The Justice - Arts
Issue: 3/2/04
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'Grey' is genius mixing
By Jon Fischer
On Tuesday, Feb. 24-henceforth known as "Grey Tuesday -300 Web sites and over 10,000 Internet users protested the recording industry and current rules of sample use by hosting and downloading full copies of hip hop DJ Danger Mouse's The Grey Album.
Released in January, The Grey Album is one of several underground remix projects of rapper Jay-Z's final endeavor, The Black Album. However, it is unique from its counterparts-and most other remix projects-because it places Jay-Z's vocal tracks over beats and music taken solely from the Beatles' White Album. Because of this, Danger Mouse was issued a cease and desist order from EMI, the owner of the rights to the Beatles' recordings, also making it perhaps the most controversial remix project ever.
It is unclear what The Grey Album may mean for sample-oriented music in the future, but it has certainly raised the bar. While parts of the album sound rushed and slightly awkward (Danger Mouse was worried that another DJ might beat him to the punch), The Grey Album is still an expertly-crafted tribute to both the Black and White Albums. The beats are respectful yet not entirely derivative of the original Beatles' songs, and are molded perfectly, save an exception or two, with Jay-Z's raps.
While found in the middle of The Black Album, "Public Service Announcement" serves as the perfect intro here. As the gentle acoustic strumming of The Beatles' "Long Long Long" fades in, Jay-Z heralds, "Allow me to introduce myself/ my name is Hov." It is refreshingly light compared to the organ-driven Just Blaze-produced version on The Black Album, transforming a battle anthem into a descendant of 90s jazz-rap la A Tribe Called Quest.
The Black Album's originally hard-hitting mission statement, "What More Can I Say?" is interestingly matched by Danger Mouse with "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Built around the song's haunting piano intro, George Harrison's famous verses are woven between Hova's rhymes and the original R&B chorus, forging a track surprisingly appropriate for its lyrical swagger. And thankfully, Danger Mouse does not include the pompously-placed sample from the film Gladiator found in Jay-Z's original. Taking the opposite approach, a fast beat makes The Grey Album's "Encore" more urgent and anthemic than the Black version, first replacing its 60s soul flourishes with the eerie strings and "oh yeahs" of "Glass Onion." And in a moment of pure genius, Danger Mouse switches beats halfway through the song, choosing the stinging electric guitar of "Savoy Truffle."
It would be hard to improve on Jay-Z's triumphant "December 4th," but Danger Mouse isn't necessarily trying. Instead, he gives it an entirely different tone, with the sparse acoustic background of "Mother Nature's Son," providing a new intimacy for Sean Carter's most intimate tale-his life's story. However, he does manage to improve on the Timbaland-produced "Dirt Off Your Shoulder," staying true to its erratic electronic beat.
Taking a cut-and-paste approach, Danger Mouse dissects "Julia" almost note by note, throwing in an arbitrary syllable from John Lennon every few seconds. It is the organic equivalent of the song's original beat, still functioning as a sequel to Jay-Z's earlier hits "Can I Get A..." and "Nigga What, Nigga Who."
Few albums are perfect, and Danger Mouse is sometimes plagued by The Black Album's most off-kilter beats. This is most apparent on "My 1st Song," the final track on both discs. Danger Mouse seems to overestimate its experimental nature, and his unconventional beat-using "Cry Baby Cry"-doesn't quite work. He may have avoided a similar mistake with The Black Album's "The Threat," which is notably absent on Grey.
On the whole, Danger Mouse seems to capture Jay-Z's versatility well, adjusting to his various personas throughout the album. Jay-Z the Rapper stars in "99 Problems," The Grey Album's best cut. Combined with the Beatles' precursor to metal, "Helter Skelter," "99 Problems" is Hov's hardest hitting song since The Blueprint's "Takeover," finding perfection in its organized chaos. Harrison's roaring guitars crash against the screams and "ahhs" of Lennon and McCartney as J-Hova rails against music critics, radio stations, and racial profiling. But most amazingly, it is the simplistic drumming of Ringo Starr that brings the song together.
Danger Mouse also shows us Jay-Z the Pop Artist, and the staccato piano of "Piggies" is appropriately whimsical for the hit single "Change Clothes," originally produced by the Neptunes. Evident of his breadth as a producer, these are already among the year's best.
Danger Mouse only released 3,000 copies of The Grey Album to stores, many of which quickly made their ways to eBay for as much as $100 a copy. But even before Grey Tuesday, it was widely available on the Internet and easily found on file-sharing programs.
The Grey Album may not be the best remix album ever done, but it just might be the coolest, and it will likely reshape the role of samples in underground hip hop. Danger Mouse has crafted a nearly perfect homage to Jay-Z and The Beatles. It's a shame that most executives don't think so.
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EDIT: I got the whole thing
01 "Public Service Announcement"- "Long Long Long"
02 "What More Can I Say"- "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
03 "Encore"- "Glass Onion" & "Savoy Truffle"
04 "December 4th"- "Mother Nature's Son"
05 "99 Problems"- "Helter Skelter"
06 "Dirt Off Your Shoulder"- "Julia"
07 "Moment of Clarity"- "Happiness Is a Warm Gun"
08 "Change Clothes"- "Piggies"
09 "Allure"- "Dear Prudence"
10 "Justify My Thug"- "Rocky Raccoon"
11 "Interlude'- "Revolution 9" & "I'm So Tired"
12 "My 1st Song"- "Can You Take Me Back" & "Savoy Truffle"
