shocka's Full Review: Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars [PA] by F...
I've gotta admit it- from the first time I saw that trailer for the horrible, HORRIBLE film 'Shes All That', I've been a fan of Fatboy Slim. Slim's electronica was very kewl, different to the bands around, and Right Here, Right Now and The Rockafella Skank are still popular today. I loved You've Come a Long Way, Baby, which led me to invest in some of his earlier works, including the uniquely different Better Living Through Chemistry, and some of the older works of Norman Cook (the fatboy's real name).
Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars promises a mix of the old and the new, and it delivers gracefully. Fans of Cook's earlier works are in for some sensational tunes, and people who came in with Long Way, Baby will find much funky electronica to enjoy and get down with.
A tracklisting: (mind you, this is for the Aussie version, so it differs slightly in the US)
1) Talking Bout My Baby - Not a bad song, but nowhere near the best on the album. I like the instrumental work, and it sounds somewhere between the 70's and 80's, an oldish love song. Funky, entertaining and fun.
2) Star 69 - Oh god. No really, OH GOD. This song is the worst on the album, and it almost surpasses F...ing in Heaven for number of swearwords forced into a pointless song, yet without the creativity and funk. This is the only song on the album I don't really like.
3) Sunset (Bird of Prey) - Good, slow-to-fast song, like black cloud creeping up to ruin a summers day. It warms up and builds with some good electronica, and it sounds great.
4) Love Life - This is the first of the songs featuring Macy Gray, not the best, but nice and funky. The kind of song the random stranger hits on the jukebox at the pub- it won't be to everyone's taste, but its still very kewl.
5) Ya Mama - Where the album really starts! This is basically the next Rockafella Skank, and it sounds awesome. Already this year, I've heard this song on about six movie trailers, and it featured in both Charlie's Angels and Spy Kids. It's totally kewl, great dance and club. This and Weapon of Choice are the best on the album.
6) Mad Flava & 7) Retox - These songs go together nicely, with a strong beat, combination of techno, electronica and dance, and good variation that fits together. Good tunes.
8) Weapon of Choice - AWESOME. This song made me buy the album, it rocks. It builds up with different techno samples, featuring a distorted singing Bootsy Collins, and leaps into great dance/electronica. Very nice. I also have the mention that this song is famous for having the GREATEST MUSIC VIDEO EVER, featuring the one and only Christopher Walken, who dances around an abandoned hotel doing all sorts of crazy stuff, before he starts flying. Joy!
9) Drop the Hate - Joyous song, follows on from WoC, featuring a sample of "Answer to Watergate" by Reverend W.Leo Daniels, with a strong background techno beat. This is the song you play as a semitrailor sails into you car, crushing everything but you, left holding the steering wheel, in slow motion.
10) Demons - Beginning like a gospel hymm, this is the better offering from Macy Gray, whose talents shine here in a great song about not worrying about your personal demons. Good stuff, with a message we can all learn from.
11) Song for Shelter - A weaker song, intensely long, but ok, finishes of the album with the talents of Roland Clark and Roger Sanchez. I wouldn't have included this on the album, myself, but it's ok- also includes reprises of the other songs throughout.
This album is one of my most played, and it's very kewl. Those who are into Cook's older work will want to memory tracks 1 - 6 & 9 - 11, while Slim fans will want to work between 3 - 10. The only complaints I've heard about this album are that the lyrics repeat themselves (obviously this person has a deep history in electronica), the lyrics don't make sense (has this person listened to any music recently? I mean, what about any song by The Avalanches? What about that wacky ole' Marilyn Manson? What in the name of hell are they talking about?!), and finally that Cook has used too much of a Moby influence on the album. I can't deny this, you can hear a lot of similarities between Play and Halfway, but is that a problem? Slim was always leaning this way with Long Way, Baby, and I think the album is a tribute to all of his fans, new and old.
I love this, and definately recommend it. Don't forget, if you walk without rhythm, you wont attract the worm. If you walk without rhythm, you never learn.
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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