Wanna Buy A Monkey?

Dan The Automator | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 19, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sequence
• ASIN: B00005Y1UK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #91,675 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #92 in Music > Dance & DJ > Big Beat

Track Listings

1. Intro - Fantomas

2. Smoothness - Black Rob

3. Positive Contact - Deltron 3030

4. Le Soleil Est Pres De Moi - Air

5. Destiny - Zero 7

6. Seneca - Tortoise

7. Firesuite - The Doves

8. Stroker Ace - Lovage

9. The Rhumba - Bobby Digital

10. Latin Simone - Gorillaz

11. Bionix - De La Soul

12. Don't Understand - Masta Ace

13. Don't Get It Twisted - Jigmastas

14. X-ecutioners Song - X-ecutioners

15. Clockwork - Dilated Peoples

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A mixtape session of far-flung proportions, March 25, 2002

By 

Scott Woods (Columbus, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wanna Buy A Monkey? (Audio CD)

This is a hard album to recommend to a person. It's not that the album isn't any good - it's easily Dan's best offering in the past couple of years, since the Handsome Boy Modeling School record at least - it's just that it's a sampling of Dan's tastes and his tastes are all over the place to say the least. He's produced some great tracks over the years, so any chance you get to see what Dan might put on at a party at his house is a compelling trip you can't help but at least get your feet wet on.

It's even a hard record to suggest to fans of Dan's work if they happen to approach this album from only one source of awareness about what he does as a producer/composer. If you're only hip to his Dr. Octagon work, you'll find some track son here, but if you dig the dreamier "Lovage" record, he's also got you covered. I'm sure someone at Sequence thought it would be a great way to get people caught up on Dan who may be just coming to his catalogue, but it's about as diverse as a mix tape gets, so don't think that you're going to be getting the next Lyricist Lounge or something. It's underground flavored, but his flavors are WAY underground.

All assumptions aside, it's a very good record. it has some spots that I don't dig, but there's so much variety here that it's one of those rare records that actually makes you feel smarter with each listen. You definitely have to hit it with an already open mind, since the songs aren't picked to be charttoppers, but mind-boppers. You have to have a pretty developed sense of musical awareness coupled with a wide appreciation for differing styles (kind of like the Vikter Duplaix "DJ Kicks" record, but even more underground and hip-hop drum trashy), but it pays off in great dividends.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Automator Proves He's not just an Expectional producer.., February 20, 2004

By 

fetish_2000 (U.K.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wanna Buy A Monkey? (Audio CD)

Experiential Hip-Hop producer and one half of "Handsome Boy Modelling School"...Dan the Automator, has a CV in Hip-Hop few can compete with, Having Produced some of the most influential Alternative Hip-Hop albums ever: ("Handsome boy Modelling School/Dr Octagon/Deltron 3030), most people forget that he's also a gifted Dj. And it's with this album that Dan produces a sublime mixtape of tracks that he's produced, as well as other artistes work. His tracklist mixes Progressive Hip-Hop tracks: (Deltron, Black Rob, X-cutioners), Funky breaks, Trip-Hop & smooth Electronica: (Brand Nubian, Dilated Peoples, Bobby Digital, Lovage), with the completely unexpected & not strictly Hip-Hop: (Doves, Air, Gorillaz, Tortoise)....but the moment he moves approximately a quarter of the way in to the mix, from the flat out Hip-Hop of "Deltron's - Positive Contact" into "Air's - Le Soleil est Pres de Moi", and then into "Zero 7's - Destiny" is pinnacle moment in Mix tape sensibilities...as mixing Hip-Hop into Electronica is absolutely no easy task, and it just beautifully illustrates why Dan is so vitally important to the ongoing evolution of Hip-Hop. (P.s. It should be noted that I rate this superb Album 4 1/2 Stars)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Art of Mix-tapes, July 7, 2002

By 

Brent Bush (Rockledge, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wanna Buy A Monkey? (Audio CD)

For all those that gave this a bad review because it's "nothing more than a mixtape", obviously missed the point. The art of the mixtape is difficult to master (watch High Fidelity), and The Automator has created a pure masterpiece. This album flows seemlessly from one stlye to another, while including timeless classics (Big Daddy Kane) along with modern freshness (Air, Doves). I'm not going to describe every track, because it's more like one long track, with no need to hit the double arrow button on the right. I am very selective with music, as I'm sure you are if you read all these reviews, so trust me, it will be the best 16 dollars you ever spent (see Handsome Boy).