In terms of defining a time, this is a classic which sits alongside Screamadelica and Stone Roses debut. The samples were blatant the beats bigger than most and the tunes infectious and memorable.
While it never received the glowing commercial praise of its follow up this was a more beat ... Read review
Song For Lindy Santa Cruz Going Out Of My Head Weekend Starts Here Everybody Needs A 303 ... more
Give The Po' Man A Break 10th And Crenshaw First Down Punk To Funk Sound Of Milwaukee Crenshaw Siren Beats Sunset (Bird Of Prey) Ya Mama Talkin' 'bout My Baby Demons - Fatboy Slim & Macy Gray Song For Shelter - Fatboy Slim & Roland Clarke Retox Weapon Of Choice - Fatboy Slim & Bootsy Collins Drop The Hate Star 69 Love Life - Fatboy Slim & Macy Gray Mad Flava - Fatboy Slim & Macy Gray
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Advantages: great grooves Disadvantages: bit dated
In terms of defining a time, this is a classic which sits alongside Screamadelica and Stone Roses debut. The samples were blatant the beats bigger than most and the tunes infectious and memorable.
While it never received the glowing commercial praise of its follow up this was a more beat driven and sound system friendly affair. The acid lines of Everybody Needs a 303, alongside a tremendous build up were enough to convince even the biggest ... ...was fortunate enough to see Fatboy Slim at the Big Beat Boutique in Brighton before this album was released and even then people knew that they were even for something special. I am glad that Norman Cook has gone on to great success, he deserves it, but people shouldn't overlook his earlier work.
You may have come a long way baby but you started in a bloody good place anyway.
... more
In terms of defining a time, this is a classic which sits alongside Screamadelica and Stone Roses debut. The samples were blatant the beats bigger than most and the tunes infectious and memorable. While it never received the glowing commercial praise of its follow up this was a more beat driven and sound system friendly affair. The acid lines of Everybody Needs a 303, alongside a tremendous build up were enough to convince even the biggest of wallflowers to get on the floor and dance. I was fortunate enough to see Fatboy Slim at the Big Beat Boutique in Brighton before this album was released and even then people knew that they were even for something special. I am glad that Norman Cook has gone on to great success, he deserves it, but people shouldn't overlook his earlier work.
You may have come a long way baby but you started in a bloody good place anyway.
this artist is pure quality and he has deservedly had his tunes succeed and has picked up a number of awards for both them and the videos with them. i especially like the video to 'praise you' and the one to right here, right now is good as well. i think this man is a real talent and an asset to the music industry and i hope that he continues to bring out some great tunes. i am definetly buying his next album and also any singles that come out. fat ...
steveymacca 23.09.2000
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Review of Better Living Through Chemistry - Fatboy Slim
Advantages: Big Fat Party Album Disadvantages: None
Fatboy Slim's first album under that name although by the time of this release Norman Cook had had several hits with Freakpower , Beats International and of course there was his time with the Housemartins.
This is a great example of a musical jigsaw. Although its like he takes bits from different jigsaws, fits them together and they still sound and look great. Yes you can see and hear the joins but they sound great.
A lot of these tracks have been ...
mikeydred 21.01.2001 (22.01.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Better Living Through Chemistry - Fatboy Slim
Advantages: Uplifting, unique at the time of release Disadvantages: lots has followed it of a similar ilk
...BEAT BOTIQUE" as it became better known. The album offers some innovative and lively chunes, but listening to it now, can become a little repetative, as so many dj's and bands have followed his lead, providing similar beats and loops.
Better Living Through Chemistry has to be in my all time top 100 fave albums, as I listened to it 24/7 for about 6 months, around the time it came out. It is now an accustomed Fat Boy "vibe" and has some incredibly ...
Yozza 26.06.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Better Living Through Chemistry - Fatboy Slim
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Advantages: Good mix of tunes over his career, easy to pick up and listen to Disadvantages: A 2nd CD of rarities/b-sides would have been nice
FatboySlim aka Norman Cook has had a long and varied musical career. Starting off playing bass in The Housemartins, Cook has released under a number of pseudonyms (including Pizzaman, Freak Power and Beats International) before settling on his Fatboy alter ego. This greatest hits package showcases some of his best work of the Slim era.
Featuring singles from all four FatboySlim album (BetterLivingThroughChemistry, You've Come A Long Way Baby, Between The Gutter And The Stars & Palookaville) this is a fine collection. All the classics you'd expect to find are here: Rockafella Skank, Praise You, Weapon of Choice - in total there are 16 old favourites and 2 new tracks, Champion Sound and That Old Pair Of Jeans. While the newcomers aren't breaking any new ground, its nice to have something new to listen to.
