Nice artwork and packaging, shame about the content. I found this LP to be a bit of a dissapointment.
Firstly, and I mean the first track, Guns Blazing. I love the instrumental which featured in the promo video of 'Guns Blazing'. This is an amazing track (despite the seeminly bad production) but without the rap! Sorry Kool G but you aint really cutting it here.
Secondly, being a massive early Verve fan, I kind of expected miracles from Ashcroft but the track does not sit well at all. Its forced and kind of sounds like Richard has tried to make a track that sums him up but couldn't be bothered to write something that went with the beat. The result is a track that attempts to fit all the words of the song into the rhythm with succeeding. Weve heard it before anyway and a million times better on 'A Northern Soul' .
The track with Ian Brown is superb so what did they do to the LP - took the vocals off! Why?
I have to say, the only real saving grace here is Thom Yorke on Rabbit in Your Headlights. Oh, left the vocals on that one. Tom do you a cheap deal did he?
The rest? Well, listen for yourself and see if you can pull out any hidden gems I may have missed. Good luck but I wanna swear!

"Psyence fiction" is DJ Shadow's and James Lavelle's endlessly deep, psychadelic and subtle trip into space... nothingness!
There's nothing comparable to this which makes is the best trip hop album ever made in my opinion. A record I will never give up listening to!

One of the most incredible trip-hop / downtempo albums ever heard ! Heavy beats, excellent skratches made by mr DJ Shadow and wicked arranges by UNKLE duo - A.W.E.S.O.M.E. !!!

A great UNKLE album, harbouring the best of UNKLES abilities. Such original production could only occur with producers such as James Lavelle and DJ shadow. UNKLE, starting with Psyence Fiction, are the most original and skilled producers I have heard to date. Contending with even the highest ranked DJS, their mixing skills are nothing to be laughed at either, with sets such as the Boredom Reborn set to their credit.

When this LP came out it took my town by storm. I personally feel that this is one of the most progressive and innovative ideas ever to come out of Lavelle's and Shadow's studios. The collaborative ideas present are really very innovative, however, as The Reverend has put it, some of the pairings are a little off. I think there tends to be truth in that statement. The kind of aural nomenclature DJ Shadow likes to use doesn't mix as effectively with some of the artists, but overall this album, which to me is more of an experiment, works to the larger extent. Did the experiment warrant more hypotheses? Who can tell? Just slow down for the rabbit in your headlights.

i was rather disappointed w/ this. i think all the Shadow tracks are great, but some of the pairings (Mike D., Badly Drawn Boy) were pretty 1/2 assed.