's nocturnal, sinister - don't need the mythology around sampling to engage with this but it does help elevate it as well.
More of background beats for a rap song but honestly the beats are interesting, well mixed and feel like the necessary base to great songs that are unfinished
That was really interesting and I am surprised how much I enjoyed it.
Not my usual type of listen but I can see why people would like it. It is a really cool concept for an album with the use of samples and beats Highlights: - What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt. 1 (Blue Sky Revisit) - Mutual Slump - Changeling
soah
The Good: It’s a clear end… The Bad: yet we were still troduced to it… The Ugly: fill in the blanks I’ve waited over a week to rate this album… why? Because slowly but surely my patience is being tested too much…. I think that I have been forced to listen to over 10 albums that were released since the late ‘90s, and we all know that hardly anything good was released since the introduction of 1 too many electronic/rap/numetal/pop crap So here’s to me finding out just now that yesterday’s album is Sign ‘O the Times, and that is going to be an easy 5* for me… This album, is a skip 1* Sorry DJ Shadow
Got it on CD and loved it
imagine waking up NYD 1996 and listening to this for the first time. world building music. 4.5/5
What can you say really???? Faultless? Could listen to it all day on repeat, its going to be the first 5 star.
This record is perfect, and Shadow has made some decent records since, but nothing comes close to this. I love that the second track has a sample of a guy talking about learning to play the drums, then the beat kicks in, and following a sample describing Cancer, DJ Shadow shows you how well HE can drum. This is one of the pinnacles of sampling/using other artists music as an art form. He does such a good job of creating his own world within this record, that you forget that he’s sampling anything. It all fits together flawlessly.
was djaing a little too much for me
A really good mostly instrumental album, not my usual listening but i really liked this 3.5
This was enjoyable background music. a pre-cursor to lofi beats.
Endtroducing... is kind of incredible. It's difficult to say it's just a hip-hop beats album, or that it's electronic, or any one thing in particular. Endtroducing... contains multitudes. Most of it hits hard and is pretty interesting. Occasionally there are pedestrian beats, but most of this album is ambitious.
Some kind of mix between Yello and Mike Oldfield. Progressive hiphop sampling. Sometimes fresh, sometimes tedious
Holy moly, what a cool piece of art. Sometimes i forget that i like this trip hop stuff, but this LP reminded me vehemently. On this fusion kitchen of hip hop, funk, soul, jazz and rock DJ Shadow proves that this guy knows how to cook. Bonus points fornthe context again. This is entirely made out off samples, which is fun. Found that Radiohead got inspired by this for some parts of OK Computer. Thank you for that! So why not 5 stars?!
Mostly just ambient/background music to me. Was not impressed but the last 2 tracks were much more listenable.
Dense, captivating, classic of the genre. Top Three Tracks: What Does Your Soul Look Like Pt.4, Mutual Slump, Midnight in a Perfect World Least Favourite Track: Organ Donor 8.5
Escuché este disco hace tiempo. Sólo apto para sordos snobs que quieren ir de modernos. Esto no es música, sencillamente. No sé si es algo racista, pero siempre pensé que este tío era negro. En serio, los que elevan este pastiche a categoría de música o arte deberían comprarse un lego, deben ser buenos haciendo figuritas. Vaya montón se basura.
3.5/5
Some pretty epic producing in there, makes for a good bit of a ‘background music’ when chilling. No particular song stood out. Fell like those lo-fi music youtube video at times
Not to my liking. I vibe with portions, but not enough to re-listen.
I kinda get it. It's just not my thing
I only like this in the context of background noise for when I’m working. Otherwise what is this? Not for me.
Dope beats. Pre Lofi
.not for me
It was interesting. Had me at first buuut then lost me after a while and I think I gave up just before it was over. Bonus point for Changeling
Most of the album is bland trip hop which trudges along a little too slowly. Then Mutual Slump comes along to wake you up. Then the record falls into the same routine again. It’s not bad, but apart from mutual slump, nothing is there to make you want more
Really good album, got better the further I went through it. Classic dark hip-hop, love it.
It's a great album. Loved it.
Have listened to this album many times in the past, fantastic album
Nothing special imo
Excellent! never heard it before.
Das Debütalbum Endtroducing... des US-amerikanischen Produzenten DJ Shadow wurde vollständig im kalifornischen Studio The Glue Factory produziert. Es gilt als ein frühes Beispiel für ein Album, das ausschließlich aus Samples besteht, ohne dass dabei konventionelle Instrumente zum Einsatz kamen. DJ Shadow arbeitete mit dem Sampler Akai MPC60, um aus Hunderten von Vinylfragmenten ein zusammenhängendes Klangbild zu erschaffen. Musikalisch bewegt sich das Werk im Spannungsfeld zwischen Instrumental-Hip-Hop, Trip-Hop und Downtempo. Die Tracks folgen keinen traditionellen Songstrukturen, sondern sind collageartig zusammengesetzt. Besonders bekannt wurden Stücke wie „Midnight in a Perfect World“ und „Building Steam with a Grain of Salt“, die sich durch ihren melancholisch-rhythmischen Aufbau und eine sorgfältige Dramaturgie auszeichnen. Das Album entwickelte sich über die Jahre hinweg zu einem Referenzpunkt für samplebasierte Musikproduktionen. Es markiert einen klaren Gegenentwurf zur damaligen Pop- und Rapproduktion und wird häufig als stilbildend für eine experimentelle Herangehensweise an elektronische Musik eingeordnet. Endtroducing... ist ein durchdachtes und in seiner Form geschlossenes Werk, das einen prägnanten Moment in der Entwicklung instrumentaler Hip-Hop-Musik dokumentiert.
