Better Living Through Chemistry

You can almost feel where each song is going before it goes there. Haters may call this "predictable" but I call it a "goddamn good time". [Looks directly at camera to address Haters] Lighten up, Haters, this guy's name is Fatboy. He named himself Fatboy. Were you expecting restraint? Did you think Fatboy was gonna sit down at the control table and slowly, tastefully nibble and sample. This is a feast of repetition. A-

Dull and dated. If I were being generous I'd say I'm sure a fully sober middle-aged woman listening to this at 7am is not the target audience, but I found it boring in 1995 too. Just makes me want to listen to the Beastie Boys.

The title is a dead giveaway. This might be OK if you are full of E's but otherwise it's just someone messing about in the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Utter tripe.

Repetitive.

One of my first ever Amazon.com purchases (back when they had first expanded to selling music in addition to books). I don't even know why I wanted it, but I did. Still slaps top to bottom.

Really enjoyed this. Made me feel like an extra in a rave scene. Good working music. Fun. Easy. Not my genre at all but it clicked with me today for some reason.

Just beats and loops...

Fun upbeat dance music that isn't awful to listen to while doing other things.

Nonsense music that I typically would not listen to but will gladly dance to.

Fun! Catchy, energetic dance music. Good for working and staying energized.

I’m not chewing my face off in a club in the 90s, where this music fits in. It’s not really my bag in general and is very out of place in my ‘working from home on a wed morning’ playlist.

Terrible. I can't believe not one but two fatboy slim albums are on this list. Terrible music and terrible album choice. May god have mercy on the person that decided to put fatboy slim on here.

Almost archetypal of Big Beat, Norman Cook proves himself an absolute master of yet another genre. This is the dude from The Housemartins who went on to score Number 1s as Beats International (dub be good to me) and Freak Power (Turn on, tune in, cop out) before defining a (rather large) subset of the 90s UK music scene. Yes - this is repetitive. It's big beat, it's supposed to be. The beats are supported by often near incomprehensible vocal samples. Inevitably in the mainstream club scene, people would attempt to sing along to these vocals, and there was honestly something genuinely lovely about watching towny lads in the 90s, clad in their uniform Ben Sherman shirts, chanting "Gay porn gay porn gay porn" as "Give the po' man a break" spun on the Techniks. It's not Cook's best ever work, but it sure is some of his most influential.

I should go back to Fatboy Slim more often. Really takes me back and reminds me of the Jet Set Radio soundtrack

Fun and simple. Maybe not ideal for morning commute, but works in the evening. Im gonna give 5 because throwing a party at Brighton beach is an unmatched vibe, respect.

I am not a huge electronic music fan but this album kills it. I think I like it better than other electronic music because there is a lot of guitar and other instruments involved. Just kind of seems like my ADHD brain created this music. Chaotic yet peaceful and catchy as well.

It's always 3am somewhere and the party is just getting started. This memory brings back fond memories of hearing tracks from this album, not knowing who they were by. I remember being completely blown away when I first heard "Going Out Of My Head" Less drugs and more like copious amounts of alcohol fuelled those times for me. To me this album is still exciting 28 years

Great Album!

Right off the bat I like these beats.

Excellent album for studying or working. Chill, expressive vibe throughout the first three tracks.

love this..takes me right back to my clubbing days

Kult!

As much as I enjoy Fatboy Slim and was more than happy to listen to this album (which I have listened to a time or two before), I think that this may be another artist that is overrepresented on the list when there are so many other artist that are absent from it. For my money, just give me You've Come Along Way, Baby as the one that I must hear before I die.

Very fun, very groovy. Any need for this AND You've Come a Long Way on this list? I don't think so but I had a good time.

When I saw this I wondered what new things another Fatboy Slim would bring to the table after having already had the hit-packed “You’ve Come A Long Way Baby” from a few years after this. I’m not sure if there was anything new or not, but the infectious melodies quickly dispersed by desire to judge and I just really enjoyed the music. Terrific!