My only criticism ...
Advantages: its good Disadvantages: a couple of bad songs
FatboySlim has come a long way since his debut album, BetterLivingThroughChemistry, saw him bring big beat to the masses. His first offering of the new millennium, Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars was his most ambitious project to date. Married life and impending fatherhood seemed to have made the original party animal grow up, and this was reflected in the new and improved sound--the banging floor-fillers being replaced by a more refined and adult sound, as he teamed up with Bootsy Collins and Macy Gray to bring a fantastic blend of funk and soul to the dance floor. His collaborations with Macy Gray are two of the standout tracks--"Love Life" and "Demons" effortlessly combine funky fluid beats and Macy's distinctive vocals with fantastic results. Jim Morrison even pops up, providing the haunting looped sample for the first ...
Advantages: 'Bird Of Prey' and Macy Gray's contributions are pretty cool... Disadvantages: some weak tracks, familiar sounding formula in places
Norman Cook has recorded music is more guises than most people have had hot dinners. He had been a member of the chart-topping bands The Housemartins and Beats International, as well as scoring dance hits under the monikers Pizzaman and Mighty Dub Katz before arguably reaching the peak of his critical acclaim as FatboySlim.
After releasing his debut 'BetterLivingThroughChemistry' and the critically acclaimed and bestselling 'You've Come A Long Way Baby', there was much anticipation for his third album 'Halfway Between The Gutter and The Stars', which was released in 2000. However, it sold a fraction of what it was expected to and was widely received as being disappointing.
Somewhat more adult orientated than his previous efforts, the album starts off with 'Talking Bout My Baby', which features a simple piano melody ...
Product Information for "Better Living Through Chemistry - Fatboy Slim" »
Product details
Title
Better Living Through Chemistry
Performer
Fatboy Slim
Genre
Electronic
Sub Genre
Trip Hop / Big Beat
Release Date
03/11/1997
Original Release Year
1997
Label / Distributor
Skint / Republic Of Music/Universal Music
Engineer
Simon Thornton
Producer
Fatboy Slim
Pieces in Set
1
Studio / Live
Studio
Stereo
Stereo
Format
Performer
EAN
5025425505225
Additional notes
Album Notes
Fatboy Slim (Norman Cook) was the bassist for the Housemartins. Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) knows a little something about rocking house parties with a variety of textures. As drummer for the very Smiths-like Housemartins and later as producer/mastermind of the club-oriented Beats International crew, he has supplied the soundtrack to lager-swilling soirees of two polar subcultures. BETTER LIVING THROUGH CHEMISTRY is a smooth attempt to attract them both to the same shindig. Throughout BETTER LIVING, techno and hip-hop beats and a variety of jazz/funk samples are married to a post-modern "rock" feel, utilizing mucho distortion, lots of analog squeals and coming up with a damn warm mix for an "electronic" album. Thus, there are numerous moods to be had throughout--from the reflective ambiance of "Santa Cruz," to the mid-tempo blues/trip-hop stomp of "The Weekend Starts Here," to the out-n-out rockers such as "Going Out of My Head" and "First Down." This rock-minded variety and his ability to turn tracks into distinct songs (quite an accomplishment for a '97 electronic record) make Fatboy seem like a funkier, distant Chemical cousin.
Album Reviews
Rolling Stone (9/18/97, p.102) - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...one of the most fun, shamelessly genre-hopping dance albums of the year....a populist, highly danceablemix of '80s hip-hop, house and techno..." Magnet (11-12/97, p.66) - "...Splicing a vivid cartoon world of squiggly beats and dubby electronics with a virtual truckload of extra-vintage samples, Cook takes the DJ to some fairly extreme locales..."
Titles on disc 1
1.
Song For Lindy
2.
Santa Cruz
3.
Going Out Of My Head
4.
Weekend Starts Here
5.
Everybody Needs A 303
6.
Give The Po' Man A Break
7.
10th And Crenshaw
8.
First Down
9.
Punk To Funk
10.
Sound Of Milwaukee
11.
Crenshaw Siren Beats (LP)
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Listed on Ciao since
26/06/2000
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On the limmited edition it has all the music videos on it as well! An excellent touch I think!
The cover is the only downside that I have found, it looks nice now but after time it's going to be a bit scruffy as it's made like a hard back book with no plastic covering. (*)
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