It’s pretty ok
Outstanding! Genre defining and really creative sampling technique in this long in the making debut album. Was waffling between 4 and 5, but will round down for the time being. Fave tracks: “organ donor” (what a beat!), “changling” and “napalm brain”.
heard this some months ag for the first time. rating excludes interludes Building Steam With a Grain of Salt - 5/5 The Number Song - 5/5 Changeling - 5/5 What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 4) - 4/5 Stem / Long Stem - 5/5 Mutual Slump - 5/5 Organ Donor - 3/5 Midnight in a Perfect World - 5/5 Napalm Brain / Scatter Brain - 5/5 What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 1 - Blue Sky Revisit) - 5/5 Average score: 4.7/5 (rounding up) all i can say is it's a vibe. solid beats, solid sampling, love how much it sounds like trip hop. i'd consider this essential listening
Engaging and clever, I might listen some more as background music.
Like a scrapbook:) 2.5 stars
The fuck is this shit
Meh
Really nice and chill
никогда про него не слышала но забавный. так и не поняла где альбом начинается-заканчивается, не настолько запоминающиеся (одноразовые?) скиты
This is an all time great for me.
..
Pleasant surprise.
a ver, como instrumental está nice, pero no es muy mi estilo y se me hizo algo pesado
This album is blessed. I used to listen to, “Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt” a lot in 2018 in early high school. This song was on repeat when Spotify first showed it to me. Now listening to the full album is just so goooooood! I love the music, the editing, and the good emotions it releases. Quite-a-feel-good-music!
Great ambient
"The only pieces of equipment Shadow used to produce the album were the AKAI MPC60 12-bit sampling drum machine, a pair of turntables and a borrowed-by-visiting Pro Tools setup from an early adopter of the technology, Dan 'The Automator' Nakamura." -Wikipedia I don't know what's crazier, that sentence or the fact that it sounds amazing.
Fantastico. Álbum lindo do início ao fim. É impressionante que este disco é composto inteiramente por samples. Ele faz um matrimônio exemplar entre o passado e o presente (que agora, quase 30 anos depois, também é o passado). É tudo em ótimo gosto e em ótima forma. Cada instrumento, cada chop vocal, tudo encaixa perfeitamente. Disco atemporal e infinito. Inesquecível. Perfeito para todo estado de vida, e toda tarefa. Como acompanhamento ou como prato principal. Perfeito. Top 10 até então na minha lista.
First listen. Great driving music. Some duds though but on the whole good. Going to need to listen again. Provisional 3½
Many tracks are very pretty. Didn't feel like an hour.
Love it. Love DJ Shadow
One of the fun parts of this project is discovering the original samples from other tracks I like. In this case, the main riff in Fuel Injected by Swollen Members comes from this album.
Meh. Seemed kinda long and pointless.
Weirdly fun. Trancy. 4/5
3.5
A lot of the same ideas. Good background noise. Some tracks more repeatable than others
Definitely better than I expected, but still not really my sort of thing
Okay -- I fucking loved this? One of the best examples I've seen of the ART of DJing: hearing new music in old music, and cutting and splicing to get there. Addictive grooves, pioneering art (he did this by himself? With just an Akai MPC60??), and a sonic landscape that just completely transports you. This rules..... Fave songs: - Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt - The Number Song - Changeling - What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt. 4 - Mutual Slump - Midnight In A Perfect World - Napalm Brain / Scatter Brain - Medley - What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt. 1 - Blue Sky Revisit
🎧
This is some nonsense that a college guy living in an on-campus apartment would put on in the background while trying to make a move on you. It's not bad but it's just empty and soulless.
This is a classic breakbeat instrumental hip-hop album. DJ Shadow is a master at making beats and this album shows the depth of his ability. I love this type of music and was already familiar with this album.
5 Breakbeats. MPC. Sample-delic Hip-Hop. Production is all a blur now. Beats. Hook. Title line. AND REPEAT. Shadow broke the mold and created music from other music. He could find just the right sample for every aspect of songwriting. Create moods and atmospheres. "Entroducing" is a planet all to itself now. Bonus points for the 2CD Deluxe Edition, the live excerpt on there shows how his skills were not just limited to the studio.
This is what I was looking for when I wanted instrumental music to play in my classroom back when I was an art teacher.
I liked the vibe it gave off. I’m usually not good at listening to primarily instrumental albums, but this was ok
How have I never listened to this before?? Such energy, love it!
First of all, it's not my cup of tea, but I understand the artistic involvement in the album. Most of the album is based on hip-hop and trip-hop percussions over the samples, which takes me out a lot. It feels at times very noisy and uninteresting. "Stem / Long Stem / Transmission 2" was the first song to really catch me, which I enjoyed more. I wouldn't give this album more than a 4, so that is why I give this one two stars.
This is not really what I thought it would be. Some arrangements are veery easy 10/10s. And I thought it would be just a bunch of bangers and instrumental hiphop. But this is an eletronica record with a little bit of trip-hop. And also I was very surprised by melodies coming back one or two songs later. It's like the whole project is trying to capture the art of creating music based on samples. In this context, it could be a 5/5, I know it's significance, i know it's influence, but I still don't want to listen to it all day every day. I love Massive Attack and Portishead much more in this era, they did trip-hop much better in my opinion. Still it's an easy 4/5 for me
The best late-night drive.
