Review by DjBatman
4 stars out of 4
You've come a long way, Mr.Cook. A long long way since the days of
Housemartins and (later) Beats International. As Fatboy Slim, Norman
Cook found perfect formula for concentrating under one alias great music,
killer samples from his impressive record collection (showed in the cd
booklet) and the commercial success the needed for continuing his musical
trip for the following years (or decades). Until now, Cook's quality
projects (Freak Power especially) missed the sellability which he only
obtained with -erm- "dull soulless dance music" (like the
Pizzaman tracks he was involved in). Instead, today he can be
widely known for being the man who produced the "Right about now!
The soul funk brother!" track... and at the same time he can have
fun delivering quality stuff on a dance album that comes clearly from the
mind of a music lover and record collector. The hits are all here
("Right here, right now", "The Rockafeller Skank"
and "Gangster trippin'") but they are joined by the ambient/techno
of "Love island", the retro-futuristic acid house tribute
"Acid 8000", lounge and funky loops ("F**king in Heaven"
or the John Barry Seven sample on "The Rockafeller Skank")
and the electric gospel of "Praise you" with a piano (apparently
out of some scratched vinyl) accompaining Camille Yarborough's soulful
vocal samples ("We've come a long long way together...").
End-of-the-millennium pop music in its purest form.
Here's what others reviewers have to say:
"...Cook proves what all pop pros know: that obvious is harder than
subtle....Cooks makes the hooks as blatant as a dance-world denizen
can..."
Rolling Stone 11/12/99, p.114-115
"...the thrill-intensive Fatboy Slim approach favors monstrous,
often incongruous breaks, bass lines, and riffs, aggressively diced and
looped in service of wacky, cut-and-paste juxtapositions....[BABY]
substantiates the theory that few dance producers working today are as
keenly attuned to the pleasure principle as Norman Cook..."
8 (out of 10) Spin 12/98, pp.175-176
|