It's not as banger filled as other fatboy slim but I think this is undeniably a fantastic album. I really enjoyed having it on at work.

Just awesome. Not his most famous work but full of life and energy.

I hadn't heard much of Fatboy Slim's earlier stuff but this album is a cracker. Loving the retro album art too (although it wouldn't have been retro in the 90s obvs)

Michael Jackson Tina Turner Michael Jackson look what you've done I love this album. Literally every track is fantastic. 5/5

9/10, love the style and bopped to every single beat on the album.

I've always kind of liked "Better Living..." better than "You've Come a Long Way..." by Fatboy Slim. It is more straightforward in what it is doing, electronic music-wise, but that makes it feel more consistent, even though the tracks were recorded at different times. It doesn't feel quite as exciting this many years out, for me, but I still think it is really great and has a lot of really great tracks and is also still very much a view into that time when electronic music really started to take over, and we got so much in the following 5-6 years...

Drive a la techno Infectious you best dance beats Samples, sounds, on point

Ta hype

It must have had something to do with the circumstance but I found this to be an effective way to shake off some cobwebs. By this point, Fatboy Slim's deft touch of the materials at hand resulted in some of the more enjoyable and all around effortless songs in his catalog, especially with the one-two-three punch of Punk to Funk, The Sound of Milwaukee and Michael Jackson towards the end. Is it better living through chemistry? In my experience, I best believe.

cool

Excellent little Tuesday morning rinse up. First Down gives me big Jungle Love 2017 feelings

Not his biggest, yet still excellent

Simply excellent. Maintains energy without falling into incomprehensibility. Wish I had discovered this album earlier. Five stars.

Loved it

Enjoyed this

Good electronic album. Enjoyed it

The sound of the 90s in the UK, but before it was fully formed. An interesting document of a guy working out his style and his sound, just before it exploded into the world

This is a controversial rating but I actually had a good time listening to this album so here we go.

Exciting sounds from the days of future passed

Great work music

Like a 90s boiler room set

Plenty of bangers. I imagine this would be cranked up to a 5 if I was having a few drinks and getting ready for a night out. As it happened, I listened to it during a Saturday morning at work and it was still a cracking time. Highlights Song for Lindy and The Weekend Starts Here.

Favourite tracks: going out of my head; weekend starts here; Santa cruz

I usually listen to these records at the start of my day often before the rest of my house is awake. That means I am usually listening at not high volumes, sometimes on my phone speakers, some times on headphones and sometimes on AirPods. Usually it works alright. This one I saw pop up and thought the only way to hear it properly would be on my main stereo system. So glad I waited until I could find the time to do so. There is a lot of fun energy here. The sounds are not overly repetitive and it is very well recorded.

Lovely edm

Dece

Hmm not what I expected - this does have the bangers but it’s still a good electronic record - a good genre album.

I can see why this was used in soundtracks. It has a few good tracks for clubbing to, and I definitely felt like I was in a movie because it's some great tracks for movie scenes when characters are in action scenes, montages, and so on. This album could really just be the entire soundtrack to a silent movie where the music flows with the actions of the characters. Essentially it's good for listening to, has an upbeat vibe. Overall great for 1996.

Big beat. Me ha gustado. Un 4.

Lachen hoor, deze vrolijke Ericmuziek. Biepjes, ritmetjes, gekke stemmetjes, het is allemaal erg onderhoudend en je draait hem probleemloos meerdere keren.

Hé. Het album met het nummer Michael Jackson. Met die fijne Junkie XL vibe. Hè, niet? Op mijn schijfje wel. Ow dat is een bonustrack die niet op het origineel zat? O, nou ja. Nummers als Give the Po'man a Break en Punk to Funk zijn ook wel ok. Een geinige breakbeat plaat. Maar het is nog wel een album zonder handtekening. Debuutje natuurlijk. Maar Fatboy Slim luister je vooral voor de creatieve combinaties die vaak de stevige beats relaxed maken. En dat kwam blijkbaar pas later.

