Customer Reviews

Psyence Fiction

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Mo Wax records founder James Lavelle and DJ Shadow are the men from UNKLE, a collaborative project that began a few years ago, and the duo released its first full album "Psyence Fiction".It was one of the most anticipated albums of the year,thanks to the success of DJ Shadow's 1997 breakthrough album, Endtroducing...; Lavelle's notoriety as a remixer (Beck, the Verve, Radiohead) and talent scout (Shadow and Money Mark are Mo Wax artists); and a lineup of celebrity guests. Radiohead's Thom Yorke, the Verve's Richard Ashcroft and the Beastie Boys' Mike D all co-wrote and performed on tracks here. There's even an appearance by Metallica bassist Jason Newstead. This merger of star power and DJ-culture cred has already caused a backlash in some factions of the electronic underground and generated preposterous pre-release hype in pop circles. But Psyence Fiction - largely written by Shadow, with Lavelle serving as co-producer and concept man - is neither a bombastic, allstar spectacle nor a groundbreaking reinterpretation of dance music as we know it. The album is an accessible yet edgy blend of movie-soundtrack-style ambience, hip-hop experimentation, rock & roll reverb, maniacal drum breaks and turntable-synthesizer spasms. Psyence Fiction is neither a lofty concept album nor the sonic equivalent of cinema. But it is Shadow and Lavelle's striving for such greatness that makes UNKLE a compelling work in progress.

DJ Shadow's influence over this disc is evident with the innovative breaks that underlie every track. However, apart from the expected imagination here, what was a complete surprise was the wide variety of genres explored. From start to finish, the whole affair is completely unrpedictable, ranging from typical Shadow-style mellow grooves, to more classical ballads, to even some speed metal (! ). Consequently, this album is not as immediately accessible as some of Josh's other releases and may require a few listens to open up fully. Nevertheless, due primarily to the creativity of the beats, the album doesn't lose its focus and remains a consistent and comfortable listen throughout from the very first sitting. Believe the hype - this was one of 1998's best and most innovative releases. A must have for all DJ Shadow fans.

Oh my word!! If ever there was a true work of art this would be it.People told me about the album and I thought yeah whatever, boy oh boy was I wrong! The amalgamation between the various artists is truley amazing, it all blends into a incediable flow of hip-hop / trip -hop at its VERY best. Not to mention the unmistakeable essence of Dj Shadow and James Lavelle which makes unkle what it is. So buy this disc and you'll NEVER look back, unless of course your'e a rabbit in the headlights.

Five years ago, James Lavelle said, "I have a dream, that one day I will bring together the best people in hip-hop, rock and electronica and make an album which is a melting pot of all those genres." And with Psyence Fiction, he accomplishes his goal, with a little help (actually, a lot - Lavelle's only audible presence on the LP are a few breaths into the mic) from fellow Mo'Waxer DJ Shadow, Mike D, Kool G Rap, Thom Yorke, Richard Ashcroft and several other notable names in the realm of cutting-edge music. The album starts of with pounding 'drums of death' and heavy beats laced with wise words courtesy of Kool G Rap, then leads on into the catchy 'UNKLE (Main Title Theme)'. On 'Lonely Soul', Richard Ashcroft's bittersweet-symphonic sound combines with orchestral arrangements and thick boom-baps to produce an epic track. 'Rabbit In Your Headlights' sounds like Radiohead at its abstract best, with Thom Yorke's unmistakable voice floating over a sad piano loop as beats slowly take centerstage and in the same manner retreat back into the background. I would think this is more of a filler while waiting for Shadow to drop the next hip-hop bomb but while we're at it, Psyence Fiction is an excellent example of what can happen when rock, electronica and hip-hop collide with each other in a flurry of sonic explosions.

What happens when alt-rock and Joe Satriani ("Unkle Main Title Theme") meet Massive Attack ("Blood Stain", "Unreal"), Craig Armstrong ("Celestial Annihilation"), and you pour a little straight-up Public Enemy-like hip-hop into the mix? Sounds like science fiction? Fatboy Slim, you say? Not really. How about Psyence Fiction, U.N.K.L.E.'s ultimate definition of the future of music in 1998, and one that certainly goes beyond 2004?

Granted that this work as a whole is a masterpiece (haven't taken it off my jukebox in over two weeks now), the pinnacles of the album (it has two) come when the voice of The Verve's Richard Ashcroft breaks the silence in track #5, singing "God knows your Lonely Soul..." and when the unmistakable voice of Thom Yorke embraces you in "Rabbit in Your Headlights" close to the end.

What more can you ask for? This album is as close as it comes to perfection in blending musical styles. Listening to it six years after its original release sounds every bit as fresh as it did back then. Indeed, I dare to say it sounds better today, because a lot of these sounds have sunk in, to become a part of mainstream culture, something that says a lot about how far ahead of their time these guys were back then.

