'In Tune,' 'On Time' and worth the admission

Josh Davis, also known as DJ Shadow, has got to be one of the most respected scratch DJ's in music today, and it's easy to understand his international acclaim when you get to hear him play a non-stop, fist-pumping scratch set for a stunned London crowd on his newest release, Live! In Tune and On Time.\nDrawing from just about every genre ever pressed to vinyl, DJ Shadow is definitely right on the mark with this performance, which was taken from his most recent world tour. The back-and-forth hip-hop cutting that has so influenced acts like Prefuse 73 is ever-present, but it's nice to see Davis move back and forth between the respective high points of his previous albums, especially the tracks off of Endtroducing.... The highlight of the show is "Lonely Soul," which features some mind-blowing scratches, furious rap vocals and howling, courtesy of the Verve's Richard Ashcroft.\nLike most music in this genre, it's either interesting or not, and there are certain points when the set delves into droning trip-hop and loses its focus. However, as a whole, this is an extremely strong performance as well as an excellent end-troduction to Davis' strongest body of work. There's also a version sold with the entire concert (acid-trip visuals and all) on DVD as well as the pared-down live disc that's very well worth the added cost.