Better Living Through Chemistry

Bit of the same old, same old vibe.

Mm

Fine, fun, dancey, a bit monotonous, laid groundwork for more popular later stuff

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pretty lit. my favorite fatboy slim setup so far. the bangers are a little basic but they're still bangers. Everybody Needs A 303 had a neat progression, and the main riff in Santa Cruz is really tight, hard to pick a favorite between them. strong 3

Rating: 5/10 Not as good as You've Come a Long Way Baby, with more repetitive sampling in a less interesting way, and less fun vocal samples that are present the best songs of Slim's second album. Maybe the 5 is a bit harsh but I only gave the other one a 6

Pretty fine - Good energy but nothing groundbreaking and doesn't have the Fatboy Hits to have me rate this any higher 5.8/10

Good but I couldn't tell it apart from other techno albums

This was good, if a little long. 3.0/5.0: Good

interesting enough but way too long

I wonder why Big Beat faded away from being popular so rapidly. It was everywhere in the late 90s and now it's pretty much gone. Not a bad album, but not a great one. It exists in the background, doesn't stand out in the slightest, has a few highs and lows, but mainly it's even. So I'm going with an even score of three stars.

Solid rock and funk infused dance music. Not as standout now as it was on release. Fun fact for me was never previously having noticed that Going Out Of My Head is based on The Who’s I Can’t Explain.

Drum loop drum loop drum loop drum olp

It's not 'You've Come A Long Way, Baby' but it's still interesting. It hasn't got the same powerful grooves or hard-hitting rhythms and bass. You can certainly see this as an important step to that great album though, and I'm surprised that's I'd never heard it before!

Fatboy Slim was a big name at the turn of the millennium and this album is his opening salvo before he went on to become commercially huge. The only real complaint from me comes from the headache-inducing Santa Cruz, but the calming Weekend Starts Here regulates my triggers before the ecstatic Getting Out Of My Head kicks in. The rest of the album is pretty standard Fatboy fare with other highpoints including the jazzy First Down and Punk To Funk (which samples 70's football show The Big Match, sports fans). Great if you're tanked up on vodka and Red Bull and you can visualise Norman orchestrating the rave pit as the big beats land. A low 4-stars, as better was to come from the EDM master.

I can see dancing to this

very cool listen

A raw and entertaining collection of early British Big Beat tunes. I was lucky enough to catch Fatboy Slim twice at Glastonbury a few years ago and this album gives you a much better idea of what he is about as a whole than the radio hits do. He was an influential pioneer of the UK club music scene and very much a craftsman of electronic music and sampling rather than a hitmaker akin to Calvin Harris. He’s an extremely clever and witty DJ who is never more than a few bars from pulling a sound from the depths of your internal music library and recontextualising it for his own purposes. This debut is something that you can just enjoy washing over you and whilst the length of a number of the tracks can diminish their effect, they remain changeable enough to hold your attention.

Some fun moments, but kinda boring

1

3.5

I’m not usually able to just sit around and listen to electronica. But FBS just knows how to mix beats and samples. Amazingly, it’s very listenable. A 3 (maybe a 4)?

A fun listen. For some get up and go music you really can't go wrong with Fatboy Slim. Every track is a toe tapper, and a couple made me dance around the apartment.

I was looking forward to putting this on the headphones and having a rave party in my kitchen. And to a certain extent I did. But I was expecting better and left at the end of the rave a little disappointed. Strange to say this of a supposed pioneer of the genre, but I found that this album lacked... creativity. He found some good themes but then hung on to them far too long before underdeveloping them. Theres some good stuff. Like 'The Weekend Starts Here'. But generally most tracks just got repetitive. Probably fine at 3am if you're off your face, but not so good in my kitchen.

There are a lot of good songs but then again it's very bloated

I didn't know it before, but I think I might be a Fatboy Slim fan. Both of these albums have been awesome. They're great to put on and just vibe with or play in the background while you're doing other stuff. There's a real creativity to his tunes.

Not my jam

Yeah let's dance wa wa wa

Was hoping there would be something on this album I recognized but alas. Michael Jackson was probably the only one I actively liked. Everything else was pretty much what I expected and kinda meh. 2/5

I don't know about all of this. Was strangely pleasant while getting my work done and if I was rating based on my productivity level it would be high but will I ever listen to this again? No.

I love so much this sound. Very cool dj with a vibe that i just wanna get up a do sht!

I can appreciate EDM & I enjoy some of Slim’s stuff but this album was pretty boring, I didn’t make it past 4 songs.

Great beats and groove.

Some fun grooves, but I've never really been into electronic music, so I'm probably not the right person to review this album.

Bit meh

MRI noise core, some cool bilateral stimulation. Favourite track: Everybody Needs a 303

It was alright I guess. Mostly just repetitive beats for nearly an hour.

Terrific album! Really enjoyed it! Made me want to dance my ass off!

Buen disco de electrónica. No es muy mi género y estos álbumes consiguen cansarme rápido, pero aquí pasó lo contrario: empezó no interesándme mucho y como de la mitad hacia adelante ya estaba bastante más prendido. No mal, pero creo que conecto más con lo que hizo Fatboy Slim más adelante.

I think I prefer this one to his more successful follow-up.

Did not expect to like this album as much as I did, this was an awesome listening experience

EDM is not my thing, but having said that, this album really doesn’t sound dated to me, which is surprising since it’s from 1996. I actually liked one of the songs, First Down, which surprised me as this has never been my favorite genre.

Big Beat was a moment in time and this album is one of the best of the genre. It’s good but long. It had some moments but not enough to keep the party going.

Fun. Slightly more chilled out than I expected. Tbh, I enjoyed You've Come A Long Way Baby more. This is fine, but I'd choose his later album over this one.

OK boomchik boomer

Didn't get it

Inte så mycket för instrumentals, men förstår varför han är så pass samplad som han är.

honestly kinda sick, feels pretty modern and not at all 30years old

He can put together a beat that gets you grooving. This is close to a 4 but not quite.

An enjoyable three. I have pleasant listening whenever Fatboy Slim comes on, but I’m unlikely to seek it out again.

It's pretty good, I really liked the Fela Kuti sample he threw in there especially. It's a hitless but groovy album that sure has it's place and time. Not really one that sticks out though. If the samples aren't interesting I don't really find the music to be there on this album. A large part of this album just turns to be really forgettable, not really what I was used to with the other Fatboy Slim album on here.

