Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars [PA] - Fatboy Slim

Okay I admit it I bought this album mostly because it was £2.99 in the big HMV sale. I also got it because I like ‘Star 69’ and ‘Weapon Of Choice’ but I was surprised with it. Be warned it is a mixed bag, I have very eclectic taste when it comes to music so I liked many of the songs! ‘Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars’ is an album which has a lot of contrasting reviews and I just had to add my opinion. ...
...has a strong melody and vocals isn’t long enough to make any real impression on you. Not the best start off to the album really. It also doesn’t mix well into ‘Star 69’ which is the next track, it just jumps out at you from nowhere. ‘Star 69’ has some brilliant mixes and I feel that one should’ve been included on the album as a bonus track (There’s excellent mixes by Timo Maas and X-Press 2). Things ...

chocoholic 24.07.2002 · Read full review
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Review of Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars [PA] - Fatboy Slim

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 Fatboy Slim. After releasing his debut 'Better Living Through Chemistry' and the critically acclaimed and bestselling 'You've Come A Long ...
...'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 with a repetitive vocal sampled from 'Macon Hambone Blues' by the interestingly titled band 'Wet Willie'. Not the strongest track ...

stoffy 09.01.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars [PA] - Fatboy Slim

After the worldwide success of “You’ve come a long way baby” it can be said that Fatboy Slim (a.k.a. Norman Cook) was heralded as the shining example of dance music DJs crossing over into the mainstream. His subsequent marriage to media darling Zoe Ball didn’t help in calming down the hype surrounding him. Putting the hype aside “You’ve come a long way baby” was a great album with many unforgettable tracks ...
...So when I heard the next album was due for release I put my reservation in sharpish. “Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars” does not unfortunately live up to the high expectations I had. The album opens up with “Talking Bout My Baby” which just doesn’t get going. The next track “Star” amplifies my fears that I have bought the wrong album. It is dire and littered with the ‘F’ word for no apparent ...

Slim_Lee 06.03.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars [PA] - Fatboy Slim

...music exists for very different reasons. And in reaching for this higher ground, Cook risks losing the dancefloor-centred fun that's made his Fatboy Slim music so infectiously effective, but the risk he took and man did he pull it off! Leaving him precisely halfway between somewhere and the top. ...

ExothermicBoy 16.05.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars [PA] - Fatboy Slim

When I first got this album I was really excited. I'd got "you've come a long way baby" when it came out and loved it. It's really cool with some great tunes. But this is different and I don't think it's that good. Some of the tracks are really boring and you REALLY want them to finish. But the album has some really tracks but also some really terrible songs. If he spent more time on this album and took the rubbish tracks out and left the others ...
...go like this: 1 : Talking bout my baby This track has a good beat to it and great background sounds. When the vocals first come in they start of weird but once you listen more this is quite a good song. It does get quite boring and you'll wish you had a gun if it went on any longer. 2 : Star 69 This track is really good, I mean without all the swearing!! I don't mind a little bit of swearing but this track just gets annoying: "They know what ...

Milleniben 18.06.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars [PA] - Fatboy Slim

This is a much more satisfying record than Fatboy Slim's previous album. Whereas about a third of the songs on 'You've come a long way baby' simply sounded loud and repetitive, every track on 'Halfway between the gutter and the stars' is good. The loudness is still there, but a manifest hip-hop influence gives this album a much more relaxed over all groove. Reviews in magazines and at other web sites cite Norman Cook's marriage and fatherhood as ...
...seem that he has calmed down somewhat since his last offering. All songs stand up well on their own, but this album is much better enjoyed if played all the way through since the tracks are blended together nicely. The strong piano introduction and almost screaming vocals of 'Talking bout my baby' gets things off to an attention grabbing start. It is interesting that the Jim Morrison sample 'Bird of Prey' was the first single to be released because ...

Karaoke_James 13.04.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars [PA] - Fatboy Slim

...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. ...
...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 single to be taken from the album--"Sunset (Bird of Prey)". Purist fans of his previous output won't be disappointed by his change of direction, as tracks like "Ya Mama" and "Mad Flava" are instantly recognisable as vintage Fatboy Slim--big of beats ...

philrange 11.11.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars [PA] - Fatboy Slim

With a whirlwind of worldwide success that seems to have taken him by surprise, Norman Cook had to bite the bullet and follow up the huge global sales of his second album. With a history of blowing it once he'd achieved a certain level of success, "Gutter & Stars" is an important album for him under his Fatboy Slim guise. Credit should be given for the relatively prompt release, where many artists take years tweaking follow-ups to triple platinum ...
..."Rockerfeller Skank" you won't find it - instead there's some heavyweight collaborative contributions from the likes of Macy Gray and P-funk legend Bootsy Collins. There's also the atmospheric vocals of long-dead rock icon Jim Morrison on the first single "Bird of Prey". Tracks like "Drop The Hate" and "Retox" put the meat on the bones of Normans self-proclaimed "darker" direction, and overall the BigBeats do give way to a more solid four-to-the-dancefloor ...

