While the tea break in the cricket was long enough to listen from the beginning to well into Side 2 of yesterday's album, it barely got me through two tracks of the remix disc that forms the 'bonus' appendix of Downtime. That's an indicator of how bloated albums became between 1980 and 1995, when Downtime was made.
This double CD was a gift from Tim; or at least I assume it was, because I can't imagine how else it would have found its way into my collection. I was very sniffy about the last two gifts (which I think is OK: in the classic trope of male friendship, I get as good as I give). To start with, I was ready to be similarly dismissive of this one. Like, if they're going to put the bassline so high in the mix, couldn't they at least try to do something with it?
But over the course of two and a half weeks — or however long the whole thing lasts — there are signs of intelligent life and some variety. Enough distinct ideas to fill the same duration as Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, somewhere between 30 and 35 mintues. At times it felt a little like a budget DJ Shadow.
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