3.5 (57:47 (UK) or 70:52 (US), 9 or 10 tracks, debut, 1996) electronic (Genre defining Big Beat), English Debut – Big Beat, two albums later I get Death in Vegas (208 and 210) pretty sure the algorithm isn’t random. I accidentally listened to his more commercially successful 2nd album You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby so now I have to study this bad boy. Probably fortunate as this album has nothing I recognize. Hard to believe this guy is 7 years older than me, also amazing his is not twisty. His association with Housemartins (a throwback dowop English band) is wild, and apologies to Joe-Jo for not giving credit for an H band as I didn’t know these gayrods in 1992. If this don’t move your booty move, you must be dead! This is a great foundational album but Fatboy’s true break thru was his 2nd album (a solid 4.) I’m going to be honest as cool as Fatboy Slim is I wish he had stayed with Yum Yum Head. Fatboy (Norman) is not gay (an early misnomer due to an association with Quentin Crisp). He is Kosmon (A spiritual era and a religious movement known as Faithism, which emerged in the late 19th century.) The Kosmon Bible (Oahspe) is based on the Oahspe, a book channeled by American dentist John Ballou Newbrough in 1881. According to these teachings, "Kosmon" signifies a "New Age" of harmony and spiritual enlightenment that follows an era of chaos. Modern followers, sometimes called "Faithists," focus on service, angelic communication, and living in harmony with the "All Light" (their term for the Creator). The Kosmon Sanctuary in the UK is one of the primary active organizations today. Fatboy Slim's first work to chart outside of the UK, with the single "Going Out of My Head" notably charting in the U. S. Skint Records founder Damian Harris has described the album as having been "more of a compilation than an album", as some of the tracks had been recorded some time before its release, due to Norman Cook's other musical projects. Three songs from the album were previously released in Skint's first volume of their Brassic Beats compilation album series, which is advertised in the album's booklet. The album's cover features an image of a 3.5-inch floppy disk, paying homage to the cover of New Order's "Blue Monday" single, which featured a 5.25-inch disk. The album's title is a variation of a DuPont advertising slogan, "Better Things for Better Living...Through Chemistry". The album received generally positive reviews from critics. A 1997 review from Rolling Stone claimed the album to be "one of the most fun, shamelessly genre-hopping dance albums of the year". The Philadelphia Inquirer called the album "the first to open the drums 'n' bass world to naturally occurring rhythm patterns... The terrific Better Living Through Chemistry offers a parade of block-rockin' beats not born in a test tube." AllMusic rated it four stars out of five, recommending the album to "those who can't get enough of the popular technoid-sampled alternative dance style of the late '90s". The song "Give the Po' Man a Break" is featured in the 2000 film Traffic. The song "The Weekend Starts Here" is featured in the first episode of the British sitcom Spaced. All tracks are written by Norman Cook, except where noted. 1. "Song for Lindy" 4:50 (Instrumental) 2. "Santa Cruz" 7:30 3. "Going Out of My Head" 5:14 – rockstar! 4. "The Weekend Starts Here" 6:41 5. "Everybody Needs a 303" 5:49 (a 303 is a Roland TB-303 Base Line synthesizer) 6. "Give the Po' Man a Break" 5:50 (Gay poor Meta break?) 7. "10th & Crenshaw" 4:20 (Los Angeles, Nipsey Hussle’s Marathon Clothing store) 8. "First Down" 6:18 9. "Punk to Funk" 4:57 10. "The Sound of Milwaukee" 6:18 US Astralwerks release bonus tracks 11. "Michael Jackson" 5:49 12. "Next to Nothing" 7:16 Fatboy Slim Bio: Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), known professionally as Fatboy Slim, is an English musician and DJ who helped popularize the big beat genre in the 1990s. His music makes extensive use of samples from eclectic genres, combined with pop structures, processed rhythms and "sloganistic" vocals. In the 1980s, Cook became the bassist for the indie rock band the Housemartins, who achieved a UK number-one single with their cover of "Caravan of Love". After they disbanded, Cook moved to Brighton to pursue dance music. He formed the electronic group Beats International and produced their 1990 number-one single "Dub Be Good to Me", and played in the band Freak Power. He also released house records under names including Pizzaman and the Mighty Dub Katz. In 1996, Cook released his first album as Fatboy Slim, Better Living Through Chemistry, followed by successful remixes for Wildchild and Cornershop. His second album, You've Come a Long Way, Baby, was certified platinum and produced the successful singles "The Rockafeller Skank", "Praise You" and "Right Here, Right Now". Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars (2000) produced the single "Weapon of Choice", which won six awards at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards. Palookaville (2004) was less successful, attributed to the declining popularity of dance music and a more obscure style. In 2009, Cook released an album as the Brighton Port Authority, a collaboration with artists including David Byrne. He collaborated with Byrne again on the album Here Lies Love (2010), a concept album that was adapted into a stage musical in 2013. In later years, Cook has focused on DJ performances over creating music. Cook has a Grammy Award, nine MTV Video Music Awards, two Brit Awards and an Ivor Novello Award. He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Original Score for Here Lies Love in 2024. In 2023, he was awarded the Guinness world record for the most UK number-one singles by one musician as a member of different acts. Cook's marriage to the BBC presenter Zoe Ball was highly publicized. Quentin Leo Cook was born on 31 July 1963 in Bromley in Kent, England (now part of Greater London), the youngest of three. His mother was a teacher in a hospital school, and his father was an environmentalist consultant who was appointed an Order of the British Empire for introducing bottle banks (recycling points) into the UK. His family belonged to the Kosmon faith, an obscure religious order. Cook was raised in Reigate, Surrey, which he later described as a "suburban hell". In grammar school, he took violin lessons alongside the future prime minister Keir Starmer. At school, he became a fan of punk music and edited a punk fanzine. He adopted the name Norman when he was bullied for the name Quentin, which his classmates associated with the gay actor Quentin Crisp. He began DJing at 15. At sixth form college, Cook met the songwriter Paul Heaton, with whom he formed a punk band, the Stomping Pond Frogs. He failed his A-level exams as he was focusing on playing music, and had to retake them. Cook moved to Brighton to attend Brighton Polytechnic from 1982 to 1985 and gained a 2:1 in British studies. In Brighton, he worked as a DJ and was taught how to mix by the DJ Carl Cox. He appeared as a porter in the music video for the 1982 song "Goody Two Shoes" by Adam Ant. 1985–1988: the Housemartins: While Cook was in Brighton, Heaton formed a band, the Housemartins. When their original bassist quit in 1985, Cook moved to Hull to join them. Cook said he learned to play the bass guitar in about a week. In 1986, the Housemartins reached number one on the UK singles chart with a cover of the 1985 Isley-Jasper-Isley song "Caravan of Love". Cook was frustrated playing "white English pop" in the Housemartins. He was interested in hip-hop and dance music, but felt it was inappropriate for a white English man to work in this genre, and that no one would take him seriously. He was uncomfortable with acts such as Level 42 or Simply Red, who he felt "kind of pretend to be black". While with the Housemartins, Cook began working on dance music using a TEAC 144 Portastudio and Roland S-10 synthesizer, with no intention of releasing it. He also created a megamix, "The Finest Ingredients", that was played by the BBC DJ John Peel. The Housemartins broke up in 1988. Heaton and the drummer, Dave Hemingway, went on to form the Beautiful South, and Cook returned to Brighton to pursue dance music. He invested in equipment including a mixing console, an eight-track reel-to-reel, an Atari ST computer, an Akai S950 sampler and, later, a Roland TB-303 synthesizer. He released successful remixes such as "Blame It on the Bassline" with MC Wildski, which reached number 29 on the UK singles chart. He also formed a sound system collective, Beats International, with a collection of MCs and singers. Their single "Dub Be Good to Me" (1990) reached number one, but their second album, Excursion on the Version (1991), was a failure. After Beats International disbanded in 1992, Cook's marriage ended and he suffered a mental breakdown. According to Cook, he became a self-destructive workaholic, drank heavily and alienated his friends. When therapy was ineffective, he began self-medicating with ecstasy. Facing bankruptcy, he took work composing for a Smurfs video game. Cook formed an acid jazz band, Freak Power, with musicians including the trombonist Ashley Slater, which released the successful 1993 single "Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out" on Island Records. Cook felt uncomfortable in the band, and recalled thinking on stage: "I'm a really crap guitarist. What am I doing here? I've spent the last 10 years getting pissed in nightclubs, learning how to DJ." In 1993, Cook and John Reid formed the house duo Pizzaman. Their only album, Pizzamania, produced three top-40 singles. Cook also released music as the Mighty Dub Katz, recording two or three tracks a week in his home studio. As Cook's contract with Island forbade him from releasing or promoting music on other labels under his own name, he released them under aliases including Cheeky Boy, Sunny Side Up, Yum Yum Head Food and the Feelgood Factor, often on his own label, Southern Fried Records. Cook said his names reflect the fact that he did not take his work seriously, and that he was not afraid to say "this is me pretending to be someone else, so let's make this fun". 1995–1997: Fatboy Slim and Better Living Through Chemistry Cook adopted the stage name Fatboy Slim in 1995. He said of the name: "It doesn't mean anything. I've told so many different lies over the years about it I can't actually remember the truth. It's just an oxymoron – a word that can't exist. It kind of suits me – it's kind of goofy and ironic." Its first record was the Fatboy Slim track "Santa Cruz" in 1995. It sold only 800 copies, but attracted attention in the underground dance music scene in the UK. Cook was surprised to hear "Santa Cruz" played at an event in London by the Chemical Brothers, then known as the Dust Brothers, and said it was "like meeting the rest of my long-lost family". Cook co-founded a popular club night at the Concorde in Brighton, the Big Beat Boutique, where he played music from genres including northern soul, acid house, hip-hop and reggae, combined with breakbeats. The scene became the foundation of big beat music. Cook later wrote of the "enormous collective pride" in the big beat genre being named after the club night, just as house and garage music were named after venues in Chicago and New York City. Cook described it as a "very productive time", when acts such as the Chemical Brothers, Death in Vegas, Monkey Mafia, Bentley Rhythm Ace and FC Kahuna were "breaking rules and feeding off each other". Cook's friends encouraged him to make music similar to the style he was playing in his DJ sets. Skint released the first Fatboy Slim album, Better Living Through Chemistry, in 1996. According to The Independent, by 1997, Cook had become "part of an elite coterie of superstar DJs" who earned large fees to perform at international venues and were "guaranteed to fill dance floors from Manchester to Madrid". 1998–1999: You've Come a Long Way, Baby and international success In 1998, Cook's remix of "Renegade Master" by Wildchild reached number three on the UK singles chart, and his remix of "Brimful of Asha" by Cornershop reached number one. Cook said the tracks represented a creative breakthrough: "That's when I was like, I've nailed it now, I've got the formula." He began receiving interest from artists such as Madonna and Robbie Williams. He turned down an offer from the Pet Shop Boys to produce their next album, as he liked their music but felt it did not suit his style. For his second album, You've Come a Long Way, Baby (1998), Cook aimed to create a coherent album using "all the ideas that had been brewing and fermenting" in the big beat scene. He created three successful singles in one week: "The Rockafeller Skank", "Praise You" and "Right Here, Right Now". "Praise You" was the first Fatboy Slim UK number-one single, and its music video, directed by Spike Jonze, won numerous awards. On 9 September 1999, Cook performed "Praise You" at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City and won three awards, including Breakthrough Video. Four days later, You've Come a Long Way, Baby was certified platinum. That year, Cook won the Brit Award for Best British Dance Act. He also married the BBC presenter Zoe Ball, triggering attention from the tabloid media. 