68 Million Degrees In The Shade

Even in the MP3 age, there are CDs worth searching out–that require the search. “O.O.P., We Did It Again” is dedicated to great albums that are criminally out of print–and that aren’t necessarily likely to become available anytime soon.

The album: 68 Million Shades … (Trade 2/Island, 1996), the second album by experimental drum and bass duo Ashley Wales and John Coxon, a.k.a. Spring Heel Jack.

Classic material: Coxon and Wales’s forays into breakbeat science were less about tearing up dance floors, though beats were little problem, than the kind of sonic possibilities the title implies. This is their most lustrous disc: kaleidoscopic, sprawling, sure-footed.

Highlights: “Suspensions” is built on a sustained note, around which details accrete like dust. “60 Seconds” functions as both parody and homage to the lounge music also gaining a foothold in hipster circles as drum and bass made its claim for them, with a limpid horn riff and exhaled breath providing a cheesily irresistible hook.

Why it’s out of print: SHJ’s broad, deep palette garnered them critical support outside of hardline drum and bass fans, particularly in America, but reviews don’t sell records. It also worked against them in underground circles, where they were seen as dabblers. This was largely correct–SHJ were to some degree dabblers–but they dabbled as brilliantly as anyone trying on the style.

Chances it will return to print: It’s hard to imagine it not returning at some point. It was released on Geoff Travis’s Trade 2 (the label he began between the initial and most recent iterations of Rough Trade Records), so maybe there’s red tape to be cut through first. But as late-’90s nostalgia comes around, some enterprising, historically minded entrepreneur will surely bring it back to life.

Cost for a used copy: A whopping 95 cents on Amazon–plus shipping and handling, of course..

68 Million Shades . . . [Amazon]