Music
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2009
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000
Upcoming &
Recent Releases
70
AFI
65
Air
71
Alice In Chains
77
Amerie
85
The Antlers
75
Arctic Monkeys
68
As Tall As Lions
82
Atlas Sound
75
The Avett Brothers
67
Backstreet Boys
56
Bad Lieutenant
68
Devendra Banhart
72
Lou Barlow
88
Baroness
69
Basement Jaxx
81
David Bazan
72
Brendan Benson
72
The Big Pink
96
Big Star
46
Billy Talent
75
The Black Crowes
51
Black Mold
68
Blitzen Trapper
75
BLK JKS
77
A.A. Bondy
73
The Bottle Rockets
63
Box Elders
65
Boys Like Girls
76
Brand New
73
Tyondai Braxton
87
Brother Ali
70
Ian Brown
75
Michael Buble
78
Built To Spill
61
Colbie Caillat
79
Califone
68
Mariah Carey
84
Brandi Carlile
73
Julian Casablancas
83
Rosanne Cash
69
Castanets
65
The Cave Singers
84
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
79
Vic Chesnutt
75
Choir Of Young Believers
81
Circulatory System
68
The Clean
84
The Clientele
71
Cobra Starship
85
Converge
71
Eric Copeland
80
Cymbals Eat Guitars
71
Datarock
59
Dead By Sunrise
76
Dead Man's Bones
88
Destroyer
63
The Dodos
77
Drive-By Truckers
66
Bob Dylan
44
The Entrance Band
67
Esser
69
Fanfarlo
63
Felix Da Housecat
68
Fink
78
The Flaming Lips
66
Flight Of The Conchords
79
Florence And The Machine
67
John Fogerty
83
Fuck Buttons
71
Nelly Furtado
47
Gary Go
68
Ghostface Killah
79
Girls
69
Gossip
62
David Gray
66
David Guetta
79
Richard Hawley
74
Mayer Hawthorne
66
Headlights
79
HEALTH
77
Joe Henry
66
Hockey
69
Whitney Houston
68
Imogen Heap
59
Jack Ingram
79
Islands
73
Jessie James
74
Jamie T
65
Jay-Z
51
Jet
69
Daniel Johnston
76
Karen O And The Kids
72
Toby Keith
69
Kid Cudi
65
Kings Of Convenience
62
Sean Kingston
64
KISS
76
Kris Kristofferson
68
KRS-One & Buckshot
76
La Roux
84
Miranda Lambert
72
Ledisi
75
Sondre Lerche
56
Juliette Lewis
82
Lightning Bolt
73
Little Dragon
44
Pixie Lott
73
Lyle Lovett
66
Lovvers
75
Baaba Maal
77
Madness
84
Madonna
85
Manic Street Preachers
62
Maps
55
Massive Attack
57
Matisyahu
67
Reba McEntire
66
Tim McGraw
65
Brian McKnight
79
Mew
77
Malcolm Middleton
77
Mika
68
Amy Millan
76
Mission Of Burma
76
Molina And Johnson
80
Monsters Of Folk
62
Morrissey
85
Mount Eerie
78
The Mountain Goats
62
Múm
72
Muse
66
Willie Nelson
78
Nirvana
97
Nirvana
72
Nisennenmondai
80
No Age
71
Noah And The Whale
75
Noisettes
79
Nudge
47
Dolores O'Riordan
74
Os Mutantes
73
Osso
81
Owen
76
Paramore
76
Pastels And Tenniscoats
51
Sean Paul
80
Pearl Jam
66
Jemina Pearl
72
Jack Penate
65
Phish
82
Pissed Jeans
61
Pitbull
79
A Place To Bury Strangers
66
Robert Pollard
79
Polvo
72
Porcupine Tree
80
Q-Tip
80
R.E.M.
89
Raekwon
69
Rain Machine
70
Ramona Falls
75
Dizzee Rascal
75
The Raveonettes
76
Jay Reatard
82
Reigning Sound
81
Rodrigo Y Gabriela
79
Russian Circles
69
Buffy Sainte-Marie
73
Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
61
Sally Shapiro
78
Shudder To Think
70
Simian Mobile Disco
58
Simple Minds
72
Six Organs Of Admittance
69
Slaughterhouse
80
Slayer
61
The Slits
62
Mindy Smith
78
Soulsavers
77
Speech Debelle
58
Spiral Stairs
58
Squarepusher
55
Steel Panther
73
Sufjan Stevens
52
Rod Stewart
65
Joss Stone
75
George Strait
83
Barbra Streisand
76
A Sunny Day In Glasgow
74
Susanna And The Magical Orchestra
78
The Swell Season
76
David Sylvian
83
Taken By Trees
78
Tegan And Sara
68
The Temper Trap
72
Themselves
82
They Might Be Giants
67
Third Eye Blind
66
J Tillman
69
Times New Viking
57
Tokio Hotel
67
Trey Songz
71
The Twilight Sad
58
Carrie Underwood
56
The Used
68
Various Artists
70
Various Artists
74
Various Artists
77
The Very Best
71
Kurt Vile
67
Vivian Girls
71
Volcano Choir
76
Rufus Wainwright
59
Weezer
80
White Denim
76
Why?
