DJ Shadow
Private Press
(MCA Records)

Hold up. Hold up. Before we get started. Guess who's comin'? Guess who's comin'? Back again. Who is he? Just your favorite DJ savior. And that was our first introduction to none other than DJ Shadow, AKA Josh Davis, from his breakout smash Entroducing (Mo'Wax/ffrr), one of the most genre defying masterpieces of the decade. Five years later he's back yet again and with an even more diverse and captivating record, which further expands the realm of musical experimentation and sonic adventures.

The title of this record comes from what is within; spoken letters recorded onto vinyl using a private press. The intro and outro are entitled "(Letter From Home)" were made on September 9th, 1951 in Richmond California for a man named Lester and although we may not know who these folks are what the nature of their relationships may be, it is the deep sense of history that is evoked in the scratchiness of the old vinyl and the sounds of jazz wafting in over into the atmosphere like the odors of tasty cooking coming in from a kitchen of some other era.

"Fixed Income," mixes some really tight beats over such dense layers of sounds it's hard to say if and when you are hearing strings, keys and/or guitars. Another great track is called "Giving Up The Ghost," and it builds and changes and adds and changes and just holds you for the whole 6 1/2 minutes. The shockingly aggro "Mashin' On The Motorway," features vocals by Lateef The Truth Speaker and DJ Shadow in a record scratching frenzy. But the most interesting thing on Private Press is Shadow's blends of New Age and new wave on "Blood On The Motorway," the most hauntingly beautiful song on the album. A mixture of 80's sounding synthesizers are piled a top of a somber piano riff while a spiritual guru speaks the guiding words "Breathe in the healing love of the universe and breathe out the sickness which has taken you, I am with you." The new wave spirit carries over into the next song,"You Canít Go Home" and regardless of what type of music Shadow samples or mixes, it becomes his own.
9 blips out of 10
By Rita Neyter