Customer Reviews
One of my most listened to of all time - By: Richard Glitter, 12 Oct 2007 
I acquired this recording way backin '97 or so, right after its release. It was literally impossible to getin the United States, so I had to acquire a bootleg. I was not about to pay the $150 that people were paying for it on eBay, plus I had purchased almost all of Coldcut's (and other Ninja Tune) releases. As soon as it was re-released I purchased a real copy of it.
Fast forward to 2007. I still listen to this album very frequently. It's one of my all-time favorite mixes, & people aren't really doing these sorts of DJ sets anymore. Old school DnB, trance, big beat, etc. Seamlessly flows from one track to the next. This is a seminal recording, period.
70 Minutes of Madness . . . - By: Mr. A. C. Dickie, 13 Dec 2006 Madness indeed! I was put onto this mix & Ninja Tune as a whole a while ago by my friend. The most accuarte review of this record that i have read is that it is "the greatest live mix of all time". This is a point i agree on.
Coldcut have manged something special here - using the "live mix" platform the duo make the most of their obvious skills. The live element of this record - ie: apparently it was recordedin one take using only decks - is a very important note. Indeed i don't usually enjoy what are known as "studio" mixes where the DJ has unlimited takes to get that mix right. In live formnat the mix sounds more honest & highlights the DJ's use of decks, mixer & record selection as an instrument.
Record selection is key to this mix. It is the most ecclectic bunch of tunes you'll find anywhere. Starting offin the territory of drum & bass with some reggae thrown in, it quickly ushers you through a tight techno gem by Plasticman aka Ritchie Hawtin on to a crazy mix of hip hop.
Moving through the old skool notes of Boogie Down Productions, Coldcut leave you driftingin ambient bliss courtesy Love Lee & Red Snapper before stopping you deadin your tracks (i did actually stand stillin the middle of the High Street!) as the perfectly placed abstract notes of the theme from Doctor Who grace your ears!
It really is a jounrey & anyone that doesn't know what good DJ work should sound like should cop this mix. Although, as understated & underated as Ninja Tune are - you probably wouldn't even be on this page if you didn't share my views about the greatest mix of all time!
You'll love it if: you can appreciate the sheer genius of all things Coldcut & live DJing
You'll loathe it if: you were after some vocal trance/pointless dance ala "DJ" Sammy.
The Best Mix Album Of All Time? - By: J. M. Lawton, 10 Oct 2006 Dense, imaginative, unpredictable, diverse, exciting & truly adventurous, Coldcut's definitive release is more of a mindf**k than a mix album, & perhaps the only post hip-hop / rave work to hit the same giddy heights that were usually the exclusive preserve of the great psychedelic rock records of the late 1960's.
Like "The White Album" before it, for example, what makes JDJ so refreshing & unique is the way its constituent parts are stitched together so audaciously & unexpectedly. I knew hardly any of the records that make up this mix before I heard this album, but that didn't matter; it is the wonderful patchwork that Coldcut have so brazenly crafted that makes it such a brilliant experience.
Think you hate dance music? Buy this, & think again...
Genuinely groundbreaking - By: John Tree, 30 Aug 2006 Re-issued classic & timeless free-wheeling mix from the masters...Up til this point, no DJ mix had cast it's nets so wide stopping at Hip Hop, Dub, The Radiophonic Workshop, R&B, & all points between...their skills on the decks became the stuff of legend...this was done long before software let you cheat...it's a mindbogglingly great mix that genuinely entertains & surprises....essential listening.
15 reviews so far and all of them five stars - By: Mr. G. P. D. Ingram, 28 Sep 2005 That says it all really, doesn't it?
I wouldn't say that this album is entirely flawless, because I slightly prefer the first side to the second one. Therefore, logically, the second side could have been ever so slightly better. But I would certainly give the album as a whole 98 or 99 out of 100.
I spent nine monthsin 1996-7 listening to this almost every day & after all that time it still sounded as fresh & exciting as the first time I heard it. How many albums could you say that about?
It's a journey by DJ alright, a thrilling journey around a magical musical world. Buy it now.
