Rating:
Genre:
Electronica
Release Date: 09/09/1997
Decade-long veterans of the
electronica scene, label heads of the respected
Ninja Tune records, owners of their own mix show on
Radio 1, and
Coldcut still haven't learned to make a good long-player. While
Jonathan More and
Matt Black were responsible for one of the highlights of
electronic music history with their 1996
Journeys By DJ compilation,
Let Us Play! shows the duo weighed down by a long cast of collaborators (much as their last proper album, 1989's
What's That Noise?). While the presence of
funk drummer
Bernard "Pretty" Purdie,
old-school rap impresario
Steinski,
post-punk and spoken-word firebrand
Jello Biafra, tabla specialist
Talvin Singh (plus sympathizers like
the Herbaliser and
Jimpster on production) does provide several highlights -- and also testifies to
Coldcut's philosophy of throwing
hip-hop,
electronica,
funk, and a little bit of a whole lot more into the ring and enjoying the free-for-all -- the album moves much slower than
Coldcut's mix material (which usually averages two minutes per track, as opposed to six or seven on
Let Us Play). Besides the syrupy feel of the LP, the abundance of message tracks (
"Noah's Toilet," Biafra's
"Every Home a Prison," "Cloned Again") subvert the message of the title, indicative of
Coldcut's playful qualities over the years. The lone highlight is the single
"More Beats + Pieces," a remake of the 1988 original, which was constructed from samples in homage to pioneering
hip-hop DJs who manned two turntables with little opportunity to fall back on samplers and expensive keyboards.
~John Bush, All Music Guide
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