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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
"The Outsider" produced mixed results..., September 19, 2006
DJ Shadow's newest release "The Outsider" proves itself to be the very definition of a mixed bag. In all honesty, I can't think of another release by a single artist that is as all over the map genre-wise as this CD is. Of course, comments by Shadow himself in advance of this release hinted at this being the case, but man if it doesn't make it a jarring listen. His other two proper albums felt like unified works meant to be listened to all at once, but this one feels like a poorly constructed mix CD. The first 3 tracks alone bear this out. The intro sets an ominous tone that gives way to almost sunny sounding by comparison soul of "This Time", which then transitions to the manic hip-hop of "3 Freaks". At that point most listeners will find themselves scratching their heads. I can respect an artist trying to expand his creative palette to include music he himself enjoys, but some cohesion would've surely improved the experience. I agree with the other reviewers saying rock fans will probably hate the rap and vice versa, so people considering buying the album should try before they buy.
I am a huge fan of "Endtroducing" and "Private Press", and echo the disappointment of others who waited 4 years to receive this album that is pretty much nothing like his other 2. That being said, expectations should never get in the way of reviewing music on its own terms, and that's what I'm attempting to do here. There are tracks that rise above the others, such as the aforementioned "This Time", which seems like his only attempt at resembling his earlier work, and it does so admirably. Of the hyphy tracks, "3 Freaks" is entertaining with its manic energy but wears a bit thin before it ends, "Seein' Thangs" is a Katrina inspired track filled with dread and a nice guest turn by David Banner, and "Enuff" has a catchy bounce to it. "Backstage Girl" is probably the best hip-hop track on the album, featuring a nice bluesy guitar riff and drum solo. And I think that's the sound of Mario getting a coin at the end of "Dat's My Part". That's about all I can say for the rap tracks.
As for the more rock inspired tracks, "Artifact" sounds like the castoff from another album that it in fact is. The other tracks are okay but nothing particularly memorable. I know I just glossed over a large part of the 2nd half of the album, but really, there's nothing there that really jumps out at you and compels you to listen. In the end, I can respect Shadow trying to branch out, but I think with this album he's proven why most artists find the one kind of music they're good at and stick with it. The result sounds like fairly by the numbers entries for each genre. I'm giving it 3 stars even though it's more like 2 1/2, rounded up because plenty of people have been harsh enough on the guy as is and he did give me 2 albums that I've been able to enjoy over and over again, and the CD sounds very well produced. Hopefully now that he has this album out of his system, he can find his groove again in the not too distant future.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
scatterbrain, September 29, 2006
Let's get one thing out of the way. This isn't an album. It's a collection of songs, much more in the tradition of, say, Quannum's "Spectrum," and more eclectic even than the first UNKLE album Shadow did. Where it fails is that it doesn't work as an album, and--unlike Shadow's previous two records--there are really a couple throwaway cuts here. Where it does work is that most of the material on it is just flat-out good. So I advise those who are slamming it and those who are about to do so to take another listen. There is some excellent material here.
The opening number has the usual Shadow intro cut mystique. The second cut, This Time, is a solid MoTown takeoff. From there the album goes into some well-produced hip hop numbers that could easily fit in with anything in the Top 40 if the guest MCs were a bit better known. These aren't as creative as Mashin' on the Motorway, and the beats lack the timeless, soulful beauty of earlier Shadow cuts, but they are solid and fun nonetheless, and prove that Shadow could be a regular on the radio if he wanted to be.
The middle of the album is where it suffers a bit. That punk-driven Artifact song, what is it really? Broken levee blues has some nice guitar work but something more probably could have been done with it. Backstage Girl is a pretty good bit of hip-hop storytelling but it probably shouldn't be 7 minutes long. What Have I Done has a beautiful, haunting arrangement but the arty spoken-word vocals are kitschy.
The latter stages of the album go into some poprock and a smoother hip-hop number that's straight outta Quannum (Enuff). The Chris James tracks are like UNKLE meets Coldplay. (From this reviewer's perspective, that's a good thing, although not everyone might think so.) The instrumental number and Cage tribute Triplicate and The Tiger are really the only songs on this disc that sound like they're by the same artist who made Endtroducing. This is a foray into much more established genres and styles of songwriting, and demonstrates more that DJ Shadow can do any and all of them well, rather than that he is forging new territory.
DJ Shadow's previous records, Endtroducing and the Private Press, were both very cohesive as albums despite their range, and were very delicately and intricately put together and mesmerizingly arranged. This one seems just sort of thrown together, a "look what I can do" compilation. But hey, it's still DJ Shadow. Look what he can do.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not good, September 23, 2006
I was really disappointed in this album, but I can't say it was totally unexpected. Outsider is completely different than other Shadow album and he should at least be credited with doing something different than he's done before, but the album just has too many problems with it to be considered good. Maybe my standards are higher than other's, but here's some reasons why Outsider is crap..
Hyphy and crunk, for the most part, sucks. This may seem like an opinion, but it's a fact: this stuff is simple, contrived party music. It's intentionally shallow. It's whole purpose is to be the party song of the month or whatever and then to be forgotten. So, half the album is automatically garbage..
Lame rapping. Again, my standards may be higher than others, but I've heard so many amazing emcees that crap like this makes me wonder how these guys manage to make a living.. And I have as many fond memories of Q-tip as the next, but I would hope this crap is not his second coming..
Lack of cohesion. The intro sets the stage for some darkness and six straight party songs follow. Then some blues guitar and some fast drums. Then later there's some dude who sounds like the Coldplay guy.. Basically, Outsider sounds like two or three different eps crammed together.
So, any Shadow fan who doesn't know by now:
Do not automatically buy this album because of who made it. Give it a listen first.
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