mickkent 08.12.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars [PA] - Fatboy Slim

After producing so many excellent tracks, it seems amazing to me that Fatboy Slim can do it again - come up with yet another truly fresh, amazing type of music. Granted, you will be able hear that it?s Fatboy Slim, by the characteristic use of samples, fat bass-lines, sweeping analog synths and heavy, kicking beats that he has exemplified in his previous albums. But I think his new album takes all of this to a higher level. Rather than the busy, ...
...is a far cleaner and chilled-out sound. That?s not to say that it?s all slow, ambient tracks - there are several tracks, noticeably Yamama, that you could easily imagine whipping a club into a frenzy. Only one word of warning - don?t attempt to listen to this on some little micro-system - this isn?t the treble-frenzy that his last album was; Fatboy has returned to the bass! My 8" floorstanders vibrate the ceiling just nicely... In summary; there ...

jonm2001 11.11.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars [PA] - Fatboy Slim

...that record have sadly now become the template of this new one. This genre of music can be euphoric, exhilarating....blissful, even. Halfway Between The Gutter & The Stars just gave me a headache. I couldn't wait for it to be finally over. Buy the singles instead. ...

EnglishPatient 22.12.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars [PA] - Fatboy Slim

This is, as the other reviews show, an album that's received mixed reactions. I have to say it really didn't strike me as fantastic when I first heard it. I borrowed a friend's copy and instantly liked Ya Mama more than the rest of the tracks on the album. I made no plans to buy it then and there, I wasn't that impressed. But, one night whilst bored and in need of a soundtrack I put the CD on and I suddenly got it. This is quite different to the ...
...of "You've Come a Long Way, Baby". Contrary to what others have said, he really does do this very well. It's a chilled, loved up affair ("drop the hate, forgive each other!") which at the same time still has some of that Big Beat kick that shows up Norman's roots. I really like this album, even though it's is not as good as "You've Come a Long Way Baby". I think it's nice to see that he's matured, he is in his late 30s after all. Besides if he did ...

JoeDaunt 26.02.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars [PA] - Fatboy Slim

I've been a fan of Fatboy Slim since his first album. One of the major differences between this album and the previous ones is that this one contains a number of songs with a substantial amount of lyrics. Track 11, Song For Shelter, has lyrics that are downright vacant, and track 2, Star 69, contains probably the most annoying subset of the lyrics from Song For Shelter. The first track, Talking Bout My Baby, is mysteriously missing a beat and is ...
...stars, though, with tracks 3 through 10. These tracks get back to what Fatboy Slim is best at: funky beats with catchy grooves and haunting overtones. Track 10, Demons (with Macy Gray), is another lyrical selection, but these lyrics are much more coherent, and more musical to boot; it's one of those tunes that gets stuck in your head. My recommendation? As long as you've got your CD player's skip button handy, buy this CD. There's a lot of Fatboy ...

jailbreakted 25.01.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars [PA] - Fatboy Slim

Fatboy Slim has an accentric musical style, which is evident on this CD. The only flaw is that some of the songs are both repetitive and long, which is great for a party but kind of annoying if your listening by yourself. The real highlights (And I hate to say this) are the two songs featuring Macy Gray. Love Life is nice and funky, and Demons is a gospel styled song that is very interesting. More highlights included Sunset (Bird Of Prey) which has ...
...the Charlie's Angels soundtrack, and Weapon Of Choice, the new single which is getting large airplay on MTV. Although there are probably going to be no mainstream breakthroughs like the Rockafeller Skank, it's OK because Fatboy Slim is not a mainstream artist. This CD is a blast to listen to. The songs are fun and full of energy. I'd suggest it if you liked his previous work, or you like house music. This is an awesome CD. ...

jeff_the_ref 30.04.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars [PA] - Fatboy Slim

...Kickdrums are used to perfection. His knowledge of music precedes him, and he lives up to it with this latest addition. If u like Checmical Brothers, DJ Shadow, LTJ Bukem AND Apollo 440 then u will luv Fatboy Slims latest album, Halfway Between The Gutter & The Stars! ...

Assey 13.11.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars [PA] - Fatboy Slim

After the great success of fatboy slims (aka Norman Cook) last album called 'Youve come a long way baby'which was a truly great album and was one of my top albums of the year and had alot of good songs on it which were popular and done very well in the charts ,the fatboy recently released his new album called 'Half way between the gutter and the stars' which when i first bought , thought it was a really bad album and nothing compared to his first ...
...you and Gangster trippin which i think were high class songs with good beats and rhythm. But his new album is nothing compared to the last one, in fact i only really like two songs on it which are Bird of prey which was the song he released first and Weapon of choice which has a great video to it, if you aint seen it yet you should go take a look at it.all of the other songs on it are not very good and i usually just end up skipping them now. I think ...

slimsuncleronnie 11.04.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars [PA] - Fatboy Slim