PDF Easy Hymns and Spirituals; Book 1: Early Elementary to Elementary Piano Collection by Martha Mier in Arts-Photography

Review

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Great album. Good book.By Dawn-MarieUnlike Entroducing the album; which is essentially flawless; Eliot Wilders book has its pros and cons. Im going to throw out four items I think any prospective buyer of the book should know; and then briefly comment on what I found to be the pros and cons of each item.1. The author is an old white guy. Pro: This was certainly a unique perspective. I mean; I guess Im an "old white guy" too; now; but I grew up in the 80s and 90s; and Eliot Wilder grew up in the 1960s. In fact; he spends the first 22 pages of the book talking about how he grew up listening to the Four Tops; the Kinks; and Buffalo Springfield on AM radio. Con: Since the book is basically a long interview with Shadow; I feel like better questions would have been asked by someone more familiar with hip-hop. How unfamiliar is Wilder? Well; despite being an obvious fan of Entroducing; he seems to not really understand that it is a hip-hop album! On Page 88; Wilder asks Shadow whether he was drawing on post-modernism or "some sort of hip-hop aesthetic" for inspiration. Shadow answers by basically saying (and Im paraphrasing here); "Uh; Im a hip-hop artist. Duh."2. The book is one long interview with the artist. Pro: We hear directly from Shadow much more than any other hip-hop artist covered in the 33 1/3 series. After Wilders 22-page intro about himself; the rest of the book consists of approximately 80 questions (I counted 77 but I probably missed a few) asked over 76 pages. Basically; Wilder asks a one- or two-line question; and then Shadow fills between a half-page and 2.5 pages with his answer. This is even more of a "pro" if you consider Wilders lack of hip-hop perspective to be a con; as I do. We learn a lot of interesting things: First and foremost on that list; in my opinion; is DJ Shadows early relationship with the militant pro-black rapper Paris. Con: The book lacks the experts insight found on other 33 1/3 books. I got much deeper levels of understanding from all four of the other hip-hop books in the series. Also; it seems maybe even a little bit disingenuous for Wilder to be credited as the "author" of this book; since it is Shadows words that fill the pages. All but the first 22; that is!3. The book really isnt about Entroducing; but more about DJ Shadow in general. Pro: We learn a lot about Shadow growing up in California; collecting his first records; getting his first turntables; getting put on a college radio station; his first experiments with beat-making; and his first forays into the recording industry (with Paris of all people). All 33 and 1/3 books contain artist background information; but this one definitely went deepest of the ones Ive read. Con: There are approximately 80 questions asked in the interview; and it is well past #40 before we get into the Entroducing era. Fewer than a third of the questions are specifically about Entroducing. I would have liked to know more about the album; the conditions under which it was recorded; the techniques Shadow used and experimented with using his MPC 60 and the recording technology of the day; etc. We get some insights into some of this; but they occupy well under one-fourth of the book.4. The book is short. Pro: Easy; quick read. Con: Less filling. Need I mention; again; the 22-page intro about the authors childhood; which takes up more than one-fifth of the pages?So there you have it. This is a very good book; and Id recommend it without reservation if not for the fact that it must be compared to the other hip-hop books in the 33 and 1/3 series; to which it is inferior. If you are a major Shadow fan; then by all means; buy this now. But if youre more of a general hip-hop head who likes Nas; A Tribe Called Quest; the Beastie Boys; and Public Enemy just as much or more than Shadow; then you should still buy and read this -- but not until after the others.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Best of SeriesBy B. PardueFrom the 33 1/3s; Ive read David Bowies LOW; Enos ANOTHER GREEN WORLD; Neil Youngs HARVEST;and The Pixies DOOLITTLE. This is by far my favorite title in the series. And to be honest; Im not a big hip hop fan. The book is basically an extended interview with DJ Shadow as he tells his story of roaming the used record stores as a youngster; experimenting with scratching and mixing cassettes as a teen and finally making his first album; Entroducing... His passion and creativity came through to make it a great success story. I played Entroducing... and his next project; UNKLE; while I read this in one sitting. Great fun. If you like the 33 1/3 books; get this one. Entroducing...is a great album; if you dont have it; get it.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great story of one of americas geniusBy Casey WheelerGreat story of one of americas genius; behind his primitive tooled opus; showing that sampling IS a respected art form...