2000–2003: Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars and Brighton beach Big Beach Boutique II in 2002, when more than 250,000 people saw Fatboy Slim perform at a free concert on Brighton beach. In 2000, dance music was at peak popularity, controlling 13.3% of the UK album charts. Cook was a key figure in the rising popularity of club culture in the UK, along with acts such as Chemical Brothers, Basement Jaxx, Underworld, Groove Armada and Leftfield. That year, Cook released the third Fatboy Slim album, Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, featuring collaborations with Macy Gray and Bootsy Collins. He attempted to create a less radio-friendly album, saying: "I'm much happier at number nine in the charts than at number one because you're still top ten but it's a lot less work and stress." The video for "Weapon of Choice", directed by Spike Jonze and featuring Christopher Walken dancing through a hotel, won six awards at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards. Cook earned the Guinness world records for the most MTV Video Awards won by a DJ and the most MTV Video Awards won for a single video. The album also included "Sunset (Bird of Prey)", whose video used the 1964 "Daisy Girl" campaign ad. In the same year, Cook released The Fatboy Slim / Norman Cook Collection, a compilation of his remixes from the 1980s and early 90s. In 2001, Cook held a free beach concert, Big Beach Boutique, in Brighton. It was attended by around 60,000 people. The set was released as the 2002 album Live on Brighton Beach. By 2002 Fatboy Slim was the "world's biggest DJ". That July, he played a second free concert on Brighton beach, Big Beach Boutique II. It was attended by around 250,000 people, four times more than expected. Local authorities were severely underprepared, which led to more than 170 injuries and six arrests. Two people died in the hours after the concert. The cleanup operation lasted days and cost over £300,000, with 160 tonnes of rubbish collected from the beach. However, Cook was supported by Brighton residents. The Brighton newspaper The Argus printed a supplement to publish the letters supporting him, and BBC Southern Counties Radio received many positive calls. In 2001, Cook won his second Brit Award for Best British Dance Act. Cook released a live album and DVD of the Brighton beach performance, Big Beach Boutique II, in 2003.He contributed production to "Crazy Beat" and "Gene by Gene" on the 2003 Blur album Think Tank. 2004–2008: Palookaville: By 2004, dance music was in commercial decline, replaced by a resurgence of guitar bands. That year, Cook released his fourth album, Palookaville. It sold far fewer copies than his previous albums, which Cook credited to its more obscure musical style. Cook said he was "happy to take my foot off the gas for a bit" and receive less tabloid attention. After the Big Beach Boutique II DVD became a bestseller in Brazil, Cook played to an estimated 360,000 people in Rio in 2004. He returned many times in the following years, and performed on the reality TV show Big Brother Brazil in 2005. New Year's Day, 2007, Cook held another performance on Brighton beach, Big Beach Boutique 3. Tickets were only available to residents of Brighton and Hove, capped at 20,000. Big Beach Boutique 4 took place on September 27, 2008, with the same ticket procedures. 2008–2012: the Brighton Port Authority and Here Lies Love In 2008, Cook remixed the track "Amazonas" for the charity Bottletop. That year, Cook formed a virtual band, the Brighton Port Authority, featuring Iggy Pop, David Byrne, Dizzee Rascal, Martha Wainwright and Ashley Beedle. They released an album, I Think We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat, in 2009. Cook produced two tracks on The Revolution Presents, a 2009 compilation album by various Cuban musicians. He later expressed regret about the album, saying: "I'm not Paul Simon – I'm not the world's best musical ambassador, it wasn't my forte." In 2008, Cook played at Glastonbury Festival, the O2 Wireless Festival, Rockness Festival and Coachella. He played an unadvertised concert at Glastonbury 2009, and headlined the east dance stage at Glastonbury 2010. Cook collaborated with Byrne again on Here Lies Love (2010), a concept album about the life of the Philippines First Lady Imelda Marcos. In the 2010s, as EDM grew in popularity worldwide, Cook began performing more frequently in the United States. On 18 June 2010, he performed at the Cool Britannia FIFA World Cup music festival at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in South Africa. On 30 May, he was the headliner at Movement Electronic Music Festival in Detroit. Cook performed "Right Here, Right Now" and "The Rockefeller Skank" at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in London. On 1 September, he performed at Brighton Pride. In March 2012, Cook hosted a ten-part radio programme, On The Road To Big Beach Bootique 5, on XFM. 2013—present: singles and performances In 2013, Cook performed at Ultra Music Festival in Miami. On 6 March, Cook became the first DJ to perform at the House of Commons in Westminster, London, in aid of the Last Night a DJ Saved My Life Foundation, which encourages young people to become involved in their communities. Cook said later that it was a "milestone" to perform there years after the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which clamped down on raves: "Isn't it brilliant that finally we've wormed our way into the public's consciousness to the extent that we're not seen as a bunch of drug-taking anarchists any more? Dance music is here to stay." In 2013, Cook released "Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat", with Riva Starr and Beardyman, which reached number three in the UK and introduced Fatboy Slim to younger audiences. Supported by a remix from Scottish DJ Calvin Harris, it topped the UK Dance Chart that year. As of 2015, Cook was performing about 70 DJ sets a year and declined many opportunities to perform more. He was not interested in further fame or success, saying "Nowadays I'd rather go sideways than up. I don't want to do things on a bigger scale. I want to do things that are interesting." On 15 May 2016, he played a private two-hour set "Baby Loves Disco" for preschool children and their parents during the Brighton Fringe. At a concert in Gateshead, England, in October 2019, Cook performed a mashup of his track "Right Here, Right Now" and Greta Thunberg's speech at the United Nations, which went viral. Cook made a cameo as a DJ in the 2019 film Greed, and played himself in the third series of the Channel 4 sitcom Derry Girls, broadcast in 2022. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, Cook posted mixes online and worked at the cafe he owned in Hove. He said he had not done "an honest job" for years and that it "kept him sane". In May 2021, Cook performed in Liverpool as part of the government's trials to restart mass audience events following the COVID-19 pandemic. October 2023, he was awarded the Guinness world record for the most UK number-one singles by one musician as a member of different acts. He also performed a secret gig at the Prince Albert pub in Brighton to support its campaign against property development in the North Laine. In June 2024, Cook released the single "Role Model", featuring the vocalist Dan Diamond. The music video, his first in nearly 20 years, features celebrities edited with deepfake technology, such as David Bowie, Bill Murray and Muhammad Ali. In July, Cook joined his former bandmate Paul Heaton to play bass on the 1986 Housemartins song "Happy Hour" at Glastonbury 2024. Cook estimated that his performance at Glastonbury 2025 was his 100th Glastonbury performance, including performances on large stages and small tents. On 11 December 2025, Cook released "Satisfaction Skank", a remix of "The Rockafeller Skank" incorporating elements of the 1965 Rolling Stones song "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". Cook had played the remix in his DJ sets for years, and it became one of the world's most bootlegged recordings. It was blocked from release until the Rolling Stones' management agreed to license its sample after several refusals. As he grew older, Cook lost interest in creating music focused on DJ performances, which he said he still had "100% passion for". He said in 2025: "If I did make a new record then it would be a very average record. I prefer not to waste mine or other people's time with that. I feel like I've made enough records and there's a body of work there that's good enough." Equipment used by Fatboy Slim. Roland TB-303 synthesizer, Akai S900 sampler, Atari ST computer Cook pioneered the 1990s electronic genre big beat, which Sound on Sound likened to a "pop art-styled collage" of samples. The Pitchfork writer Brad Shoup described You've Come A Long Way, Baby as "pure pop", unlike the stranger or harsher music of other big beat acts such as the Chemical Brothers or the Prodigy. Another Pitchfork critic, Marc Hogan, characterized the Fatboy Slim formula as "eclectic samples, sloganistic vocal snippets, and an all-around drunken good-time spirit". DJ Mag wrote that Cook created "big brash party tunes for big communal occasions" and was a "showman" and entertainer. Cook wrote that his method was to combine breakbeats from hip-hop, the "anarchic rebellion" of punk, the energy of acid house and the hooks of pop music. He differentiated himself from other dance acts by using traditional song structures, such as verses, choruses and middle eights, to arrange "dance floor ingredients ... in a manner that the human brain would associate with pop music". Cook estimated that most of his tracks contained only 20% original material, with some containing none at all, and was proud of creating music that did not resemble the acts he sampled. As he felt sampling hit songs would be too easy, he instead sampled vocal and drum parts from vinyl records, creating a library of sounds. He likened his process to collage, and enjoyed finding "that one little bit of magic" in an obscure track and turning it into a hit. Cook's approach was to blend elements from several popular styles, such as pop, punk, rap and acid house, to create "an attractive and accessible package". He said he was unable to write traditional songs. Most Fatboy Slim albums are assembled from samples combined with synthesizer lines from a Roland TB-303 and parts played on a Studio Electronics keyboard. Cook manipulated samples through methods such as time-stretching and distortion, using Akai S900 and S950 samplers, and sequenced them using an Atari ST computer running C-Lab Creator. He created drum tracks by sampling individual drum hits from vinyl break beats, then programming new patterns. Most Fatboy Slim tracks have two drum tracks playing simultaneously: one "modern and crisp and clean-sounding" and another "older and dirtier" with less "punch". Cook continued using the same equipment even as more sophisticated technology emerged. He began using a MacBook with Ableton Live, but found the lack of limits and no opportunity to "bend the rules" made the process less exciting. Cook said he had never created overtly political music, and that when he tried to make "angry" music it "comes out slightly light-hearted ... so it's about the party and the rhythm". He took accusations that he "made dance music for people who don't like dance music" as a compliment, saying he had made it more accessible. He said his music was for "people who do shit jobs all week and on Friday and Saturday nights they get to be glamorous and exciting ... My music is for the hips not the head ... It's not supposed to be dissected by journalists, you're not supposed to sit at home with the lyric sheet wondering what they mean, reading the sleeve notes." Fatboy Slim tracks have been used extensively in adverts, film and television. Cook said: "I make a certain kind of instrumental music they like using. You can hear 15 seconds of my stuff and it makes complete sense." Cook performs in Hawaiian shirts with no shoes, and said: "I decided I had to be like James Brown without the band. I started cheerleading the crowd and showing off." He believes DJs should communicate with the crowd through their expressions and body language and respond to them, and said: "The more the crowd give me back, the more I wanna give them and it becomes a cycle of nonsense – sometimes to ludicrous extremes." He described Jon Carter and Carl Cox as DJs he learned from and whose stage styles he adopted. He resisted pressure from record companies to perform with live musicians, as he felt the appeal of his music was in "the grit and character" of the samples, and to recreate them would be "like hearing a wedding covers band". Cook's first marriage, to a nurse, ended in the early 1990s. Cook met the BBC presenter Zoe Ball in Ibiza in 1998. They married in 1999 and had their first child in 2000. Their relationship attracted extensive tabloid attention, and Cook said he was a victim of the News International phone hacking scandal. The Independent described Cook and Ball as "the It Couple (or, one of them) of Cool Britannia". They separated in 2003, but reconciled and had a second child in 2010. As of 2004, they lived on Western Esplanade in Hove. On 24 September 2016, Cook and Ball announced their separation after 18 years. For several years, Cook used drugs including cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine and performed while intoxicated. After he became a father, he worried that his drug use affected his relationships. On 4 March 2009, Cook checked into a rehabilitation clinic in Bournemouth for alcoholism. His performance at Snowbombing, a week-long winter sports and music festival held in the Austrian ski resort of Mayrhofen, was cancelled, with the slot filled by 2ManyDJs. Cook left the clinic at the end of March. As of March 2022, he had been sober for 13 years. Cook said performing sober gave him stage fright for the first time. In 2002, Cook changed his name by deed poll to Norman Quentin Cook. In the same year, he purchased a 12% share in Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, which he has supported since moving to Brighton in the 1980s.[13] In June 2013, Cook opened the Big Beach Cafe in Hove in a property previously owned by Heather Mills, and worked there during the COVID-19 lockdowns. He sold the cafe in November 2025, saying he no longer had time to run it as his business partner was retiring. Cook also owned a Japanese restaurant in Brighton, Oki-Nami, and the Spotted Pig, a Michelin-starred gastropub in New York City that closed in 2016. He collects objects bearing the smiley symbol, and in 2019 he curated a smiley exhibition in Lisbon with the Portuguese artist Vhils. Studio albums Better Living Through Chemistry (1996) You've Come a Long Way, Baby (1998) Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars (2000) Palookaville (2004)

