Released three months after
Dillanthology 1, this second volume shifts the spotlight to
Jay Dee's remix work, which was frequently as creative as his built-from-scratch output. Hardcore fans who brushed aside the first set cannot afford to do so here; glancing at this (mostly pre-2000) track list might send them scurrying to their many folders of
Dilla-related MP3s, only to come up empty in a few cases (like a kicked-back, previously unreleased mix of
Artifacts' "The Ultimate"). The only track that does not cut it is the remix of
Spacek's "Eve," where
Dilla and
Frank-N-Dank barrel over the original's dreamy atmosphere, including
Steve Spacek's whispery delivery. Otherwise, this is close to essential material, and it strikes a nice balance between slight, sensitive tweaks and instances where
Dilla balanced reverence with creative license, as he does with
Jack McDuff's "Oblighetto" -- a gritty organ jam transformed into levitating Technicolor otherness. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide