Preemptive Strike (album)

For other uses, see Preemptive strike (disambiguation).

Preemptive Strike
Compilation album by DJ Shadow
Released	13 January 1998
Genre	Instrumental hip hop trip hop
Length	61:11
Label	Mo' Wax
Producer	DJ Shadow
DJ Shadow chronology
Endtroducing..... (1996) Preemptive Strike (1998) The Private Press (2002)

Preemptive Strike is the first compilation album by American hip hop producer DJ Shadow, released by Mo' Wax on 13 January 1998. ^[1] It contains DJ Shadow's singles released by Mo' Wax between 1993 and 1997. It peaked at number 118 on the Billboard 200 chart. ^[2]

According to Shadow, "The title was in reference to what I felt was a general lack of care for my music on the US label side, and my aim was to compile the earlier Mo' Wax output in a manner of my choosing rather than it happening surreptitiously." ^[3]

Strike 1-3 are not included on the vinyl edition.

“What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 2)” samples “Girl on The Moon” from ‘’4’’ by Foreigner.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Chicago Tribune	[5]
Christgau's Consumer Guide	[6]
Entertainment Weekly	B [7]
Los Angeles Times	[8]
Pitchfork	8.4/10 [9]
Rolling Stone	[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[11]

Ryan Schreiber of Pitchfork wrote, "These 11 tracks document Shadow's evolution from just a kid with a turntable to a full-blown, steady-rockin' brother with soul." ^[9] Soren Baker of Chicago Tribune commented that "Sound bytes from old records and instructional tapes make brief appearances, but his spacey sound beds yield far more than just a group of cleverly arranged tape splices." ^[5] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called it "a nice summation of DJ Shadow's most important singles through the end of 1997." ^[4]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Josh Davis, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Strike 1"		0:26
2.	"In/Flux"		12:12
3.	"Hindsight"		6:52
4.	"Strike 2"		0:15
5.	"What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 2)"		13:51
6.	"What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 3)"		5:12
7.	"What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 4)"	J. Davis Jeffrey Bova	7:12
8.	"What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 1)"	J. Davis Shawn Phillips	6:21
9.	"Strike 3 (and I'm Out)"		0:26
10.	"High Noon"	J. Davis Ernie Orosco	3:57
11.	"Organ Donor (Extended Overhaul)"		4:26

Limited edition CD bonus disc

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Camel Bobsled Race" (DJ Shadow megamix by DJ Q-Bert)	24:03

Japanese edition CD bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Number Song" (Cut Chemist remix)		5:10
13.	"Painkiller" (Kill the Pain mix; DJ Shadow vs. Depeche Mode)	Martin L. Gore	6:32

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

• DJ Shadow – production

Charts

Chart (1998)	Peak position
US Billboard 200 [2]	118
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [12]	1

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Preemptive Strike – DJ Shadow". AllMusic . Retrieved March 11, 2013.
2. "DJ Shadow Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
3. DJ Shadow [@djshadow] (January 27, 2023). "25 years ago, I released 'Preemptive Strike.' The title was in reference to what I felt was a general lack of care for my music on the US label side, and my aim was to compile the earlier Mo' Wax output in a manner of my choosing rather than it happening surreptitiously" (Tweet). Retrieved July 24, 2024– via Twitter.
4. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Preemptive Strike – DJ Shadow". AllMusic . Retrieved September 5, 2011.
5. Baker, Soren (February 27, 1998). "DJ Shadow: Preemptive Strike (Mo Wax/ffrr)". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved January 6, 2018.
6. Christgau, Robert (2000). "DJ Shadow: Preemptive Strike". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 83. ISBN   0-312-24560-2 . Retrieved April 9, 2019.
7. Browne, David (January 16, 1998). "Preemptive Strike". Entertainment Weekly . No. 414. p. 70. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
8. Cromelin, Richard (January 11, 1998). "DJ Shadow, 'Preemptive Strike,' Mo Wax". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved July 24, 2024.
9. Schreiber, Ryan. "DJ Shadow: Preemptive Strike". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on February 5, 2006. Retrieved September 5, 2011.
10. Ratliff, Ben (January 22, 1998). "DJ Shadow: Preemptive Strike". Rolling Stone . No. 778. p. 56. Archived from the original on March 12, 2007. Retrieved September 5, 2011.
11. Sheffield, Rob (2004). "DJ Shadow". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  247–248. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
12. "DJ Shadow Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 14, 2019.

External links

• Preemptive Strike at Discogs (list of releases)
• Preemptive Strike at MusicBrainz (list of releases)