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Though it's disjointed, a little bumpy, and -- in places -- perceptibly unfinished-sounding, The Shining is a very worthy addition to Dilla's discography.
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"The Shining" documents the totality of who Jay Dee was as an artist and performer.
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Blender[An] excellent, star-studded farewell. [Sep 2006]
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The Shining is not a masterpiece, obviously, and nobody ought claim it as such, but it does show the producer striking out in a moderately novel direction and finding consistently satisfying results.
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The Shining welcomes listeners to reflect on the magnitude of Yancey’s career, as any posthumous work is apt to do. Unlike Donuts, however, this newest offering will not leave Yancey’s listeners despondent about what could have been but, rather, will provide a fitting epitaph for what was.
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Entertainment WeeklyThough bittersweet, the CD lives up to its mastermind's lofty legacy. [25 Aug 2006, p.87]
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FilterFor the most part, Jay Dee sounds like The Shining's administrator, rather than its sole (and soul) creator. [#22, p.102]
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Although not nearly as hot as early 2006’s Donuts, The Shining shows for a handful of great collabo’s and bangin’ beats and further paves the way for Dilla’s powerhouse legacy.
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Pretty much every track is a head-turner.
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In contrast [to 'Donuts'], The Shining is more of a general audience record, by virtue of its song-length tracks and pervasive vocals from Dilla and his crew. As such, it presents challenges that Donuts didn't.
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The problem, then, is that while the whole CD is incredibly solid and expertly crafted, it’s for the most part unremarkable.
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If Donuts was Jay Dee's swan song, The Shining is a glimpse of what his work may have sounded like in the future.
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It's easily among the best of his work in his entire career.
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Rolling Stone[A] dark, magnetic opus. [24 Aug 2006, p.90]
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SpinSports the trademark soul loops, crackling drums, and underwater ambience of his best past work. [Sep 2006, p.103]
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While most of the tracks on The Shining lack the abstract ideas and flow of Donuts, it’s still an admirable record.
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The Shining's biggest flaw is that it feels awfully slight, thanks to a run time of less than 37 minutes.
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UncutWhile not quite hitting the heights of the recent Donuts LP, it again proves his brilliant nose for hip hop's pleasure points. [Oct 2006, p.123]
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Under The RadarA few bumps aside, The Shining is the a fitting epitaph for an artist who left us too damn young, too damn soon. [#15]
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UrbThe Shining stands as a combination of Dilla's best sides. [Jul/Aug 2006, p.130]
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VibeShining brims with clear-cut and fully resolved ideas. [Oct 2006, p.138]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 17 out of 20
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Mixed: 1 out of 20
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Negative: 2 out of 20
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SamDOct 28, 2006
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DERRICKJOct 6, 2006
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JJKahnAug 21, 2006This is an absolutely fantastic album from Dilla.