Review of DJ Shadow: Entroducing

Please read Scott Coates pick for DJ Shadow:
Entroducing before reading and listening to our reviews below.

Quick Summary: 

  • Would we recommend?
  • Influence us and our tastes?
  • Worth the hype?
2.7

Review of DJ Shadow: Entroducing

Ok, first of all, this is a complex album. It is long and full of many experimental songs manufactured by DJ Shadow with basic equipment and lots and lots of samples. Though we didn’t rate it high as a group, there are definitely those who will love this album. It has some great historical value and there is no denying the talent of DJ Shadow. Listen to our reviews and find out what the good, bad and sometimes ugly was about this album.
The Sonic Collective


Our Individual Review Scores
Scott Coates:
Overall opinion: 3.5
Would I recommend?:4
Influenced my tastes: 3
Worth the hype?: 3.5
Darren Scott:
Overall opinion: 2.75
Would I recommend?: 2
Influenced my tastes: 2
Worth the hype? 3
Scott Gregory:
Overall opinion: 3
Would I recommend?: 3
Influenced my tastes: 3
Worth the hype? 3
Alain DuPuis:
Overall opinion: 2
Would I recommend?: 2
Influenced my tastes: 2
Worth the hype? 2

Depeche Mode: Some Great Reward


Depeche Mode – Some Great Reward
Alain DuPuis
1984 was a very important year, because that is the year I was thrust kicking and screaming into this mortal coil. Incidentally, a little known band that you’ve probably never heard of called Depeche Mode happened to release an album that same year, called Some Great Reward, which was important. I guess.
All kidding aside, Depeche Mode is often cited as being an extremely influential music group for the impact they had on the electronic music scene, the pop scene, the new-wave the industrial scene… Lots of scenes. The breadth of their influence is what convinced me that this was the album to dive into this month.
Some Great Reward featured some pretty impactful singles. People are People was culturally significant for several reasons: It topped the charts in West Germany and was ultimately used in the ’84 Olympic Coverage. Remember, this was at a point where the East and the West were at odds on a number of social and political issues. It’s even listed in the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame’s most list of 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll. Other notable singles are Blasphemous Rumours, a song that tackles divine justice, and Master and Servant, a song that looks into sexual politics. Edgy stuff. Especially for the decade that spawned the “satanic panic.”
Full discolsure: I don’t know Depeche Mode’s body of work very well, and the only song I’ve heard from this album is People are People, which I appreciate for its verrrry 80s aesthetic and it’s industrial percussion. My hope is that I find the rest of the album just as awesome as I find People are People.
Check back at the end of the month for our review!
Further reading:
Depeche Mode Wikipedia
Some Great Reward Wikipedia