I enjoyed this! Not sure I would revisit a ton but great background music and has some nifty experimentation. I’m a fan of the artist ‘Little People’ so it was cool to listen to one of his influences
rockin 4/5
I enjoyed this album. It is not something I would’ve listened to on my own so happy it was recommend. I’ll be using it as work music and background music in the office
fun tunes, nothing I'd listen too exept maybe for working or background music
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One of my most slept on albums ever. Absolute classic. Favorite track: Midnight In A Perfect World
Crazy good. Exactly what I never knew I was looking for. Going to check out more by DJ Shadow.
Great album, sets a mood in the background for hanging out or doing anything, really. 9/10
Can’t help but appreciate the artistry in the sample use, but it does get repetitive at times.
God this is such a good album. It is unfortunately getting a 4 here because there's honestly not a ton I'd listen to more regularly, but it's a really good album. This is a 4 much like The Wall was a 4. Would be a 4.5 given the ability.
Just tight vibes out the wazoo. It didn't change my life or anything, but I very much enjoyed it.
Absolutely stunning. Every moment hits, and the vibes are immaculate throughout - all the more impressive for how this album is almost completely built on samples of older music! No garden variety of samples either - DJ Shadow is an expert crate-digger and it shows. "Midnight in a Perfect World" alone contains: 0:03: Organized Konfusion - "Releasing Hypnotical Gases" (boom bap, New York, 1991) 0:09: Pekka Pohjola - "Sekoilu Seestyy" (jazz-rock, Finland, 1974; also appears in "Transmission 2") 0:21: Meredith Monk - "Dolmen Music (Part 1)" (post-minimalism, New York, 1981) 0:33: Marlena Shaw - "California Soul" (soul, New York, 1969) 0:34 (and throughout): Rotary Connection - "Life Could" (psychedelic soul, Chicago, 1968) 0:48: Baraka - "Sower of Seeds" (psychedelic folk, Los Angeles, 1976; this wasn't even found until over a decade after Endtroducing came out and even now it's an incredibly obscure album, seriously how the fuck did he even find this to sample it) 1:10 (and throughout): Meredith Monk - "Biography" (post-minimalism, New York, 1981) 1:37: David Axelrod - "The Human Abstract" (baroque pop, Los Angeles, 1969; also appears in "Transmission 2") 2:30: Akinyele - "Outta State" (boom bap, New York, 1993) And all of these disparate elements - from the cellos and voices of an experimental post-minimalist composer to an e-piano riff from a Finnish jazz-rock band to drum parts cribbed from 60s soul to midnight-themed lines from East Coast hip hop collectives of the day, even to indistinct murmurings from an extremely obscure folk album that it took people 15 years to identify - cohere into an excellent song that perfectly captures a nocturnal atmosphere and all runs together like clockwork. Genuinely how does he do it? 5 stars, easily. You're doing yourself a disservice if you don't like this, because this album puts paid to the idea that sampling means you're not a real artist for good.
This is definitely something I want to keep going back to. Great background music. Bass was poppin’
Great variety of beats, with the bass and drum selections being a frequent highlight across the album. The low end on Changeling had my apartment shaking, it's so fire. Overall it's an album that I'm sure to revisit for the vibe. Standouts: Changeling • What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt. 4 • Napalm Brain / Scatter Brain
Man....this is an album you can really appreciate not just by how it sounds, but by the work it took to get there. I don't think every song on here is perfect, but I have to appreciate the craft of putting it together. Artistry at work. Making humor out of samples deserves some recognition, too.
Not really my vibe
90s hip-hop with some turntable elements. Say no more, fam.
Interesting Wish there were more lyrics Not really my style
Didn’t like
Captures the feel of an average nite at the a club
Love 90s hip hop. Enjoyed listening to some of his earlier work
Felt like it should have been a live show with how random it was
I don't really understand what this is. Is it just stuff for other people to rap over? Because this was boring as hell on its own. I don't need this in my life.
God this was phenomenal, first time hearing it. It's not only extraordinary from a technical standpoint, but also the music itself is great. I just don't understand how this level of sample-based music can be assembled so well. I don't know exactly where this fits in the history of the genre, but it seems to be a leap from 80s and early-90s sampling, and pre-dates people like Madlib, or at least perfects it prior to its peers. Listening all the way through got tiring in a few spots, as some ideas are jarring or short or disjointed, but other tracks are vibey and atmospheric. I think this could be a 5/5 after some repeated listens (thinking like Madvillain which I didn't completely connect with the first time but is now one of my faves).
relaxing background music
this is pretty much hip hop perfection
Booooring
L'album qui a fixé la manière de produire un disque de hip hop instrumental depuis 30 ans. C'est vraiment très bien bravo 5 étoiles
Ultra cool, varié et pas rompiche
42/1001. Own? Yes (a cd though, which kind of seems like a disgrace here). For me, a dj has always been a person, who spent their lives picking on LPs as depicted in the cover, and through that knows some kick ass music history, can introduce some crazy funky beats on top of familiar melodies you almost don't recognize anymore and spices it up with some speech samples. At least I'm like that as a dj :) I don't think mash-ups or bootlegs were yet a too hot thing when this came out, and while most of them are fun they present two of three top pop songs which fit together so nicely that they sound like another pop hit song. A totally different aesthetic is at play here. Crafting new songs out of samples which don't seem to belong together is a rare skill and DJ shadow is the master of it. I highly also recommend to search for the project where someone digged out all the original songs where the samples are from. Actually the word sample doesn't do proper justice here - song building blocks maybe? A classic, a milestone, adventure in modern recording for sure.
