This came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
While plenty of DJs sacrifice songs for sheer turntable technique, Jeep Beat Collective — the nom du disque of Brit mixmaster Dave The Ruf — puts artistry ahead of acrobatics.
Which is not to say you don’t get plenty of scratching, sweeping, skipping and scraping on this 82-minute opus; it’s just that Ruf — real name: Dave (not The Kinks guitarist) Davies — prefers to use the steel wheels as an instrument in service of a song. He uses a low, slow, repetitive wobble to build a backbeat, creates verses and choruses with melodic scratching, then tosses off solos with flurries of complex needlepoint. Proof positive that DJs can be musicians, Jeep Beat Collective is definitely this year’s model — and cruising in style.
