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James Lavelle and DJ Shadow are unequal partners in UNKLE, with the former providing the concept and the latter providing music, which naturally overshadows the concept, since the only clear concept -- apart from futuristic sound effects, video-game samples, and merging trip-hop with rock -- is collaborating with a variety of musicians, from superstars to cult favorites Kool G Rap, Alice Temple, and Mark Hollis (who provides uncredited piano on "Chaos"). Since Shadow's prime gift is for instrumentals, the prospect of him collaborating with vocalists is more intriguing than enticing, and Psyence Fiction is appropriately divided between brilliance and failed experiments. Shadow and Lavelle aren't breaking new territory here -- beneath the harder rock edge, full-fledged songs, and occasional melodicism, the album stays on the course Endtroducing... set. Shadow isn't given room to run wild with his soundscapes, and only a couple of cuts, such as the explosive opener, "Guns Blazing," equal the sonic collages of his debut. Initially, that may be a disappointment, but UNKLE gains momentum on repeated listens. Portions of the record still sound a little awkward -- Mike D's contribution suffers primarily from recycled Hello Nasty rhyme schemes -- yet those moments are overshadowed by Shadow's imagination and unpredictable highlights, such as Temple's chilly "Bloodstain" or Badly Drawn Boy's claustrophobic "Nursery Rhyme," as well as the masterstrokes fronted by Richard Ashcroft (a sweeping, neo-symphonic "Lonely Soul") and Thom Yorke (the moody "Rabbit in Your Headlights"). These moments might not add up to an overpowering record, but in some ways Psyence Fiction is something better -- a superstar project that doesn't play it safe and actually has its share of rich, rewarding music.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Unkle, Producer, MainArtist - Lyrics Born, FeaturedArtist - Lateef The Truth Speaker, FeaturedArtist - Kool G Rap, FeaturedArtist - Nathaniel Thomas Wilson, Composer
1998 Universal Island Records Ltd. A Universal Music Company. 1998 Mowax Recordings/A&M Records Ltd, under exclusive license to [PIAS]
Unkle, Producer, MainArtist - Josh Davis, Composer
1998 Universal Island Records Ltd. A Universal Music Company. 1998 Mowax Recordings/A&M Records Ltd, under exclusive license to [PIAS]
Unkle, Producer, MainArtist - Alice Temple, Composer, FeaturedArtist
1998 Universal Island Records Ltd. A Universal Music Company. 1998 Mowax Recordings/A&M Records Ltd, under exclusive license to [PIAS]
Unkle, Producer, MainArtist - Jules Blattner, Composer
1998 Universal Island Records Ltd. A Universal Music Company. 1998 Mowax Recordings/A&M Records Ltd, under exclusive license to [PIAS]
Richard Ashcroft, Composer, FeaturedArtist - Wil Malone, Composer - Unkle, Producer, MainArtist
1998 Universal Island Records Ltd. A Universal Music Company. 1998 Mowax Recordings/A&M Records Ltd, under exclusive license to [PIAS]
Scott Joplin, Composer - Unkle, Producer, MainArtist
1998 Universal Island Records Ltd. A Universal Music Company. 1998 Mowax Recordings/A&M Records Ltd, under exclusive license to [PIAS]
Badly Drawn Boy, FeaturedArtist - Unkle, Producer, MainArtist - Damon Michael Gough, Composer
1998 Universal Island Records Ltd. A Universal Music Company. 1998 Mowax Recordings/A&M Records Ltd, under exclusive license to [PIAS]
Wil Malone, Composer - Unkle, Producer, MainArtist
1998 Universal Island Records Ltd. A Universal Music Company. 1998 Mowax Recordings/A&M Records Ltd, under exclusive license to [PIAS]
Mike D., FeaturedArtist - Unkle, Producer, MainArtist - Michael Louis Diamond, Composer
1998 Universal Island Records Ltd. A Universal Music Company. 1998 Mowax Recordings/A&M Records Ltd, under exclusive license to [PIAS]
Unkle, Producer, MainArtist - Atlantique, Guitar, FeaturedArtist - Atlantique Vénus Nguyen Manh Khanh, Composer
1998 Universal Island Records Ltd. A Universal Music Company. 1998 Mowax Recordings/A&M Records Ltd, under exclusive license to [PIAS]
Thom Yorke, Composer, FeaturedArtist - Unkle, Producer, MainArtist
1998 Universal Island Records Ltd. A Universal Music Company. 1998 Mowax Recordings/A&M Records Ltd, under exclusive license to [PIAS]
Unkle, Producer, MainArtist - Josh Davis, Composer
1998 Universal Island Records Ltd. A Universal Music Company. 1998 Mowax Recordings/A&M Records Ltd, under exclusive license to [PIAS]
Unkle, Producer, MainArtist - Josh Davis, Composer - James Lavelle, Producer - Ian Brown, Composer, FeaturedArtist
1998 Universal Island Records Ltd. A Universal Music Company. 1998 Mowax Recordings/A&M Records Ltd, under exclusive license to [PIAS]
Album review
James Lavelle and DJ Shadow are unequal partners in UNKLE, with the former providing the concept and the latter providing music, which naturally overshadows the concept, since the only clear concept -- apart from futuristic sound effects, video-game samples, and merging trip-hop with rock -- is collaborating with a variety of musicians, from superstars to cult favorites Kool G Rap, Alice Temple, and Mark Hollis (who provides uncredited piano on "Chaos"). Since Shadow's prime gift is for instrumentals, the prospect of him collaborating with vocalists is more intriguing than enticing, and Psyence Fiction is appropriately divided between brilliance and failed experiments. Shadow and Lavelle aren't breaking new territory here -- beneath the harder rock edge, full-fledged songs, and occasional melodicism, the album stays on the course Endtroducing... set. Shadow isn't given room to run wild with his soundscapes, and only a couple of cuts, such as the explosive opener, "Guns Blazing," equal the sonic collages of his debut. Initially, that may be a disappointment, but UNKLE gains momentum on repeated listens. Portions of the record still sound a little awkward -- Mike D's contribution suffers primarily from recycled Hello Nasty rhyme schemes -- yet those moments are overshadowed by Shadow's imagination and unpredictable highlights, such as Temple's chilly "Bloodstain" or Badly Drawn Boy's claustrophobic "Nursery Rhyme," as well as the masterstrokes fronted by Richard Ashcroft (a sweeping, neo-symphonic "Lonely Soul") and Thom Yorke (the moody "Rabbit in Your Headlights"). These moments might not add up to an overpowering record, but in some ways Psyence Fiction is something better -- a superstar project that doesn't play it safe and actually has its share of rich, rewarding music.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 13 track(s)
- Total length: 00:59:59
- Main artists: Unkle
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: [PIAS] Recordings Catalogue
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
1998 Universal Island Records Ltd. A Universal Music Company. 1998 Mowax Recordings/A&M Records Ltd, under exclusive license to [PIAS]
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