Van sommige genres vind ik dat er teveel albums vertegenwoordigd zijn in onze snoblijst. Ik vraag mezelf af of dat met big beat ook zo is. Ergens voelt het tijdloos (waarschijnlijk omdat ik er mee opgegroeid ben), maar ergens is het ook weer enigszins gedateerd (het was namelijk de tijd dat ik opgroeide). Hoe dan ook vind ik het zelf altijd wel lekker klinken (wederom vanwege dezelfde reden). Ook dit plaatje van Fatboy Slim hanteert een aantal bekende trucjes. Het heeft een lekker breakbeatje, wat sampletjes en het zorgt ervoor dat er een goede opbouw in de muziek zit door elke keer een geluidje toe te voegen of te veranderen. Bekend recept, prima uitgevoerd. Ik mis alleen even een bekend hitje, dat doet het toch altijd wel goed op een album, het geeft een album een bepaald karakter (al dan niet terecht. Het komt ook regelmatig voor dat de hit totaal niet representatief is voor de rest van de muziek op een album). Maar qua luisterplezier zit dit album toch aan de positieve kant van het spectrum. Dan voor mij de altijd belangrijke vraag, zou ik dit zelf in een lijstje opnemen? En dan zou ik uiteraard kiezen voor het album met de grote hits, die we eerder al hebben gehad. Mocht je voor dat andere album 5 sterren hebben uitgedeeld (en dat deed ik), dan is het natuurlijk wel interessant wat een artiest ervoor dan wel erna heeft uitgebracht. En daarom hoort dit er dan misschien ook wel in. Leuk om te luisteren, nog niet de kneiters van hits, maar wel goed uitgevoerde big beat. Niks mis mee, 4 sterretjes.

This has some killer beeps and boops.

Really good listen, would go back soon.

Hrátt og basic en nær mér alveg. Going Out of My Head er banger. 3.5

a lot better than the other fat album

Not a lot to say about this album, since I'm not sure how groundbreaking it is as an electronica album, but it was a fun listen. I'm never excited to get a Fatboy Slim album, but I gotta say that he puts the work in to make them worth listening to 4/5

I did a fair amount of raving in the 90's (I have tinnitus and the short term memory loss to prove it) so enjoyed this

Ooh boi did I love this album. I'm a real slut for tracks that do that panning thing when the audio shifts between left and right and makes me feel like it's circling my brain, it scratches an itch I never knew I had. Fatboy slim is someone that I've always enjoyed listening to, but never did so religiously so it was nice to sit back and just enjoy this. Favourites were Song for Lindy, The Weekend Starts Here, and The Sound of Milwaukee. Overall it was a solid listen, the album felt cohesive but each track was still it's own which can be a hard balance to strike

Listening to this was fun, but Fatboy Slim definitely has better records.

Really love the beats and the production on this one. From the "seagulls" on Santa Cruz to great samples, like Roforofo Fight (from Fela Kuti) in First Down. Well worth a few listens. I've lived with this since it came out...and splurged for the 20th Anniversary set too. It wouldn't be my only desert island disc, but it's in the top 50 for sure.

Great album, been a fan for years.

8/10 Had “You’ve come a long way…” recently, thought that had aged poorly so was afraid for this one. It was better in every way and sounded great Better tunes, better samples, better ideas. A lot more fun, a lot more interesting Beats here were excellent, and yes this was formative big beat stuff but there was a huge acid house influence too (especially second half) I have heard this before, and forget how many genuine bangers are on it Best: Santa Cruz

I made it through about half of it, but i liked it I think? Not for lack of trying. Mindless enough to listen to at work and fast enough not to get boring.

Largely very enjoyable. I've never really listened to Fatboy Slim before, but I might do so in the future. It reminds me of "The prodigy" which according to Wikipedia isn't so strange because they are also one of the defining bands of the Bigbeat genre Standouts Song for Lindy The Weekend Starts Here 4/5

cool

Great!

