Artist – Album: The
Prodigy – The Fat of the Land
Released: 30th
June 1997
Sounds Like: Twisted firestarter!
It’s the last day of Glastonbury and there’s no doubt that
those lucky sods who went this year have seen some extraordinary things. Catching
up with it all on BBC has been exhilarating and, I have to say, just reading up
on Chic’s performance on the Guardian website (here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2013/jun/29/chic-glastonbury-2013-review
) has got me unhealthily giddy of a Sunday morning.
Probably not helping me to calm down is today’s album, The
Prodigy’s 1997 smash The Fat of the Land. Its breakneck big beat immediately
grabs you by the cojones, forces you on to your feet and demands that you pogo
and mosh out in equal measure as though you’re off your head on pills. Two of
the albums colossal hits, ‘Smack My Bitch
Up’ and ‘Breathe’, kick off
proceedings, with the third (and biggest, and most furious), ‘Firestarter’,
lying in wait further down the pecking order to pounce on any unsuspecting
victims that have made it that far unscathed. That trio’s strength lies in
their testosterone fuelled in-your-face-ness, with unrelenting hip hop beats
and shouty nonsensical choruses pelted at your by the frightening duo of Liam Howlett and Keith Flint.
Elsewhere, however, the album is not without its subtleties.
Narayan, featuring Crispian Mills – Kula Shaker lead singer, Indian music aficionado
and a dude that could only have been famous in the joyous Britpop era – is psychedelic
and cool, whilst closer ‘Fuel My Fire’, a
cover of the L7 original, shifts the mood to grunge and metal. The highlight
though, is the funky hip hop of ‘Diesel
Power’, featuring Kool Keith (rap’s very own Niles Rodgers), which hits the
sweet spot between the confrontational electronica of those initial singles and
the longevity and refinement of the album tracks. It’s a pearl.
Right, so I’m pumped. Who’s up for a hedonistic Sunday (only
mildly so, there is work tomorrow after all...)??
Albumaday... rating:
8/10
1. Smack
My Bitch Up – 5:42
2. Breathe
– 5:35
3. Diesel
Power – 4:17
4. Funky
Shit – 5:16
5. Serial
Thrilla – 5:11
6. Mindfields
– 5:40
7. Narayan
– 9:05
8. Firestarter
– 4:40
9. Climbatize
– 6:38
10. Fuel
My Fire – 4:19
Listen to ‘Diesel
Power’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSygqiOyD9M
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