DJ Shadow – This Time (I’m Gonna Try It My Way) (Universal)
4/5
By: Chris O'Toole
After a number of years as a media and (knowing) public darling DJ Shadow came in for a slight drubbing with his latest release 'The Outsider'. After previously being credited with reinventing the turntable, discovering fire and liberating any number of forgotten gems from obscurity 'The Outsider' garnered claims of dilution of his sound, and most worryingly, that tired old insult of selling out to mainstream taste. Critics screamed that it was "watered-down exotica", suggested "the size of his head is now giving his bank balance a run for its money" and argued that it "should alienate virtually everyone who's ever been a Shadow fan".
But little seems to have changed, at least on this single slice of his latest pie. A charming and all encompassing vocal line is lifted from an obscured and long forgotten source and is lovingly reclaimed and recycled. For some this is misappropriation, especially as the source is listed as 'Unknown' on the packaging, and for others this is shining the spotlight on a long lost talent, that had no hope of resurfacing from the murky depths without somebody of Shadow's acumen reinterpreting their work. This is mixed with the usual lightning tight drum beats that have been the bedrock of Shadow's career to date and accompanied by the assortment of funk licks and panning piano grandstanding that so defines the Shadow sound. The result is the evocation of a lost era of smoky blues bars and wistful cabaret.
The story is that you know what you are going to get with Shadow. He spends his hours searching through the crates for ingredients, mixing them up in his own patented style to create a new dish. It either emerges as mix 'n' match musical fodder or a fine multi-textural delicacy depending on your point of view. But whatever the case Shadow is not a man for changing, despite what critics might think. There is no departure here, perhaps a little more focus and control, but certainly no wholesale exodus from the formula that has bought him success.
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