One thought I had about this is that it's almost like "punk" dance music: plenty of overdriven guitars, air raid sirens... It just feels like a party with huuuuge drum beats. As with all the dance albums on this list, it's easy to get lost in, but it does get me moving. Favorite track: "Give The Po' Man A Break"

I was digging the simplicity of the music here. Good energy without being overpowering. 4.5

How do you not like Fatboy slim?

I used to listen to this album a lot so it was a bit of nostalgia for me and I’m totally biased on this one. Fave Track: Going Out Of My Head Rating: 4

Techno from a great producer. Not as iconic as his following works, but the quality standard is maintained nonetheless

Another fun and entertaining album by Fatboy Slim. Those 90s records have something in them, that specific style which invokes so many good memories. It's still a nice addition to the party playlist.

Ritmazo

Har börjat uppskatta engelsk 90-tals big beat de senaste åren. Älskar hur de stora trummorna och ljuden fyller mina 20 kvadratmeter och omsluter hela lilla mig. Detta album är inget undantag, även om det hade kunnat vara ännu lite hårdare och råare. Mjuka låtar som 'The Sound of Milwaukee' är inte så mycket att ha. Bättre är t.ex. 'Santa Cruz', 'The Weekend Starts Here', 'Give the Po' Man a Break', och 'Punk to Funk'. Bästa låt: The Weekend Starts Here

Not as good as their other stuff, but I loved it nonetheless.

Loved this. But then I do really like a bit of Big Beat. Does exactly what it says on the tin!

i enjoyed this! good background music, repetitive but that's the point. Would be fun to listen to in a different context. 3.5!

Big beat. Me ha gustado. Un 4.

goat 4.4/5

I enjoyed the beats.

For what this album is is great. I personally lost intrest after song 9 or 10. But that doesn't make the rest of the album bad. I was just bored. Rounded up on stars

I'm familiar with a few Fatboy Slim songs, but I've never listened to one of his full albums before. I tend to enjoy electronic music, and this album was no exception. I really enjoyed how energetic this album was from start to finish; it was really easy to stay engaged with this album, and I feel like that made it really interesting to listen to. This album felt like it had a certain depth to its sound that I really appreciated as well. I also liked how certain elements in each song would drop out at certain points, but come back in to the mix to blend in with new elements. I don't really understand a lot of the mechanics of music like this, but I still enjoyed listening to it, and I'm looking forward to reviewing Fatboy Slim's other record.

This is no You've Come a Long Way, Baby, but then, that title was quite apt. On the other hand, all of the things that make Fatboy Slim great were clearly born here.

Easy listening decent tunes

I listened to this on a run and it was perfect! Fatboy Slim just managed to deliver happiness and ultimate party every time. A Brighton icon and sweetheart.

This hit just right! Not normally a genre that I’m into, but I wish I’d given it more attention in the 90’s

There were several times, while listening to this album, that I thought it was going to trip over into a 5-star review. It's not. It's a 4-star album... but only barely. Every one of these songs is meticulously composed and assembled and the production values are out of this world. "The Weekend Starts Here", in particular, is an unstoppable monster of a jam. Slaps so hard. Unfortunately, Mr. Slim kept tripping over his own beats and falling back on lazy repetition. He picked himself back up every single time and got back to those beautiful, layered grooves. But it fell just a few too many times for me to give it full marks. But, again: only just barely. Strong 4 stars.

I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. Still not a fan of the genre and the frequently repetitive loops, but something hit me right about this today.

I don't know man, I danced the whole way through this. Loops be damned, I had a good time.

I like this a lot more than “Homework.” It’s more melodic and uses more interesting samples.

Classic

I did not think I was a Fatboy Slim guy, and then I listened to this entire thing and wondered why I never listened to them when I would write. It's: very good.

A Moogtastic panoply of zounds with a surprise around every corner. Wish I was there to see it! I like most of what Fatboy Slim does. This one is not quite as taut as "You've Come a Long Way, Baby" but has similar punchy rhythms and tasty synth oscillations as its successor. If you like "Praise You" and its ilk you'll like this.

Predictable, repetitive but pretty groundbreaking I guess.