Oh the soundtrack of the 90s - Fatboy Slim. Very creative artist that set a distinctive tone with unique and upbeat compositions. Truly not much else out there that sounds like Slim. It's not something I'd listen to regularly, but it does remind me of my high school days, going to raves and parties. Good sounds overall though.

eh. didn't have any staying power, was background noise.

Cool vibe

Best Song: Give the Po' Man a Break. I don't know why this song isn't bigger than it is, because that's one hell of a vocal sample. My only complaint is that it wasn't used more liberally. Worst Song: 10th & Crenshaw. I think literally every sample in this song annoyed me in one way or another. Overall: Give the Po' Man a Break.

Ваш звонок очень важен для нас. В целях повышения качества обслуживания разговор может быть записан. Время ожидания ответа специалиста составляет 58 минут. Изначально 2/5. Под конец уверенная 1/10. Ужасно долго и однообразно. Во время всего прослушивания в голове сам собой проигрывался геймплей сабвей серферс.

I didn't know this album existed. It's not my genre, but I really enjoyed Norman's cooking (sorry). Liked Songs Added: Song For Lindy The Weekend Starts Here Going Out Of My Head

Huge grooves and a playful attitude, but it’s very one-note across a full run. Great in the right mood, less so when you want depth.

First track, I thought "hey I'm going to enjoy this more than that last electronic album that came up." Slowly gets worse until three tracks later some "baddassss" voice is repeating "The Weekend Starts HERE" over and over, and I realize, no, this is just not. at. all. for me. Next track, "Everybody Needs a 303" descends even lower. I swore to myself I'd listen to every album served up all the way through, and this is my first real challenge. When I started this 1001 albums thing, doubted that there would be any album I hated, but I was absolutely wrong about that.

Huh. I happened to wake and bake in the morning before I listened to this, so maybe I was in the perfect headspace to appreciate this album. Kinda made me feel like I was in a Fast and Furious movie. Or a 90's programming montage. It was cool. I'd listen again.

Perfect example of an album that doesn't need to be here because he surpassed it with a better (and probably more influential) album

tão longo e cansativo quanto eu esperava primeiro é tragédia e depois é farsa hein pessoar

eh bem repetitivo né bem parecido com o outro, mas com menos samples. música pra hackear no início dos anos 2000 não sou hacker e nem entendo de códigos.

Album #52: Better Living Through Chemistry - Fatboy Slim Genre (W): Big beat Singles: Everybody Needs a 303, Punk to Funk, Going out of My Head I have not listened to this album. Thoughts?: For a little while, the album is catchy. After a while, it slowly becomes background music. Fun for a bit, but boring after a long time. Favorite songs: Song for Lindy, Santa Cruz, Going Out of My Head, Everybody Needs a 303, Give the Po’ Man a Break, The Sound of Milwaukee

Repetitive and 99% instrumental. Pass. Best song: Santa Cruz

It was fine

Did not hate it. It had some nice moments. Which is better than I can say about most EDM albums, but in the end it is an EDM album and very hard but not impossible for such an album to rise above a 3.

He got much better after this. Also not an album I would just put on. Better for a dance club

This album sounds like generic background music for a video game, thankfully it's not boring or else I wouldn't have been able to actually sit through this album. 2.9/5

Excited to see Fatboy Slim today - I always forget I like him.

3.8

Enjoyed xx

The songs on this album are so same-ish. About midway through, I thought I might have accidentally skipped a track and scrolled back up the list of songs and played it. But then I couldn't tell if I had already listened to it just minutes before ... or not.

I don't think this guy makes bad music ever but this is definitely the least hardhitting of the records I've checked out. Definitely feels like he was still defining his sound which made him a little more adventurous but also made it a little less unique/vibrant. Some good cuts throughout otherwise.

While it gave me some Jet Set Radio nostalgia at times, I had a hard time listening through the whole album

No. 374/1001 Song for Lindy 4/5 Santa Cruz 3/5 The Weekend Starts Here 4/5 Going Out Of My Head 3/5 Everybody Needs a 303 2/5 Give The Po'Man a Break 3/5 10th and Crenshaw 2/5 First Down 3/5 Punk to Funk 2/5 The Sound of Milwaukee 3/5 Average: 2,9 Started of pretty good, but lost some steam towards the end.

Me gusta la electrónica pero este álbum me perturba

This was meh.

LMAO a floppy disk, that's so retro. I love it. I don't know if I know this album or any songs on it. But I was recently just on a Fat Boy Slim kick. Let's get this party started! This was great! I especially liked The Weekend Starts Here. Since it is Friday after all lol I'll give this one 4 stars.

The album starts out fine but it becomes incredibly boring and repetitive. A lot of the tracks here feel very simplistic, and admittedly they do work on a moderate level, but wouldn’t be hyped to hear on a regular basis. Overall the natural repetitiveness did go along with the songs.

Todella hyvä levy ja mielettömiä biittejä! Pisti jalan vipattamaan ja tätä tulee varmasti kuunneltua vastedes. Fatboy Slimin toka levy löytyy hyllystä ja sitä on tullut kuunneltua.

Actual chemistry is more interesting

DNF Boring EDM.

Is there a place for this guy and this kind of music. Yes. Is it in any situation where I am also present. No.

https://youtu.be/JwZwkk7q25I?si=CvOe3VCgQyLhz3sk

This is shake your booty music. These days, most of my booty shaking is done while pushing a vacuum cleaner or a lawn mower. Or exercising. Today, I listened to this album while riding a bike to nowhere. It was perfect for that. The beat at a perfect cadence for a long, steady climb. I’ll definitely dial this album up again.

