The Grey Album (Beatles + Jay-Z)

[Peter Johnson]

Interesting remix of Jay-Z's Black Album that was put together by someone called "DJ Dangermouse." I don't love Jay-Z, and I'm not a huge fan of the Beatles, but I'm listening to this underground release, a melding of the White Album and the Black Album, and finding it strangely...captivating.

This "release" (indy) created quite a stir when EMI tried to pull the plug on unauthorized use of Beatles samples. Jay-Z's camp responded by making an acapella mix of the Black Album available to any and all who would remix it! (when will the big companies learn? This is reminiscent of Biz Markie's sampling woes...). Anyway, although only 3000 copies were pressed by the DJ, it's all over the net (yesterday was Grey Tuesday, an event sponsored by the DJ whereby many fans hosted mp3's of the songs for download).

Who's heard about this, or heard it? Whaddya think?

Yahoo news link

[ghost of miles]

I heard a story about it on NPR recently, but still haven't heard the actual boot. Sounds interesting, though.

[Rooster_Ties]

I've read about this on-line a couple places, but haven't actually heard it yet either. Who's got one??? I'd be currious.

[Peter Johnson]

I'll try to post a link to a d/l site later tonight.

[Saint Vitus]

Downloaded the album last night and played it a couple of times thus far ... I realize many of you will have no idea what I'm talkin' about ... but anyway ...

Since hip-hop has been sampling from all sources, the White Album is not really a surprise choice ... However, some of the tracks are so cleverly matched one cannot help but smile at the ingenuity. "Encore," "Dirt Off Your Shoulder," and "Moment of Clarity" are very well done. Even "What More Can I Say?," not one of HOVA's best, gets a facelift from "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."

On the other hand, some are quite predictable. "99 Problems" and "Helter Skelter" are such a natural match that it's surprising the result disappoints. "Change Clothes," itself a second-rate rewrite of the Neptunes' "Frontin'," doesn't improve much even with the aid from the Fab 4.

Even though backing tracks are taken from the Beatles ... looping and speed correction take away much charm from the originals. If you're more into the Beatles, you'll likely to be disappointed. If you're a fan of the God MC, this is an interesting effort worth seeking.

[Brandon Burke]

Granted, DJ Dangermouse--who the hell is DJ Dangermouse, by the way?!--added a new twist to the remix-the-whole-damned-record craze. All said, though, I'm sick and tired of it. There's something like seven or eight well-distributed remix records of this latest Jay-Z release: the Green Album, the Blue Album, the Brown Album, etc.

It all started with a kid named 9th Wonder who remixed Nas' God's Son in full a couple of years ago. It was called God's Stepson and recieved a lot of press within hip hop circles. It was a very bold move, one that was going to either propell him to stardom of get his ass kicked. As it happens, it was pretty good so he got some production gigs out of the deal. In fact, I believe he produced one of the tracks on (the legitimate version of) the Jay-Z Black Album. He was supposed to anyway.

The legitimate Black Album stinks, by the way. I sold it immediately. Can't believe he turned down beats from Dr. Dre and DJ Premier for the crap he ended up rhyming over. Not a particularly good way to bow out of the game in my opinion. What began as a ?uestlove co-production ended up not as the 'back to roots' hip hop record it was supposed to be. Rather, it's just another rap CD appropriate for dancefloors in exclusive nightclubs. Whatever man.....

Edited February 27, 2004 by Brandon Burke

[Saint Vitus]

Mr. Burke, you sure are a veteran groover ... Dr. Dre? DJ Premier? What year is this anyway? I don't think The Black Album's that bad ... I think it's an improvement over the overly-long and boring Blueprint2 and the largely-pointless version 2.1. It's the rhyme that counts with Be's man, anyway.

I keep hearing The Brown Album's a keeper ... Have you heard it?