U.N.K.L.E.'s "Psyence Fiction" is a great turntablist album (the duo is made up of the legendary DJ Shadow and also James Lavelle) that even has lots of mainstream appeal. Several different styles are present here - a little trip-hop...a little hard rock...really cool stuff. The beats are foottappers and are mostly magnificent - you'll definitely love playing most of these songs. Several pretty cool cameos fill this album - guest appearances by Radiohead's Thom Yorke, The Verve's Richard Ashcroft, The Beastie Boys' Mike D, Kool G Rap, Alice Temple, and Talk Talk's Mark Hollis are great. The songs are usually quite complex and the lyrics are usually pretty interesting if you can make them out. Except for perhaps "Chaos", there aren't any bad songs here. U.N.K.L.E. goes through several different moods and pacings throughout the album which helps in keeping the songs fresh. One song, which arguably doesn't belong, is "Nursery Rhyme Breather" which features a hard rockin' guitar and incomprehensible lyrics (it's still interesting). At first listen I would've given this 4.5 stars, but after several listens I realize that with its great standouts (like "Unkle Main Title Theme") and it's mainstream appeal that this is a fantastic album to own. Giving "5" stars was, admittedly, a tough decision. It may be barely a classic, but it's still great fun! Highly recommended!

Highlights include:
the entire album ("Chaos" is arguably the weakest)

Although U.N.K.L.E. is indeed James Lavelle and DJ Shadow, this album is, in essence, the product of an artists' collective. As a result, it's a fairly mixed bag. There is a running theme about aliens that attempts to lend some cohesion to the proceedings with in-between bits and spacey sounding music, although the boys don't entirely pull it off.

The rap songs (the opener "Guns Blazing" and "The Knock") rock hard with heavy drums. But I often skip these along with the rocking "Nursery Rhyme" because I'm in the mood for (and I prefer) the lower key stuff like "Unkle Main Theme" and "Blood Stain," the latter being a great song & beat with really downer lyrics I can relate to. Also, "Unreal" is a pretty trippy instrumental. "Celestial Annialation" is another vocal-less track that's a bit more ominous sounding.

"Chaos" is primarily a female vocal and guitar that I don't care for and always skip. And track 6 is a mock commercial intended to be a comment on the music industry that need not be heard more than once.

The album's themes are decidedly negative. That's certainly true of the standout tracks "Lonely Soul" and "Rabbit In Your Headlights."

"Lonely Soul" is sung by Richard Ashcroft of Verve fame and it's powerful. The String section sounds fantastic. DJ Shadow wrote the music (or constructed it?) on this song as on most of the album. I must say, this is perhaps the most musical music he's done.

"Rabbit In Your Headlights" alone makes this CD worth getting. Amazing that Tom Yorke kept this, one of his best songs, from his Radiohead mates. Those opening piano chords just kill me, and then comes Tom's angelic voice with those poisonous words," . . . fat bloody fingers/ sucking your soul away." Whew! This guy really sounds like he's been to some harrowing place! And that beat . . . this track is just incredible.

Despite some real shortcomings, I feel "Rabbit" and the other great songs hear elevate the album to 4 1/2 stars (or in this case 5). The rating is meant to reflect its worthiness for purchase. Even the lesser material is at least interesting and the album stands as something pretty unique.

This album is almost a classic, in a sense. It teases its audience with the possibility of it being a concept album, but refuses to be one. Instead it takes pride in showing variety to the listener.

UNKLE brings a variety of good things about techno music, and crafts them into stunning tracks. When I listen to it, I hear trip hop, drum and bass, ambient, and alternative rock-ish type techno. The tune 'Lonely Soul' can be arguably called 'the greatest tune to come out of electronica'. It features the vocals of Richard Ashcroft and the production of the man himself, DJ Shadow. He brings in classical orchestras in this 9 minute epic, which is a fine addition to this album. The rest of the tracks are well crafted. The only skip-able track I found was 'chaos', which can be dull at times.

Instead of being an original album of it own (as was Shadow's 'Endtroducing...'), it takes concepts we already know about electronica, and polishes them to an incredibly digestable piece. It is no classic, but an album worth owning...perhaps cherishing, for years to come.

This really is just the regular version of the album, with Be There tacked on at the end. For those who don't know, shortly after the album came out, they released a single called Be There, which is basically Unreal with vocals by the Stone Roses' Ian Brown. I prefer Unreal myself, but you might disagree. If you can find this version cheap enough, it's worth it. If it's being sold at a huge markup, try and find the single instead.

It's a shame that this album got slammed as bad as it did, but I liked it for it showed some maturity on DJ Shadow's part. He was willing to work with outside artists and create a project that was really on the lines of the DJ Shadow All-Stars. The 9/12 tempo of "Rabbit In Your Headlights" works great, and "Bloodstain" is arguably the best track on this album, complete with a slight tribute to producer Timbaland. Like ENDTRODUCING, PSYENCE FICTION has a running theme, this time one of loneliness and looking for light at the end of the tunnel. While not perfect, it is a great album that seems to suffer from hip-hop heads to say "this wasn't hip-hop enough" to alternative people who said this was too "crossover". Forget about it, this is a great album. Maybe not a "proper" DJ Shadow album, but definitely an important piece of the Josh Davis puzzle.