The only thing I can really say is that it showcases the talent Mr. Slim has; just not fully realized.

i see why the derry girls were so hyped for his concert

Poco podía esperar que el bajista de The Housemartins se reconvirtiera del folk-pop de la banda de Hull a samplear a lo loco a ritmo de big beat y que además lo hiciera con éxito. Musicalmente soy más de Norman Cook que de su alter ego Fatboy Slim, pero si se trata de soportar una sesión de baile, creo que podría con esto. Se hizo de oro como dj a partir de este disco, cosa que no hizo su compañero en Housemartins siguiendo con The Beautiful South con un pop algo anticuado ya para la época. Norman supo apostar por el caballo ganador.

Nice album

Super annoying and repetitive. So bad

Maybe this stuff would be more enjoyable live at a Brighton beach party, but i do like it "blasting" from my small desktop speakers too. Feel good beats from one of the best dance DJ's on this planet.

First demo or album isn't always the best. This album has elements that will later take Fatboy to new heights but this feels likeable raw version of what's upcoming. Nice album but best vibes are missing

This whole album feels like restrained Prodigy to me. I've listened more to jungle, drum 'n bass and trip-hop styles, than this type of big beat dance/house music and it's really not for me. Nothing wrong as such, but it feels... manufactured to certain taste. It might be just that I don't care for the (more mainstream?) music of the 90's british club scene.

You've Come a Long Way Baby is in my regular rotation, and this album is also pretty good, but it's not at that level. Wish I'd listened to it in the headphones, probably will sometime, but today, this didn't hit for me as much as his other work.

OK. 2/5

Enjoyed this more than i thought I would. Lots of interesting sounds and beats. As an album though it’s not as sophisticated as other similar dance/electronic music from the genre - it feels like a collection of tracks rather than a complete experience. And some tracks themselves are interestingly eclectic but again, don’t always feel like being 'carried through' a track - some of the samples jar a bit. The extract in the 1001 book I have says that (some) fans would trawl the sleeve notes for clues of where original samples came from and trace back to source material. That's immediately what I want to do. The drums on 'The Weekend Starts Here' sounds like the beat from Led Zep's When the Levee Breaks, but not so. Samples from Idris Muhammad, Black Sabbath, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Grateful Dead, Sweet Salvation, I have already spent more time with those original recordings than I have with this album this morning. Could be a bit addictive. So… what to do what to do… this is a grower, and maybe could be more influential for me to finding other stuff in Norman Cook's record collection that I like more than Fat Boy Slim's djing. Not yet a 4. not a 3 either. 3.5. Number tracks: 10 Fave track: 3: The Weekend Starts Here Others: Punk to funk. 24/02/26

This one’s better than his next one. There’s a lot that I liked. And it’s reminiscent of some stuff I *really like.* But it’s also “plain.” It doesn’t go anywhere. Or at least not where I’d like it to go. It’s like a race car with a governor. It revs up & takes off great, but then it hits the cruise control at 80% top speed. I’mma say 3 & 1/2. I’m gonna allow the round up to 4 but with a bold asterisk to note this is a qualified genre-specific scale

Oh come on, we’ve had enough of this.

I usually really don't like this type of music, but for some reason I can't explain, I do like this electro/dance/funk. I find these songs to be fun and upbeat, with really good use of samples and some vocals thrown in for good measure.

Even if I were dancing to this (which I acknowledge is how you should listen to this) I’m not sure how interesting I’d find it. Meh.

It's not bad, but it is the rare album that needs to be an hour and 11 minutes, and this is not one of them. It's good, don't get me wrong, but it's very basic. I enjoyed my time with it, but I think Moby's Play, which is from the same era, shows more creativity and interesting ideas. Which is to say, I think this is a very good 90s electronic album, but it's not really one of the tentpole electronic albums that made a huge cultural impact, or influenced later generations.

Very meh but better than Romi Size

Interesting

It's aight

Doesn't really belong here.

The weekend starts here.

The weekend never started

Ok album. Dragged on a little too much and didn't leave me with sense of amazement.

Good sound but a bit samey! 3.4

I don't know if I would come back to a lot of these, but there's some really good stuff here. I was really only familiar with his big hits before this album.

I generally like the music but just like just about everyone else I found it repetitive and long.

I was not a rave kid, but I enjoyed a lot of this. It actually made me want to dance, or at least move, and I don’t dance. This is great background music for cleaning the house, and that’s not a knock. Some great beats, albeit a bit repetitive at times. I appreciated the sampling of the harmonica from Black Sabbath’s “The Wizard” on “The Weekend Starts Here”

1) I can’t speak with any knowledge when it comes to electronic music. 2) I’m surprised they didn’t pick “you’ve come a long way, baby.” I’m not a fan of this music but allegedly they were influential! So two stars.

Nope

IT'S BIG BEAT BRUV! I love this shit. Such a pure expression of funky 90s electronic exploration, created by one of the all time greats. I'll always love Fatboy and the Chemical Brothers, and this album is no exception. Not a lot of time to write reviews this week, I'm at a 4/5 from me.

Not my favourite fatboy slim album (that's You've come a long way baby), but some good tracks here, (Going out of my head and Everybody needs a 303). Is it repetitive, yes, but it it bad? No. Solid 3 star album for me.

Не дуже, як на мене

Нарезал сэмплы молодец

Full of fun but a little too repetitive

This was annoying.

Very ok DnB.

Truly great dance music often has something for the body, mind, and soul. Fat boy Slim doesn’t lack soul or intention here, I think a lot of this material is made with heart. The prolonged guitar sample over some sweet chords on the back half of “Santa Cruz” is a good example of that. Sometimes there’s body, though my American pallet is BEGGING for a kick a bit more often, like on the opening “Song For Lindy”. The problem is that the mind is often missing from these songs. I don’t mean it’s mindless, I mean these often no hook. Not just verbal hook, there’s often not sticky melody for your mind to latch onto. That’s why everyone’s up in these reviews saying it’s predictable and forgettable. It’s why this comes off as a guy fooling around making beats more than it comes off as a cohesive album wanting to be anything at all. “Give The Po Man A Break” had my favorite moments in it. Great build of energy with that vocal sample. This project needed more of that. I knew there wasn’t an 808 kick coming, but it at least felt like there was a four on the floor moment just around the corner. Strong 2/5. Probably broke in the UK and fizzled out shortly thereafter. There’s only 8 million instances of that on this albums list. As always, I will attempt to make a more substantial 90’s electronic dance album recommendation, since this list falls so short in the category - it’s running me out of albums to give! Let’s do “Mind Fruit” by Opus III. It’s still dancey, still lightly acidic, but much better at being sticky and hypnotic all at once. “Evolution Rush” from that record is essential listening

I remember in the 90's when MTV was trying to make techno a thing. It's laughable to me that so many albums on this list are from that shitty era where everyone thought this crap was the future of music. TWO FATBOY SLIM ALBUMS?!?! Fuck outta here. Much like the floppy disc on the album cover, this is obsolete technology that belongs in the 90's.

Better than the follow up "You've Come A Long Way, Baby". A few songs (the first 3-4) actually don't have the mind-numbingly long build-ups that destroyed every song on that album. I'm conflicted again by Fatboy Slim. I generally liked all the songs on here, but because of the breakdown / build-up, whatever they are called, sections of most songs... (I never thought Tina Turner's name could be annoying... but here we are) I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have if these had been radio edits or something along those lines. 3 stars, but better than the similarly scored "You've Come A Long Way, Baby".

A solid electronic record. Of course it's predictable and infinitely looping around itself, making you feel like you're falling through a computer simulation. I'd have loved a little bit more out of it. A bit of surprise or nuances, but it tends to remain in its own regularity. A solid background anyway.

kolejny dzien, kolejna tortura muzyczna, tym razem z gatunku najgorszej elektroniki jaka czlowiek stworzyl, czyli wielkie beatowanie, plyta z 96 i oczywiscie z wysp, kojarze tego pana z jednego kawalka right here right now, to nie z tej plyty, a okazalo sie, ze wszystko brzmi tak samo w tego typu muzyce, polaczenie jechanki agresywnie atakujacej uszaki z jakimis okazjonalnymi zloopowanymi rzutami lirycznymi, i tak przez godzine meczenia sie nad synthami, dawno nie mialem takiego albumu ktory pozostawil mnie bez zadnego pozytywnego odczucia po przesluchaniu, a panu fatboyowi slimowi sie udala ta sztuka

It has it's moment. Specifically, moments that make me want to boot up Jet Set Radio.

Big beat.

This felt like a bit of a do nothing album. It was a bit too lively to be fully background or relaxing music but no where near lively enough to make me want to dance. I suppose it would fit as background music for a relaxed house party but that's about it.

Fair

good

2 out of 5. Dated album for sure but not the worst thing.

