Because you might be hoping that you inherit a hefty chunk of money... Because you might be hoping that you inherit a hefty chunk of money... The CD was recorded live, no edits or over dubs, two DJs on 4 decks with a sampler, two mixers and lots of filtering equipment and other mad shit. No matter - it's all live! You can tell, as from time to time (like about 2/3rds of the way through track 1) one of the records drops out of a groove. This can be a bit startling to listen to first time round, but just keep remembering that once the tape started rolling, they didn't stop it until they'd finished the whole routine.
I've seen reviews of this CD that slate it, that say it's not hip hop enough, that it's not turntablist enough, that it doesn't feature enough innovation or good tunes...but that is all, to be frank, bollocks. The scratching is what you'd expect from the men behind "In/Flux" and "Lesson 6: The Lecture", the tunes are obscurely fantastic, and the breaks they plunder are hip hop to the core - some people just don't understand what this hip hop shit is all about.
What makes it unique (aside from the above) is that all the tracks on the CD are from original issue US or UK 45 singles, except for a couple of routines (mainly the intro's Thunderkick samples and The Number Song, I think) that are from 12"s. They scratched, doubled up and manipulated the originals of these records, not represses or compiled versions - seems a bit silly to me, but I'm not such a purist.
Obviously, for a pair so guarded about their sources as Shadow and Chemist, there is no track listing. You can pick up a few of the original tunes on various compilations - DJ POGO PRESENTS THE BREAKS, for instance, or the less legit NEW YORK CITY RECORD COLLECTOR BREAKS VOL ONE feature a couple, but you'd probably be mad to try and find all of them. You wouldn't anyway, for less than the cost of a car. Probably for each tune, if they were original. I know a few of the featured tracks, but don't take my readings as gospel. The last thing I want is a more informed cratedigger threatening to castrate me because I attributed some obscure b-side to another artist. What I refer to is only based on my judgement.
NB - Both DJ's are working together - it's NOT one track from Shadow and another from Cut Chemist. The tunes obviously aren't separated into 30 second long snippets, they are simply left as two tracks on the CD - Track 1 and Track 2.
Track 1 (which is about 26 minutes, same as Track 2) starts off with a funk version of Also Sprake Zarathustra (is that how you spell it?), scratched over with a mad Kung Fu film trailer ("The Cannon Group is offering you a dare-scratch-dare-scratch-dare..."), almost drum and bass in tempo. There are a couple of slightly missed scratches, but it's a wicked intro for ANY tape. Fuck anyone who thinks otherwise - you CAN download it to judge for yourself from a site that reviews Brainfreeze, just key in the word into Yahoo search and go to one of the three reviews it gives you. See for yourself...
Then it starts proper - "Funky DJ" (unknown artist) with a nice little routine involving The Mohawks "Champ", straight into another funky little classic ("He's number one, he's the Turntable King"). Some hip hop proper arrives in the mix, with a tune that you can get from Ego Trip's Big Playback LP - The Bizzie Boys with "Droppin' It". Ego Trip credit the source sample as Aretha Franklin's "Baby, I Love You", which is also included.
That's enough - I won't insult your intelligence by just listing what thay play in the order that they play it in, but also on the CD is Rufus Thomas's "Itch and Scratch", and you really have to hear the routine that they pull. ("Got to do it twice...got-got do-do twice-twice" and so on...) What makes this for me is the hip hop sensibility they use in pulling it all together, making it sound pretty seamless depite the varied source material.
Some parts of the CD work better than others - for instance, I was disappointed with the treatment "California Soul" got (1 verse, half a chorus), and the 7-11 track is a bit weird when it breaks down to 33, but the fantastic live treatment that Shadow's own "The Number Song" gets is a pleasure to listen to, and the good points far outweigh the bad.
As for getting hold of it - for an original (colour cover, two tone CD) you might be hoping that you inherit a hefty chunk of money, as they are passing about for £150. Represses (one tone CD) are less, but still pricey. You could download one off the internet and make a CD copy, if you've got the equipment - any copy is better than no copy. There were rumours of a repress on vinyl, but that all blew over and only a handful got out. They've got the cover of the CD on the inner vinyl label, and feature in a black plain sleeve.
Keep searching - if you find one then get in contact. PLEASE! Until then, I've got a taped one, as my sources of recording are very reluctant to let theirs out of their home. Or their sight, for that matter. By all means necessary - if you like Shadow or anything related, if you like Chemist or anything related, if you like obscure funk, if you like excellent mix CDs, then track this down.
It might not be worth £150, but if you find it then grab it while you can. It is (as was "Death Mix" before it, despite "Death Mix"s piss poor sound quality) a slice of a time and a place, and two DJs performing close to their greatest heights. It is, in my opinion, one of the greatest mixtapes of all time.