83
Wild Beasts
80
Wildbirds & Peacedrums
59
Andrew W.K.
71
Patrick Wolf
67
Wolfmother
84
The xx
79
Yo La Tengo
83
Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band
51
Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson
59
Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
The Private Press
Universal acclaim
Based on 24 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 24 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: MCA
Release Date: 04 June 2002
Discs: 1 disc / 2 discs
Genre(s): Electronic, Hip-Hop
Summary
The Bay Area's Josh Davis (aka DJ Shadow) finally returns with a proper full-length follow-up to 1996's groudbreaking 'Endtroducing,' which achieved near-legendary status for its imaginative use of samples (a style that would later be adopted by acts such as The Avalanches).
Also By This Artist: The Outsider
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Village Voice (Consumer Guide)
The overall effect is less grand than that of Endtroducing six years ago, popper and rocker and r&ber. But an overall effect there is, grounded in Shadow's trademark-tremendous bass 'n' drum.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly
Few approach this style of record making with as much playfulness and gravity.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
The depth of his production sense and the breadth of his stylistic palette prove just as astonishing the second time out.
Read Full Review >Mojo
With The Private Press DJ Shadow ups even his own considerable ante. [May 2002, p.96]
PopMatters
The Private Press is a more diverse collection of styles and sounds, and still surpasses anything else out there.
Read Full Review >Nude As The News
The Private Press does not break ground like Endtroducing... did, but it showcases a wiser, more versatile Shadow, and in many ways it is a better record than its predecessor.
Read Full Review >E! Online
In essence, it's a younger, fitter and infinitely hipper version of what Moby is doing.
Read Full Review >Almost Cool
The Private Press is not only more ambitious, but simply more all over the place as well (which makes for brilliant moments as well as some inconsistent ones).
Read Full Review >Mixer
By using his hip-hop chops to express some next school emotions, Shadow comes up with something that doesn't just sound new, it feels new. [Jun 2002, p.86]
Uncut
This is much more than the usual retro-action.... DJ Shadow remains elusive to the end. [Jun 2002, p.127]
Neumu.net
The Private Press is full of rollicking beats, spectral tone colors, and enough subtle textures and supple surfaces to fill a textile warehouse.
Read Full Review >New York Magazine
It's less rootsy than its predecessor, as Shadow moves from the bohemian, jazzy hip-hop he's come to be associated with to more synthetic sounds like electro and synth pop.
Read Full Review >Village Voice
The record sounds like it came a year or so after Endtroducing--which is to say, it goes a little deeper in summoning Gothic textures and awesome drum samples, and arrives as a delayed, well-fitting follow-up to a landmark.
Read Full Review >Blender
Two long, draggy pieces near the end of The Private Press are its only intimations of mortality. [Jun/Jul 2002, p.102]
Billboard
An aurally hypnotizing collection that is comparable to, if not better than, Endtroducing.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone
The Private Press is a moody, murky album, by definition not as groundbreaking or epochal as Endtroducing . . . but fascinating enough in its own right.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
The Private Press is more solid an album than anyone dared expect from an older, wiser DJ Shadow, and though it won't be televising another revolution, I'd be lying if I said its celebratory pleasure centers didn't communicate directly with my own.
Read Full Review >Dot Music
It feels like the work of a man groping his way, fastidiously but uncertainly, towards the next level.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
At first, The Private Press plays like a bland kiss-off to followers expecting a big-time event record. But once its blood has time to flow, the album swells from a strained capillary to a coursing vein.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle
An intentionally loose-strung concept of hip-hop and psychedelia, which at times loses focus.
Read Full Review >Launch.com
Accomplished and occasionally great as this album is, Endtroducing still casts the biggest shadow on it of all.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express
'The Private Press' isn't a remarkable record - it lacks that startling and instinctive excitement capable of pushing music into the realm of the era-defining.
Read Full Review >Alternative Press
It was probably inevitable, but having raised the bar so high for cut-and-paste music, Shadow spends a little too long here looking up at it. [Jul 2002, p.96]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 24 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
eric m gave it a10:
just get it.
Vinny A gave it a10:
Davis makes pretty much everything on the radio sound idiotic. It's nice to here a real artist evolving and growing instead of pumping out the same old thing. The rest of the music industry would do well to embrace musicians whos music can be called art, istead of going for the quick buck song of the week that no will remember or care about three years from now. Shadow stands head and shoulders above the largly unlistenable tripe that MTV proports as Hip-Hop. Music like this develops loyal fallowings that last years beyond the top forty. You won't be dissapointed.
Lawrence P gave it a9:
Please don't compare this to "Entroducing". That's just not being fair and you will enjoy this record.
Eric G. gave it a 9:
This is good stuff. This is truly shadow's style. Im goin to be listenin to this on my ipod 4 awhile. Best thing since Entroducing.
JayMal gave it an 8:
Not as great as Entroducing...., But still a solid album all around.
Mac M gave it a 9:
Rivetting from start to finish. Perhaps not Q-U-I-T-E as multi-dimensional as Endtroducing but indespensable all the same.
Noble L. gave it a 9:
Just what I expected from Shadow ... the unexpected - 'You can't go home again' will be on my playlist for years to come.