Review posted 20/10/26 For once I think I widely agree with the consensus on this one. Almost exactly, even. I think if you throw this on to soundtrack something and not focus on it, it's not bad at all. I imagine that's what it was made for, you probably weren't meant to listen to this in an environment where the floor isn't sticky and you're not mildly intoxicated but that's not exactly a compliment and in fact might be an insanely backhanded insult. I also massively struggle to rate this album in terms of "quality", with the whole no lyrics no classic instruments sort of thing. It's listenable, pretty repetitive but otherwise unoffensive. If it was on, I wouldn't see myself immediately feeling a need to turn it off. Best songs: Going Out Of My Head Worst Songs: N/A Rank compared to everything else so far: 60/71 (above First Band on the Moon, below Among The Living)

Electronic from 96.

BLACK SABBATH MENTIONED 🦅🦅RAAAH🦅🦅🦅

So chill! The entire album gives you good vibes!

It's a throwback but not something I would listen to on a regular

3.5, great but too busy for me at times.

Tough one; creative, different & at the time cutting edge of sorts. Can’t say I really liked it but I do have modest appreciation for the artistry.

Too irritating to even work as background music.

Love FBS but this is standard dance music and nothing to get too excited, he has been a great advocate for the genre and fair play is still doing it now

Maybe groundbreaking in 1996. Boring today. None of the joy of some of his better stuff

This was way more enjoyable than I possibly could have expected. Not great for chilling. But excellent for dancing, probably fucking, and weirdly the gym too.

Fattest and slimmest.

3/5 - While I would have loved a reason to listen to You've Come a Long Way, Baby it was a fun ride of hearing the first album released. While I wasn't deeply familiar with the tracks the talent did shine through and reminded me to go dig into his discography again.

i didn't listen to it...

Not nearly as good as his next project, but was vibing at times. Low 3

Dig it! fun listen Matrix vibes. Great to have on

Not a fan of dance/techno music in general. fBS has had some decent hits, but did not buoy this album

Não gostei, primeiro álbum que não adicionei nenhuma música em minhas playlists.

я слухала 20th anniversary edition і, боже 2 години і 10 хвилин туц пац... не мій улюблений стиль, але буде гарним фоном для спортзалу або якихось монотонних справ.

Over an hour of dance music? Electronica is not my favorite genre and long electronica albums have a high bar to cross. This is an annoying album. The sounds are grating. It's impossible to tell when one song ends and the next begins. Going Out of My Head is the hit and it is just the same one minute seconds over and over and over again for five minutes. This is the music playing at an expensive hair salon where the staff, men and women, all have shirts that show their abdomens in the late 90s. He's saying, "Give the Po' Man," over and over...but it sounds like he's saying, "Keep Momentum." 10th and Crenshaw is terrible, the worst song so far. First Down is maybe the best? It's not a high bar though. Repeating the name "Michael Jackson" gets old really fast. This honestly isn't terrible when you're barely paying attention. Adding "Tina Turner" to the pattern doesn't make it better. I remember my friend having a different Fatboy Slim album and listening to it on the way back from a camping trip it sounded like they kept repeating "Monkey Jizz". I believe it was "Funky Fresh" though. Had no idea the album ended and listened to god know how much additional Fatboy Slim.

All right, background, music, to be honest I don’t really listen to this stuff because it doesn’t really vibe with me. I was able to sit and listen to it for a little bit, but I don’t think I’ll revisit it again, two stars. Didn’t hate it.

Love Fatboy

My main thought listening to this is 'why am I not just listening to the Chemical Brothers instead?' It's fine, but for some reason sounds very dated compared to other stuff from the same era like Orbital or Underworld, whose albums I still listen to a lot.

This is good stuff to listen to while working or getting stuff done around the house. 3/5.

A pure blinder even today.

Big beats! But I always preferred the later albums.

Cut-n-paste bigbeat blueprint. On balance I like this record better than its more successful follow-ups. Some of this is big bouncy fun, some of it's just a bit annoying.

Sicher gwüssermasse es revolutinärs album mit vill versuech is neue elektronische genre. Aber halt au zu experimentell zum mega schön chöne zuelose. Darum isch 3 nice trys vlt die richtig antwort druf

A view of future success. Lacking more vocal samples later releases had but still enjoyable

What a great record! Maybe not as good as You‘ve Come A Long Way Baby but it’s still a masterpiece.

Have no idea why this album is in here over so many others that aren't in this generator.

Didn't finish the whole album. Too intense as a work background

This starts off very sloely and boring but builds during the middle. Some great stuff ftom there but the start kills it from getting anymore than a 3

Background music at best.

One of the most dynamic and fun electronic dance albums that I've heard

This album was definitely repetitive and long. However, it wasn’t that bad either.

Track 1: (Song for Lindy)- Very early 2000s instrumental. Cool, but not really a song. 7/10 Track 2. (Santa Cruz) So I'm now just realising this guy is a DJ... so not really my shit. 5/10 Track 3. (The Weekend Starts Here) Eh. 5/10 Track 4. (Going Out Of My Head) Very 2000s movie intro vibes. 6/10 Track 5. (Everybody Needs a 303) 5/10 Track 6. (Give the Po' Man a Break)5/10 Track 7. (10th & Crenshaw) 5/10 Track 8. (First Down) 5/10 Track 9. (Punk to Funk) 5/10 Track 10. (The Sound of Milwaukee) 5/10 Overall Score: 5/10

Some Fatboy Slim tunes I love, some I don’t. I’m probably more of a fan of his ambient stuff, e.g. Song for Shelter, than I am of his Gangsta Trippin’ stuff. Sadly, some have been massively overplayed on the radio so I don’t love them anymore. This album is different to the Fatboy Slim that was everywhere in the late 90s and early 00s. It’s more house music than I suppose what could be referred to as EDM these days. Some tracks are good, some are not. Overall, fine, but not probably his best album overall.

Makes me want to go rollerblading.

Better Living Through Fat Boy Slim

Funky and cool, a bit repetitive sometimes, but it was a fun listen.

I zoned out through this entire album I didn’t even notice when the album ended and Spotify just kept playing more Fatboy Slim. Who is the intended audience for this music? It’s not me. I know 1,001 albums is a lot but I would love to know the rationale behind this one. I could not differentiate how any of these songs are different from one another. You know, the more I write, the more I’m annoyed that I spent an hour of my life listening to this.

To my ear, music like this just sounds like undeveloped ideas. Like, this is cool, and this is cool, and this is cool . . . And while each individual part is indeed "cool", nothing ever goes anywhere. It's like a band jamming and trying to write new songs, but it never gets beyond the jamming phase. I've been in bands like that, and it sucks.

Well...that was disappointing. This album is certainly a more straightforward dance album than Fatboy Slim's next album, You've Come a Long Way Baby. That latter album, and Dig Your Own Hole by the Chemical Brothers, are great examples of big beat with tons of samples, fillers, compression and other noise-inducing elements to accompany the dance beats. This album has some of that, but not enough to effectively hold my interest across the breadth of the album. Of course, this isn't to say I didn't like it. I did. But, I'm clearly going to have to read the book to help me understand why this was chosen over the next one.

I think I was beaten down by the string of records that ended with Mariah Carey, but I enjoyed my trip with this album, especially Santa Cruz and Going Out of My Head.

I saw Jason’s review and couldn’t help diving in to see if it was really that bad. For whatever reason, this worked for me.

1/5 - Literally headache inducing. Turned it off.

Bro, I just had to do notes on a Moby album. What’s next — The Chemical Brothers or Crystal Method? Too much 90s electronica. This is fine, though it’s sad that the legacy of almost all art these days is to weaponize it for advertising. I also cant listen to this without thinking about how it was an anthem to MTV party days, where it served a filler for a clip of someone wiping out on a jet ski.

Without being coy, I feel like listening to one of these 90s sample-heavy Big Beat/acid house/electronic albums front to back kind of misses the point. Like, I've done so many times before, even with Fatboy Slim albums and collections in the past. But this is the kind of music made for, and best suited to, being mixed into live sets and dancing to (particularly under conditions alluded to in the album's title). It's long, it's repetitive, it's (usually) predictable and full of filler - all very intentional choices for the kind of music played for pinger rats at venues where you stare at pretty lights for a few hours through black-hole pupils. This is all covered in the Big Beat Manifesto: "Big beats are the best, get high all the time". It's just an unfortunate side-effect of a daily-listening list of this type doesn't really suit this kind of album. There is occasional flashes of more experimental excitement here and there throughout the album, but it's mostly that classic basement 90s club sound. Loops for the loopy. As far as the actual album goes, I'm an easy mark for this kind of sound and have been a big Norman Cook fan since before I could walk, so this one's an easy recommend. This is the platonic ideal for PLUR-happy key-sniffing better-living class of 90s rave music, unapologetically rich with 4/4s, 303s and 808s and all delightfully digital. It's finally looped back into fun and funky territory as of 2026. The high-resonance squelchy 808 acid sound is definitely an acquired taste, kind of like drinking lemon juice, but it's used to good effect here. fav tracks: Going Out of My Head, The Weekend Starts Here, Give The Po' Man A Break, First Down

4 - great beats

Mostly just instrumental - great beats, thoroughly enjoyed

I might be going too easy on this album but after hearing like 30 90s electronica albums, this is the first one that doesn’t make me want to rip my hair out. It’s a low bar, but I feel like at least one of them on this list deserves a 3.

