DJ Shadow – Action Adventure

The sticker is not inside but was placed randomly when the package was packaged for shipping

❤️‍🔥 Luscious soundstaging particularly on DT770 headphones 🫶🤩 I have more words but am trying to listen to copper disc II 🙄

Most pressing question for this site...How is the pressing though?

Mmmlaah. I’m a cranky middle-aged white guy and I’m mad because the artist didn’t create something that would help me rediscover a feeling I had in 1996. Wanh. sniffsniffsniff.

I pre-ordered this, and while parts of it do not rock right on the first play, I recognize that it may grow on me, or it may sit to be re-examined at a later date. Either way, I’m happy to have it as part of a collection of a great artist’s body of work, and I won’t hesitate to go see the man live when he comes to my city in 2024.

Peace.

So much better than the digital release with its wider dynamic soundstage and much more bass.
The release is noise free for me and flat.

Still available on Massappeal for ~40€.
I wonder, why you would pay >100€ though…
Beware of the scalpers "guild" though…

QUALITY! This pressing sounds fantastic. I've been disappointed with some pressings lately as the quality of the sound and material varies wildly depending on where it's pressed and so on. But this sounds beautiful. As for the music, being a longtime Shadow fan, his style has varied throughout the years, but the quality of the composition has not. This one has a definite vibe to it...have listened through twice and really enjoy it. Great work!!

Has anyone else with this had problems rewinding the release?

This is an almost perfect beattape if not for the vocals on the singles. The vocals make "Action Adventure" sound dated. You'd think the Rick Rubin Def Jam- era drums would have done it, but they were a cohesive inclusion over the synths that sounded like something off the "Terrifier II" OST. The title, the cover art, and those aforementioned instruments exude nostalgia but those vocals on this record sound like what would have been on pop radio in the 80's - not in th underground Hip-Hop clubs. The movies, the hip hop scene, the synth scene I would have rocked with then but the pop scene could have missed me as much as this record should have missed it.

DJ Shadow is the perfect manifestation of an artist who peaked early and perfectly, and who‘s been on a steady inspiration decline ever since.

„Action adventure“ marks the latest sad end point of this baffling artistic minimization, reaching a state of aimlees noodling and downright amateurism that is an astounding thing to behold. The lack of vision and inspiration is so evident and so pronounced that I‘m truly at a loss for words.

Just listen to „Reflecting Pool“, an annoying test for your patience, with an utterly lame beat stretching out for almost 8 endless minutes, without providing even the slightest hint of an engaging progression or captivating emotion.

His technical skills as well seem to have atrophied to a shocking degree, with not a single beat making a genuine impression. And when he tries his luck with drum&bass inspired rhythms, the result is even more abysmal.

This is the man who made unforgettable masterpieces like „Midnight in a perfect world“, and I wonder if this once boundless potential for genius is forever gone. He doesn‘t seem to have anything relevant left to say, but he goes on nonetheless, and slowly but steadly dismantles his myth until only a shadow of his former glory is left.