Stereo_83's Full Review: Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars [PA] by F...
Background- I bought this CD in June, so I have been listening to it for a while now. I bought 1999's You've Come A Long Way Baby, and it really impressed me a lot. I love that album and still listen to it regularly. Fatboy Slim's real name is Norman Cook and on Halfway Between the Gutter & the Stars, he collaborates with the likes of Macy Gray, Jim Morrison, Bootsy Collins, and Rolland Clark.
Most Noteable Tracks- In my opinion, this CD does not quite have the standout tracks that the last album did. Instead the songs seem to flow together more. Still, Weapon of Choice (track 8) is definetly a standout. Most have probably heard this song or even more likely seen the video with Christopher Walken on MTV. The track is marked by low, deep afro-american voices, as are many other tracks on the album. This is all right, but it reduces one's ability to sing along and makes it a challenge to interpret the lyrics. Talking bout my Baby (track 1) is certainly one of my favorite tracks. It has great flow and is sung with amazing spirit and zest. Sunset [bird of prey] (track 3) is very good as well. It is well put-together and conducts emotion.
The Rest of the Album- As I mentioned above, this album more than 1999's effort flows together. That makes the irritation of the 2 tracks of collaboration (tracks 4 & 10) with Macy Gray much worse. I find them piercing and horrendus, and I always skip them. Furthermore, I don't see the point to them. Fans of this genre do not really give a @#%&#$ about Macy Gray. However, I feel that the songs with Bootsy Collins, Jim Morrison, and Roland Clark are excellent. They add quite a bit of flava to the album and definetly enhance it. Fans of Cook's last effort will probably like Ya Mama and Mad Flava the most, as they are more typical of last album's works. I am a huge fan of that effort and really enjoy both of these tracks. Star 69 and Retox are fair in my opinion: extremely repetitive with mediocre beats. I feel that they are fine, but these two in particular really should be shortened. Drop the Hate (t9) and Song for Shelter (t11) are both great and should be closely listened to, because they carry messages.
Value- The album is plenty long, like Cook's last effort, and is about 65 min long. Therefore, even with skipping the 2 Macy Gray tracks, the CD is still longer than most others. I feel that the creativity inherent here warrants the attention of music fans. Norman Cook really has great talent at what he does.
Recommendations- I feel that this album is more grown-up and sophisticated than the last effort. To fans that could be good or bad or both. I do not think that this album is as fun to listen to. However, it incorporates more style and flows better (except for Macy Gray). I found this album more stylistic and artful, but also more obscure. For fans of electronica, dance, and trance, this album is certainly a worthy purchase. But don't expect to be quite as astounded as with You've Come a Long Way Baby. For everyone else, they may want to wait or opt to listen to some clips before considering a purchase.
Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars is the follow up to the global smash You ve Come A Long Way, Baby and features 11 tracks of Fatboy brilliance...More at Buy.com
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