I probably need to listen to this another time through

Didn't like it as it was just repetitive noise.

Day737 - i’m not a fan of electronica and every song sounds like praise you and the rockefeller skank but i like those songs so that’s something

Meh. Pretty much what I expected when I saw Fatboy Slim pop up. Some parts were better than okay, but others were just alright.

прям якась дискотека 90х це тіпа брат чарлі хсх свого врємєні

It was fine, just sooo long and repetitive

Love the beats

The longer this went on, the better I liked - though doesn’t come near his later stuff

very interesting, breaks, repetetive but beautiful

perfectly decent electronic album but way too repetitive and "boring" to me esp if i just listen to it and not use it as background music, i enjoyed the other fatboy slim album a lot more as it had more vocal bits to it and felt less "same thing all over again" kind of a thing. fave song: first down 3/5 ⭐⭐⭐

Better Living Through Chemistry by Fatboy Slim starts off as a lot of fun, but the enjoyment fades as the album wears on. The early tracks are clever, energetic and packed with smart samples, yet there’s very little variation across the running time. What begins as a punchy big-beat statement gradually blurs into one long groove, making the album feel far longer than it needs to be. While I can appreciate its place in the rise of big beat and late-90s club culture, I’m still surprised this made the 1001 Albums list. It’s enjoyable in short bursts, but as a full album listen it struggles to hold attention. I can only really imagine returning to it as background music—perhaps on a run—rather than something to sit down and properly revisit. Favourite tracks: First Down, Santa Cruz, and Going Out of My Head stand out as genuinely cool tracks. I particularly like the use of the “Can’t Explain” riff, and the fact that it earns a writing credit for Pete Townshend is a nice touch. Least favourite tracks: Much of the album blends into one after a while. It feels overlong, and several of the later tracks don’t add anything new. Listening to it now, it also sounds quite dated nearly 30 years on. Album artwork: A cool, eye-catching sleeve that suits the era and the music well.

A promising start to the first track, but around the halfway mark it just started to repeat a rather dull piano riff over and over. The rest of the album is similarly repetitive. Not the worst electronic dance music I suppose. Least annoying track: 10th & Crenshaw

Dance music is an absolute favourite and I'm sure some tracks on this album would be good for dancing. Unfortunately not my era so I wasn't inspired to get to my feet. Meantime it made perfectly acceptable background music as I went about my day. Nothing memorable.

I’m a big ’90s electronica fan, but Fatboy Slim is one artist who's largely escaped me until now. Most of the tracks here were fine, but I wasn’t massively impressed. A fair few of the songs dragged on and didn’t strike me as the kind of big dancefloor hits this album seems to be aiming for. Overall, not bad by any stretch, but I’d rather listen to Slim’s contemporaries like The Prodigy, Aphex Twin, or Daft Punk.

An entertaining album with imaginative sound, but it didn't grab me as much as I would have liked. Maybe it's just not my favourite type of electronic music, but Santa Cruz is definitely a highlight.

It’s so fun I love it

Meh. I guess I wasn't in the mood.

Interesting album. Not my cup of tea.

When I listen to Fatboy Slim I think its great for the first fifteen minutes

My god. I hope to never have to listen to this again.

I liked the parts where he sampled good songs and I recognized them, which was like 10% of the album. I don't possess the ability to enjoy this type of music for more than a few minutes.

Relaxing

Not my thing. Not terrible but was repetitive and boring. Enjoyed the one track with more alternative dance influences.

I probably won't have much to say about this, I do like that sound, that late 90s big beat sound, I'm sure I'll enjoy this to some extent. It started strong, but the rest of the record wasn't too memorable to me. I fucking love Santa Cruz for some reason, like really.

I thought this was pretty okay, but overall pretty average. It definitely feels like music you’d hear whilst making your way through a club at like 2AM. Definitely not album where I have a lot of standouts but I don’t think that’s what the album was going for. Not much to say, just a cool little album that I don’t see myself coming back to a lot if ever.

3 Stars (8/15)

Probably won't listen again, but it wasn't bad.

Good album! Love me some Fatboy slim! I haven't listened to this album before but I do like it!

I'd heard some of the singles but ever the entire album. I'm glad that I've got up my collection now because that was fabulous.

Favorite Track: Going Out of My Head

At first, I considered Fatboy’s music to be chock full of interesting concepts, within songs that overstayed their welcome. Then I took a step back and took into consideration that our society’s attention spans have drastically diminished in the nearly 3 decades since this album released. But even with that in mind, I’d still consider his brand of electronic music to be, while pioneering in some respects, a sort of one-trick pony. Though I have no doubt hearing these songs live would be a much bigger thrill.

Nice instrumental album with some nice grooves. I listened to this album the day Sarah left for Seattle to meet Breanna. And when the dog at the corner got injured on the fence.

Some bits ok, some bits not so. was surprised by the Sabbath sample. compared to recent albums got to be a 3. though I didn't think I'd ever say that.

Nothing here for me. Record 12 notes that have a slight hook, then repeat for 6 minutes, with different levels of reverb here or there. Ridiculously boring drum patterns. Just boring and horrible.

This could well be the best dance album I've ever listened to. I don't think there was a duff track. That said, im not going to make a habit of listening to this or any other dance record too often. Im now cleansing my pallette with the Butthole Surfers

I thought I was 5 songs in and then realized I wasn’t even done the 2nd song. This is very Fatboy but it’s also very stale to me. I get it, he was developing his standout sound and was almost there. I’d choose Prodigy and Massive Attack over this. Choice cut: Going Out of my Head

This album stressed me out it is not relaxing.

It's a dance album and you can dance to (most of) it. That's a bigger novelty than it should be

Ensformigt.

Repetitive, repetitive, badum badum badum, repetitive, repetitive...

First time listening to a whole album by Fatboy Slim, even though I love big beat. When it came out I had a bit of a hipsterish dislike of it because it was so popular. But having listened properly I'm still not taken with it. It doesn't have the playfulness of Bentley Rhythm Ace or Propellerheads, or the transcendent euphoria of the Chemical Brothers. It just feels emptily hedonistic, a perfect soundtrack for the mad-fer-it laddishness of Cool Britannia.

i live in a country where drugs have been outlawed. and i dont like the album. not because i need to use drugs to enhance. 3/5

I actually reallly liked some of the tracks on this one. They did feel slightly repetitive at times and would have benefited from maybe a little more vocal work or resamplong.

Great seat-bouncing, afternoon-work fuel. The grooves are solid, but it’s all the same vibe — same tempo, same loops, same nod. I like it fine, I just don’t need this much of it.

I know I wouldn't be able to spent a large amount of time at the club because listening to the same drum machine beats over different grooves that repeat over and over would be my idea of purgatory.

Bought this when it was first released as was early adopter of Brassic Beats laterly Big Beats and the Skint label -fun times. Listening again it sounds quite basic relative to the far more commercial / poppy tracks the he would go onto release. Good retro fun.

Better Living Through Chemistry Although it doesn’t have the pop excellence of the big singles from the next album, or the complexity, eclecticism and depth of Dig Your Own Hole from the following year, this is a completely fine mid to late 90s dance album, with all that entails - some highlights, some dated parts and some songs that are a bit long. I really liked the feel of The Weekend Starts here with the organ, melodica and claviolline giving it a loungey, snaking, louche 70s New York soundtrack feel, a little like a David Holmes track. And the riff from Yvonne Ellison’s version of Can’t Explain works really well with The Crunge in Going out of My Head, a great big-beat track. Everybody Needs a 303 is a similarly fun track, completing a nice triptych with the previous two tracks. I enjoyed Punk to Funk too, that has nice synth line and more of a breakbeat drum pattern. Not much outside those that particularly stands out, although it's all decent big beat/dance fun, with bits of rave and house, although I did really dislike First Down - electroswing is definitely one of my least favourite types of music. It’s a decent dance album that delivers exactly what you’d expect, without ever ascending to the pop heights of his next album, or the more interesting albums some of his contemporaries were doing. I’ll go 3. 🧪🧪🧪 Playlist submission: Going Out of My Head

Whilst 'You've Come a Long Way, Baby' remains his commercial pinnacle, this is a nice warm-up with touches of melodic brilliance. His use of rock samples amongst the beats are often great. 'Going Out of My Head' mashes 'I Can't Explain' with Zepp and The Doors, into a pumping piece of party pop (the seeds of 'Rockerfella Skank' are here). The trip hop/ambient feel of 'The Weekend Starts Here' effectively integrates the harmonica of Sabbath's 'The Wizard'. This one shows some courage to not hide behind big beats and it's one of the standouts. I was pleasantly surprised and think it not far behind the next album. In some ways it has more variety. In any case, it stands it ground.