Such a vibe goodness gracious. Nowadays it feels like I've heard this kinda thing before, but put in the lens of 1996 it's so solid. Banger.
It’s inoffensive and chill but this sort of electronic music has morphed into Muzak.
Fun album that I would not have come across. Enjoyed listening to this one!
Great sample album and historically significant.
Very cool! I think I need a bit of time to really decide on an opinion, but it’s a great album for sure.
I liked it. Especially one of the songs. Nice switch up from rock
I can appreciate this but it's not for me
Интересная музыка, не особо зацепила, но один трек понравился
Not my cup of tea
Pretty boring not worth a listen for me.
best foot forward- 5 building steam with a grain of salt- 5 the number song- 5 changeling- 4 transmission 1- 5 what does your soul look like pt 4- 5 untitled- 4 stem- 4 transmission 2- 5 mutual slump- 5 organ donor- 5 why hip hop sucks in 96- 5 midnight in a perfect world- 5 napalm brain- 4 what does your soul look like pt 1- 4 transmission 3- 4 or 5 started to get on my nerves
Repetitive. Lots of samples stuck together. Like getting a glimpse into the diaries of many different people. Don’t know if I love or hate it.
It had been a while since I listened to this end-to-end. It's a little hard to recreate the first impressions I had of this genre, as it sounded a bit like it came from another planet. Now it has a familiarity to it, but you still appreciate the craft and skill that went into finding the records and the turntablism that rendered the record.
I listen to a good chunk of Aussie Hip Hop. I can see the influence the beats here have had on artists like Lazy Grey. Didn't expect much but was pleasantly surprised! Number Song was the Gem for me.
bit weird, okay but did not love. On the other hand, when the album was done it lead to a pretty nice spotify rabbit hole. 2.5-3 stars.
Very skilful hip hop instrumental album, but crying out for a rap in places.
Hell yeah
good background music
No, sorry, just no, this is a boring boring album, made almost entirely of samples, not into it
Really? This is one of the 1001 records I NEED to listen to before I die? Didn’t finish.
I’m sure Mr. Shadow is a nice fellow but this was just repetitive nonsense.
Fucking love this album
I have heard OF DJ Shadow, but could not have told you why or how. This album came out at a time when I would not have been AT ALL receptive to instrumental DJ music. I guarantee my buddy Ben (RIP) loved this though. Listening now and I really like this. See? I can grow!
Kind of a meh album but the flow works really well and it has some amazing peaks, like “Building Steam…”, “Stem / Long Stem”, “Organ Donor”, and “Napalm Brain / Scatter Brain”. It’s more proof of sampling concept than a real album, but is a cool mix and worth going on the background albums list for working or chores.
Good chill 90s DJ stuff. It’s cool To know where a lot of Joe Beats and similar artists got inspired.
Just yes
three songs in, i am quite bored. Skipping this now.
11/06/2025 There was nothing really to it.
This is amazing!
Excellent
Bro this is like the Urfather of all video game music... fucked hard like a spooky castle type thing
Very surprised by this album. I read the description of it and thought it would just be repetitive boops and bops. This has real compositions, with a lot of variety. Great stuff.
Really enjoyed this. Great vibes to start the day. Had never heard of him before today.
This fits right in with the type of stuff I listen to when I’m coding. Flow state!
Pretty enjoyable and very influential and unique, especially for the era. Think I do prefer hiphop with lyrics but can't deny the impact of this
Hasn't aged well -1 Same beat over and over and over and over. -2
nothing wowing
Greit klipp og lim album.
me gusta pq iba con los auriculares por la calle y me sentía como un personaje de un videojuego aksldfjakjf
I thought dj shadow collabed with rtj to promote their brand. Not the other way around! David will love the sax on this
Decent album. I assume it was very influential in hip hop because I’ve heard many songs sampled
Not really my thing but very funky and could picture drying at night on neon roads to this.
Nothing about this screams listen to this before you die. Some of the beats were good but half way through, they got too choppy, like drumming out of time
Chill vibes
Poop
Prince of Darkness sample?! Boogie Nights sample?! Nosferatu sample?! Twin Peaks reference?! 8 liked songs
I'm not sure that I quite get this one. It's really good DJ'ing to be sure, but when does it go from being a beat over a bunch of other people's work to something original? I think if it had vocals over it I would be more into it. Just listening to a DJ mix isn't doing it for me today. Maybe on another day it would? I don't know. That ambiguous feeling is what makes me have vague feelings (tending towards negative) about this. That said, from the perspective of what music is used for as an art form, this is great, and would be awesome backing music. Especially in a movie or TV show.
Fun to revisit this one. A lot has already been said about this landmark album…a rich tapestry of sounds, does well to create a sense of atmosphere. Also works as great text to discover music
Very strong instrumentals and a chill vibe throughout. Was a solid album, but feels more background music
Mostly drum fill instrumentals which are fun with some record scratching and hip hop remix elements. You could listen to this while walking through a park or city any time. Losing interest through the album as there are repetitive and tedious parts. The sense of humor in the first few tracks falls off as it goes on. Upon 2nd listen to some of these tracks it's actually pretty low effort and crappy.
