Endtroducing … Deluxe Edition
Label: Island/UME
Rated: NONE
WorkNameSort: Endtroducing … Deluxe Edition

Nine years ago, Josh Davis had been calling himself DJ Shadow for a while, but he probably had no idea how many people would know him by that name after Endtroducing…, his first album, was released in 1996. James Lavelle, owner of London’s Mo’ Wax label and a DJ in his own right, discovered one of Shadow’s mix tapes when Davis was but a humble baggy-pants-clad California teenager. After a couple of singles for the label, Shadow’s debut full-length surfaced, and to this day is widely regarded as a sturdy cornerstone in the realm of instrumental hip-hop.

Endtroducing… is a forceful plundering through vinyl samples, crusty drum breaks and deep, after-hours electronic grooves. It defined the primary hallmarks of turntablism, with heady, psychedelic meandering and full-bore dance-floor heaters, packed with moments of dizzying scratchfests. DJ Shadow’s pillaging through dozens of dollar-record bins gave him the tools to string together weird, found-sound samples over melancholy organ and minor-key brass pieces; his efforts culminated in a striking record that has garnered herds of imitators, widespread critical acclaim, a forthcoming book by Eliot Wilder and, with this “Deluxe Edition,” a double-disc reissue that positively positions it as a genre classic.

The first disc of the reissue contains the album in its original form. The sluggish, threatening drum break that underscores “Building Steam With a Grain of Salt” sets a pace that’s shattered in the high-speed subsequent jumpoff, “The Number Song,” with its old school hip-hop flourishes and bleak futuristic drones. By the time the fragmented day-glo of “Napalm Brain/Scatter Brain” takes hold, Endtroducing… is nearing its end.

But the second disc tells the rest of the story, with a Christmas stocking’s worth of alternate takes, remixes and assorted necessities. For Jurassic 5-er Cut Chemist’s “party mix” of “The Number Song,” he completely restructures the aggressive beats and lightens the mood with multiple layers of scratched samples, making a nonstop, ass-shaking beer-spillfest almost inevitable. The inclusion of the insistent, high-hat heavy “Red Bus Needs To Leave” will only cause head-scratching wonder that it wasn’t on the 1996 track list. Same thing goes for the “extended overhaul” version of “Organ Donor,” whereby a paper-thin line of guitar buzz follows the memorable organ line before Shadow’s capable turntable antics ensue. But the best bonus moment comes in the form of a 1997 Oxford, England, live set that seals up the second disc. In a sultry bass-heavy mix from Shadow, he highlights his debut’s sharpest moments behind a sonic onslaught of lightning-fast cuts. When answering the existing tracks from Endtroducing… with new, ghostly melodies and plenty of live scratch accompaniment, it’s as if he’s improving on his own creation.

Oh, wait. That’s impossible.

This article appears in Jun 15-21, 2005.