One of the principal albums in trip hop's ascension into the mainstream, and the bright, extroverted flipside to Portishead's darker vision of the late 90s scene. Mo Wax honcho James Lavelle's longstanding Unkle project got a massive makeover when DJ Shadow became the prime sonic architect for the Psyence Fiction LP. Shadow throws everything but the kitchen sink into the thing, working with a wide range of vocalists and collaborators from hip hop innovators (
Kool G Rap, Mike D) to whiny alternative rockers (Richard Ashcroft, Thom Yorke). With a project as busy as Unkle, the law of subjectivity pretty much dictates that you're gonna love parts, and hate parts – but Shadow was so on top of his game at the time, he somehow manages to hold it all together. It may not be his best ever work, but Psyence Fiction certainly holds up, and it's an essential piece of the puzzle! Tracks include "Main Title Theme", "Guns Blazing", "Blood Stain", "Unreal", "Chaos", "Rabbit In Your Headlights", Lonely Soul", and more.
(New Grooves, Hip Hop) (US pressing with white labels and Masterdisk stamp. Includes the printed inner sleeves. A nice copy!)