This sounds nearly as fresh as the day it came out and at the same time so emblematic of that wonderful strain of deeply chill and soulful ‘90s hiphop. Both a love letter to and a brilliant melding of samples, DJ Shadow’s opus, two years in the making, is a luscious and hypnotic soundscape. Add in some classic riffs (“We live in Brooklyn, baby” to name one) and rando found audio clips from the archives, like old B-movie dialogue, for delightful Easter eggs. Finally, the tracks deepen, stirring questions of meaning, of life itself. I love this even more now than then. 5 stars
So good - samples that have been sampled, but just really varied and solid.
Super Fun! The samples are used great with the beats, and the middle of this album shines. Midnight in a Perfect World is the perfect song. 9/10
I like it a lot more than last time I listened. Repetitive but with a purpose and if you go in expecting that it helps
I like my hip hop samples with lyrics, but this is an album of well-crafted beats evidencing DJ Shadow was at his prime in 1996. 3⭐️
very atmospheric clubby. sounding album... definitely sounds appropriate for the time it was released. still good. listen!
Liked it. Will not listen again
Oh this is so cool. I'm a fan of this sort of sampling; the ways that recognizable sounds and tracks can be transformed is fascinating. This album is well orchestrated and inventive. Never heard of DJ Shadow before today but I might have a listen through his other work once this is done.
That's not my taste in music - But ok
Not even forgettable as I barely noticed it was playing in the first place.
Off the cuff remark: No doubt great skills in all that sampling, but it mostly just flows over me without registering Standout Track: What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt 4, though it doesn't exactly standout Revisit?: Welll. I wouldn't mind but don't think I will honestly make the effort.
Peaked on his first release. Another of the great sampling albums.
It’s worth hearing as an example of sampling as a music form. It’s an ok listen to my ears, accepting this isn’t my thing. 2 Star
Great sound, I can definitely see how he influenced the whole genre that we hear today.
I did not like the beginning, but the middle didn't seem too bad. Then toward the end it got really old and I felt like I was in a trance. I just don't get it.
Horrible
Listened to this while I was making breakfast, and I was just vibin’. Finished making breakfast to realize I still had a half hour longer to go and gave up for a while. Came back to it later in the day, and I barely made it through the album.
Eh, it was alright.
Straight 2hrs of boom bap beats. I get beastie boys vibes from all the sampling. I know him from nobody speak but that’s about it. Wouldn’t add this type of music to the rotation but it was a chill listen to and from work.
I can't think of anyone I would ever recommend this to. I feel like whatever this is had already been done way better prior to 1996 and way better after 1996. Wikipedia says a lot of the techniques used were groundbreaking and still used today, but sampling was used prior to this so I don't get it. Doesn't feel like it was very groundbreaking. Ambient filler music that you probably need to be stoned for. Fun fact - was not stoned for this. Did not enjoy.
I've heard a lot of praise for this album but never listened 'til now, other than a couple of tracks. My first impression was of slight surprise and disappointment at how a lot of the tracks sound like background lounge music. The more mysterious and unorthodox compositions (like Building Steam and Stem) are much more my kind of thing though. I'm sure this broke new ground but I don't exactly know in which ways or to what extent. A benchmark in extensive sampling, maybe? I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and assume it was (and to a lesser extent still is) quite an impressive feat of music production.
I never got the DJ genre in the late 90s and early 00s. Groovy, yes, but so repetitive and boring.
Instrumental Hip-Hop Liked "Midnight in a perfect world"
didn’t think i’d like it but it was really good
Very pleasant surprise!
An evergreen classic debut. I was a bit down on this album when it came out as it was so hyped, but I still listen to it regularly 30 years later which proves I was just a stupid teenager. It has a dreamy, hazy quality and all the tracks are good and full of character.
Really, really love these 90s instrumental hip-hop albums. Reminds me of Nujabes / J. Dilla, and very influential as well. Didn't get 5 stars because it didn't absolutely blow my mind away, but well-deserved 4.5 stars.
Was wondering why it sounded oddly familiar, it's composed of samples. Building steam with a grain of salt stood out
Found myself enjoying parts of this and zoning out of others.
Good tunes. Can at times be really good background music.
I just learned that this album is almost all samples and now I don't like it as much
It’s hard to separate “importance” from actual sound. This album set the standard for MPC sampling in hip hop, and can be seen as the grandfather to both sample heavy rap beats a la Kanye or the chiller lofi style like J Dilla. That being said, this album is not without its flaws. Some tracks run considerably long, others fall a bit hollow, but there’s still enough meat in the winners to enjoy consistently. Genre hopping tracks kept me engaged through the whole thing. Importance: 5 / 5 Songs: 3 / 5
Background music cratedigger sample splicing hiphop ish with some random noises thrown in. Not particularly interesting or memorable in any way
mildly interesting
Nao e hip hop. Ate q interessante. Eletrônico, mas nao chega perto de ser um massive attack
Found myself listening to It a couple times. Didn’t know what kind of music It was. Interesting
classic
It’s fine
I thought I signed up for "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die," not "1001 Albums That Make You Wanna Die." This one was another total snoozefest.