[Brandon Burke]

Mr. Burke, you sure are a veteran groover ... Dr. Dre? DJ Premier? What year is this anyway? I don't think The Black Album's that bad ... I think it's an improvement over the overly-long and boring Blueprint2 and the largely-pointless version 2.1. It's the rhyme that counts with Be's man, anyway.

I keep hearing The Brown Album's a keeper ... Have you heard it?

The Brown Album is very good. I believe they have clips of it that you can listen to on HipHopSite.com but you'll have to hunt them down yourself because they don't adjust the URL when you go to different pages within their site. So I couldn't copy you a direct link.

As for my "veteran groover" status..... Yeah, I'm a *boom-boom-bap* kind of guy. Erick Sermon, Pete Rock, Large Professor, Primo, etc. And in my world there's nothing better than a jam about why you're the baddest motherf*cker ever to hold a mic. I still say Rakim was the best of all time. Unstopable. I did like the first Blueprint and the Unplugged records by Jigga, though. He's definately a gifted lyricist and has an amazingly nonchalant flow; as if to say "alright, I guess I'll make some shit up for you." And that kind of confident swagger works if the lyrics are good. Bottom line: Jigga not only has good lyrics but knowns when to use certain vowel and consonant sounds. The overall effect is very percussive. Others I can think of who do (or in some cases did) this well are Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Nas, Inspectah Deck, Redman, E-Double, Q-Tip, Grand Puba, Chuck D, Kool G Rap, Edo. G and.....well......Rakim.

I can't help it, man. I bought my first rap cassette in 1983. It was Whodini Escape. I was raised with a different idea of what rap music is "supposed to be".

[Brandon Burke]

It's the rhyme that counts with Be's man, anyway.

Yes and no. I see your point--seriously I do--but a dope rhyme over a weak beat, at the end of the day, is still weak. On the other hand, I can think of several releases that are considered underground classics regardless of the fact that the MCs are lame simply because the beats are so dope: Group Home, INI, All City, Groove B Chill, etc. I would almost put the latter Gang Starr in this category as well. Everybody's sick of Guru's shit by this point but heads still buy those records based on Primo alone.

Then again, I'm coming at this from a different angle. I'll buy absolutely anything produced by Pete Rock. Especially 12"es. That way, I've got the instrumental too. Same deal with Timbaland.

[Rooster_Ties]

The Grey Video (mirror #1) or The Grey Video (mirror #2).

[Alexander]

The Grey Video is VERY clever! Liked it a lot. Went a little over the top when they had John break-dancing, but the integration of the "Hard Day's Night" footage and the new footage was nearly flawless. Ringo as DJ was pretty hilarious too!

[Rooster_Ties]

It's going on 2 years since this whole "Grey Album" thing first surfaced.

What do people who liked it back then think now? (Cuz if you didn't like it back then, you probably still don't like it now.)

Me? I downloaded all the MP3's well over a year ago, but never got around to burning them to a CD (which is the only way I seem to listen to stuff). I think I still have them on my harddrive at home somewhere. I should take a look tonight.

(Found this thread searching for something else, and thought I'd kick it up for some more discuss.)

[ejp626]

It's going on 2 years since this whole "Grey Album" thing first surfaced.

What do people who liked it back then think now? (Cuz if you didn't like it back then, you probably still don't like it now.)

Me? I downloaded all the MP3's well over a year ago, but never got around to burning them to a CD (which is the only way I seem to listen to stuff). I think I still have them on my harddrive at home somewhere. I should take a look tonight.

(Found this thread searching for something else, and thought I'd kick it up for some more discuss.)

Well, I dl'ed it, listened to it a couple of times, then dropped it. I do like mash-ups, but this was just too rap-heavy for my taste. There was a brilliant remix/mash-up of Green Day's American Idiot called American Edit, and I listen to that about once a month. I like it a lot more, as it samples rock and pop and smashes it together with the Green Day tracks.