Significant
2,75
I found out I like one song from this album before, it was definitely lost in my liked songs playlist. This was an amazingly chill album and it is crazy how it us completely created with samples.
I don't know if I just didn't understand the concept for this album, but it honestly just sounded like noise to me. There are a few too many annoying, prominent sounds playing repetitively in this album amongst music that actually doesn't sound too bad. In fact, the music was really pleasant and interesting at times. That makes these sounds so jarring, and it really ruins the vibe that I just find myself getting into. There's a lot of spoken word used throughout this album, which isn't a bad thing but it is definitely not something I prefer. The good news about this album, is it did get better as it went along and wasn't bad background music for my tasks. Would I listen to it just because? No.
Very nice album. Interesting use of samples and love the chilled beats.
Tasty background beats. 7/10
5 starts for homework music, 2 stars for active listening
So glad to be able to re-listen to this after a while on the side (although Midnight In A Perfect World was on regular repeat in the meantime). Absolutely deserves to be considered one of the pinnacles of instrumental hip-hop. Not a weak song on the album. Really brings hip-hop to the next level in a way, it's an album that should be able to convey to even the most hip-hop sceptical person the musical credentials of the genre. 5 STAR! (Highlights are #2, #4, #6, #8, #13, #14, #15)
Sur le papier, ça avait l'air super cool. En fait non.
I think I would have loved this album much more if I was younger and still studying. Loved to just have some instrumental albums on in the background. Nowdays I rarely listen to full instrumental albums anymore. This started out strong, but also felt very long. 2.5 stars for me
Very good beats and very relaxing.
This album felt like chore to get through
Cool interesting chill beats and samples. high 4
I don't know what style this is but I kinda liked it. Definitely something else. The beat was really nice and I loved the voices in the songs. Considering 4.
While the individual tracks are at the very least great, this is kind of a hard listen for me from end to end in one sitting.
Maybe I’m getting older but this got the head nodding like I’m some old man listening to jazz for the first time.
liked it before, really like it now
biggest album ever, obviously. drawing some easy comparisons to the other two points of the plunderphonics holy trinity, it feels like it expands outward where donuts dives inward, creating whole Landscapes. and where since i left you is maybe the most successful at creating its own entirely new and cohesive sound, entroducing often seeks to make its seams and disparate sources more Obvious, taking a ton of advantage of the original presentation and timbre of its various samples. but ofc all three records create the same feeling of being music About listening to music in some way, they make me think about how even when hearing the same soundwaves we all perceive them differently, we can all extrapolate different worlds and feelings and colors. idk if this record still has the full gut-level Fave feeling it once did for me but in some ways i admire it more than ever, and the impression it creates of the Night That Changes Your Life Forever, as it itself demonstrates new ways of Seeing and Hearing that which is around you. the idea of advocating for a world without these records for the benefit of idea landlords is truly , heinously evil to me in a way few things are....its the money!
Beautiful music. Not into instrumentals, but this was great. Solid four.
Overraskande. Ikkje mi greie vanlegvis, men denne likte. Gos skrivemusikk. Ligg å driv i bakgrunnen, mørk og behageleg. 8/10
I’m not familiar with this artist and so I didn’t know what to expect. But I really love this album. When I used to do video editing, I would listen to instrumental hip-hop a lot because it works so well as a background soundtrack. I can really appreciate the musicality of an artist like this.
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Outro...
A potentially high score here - some intriguing and original samples, some (ahem) dope beats and proper old school scratching. Plus Shad already has a lot of goodwill from me for his collaboration with De La Soul on Rocket Fuel. But despite some interesting stops along the way (eg Organ Donor) it's a bit too meandering and drawn out to be a really enjoyable end to end listen.
I really enjoyed this. It’s really inventive and varied. But energy dips in a few places which makes it slightly less enjoyable to listen all the way through.
Hated it
I wish that there were lyrics on much of this album but a great collection of beats I had never heard.
3/10
I've heard it many times but it's not something I like to hear in full unless I'm studying. I'm not in school any more so it just felt so long. Great impactful album but it's just okay.
This is a seminal album for me. When i first heard it, my mjnd was blown. It sounded like the future and was exciting and different, but above all good. When i discovered it was made in the way it was i was even more inpressed. There is such variety in this, from big beats to lovely hooks to quiet emotional pieces. Its exactly what this list is for.
Groovy
one of my favourite albums of all time. transcends hip-hop
Wonderful album with many teen memories infused in it. I think this has also been used in a bunch of soundtracks! Whee
Really good
was already thinking 5 star and then it ended with the twin peaks sample
It pains me to praise another time a no musician album but these guys do have the gnack for music. I bought this disc in the early 2000's and haven't stopped liking it.
The mix of influences (electronic, rap, hip hop, jazz) is sometimes of good quality but there are many loops and some melodies which are nice but they are immediately stopped/hashed... The album is a concept that I did not appreciate.
I first discovered DJ Shadow with its work in UNKLE’s Psyence Fiction. That album played a significant role in shaping my musical journey toward atmospheric rap. I hadn’t listened to this particular record before, but I can definitely recognize UNKLE’s vib, especially in the drums and the saturated bass. And what a surprise, Dan the Automator is once again involved. It’s alternative rap, and it really resonates with me. If some tracks are not that creative, I globally enjoy it.