[Aggie87]

The only mashup I've heard was that Queen/50 Cent thing that was available online briefly. It was fun, more because I was hearing music that I was familiar with in a different light. But I'm not sure it holds up over the long run to repeated listening, for me anyway. I haven't been inspired to play it in a long time. Heck, I don't play Queen very often anymore either.

I'm wondering if this Beatles mashup thing is something that will get alot of "curiousity" sales, but won't stand up to repeated listening over the long term. If that happens, it may end up being a used cd store staple before too long. Of course I'd be happy to be wrong and have this turn out to be a great cd...

[Noj]

I've still never heard any of these mashup things.

[Alexander]

I've been listening to it lately, particularly because of my interest in Danger Mouse (I have his collaboration with Cee-Lo as Gnarls Barkley, the "Danger Doom" album with MF Doom, his Gorillaz album, and another collaboration he did called "Ghetto Pop Life" with Jeminii), but also because I've been listening to Jay-Z's "The Black Album" in anticipation of his new one (due out today).

I thought "The Grey Album" was pretty cool the first time I heard it, and if anything my repect for Danger Mouse and his achievement has only grown, especially when I learned that all of the beats on the album were constructed using ONLY Ringo's drum beats and Paul's basslines. Imagine how long that must have taken! I always assumed that DM had used canned beats or even lifted the beats straight from "The Black Album." I read an interview with DM in which he condemns all of those people who released their own "Black Album" mash-ups in his wake. He notes that most of them just threw the thing together in a couple of days, but that "The Grey Album" took weeks of painstakingly counting beats, scouring "The White Album" for material that would fit both the tempo and the mood of the Jay-Z songs, and sampling EVERY TIME Ringo's drum-stick hit the skin so he could later reassemble it into the beats he would use on the album. He said that he actually thought about giving up after about four songs and considered just releasing an EP. Instead, he pushed on and created twelve songs that stand up to the original Jay-Z album in every respect (and even surpass it in some ways, especially since each track on "The Black Album" was done by a different producer).

The stand-out tracks, for me, on "The Grey Album" are "99 Problems" (orginally produced by Rick Rubin) in which DM outstrips the original version by sampling "Helter Skelter" for a BLISTERING track; "Encore" (which was used in "The Grey Video") which samples "Glass Onion" and "Savoy Truffle"; "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" which completely reconstructs "Julia"; "Moment of Clarity" which uses "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" to incredible effect (it's all but unrecognizable); "Interlude" which uses "Revolution 9" to create an amazing sound collage; and "December 4th," which combines "Mother Nature's Son" with a song that features Jay-Z mother's voice.

Great album! NOT just a novelty.

Edited November 21, 2006 by Alexander

[Rooster_Ties]

Again, I haven't listened to it short of the first time I downloaded it. But my memory of it (vague, at best) was that there was more meat on the bone here than met the eye (ear?).

I really should see if I still have this on my hard drive at home, and burn a copy for some real listening.

[.:.impossible]

Mark Linkous and Danger Mouse are going to record a full-length collab after working together on the latest 'Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of the Mountain'.

[Alexander]

Speaking of Jay-Z, I did end up getting "Kingdom Come" yesterday. Like the Beatles' "LOVE," this is getting some luke-warm reviews and (as with "LOVE") I think that it comes from inflated expectations (Jay-Z's comeback album, and all that). I found "Kingdom Come" to be a highly enjoyable listen. It's concise (14 tracks, no "interludes" or skits that often plague hip-hop records), it highlights Jay-Z's skills as an MC and has wonderful production (I especially enjoyed the elements of classic soul and even psychedelia). The album sounds great. Is it as good as "The Blueprint?" Of course not. That was a high water mark in Jay-Z's career, and in Hip-Hop in general. Is it as good as "The Black Album?" No, but it comes pretty close. Yes, Jay-Z's favorite topic is still Jay-Z, but that's always been the case. I think this is a solid addition to his canon, even if it isn't the groundbreaking album people were anticipating.