Absolutely fabulous
A few classics in there.
hot tracks, hot beats, hot samples, hot producing
This is very different, and I love it. It must have been incredible to hear this when it first came out. All the samples and layers. This is a laid back sound with a big beat manifesto. Plus a lot of this takes me back to Bristol: Thekla, Schmike on the decks, Lemon Jelly, all those sweaty caverns of joy.
The first few tracks made me feel like I was in a movie. Bur after 20min I got bored. I guess I'm not a huge conceptual hip hop girlie.
It was an easy listen but as a full instrumental album it isn't for me. I had a DJ background which surprised me too but wasn't interested by it. It's more like 2.5 stars so I'll keep it at 2.
Maybe if I was out at a club?
Im feeling generous today
certainly unique, reminds me of aphex twin. i can’t tell if i enjoy it or if i’m forcing myself to enjoy it? there are no vocals for me to indulge in… and i could see WHY someone would enjoy it, its like background noise, but the glitching stuff is so jarring. i did enjoy stem/long stem, very hallucinogenic - i’ll be honest tho all the like 6 minute songs i skipped 3/4 into it lol
I listen to the first five songs and it’s all I had time for cause I was proper busy and it was fine . I wouldn’t choose to listen to. 5 songs felt like a whole album
im half way through, guys i'll be real i dont know if i can finish this. like it sounds fine but its just long as hell. okay right i skipped the last three because its 1am i am tired, i have a headache, i am done. yeah soz, not for me, that album is being forgotten forever
Enjoyed
A nice solid album. I bet it gets more interesting when you know where the samples are from, and it's groundbreaking at the time. But right now? Almost all of these tracks could flow right into lo-fi girl sleep playlist & you'd never notice them. I do like lo fi, though.
Great beats. Way ahead of its time
Started out interesting, got extremely repetitive. Two hours is way too long ...
Another one of those hip hop / rap / beat albums that absolutely resonates with my soul. Really really cool instrumental tracks on here. LOLITAS
Nice Sampledelia album, back half is better than the first
Génial! Influence de Daniel Bélanger. Vraiment bon album.
God damn this album is so fucking good.
A seminal masterpiece in instrumental hip-hop and by many accounts the genesis of trip hop
Intressant om än ojämnt. Bra rythm-drive. Stark trea!
This is not my thing.
Dit is waarschijnlijk een cool album voor een producer ofzo. Of belangrijk in de sample / hip-hop wereld, maar mij doet het niet echt iets. 2.1
Love it
This one is fantastic. So vibey and well crafted.
This is a very groovy instrumental album. I love how all the different samples work together. The drums sound great. There aren't any stand out classic songs that would push it to a five, though.
The best hip-hop record of the '90s, endlessly creative and exciting. That transition from Building Steam into The Number Song is pure electricity. Stem/Long Stem does the GY!BE angry-man sampling better than GY!BE. The second What Does Your Soul Look Like track is the pinnacle, particularly when that opening sample breaks into the drum fill. It is happening again. I cannot believe that working at a student newspaper as a stupid 18-year-old gave me the opportunity to interview this guy, a true musical genius, and got me on the guest list for his show. I have been chasing that level of cool ever since.
Damn these beats are fire, should get someone to rap over these.
I know I'm only three albums in, this is by far my favorite, and feels like it really belongs on a list of best of all time. It's fun, surprising, and mesmerizing.
one of those highly regarded albums that I just don't get. There are a couple of songs that I like, although calling any of these pieces, songs doesn't seem right. Nevertheless I do like Building Steam With A Grain of Salt and I do like Transmission 2. Other than those two everything seems to kinda blend together. Not sure what else to say. I don't get it. 2 stars
New genre to me, and while it was interesting in a way no tracks truly blew me away as outstandingly great. Maybe I don’t understand the complexity in weaving samples together, but it pushed into the background and was hard to distinguish individual songs. 3.25/5 enjoyed but don’t see myself coming back
This album is a remarkable creative work, but it was not groundbreaking. Electronic music production is so dependent on the available technology, and this sounds dated at this point. It makes for ok background music.
This isn't for me. 2.4.
When I was a freshman in college, my friend said my music was too white and put some songs on my ipod. And that was my introduction to DJ Shadow. Personal enjoyment: 3/5 Relevance to this list: 4/5
Another one I'd call "fun", but also another one that I wouldn't consider "great" even though I enjoyed the album and thought it was a solid listen. As someone who doesn't listen to much instrumental hip hop, I found the compositions and use of sounds interesting and well done. I can't say much more about it, though. That probably has to do with the style of music; it's something I could enjoy having on in the background while doing other things, but not something I'd necessarily have on as my main focus for its hour+ runtime. Overall: 3/5
Really sick beats, and great sampling.
Before: I've never heard of this, but it looks hard af; very Frank Ocean. I'm thinking it'll be a hip hop record. Standout tracks: Changeling Building Steam With A Grain of Salt Stem/Long Stem Why Hip-Hop Sucks In '96 What Does Your Soul Look Like - Pt. 1 - Blue Sky Revisit Weakest tracks: The Number Song What Does Your Soul Look Like - Pt. 4 During/after: Really neat and funky first track that sets the vibe for the rest of the record. It's interesting that my first thought upon looking at the album cover was that it reminded me of Frank Ocean because the distant TV and radio chatter that begins Frank Ocean's album "Channel Orange" feels very similar to that in Best Foot Forward. I wonder how much influence Frank took from this record or DJ. Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt has very cool instrumental mixes with jazzy drums, guitar, and piano that lens itself to a dynamic, funky late-90's sounding track. I'm not in love with the pervasive low synth prevalent through a lot of The Number Song. It's a very chaotic track with some weaker and stronger portions, but the chaos isn't doing it many favors in this case. This one felt very much like "let's throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks" to me, and some of the spaghetti was stickier than others, I fear. Not in love. The record keeps going with Changeling which I liked a lot better. It's a repetitive, droning, almost dreamy drum and bass track. It speeds up a bit and becomes more dynamic about halfway through, serving as a perfect transition to Transmission 1. It's a great interlude with more Frank Ocean-esque muffled radio vocals with an eerie, spacey, sci-fi theme. "This is not a dream, we are using your brain's electrical system as a receiver, you are receiving this broadcast through a dream" adds to the ethereal sound that's been underscoring the entire record thus far. What Does Your Soul Look Like - Pt. 4 goes back to the chill, less spacey sounding themes with a low "bwaaaa" sounding synth that was driving me crazy because it sounded like someone burping honestly. It was disappointing because it would have been so much better without it. It added (to me) almost a touch of humor because it just sounded goofy, but that lead into Untitled well, another interlude that is objectively goofy ("they've all got ass, one of them's got eyes as big as Jolly Ranchers"). At least there's track-to-track cohesion there, but now I'm just confused about the overall vibes of this record. The serious, almost eeriness is being replaced by the funny lyrics and plucky guitar. Was this just a break from the intensity of the rest of the record? Like Fertilizer off of Channel Orange? I don't love how it's done on that record either, but that could be personal preference. It leads us right into Stem/Long Stem, opening with a really intense, almost creepy rhythmic piano riff and low synth beats before we are introduced to some unique, jazzy clarinet and soulful vocals before a sudden switch back into the droning, melancholic, spacey, ethereal sounds and radio vocals from before. Really great track. We see another change in style in the experimental Mutual Slump, with various types of funky drums and cymbals and some sexy female vocal samples with some record scratches that are very hip-hop. Loved the short track entitled Why Hip-Hop Sucks In '96, with the only lyrics being the echoing "it's the money." It's self-explanatory but powerful and lends to the experimental nature of the album, sending a message to traditional hip hop. Midnight In A Perfect World has the most Spotify streams of any track on the album and it isn't hard to see why. Another sexy, easy to listen to track with some good female vocals. Napalm Brain/Scatter Brain is a long one at 9 minutes. Not sure if we need to be doing all THAT, but I'm not totally mad at it. More cool, funky synths with some cool (dare I say, Santana feeling?) guitar around the first half is followed by some snare beats and twinkly percussion. What Does Your Soul Look Like - Pt. 1 - Blue Sky Revisit has more beautiful and jazzy saxophones, flutes (love a jazz flute), and bass and drums that keep the album moving but provide a fitting lead up to wrapping up the album. It highlights everything this record does best - jazziness, vibes, cool vocal samples, and an ethereal feel that showcases the timelessness and influence of the album. Transmission 3 is a perfect final track, finishing off with another eerie, melancholic, but peaceful radio transmission about the broadcast as a dream. This seems like an influential record for lots of newer, alternative hip hop and r&b. Although DJ Shadow is not a wrapper, but instead a producer a producer and DJ, this record is absolutely considered instrumental hip hop and the experimental and ethereal (but still very cool) sound reminds me a lot of modern alternative hip hop and r&b. It has a relatively long runtime at just over an hour, but I didn't find myself getting bored or staring at how many tracks were left. I was very torn between a 4 or a 5. It was REALLY good and it was cool to see the ways that this record (or at least ones like it) influenced modern hip hop. I'm CAUTIOUSLY giving it a 4/5, but it teetered very closely on a 5. If I could give a 4.5 I totally would, but the major things that bring it down are some of the harder to listen to synth features and the whiplash that comes from the consistent vibe switches. I understand it was probably to keep the record interesting, especially at its long runtime, but it left me a bit confused and felt disjointed at times. Overall VERY good, though. Loved this. 4/5. **Check me out on https://rateyourmusic.com/~annainaz for more music reviews and discussion!
A really fun listen, was not expecting it
Never heard of DJ Shadow. Album was decent. I’ll listen again when I’m more stoned and would probably give it a 5.
Sounds like instrumentals for Hip-Hop/some songs like lo-fi hip-hop. Hard to appreciate properly without historical context. Did not hold up over time to me.
It's good, but it gets a bit stale. I love sample-based albums, but I think it's tough to make one that's as interesting as it is creative all the way through.
Look up “Beats to think to” on Spotify. The playlist pic is me listening to Endtroducing
Pretty cool vibey
Neat use of samples and good beats
This is a phenomenally well crafted album, I have absolutely nothing negative to say about it. Had it on 3 times in a row now.
What am I missing here? I'm sure it's an amazing technical achievement to stitch together all these samples but - crucially - what he has stitched it into is less than the sum of its parts
Interesting but nothing I could sit through consecutively unless I was high as giraffe balls.
decent
Fascinating sound. So interesting and dynamic and beautiful. also just really nice chill vibes.
Not my taste
Great sound, really enjoyed
I generally hate hip hop but this was a bit more interesting. Id have given it 3 stars but my wife loves DJ Shadow and told me I had to give it 4 or else...