[Rooster_Ties]

Art imitates that which EMI doesn't want anyone to hear. (Starting around time-index 1:40 and 2:32, and especially 2:48.)

The greatest thing since sliced bread?? -- surely not -- not by a country mile.

Interesting?? -- sure!! Especially in a "the glass is half full" kind of way -- HELL YEAH!!!

Everything's gotta start somewhere, and looking back 20 years from now (hell, 2 years from now -- for all we know), this clip above, and The Grey Album might be one of those somewhere's that something started.

And like everything else, 85 to 98% of it will be complete and total crap, and the 2 to 15% that isn't -- will totally rock our world -- at least for those that let it.

Edited November 23, 2006 by Rooster_Ties

[Rooster_Ties]

Who could have even imagined something like this even as recently as 10 years ago??

(Well, I couldn't -- maybe somebody smarter than me could.)

(with a little Aerosmith thrown in at the end)

Can anyone imagine what insane things people will be doing with found sound in 10 or 20 years from now?? (Or even as little as three to five years from now??)

What if this kind of musical thinking (and technology) were applied to other kinds of music, besides pop music?? One could imagine symphonies made up of fragments of Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, and any and everything else. Maybe not next year. But 10, 20, 30 years from now -- we may well get to experience coherent soundscapes that are far more complex, and well -- coherent -- than anything any "sound collage" artist could ever even dream of now.

(Then again, maybe it's all downhill from here. )

Edited November 23, 2006 by Rooster_Ties

[Alexander]

That's why I can't fathom those people who claim that original music cannot be made from found sound, or that DJs aren't "real musicians." Not everyone who sits down at a piano is Art Tatum. Not everyone who picks up a saxophone is Bird or Trane. The fact that there are unimaginative DJs out there is no proof that great things cannot be done (and there are GREAT DJs who are doing GREAT things). This is as valid a musical form as any. And it has as many possibilities as any other.

[.:.impossible]

y'all are into mashups? i think the most popular mashup of the year is girl talk 'nightripper'. combining top 40 music from the past 25 years, not so top 40 music from the past 25 years (neutral milk hotel even!), with mostly crunk mc's of the past 5 years. instant party.

while you're on this kick, i'd suggest you check it out. he moves fast and samples come and go before you can get them.

[Alexander]

y'all are into mashups? i think the most popular mashup of the year is girl talk 'nightripper'. combining top 40 music from the past 25 years, not so top 40 music from the past 25 years (neutral milk hotel even!), with mostly crunk mc's of the past 5 years. instant party.

while you're on this kick, i'd suggest you check it out. he moves fast and samples come and go before you can get them.

I've been looking for this. Seems like you have to order this online, and since I've been doing all of my buying with cash lately, that's kind of tough right now. I plan on getting it sometime, though. I think it sounds great!

[Alexander]

y'all are into mashups? i think the most popular mashup of the year is girl talk 'nightripper'. combining top 40 music from the past 25 years, not so top 40 music from the past 25 years (neutral milk hotel even!), with mostly crunk mc's of the past 5 years. instant party.

while you're on this kick, i'd suggest you check it out. he moves fast and samples come and go before you can get them.

I managed to find a free download (you're supposed to pay to get it from the Illegal Art website) and was able to get it last night. It's fantastic! Great stuff! As you say, instant party. I love the fact GT samples such a wide variety of music (even James Taylor sounds good here).

I also found an album called "Revolved" by CCC. This album mashes up various tracks with the Beatles "Revolver." While some of it doesn't really work (mixing "Yellow Submarine" with "That's All" by Genesis gets dicy when the tempi fail to match up), the parts that do are extraordinary. One of the best tracks is "Sunshine a Go Go" which mixes "Good Day Sunshine" with "Getting Better" and "A Day in the Life," as well as "Eight Miles High" by the Byrds, "I Can See For Miles" by the Who, and "Groove is in the Heart" by Deee-Lite. It's worth downloading for this track alone. Seek it out.