I can't hate this fat beats.

When I first encountered Fatboy Slim, I found the music a bit too intense, but still quite funny. It was only when I got to really dance to it at a party that I became a fan. I'm also a fan of the debut album. I can't listen to it all the time, but every now and then it's great. 4/5

Huh. I was surprised to enjoy this as much as I did.

Decently less annoying than most edm. My ADHD grandson liked it.

I liked this more than the stars would indicate. But as an album, it’s very repetitive. But I don’t know if it was designed for sitting and listening. In a club I can see how this would be awesome.

This is my second album from Mr. Slim. It’s good background listening with a few standouts.

I don’t care for this

I’m starting to learn that Fatboy Slim is fucking awesome. This is an insane debut album. Like the composition and production is at such a high level most artists never make it to that point but FbS started there with his very first album. The album has everything I ask for, it’s got a lot of deep variety, the album has a great energy of just having fun, and most importantly it never overstays its welcome, it’s fairly short. Or maybe it just felt that way cause the album was so enjoyable from start to finish. I will say I didn’t love this album as much as I LOVED “you’ve come along way baby”. That album was absolutely perfect with no skips. This album had just a few tracks that I didn’t care for, but overall this album is definitely a classic. I’ll be on the hunt for this album in the future.

Very listenable for this kind of music, but kinda aimless

While I like this album, I don't see a real good reason why Fatboy Slim needs to have 2 albums on this list.

FatBoy Slim. Liksom Prodigy är detta en artist som jag vuxit upp med och som jag introducerats till via min äldre bror som alltid varit mer inne i det elektroniska som jag. Mina förväntningar är höga när jag drar igång det första spåret. Halvvägs igenom så lyssnar jag fortfarande rätt aktivt och diggar med. Fatboy Slim är en av artisterna som gjorde genren Big Beat populär och detta är väl ettväldigt big beatig album. Jag gillar hur spåren är mixade och samplingarna är coola. Det är fan en bra skiva helt enkelt om man gillar äldre elektronisk musik. För mig är det mestadels lättlyssnat. Det ska understrykas att jag vuxit upp med sådan här musik så det låter inte obekant i mina öron. Jag kan förstå att det kan låta stökigt mot färska trumhinnor dock. För vissa partier i vissa låtar är ganska stökiga med extremt konstiga effekter och syntar. Det är lite ojämnt dock. Det finns bra stunder och hemska stunder. Jag lägger en 3a.

Just not the type of music I enjoy

Samples and loops over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. Decent background music.

Inoffensive

I fucked with it. It’s the best of this kind of music that I’ve heard. I loved “Give the Po’ Man a Break” and visualized an entire music video while listening to it in the shower. Lace up your skates because ts is Jet Set Radio.

I think I would have enjoyed this more if I had been drunk off my ass and attempting to go dance out on the dance floor while listening to this album. This was fine, although it was a bit repetitive, and a good 25 minutes too long.

Solid electronica album though repetitive and annoying in parts.

3-

Pre-chart friendly Norman Cook. Not keen on the first track but enjoyed track 2 (Santa Cruz). Passed on track 3. Track 4 decent and starts to sound like future Fatboy Slim. Track 5 (Everyone needs a 303) dials up the funk to good effect. Unfortunately the rest of the album lost me. Not for me, but interesting to hear earlier Fatboy Slim. 2/10

From the band's name, I assumed they were a totally different genre and had never listened to them before... Their music is right up my alley though and I love it!

Right here, right now, I need to praise you for your weapon of choice. (None of these are on this album)

I love Fatboy Slim. He’s my favorite DJ. Still, an entire album is a bit much. His talent shines through, and this is great exercise music. Just a bit too much DJ without much else.

This was The Sound of Milwaukee. The Weekend Starts Here

4/10 Recipe: get 2 musical ideas and a drum beat. Every 16 bars change their combination. Rotate volume nob, put through a filter. Maybe chuck a vocal sample in every so often. I had this in the 90s, due to the song Going Out of My Head, but I didn't realise it was the Who song I Can't Explain that I actually wanted (source of the 4 chord riff). Sounds awfully dated and not a lot of fun.

In "Give The Po' Man A Break" it sounds like "gay porn gay porn gay porn gay porn" at one point. Good electronic music, but not earth-shattering.

Yeah it's alright

A lot of fun, good "turn your mind off" music

150/1001 Fatboy Slim - Better Living Through Chemistry Heard before? ❎ Revisit? ❎ Whilst I did enjoy this overall, I can't see a time when I would actively pick this up again. The repetition of the beats are both its strength and weakness, as once you're engaged, it becomes trance-like, but over the course of 50 odd minutes, it does take its toll.

495/1001 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑

A DJ releasing an album in 1996 is all you need to know. I listened to this via YouTube and the ads were more interesting. Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ❌️ Boring★★★☆☆ (5/10)

I thought this was fun. I sort of rolled my eyes at a Fatboy Slim album as my album of the day, but it’s easy to see how this helped kick off his popularity in the 90’s. It’s music to dance to, to enjoy and to have fun with.

Sehr sehr gut

Nicht Fatboy Slums Beste Album aber immer noch ein Meilenstein im big Beat

good

Great classroom and grading music

Good post club album I would think - I think this edges the Nightmares on Wax one. Though from Going out of my head onwards (including the 303 Josh Wink bit) the vibe for those trying to chill is killed. Lots going on which makes it an interesting listen after many years of not listening to this. Have to hand it to Norman - this is a good one.

Definitely hadn't found his niche at this point. Too tinny for me

Not sure I’ve actively listened to this before. It’s very good.

Listening to this on a Thursday morning makes me wish it was a Friday night and I was about 20 years younger and I could get my hands on the naughties I used to... and my body wouldn't take 3 days to recover if I decided to imbibe in a little bit of vice-like partaking. Anyway, big beats and best; get high all the time. Best Tracks: Song for Lindy; Going Out of my Head; Everybody Needs a 303;

Need to give this a second and third listen. 4/5

Why must there be so many electronica albums on this thing? This isn’t even the album with his good hits on it. Mr. Slim did incorporate some rock instruments into some of the mixes, so a few of the songs were tolerable, which is about the highest praise I can give one of these albums. Still, it was too fucking long (each song is 5-7 mins, totaling almost 80 mins), and way too repetitive. This music is only useful for dancing and nothing more. 3/5 just because I could tolerate the whole thing without skipping.

Rv

Decent debut with consistently solid songs that go a little bit long. You can tell the potential, but nowhere near as good as his later work in my opinion

Definitely get your money's worth!

I’m not really into this kind of dance music so I found this perfectly listenable but it didn’t do a lot for me.

This was decent but I liked other albums more.

I had a good enough time driving with this playing, but it is kind of basic as far this kind of sampling goes. Personally I would look towards DJ Shadow's album Endtroducing..... from 1996 over this, but I get it.

If I could give this negative stars I would

Probably about 20 minutes too long, but if you truncated the back, I would have missed the "Michael Jackson" song.

Ugh, not this guy again. Was okay but a bit repetitive towards the end

While not a particularly bad album, it seemed an unnecessary one. We've already had one Fatboy Slim album on the list (one with several hit singles), and this one didn't sound all that different. Quickly became nothing more than background noise to my ears.

I enjoyed when the most well known Fatboy Slim album popped up. Never did I think there would be two Fatboy Slim albums to make this list. That just seems silly. Especially this first album. His second album is great, this one not so much. You can honestly listen to only a minute of each song, and you get the idea as the songs are so repetitive.

There’s like one good song otherwise it’s all pretty repetitive.

I quite liked that other album he did. I can't remember what it was called, but you know the one. This one was just a bit meh though. Bit dull really.

Музыкальная ценность данного альбома почти нулевая. Может чуть лучше некоторых рэп пластинок. 2 из 10.

Insufferably boring. Maybe you need to be on drugs.

If I had heard this in the 90’s when it was released I think my little mind would have been blown. Hearing it now some of it sounds a little dated but it hooked me in the second half. And I didn’t want it to stop by the end. 6/10 Favorite tracks- “10th and Crenshaw” “First Down” “Next to Nothing”

Bof

idk how “good” of an album this is in a pretentious Anthony fantano way but it was pretty sick. The bass and a lot of the samples are cool and I’m kind of biased towards the sound of electronica. Idk if I’d sit down and listen to this but I would def play it as cool background music. It sounds like the party music in requiem for a dream. Fav songs: Santa Cruz, everybody needs a 303, first down.

4/5 deserves to be on this list I had so much fun listening to this! Wednesday at 3 pm probably wasn’t the setting it was made for, but I totally enjoyed it. Drum loops and squelchy 303 bass is a pretty classic combo for good reason. The samples were also interesting (especially on First Down). I think a lot of people would say that this kind of music hasn’t aged very well, but at least to my ears it's starting to feel more current. As someone who likes playing electronic music, this album is fun to pick apart as I listen. There’s definitely some songs that are worse than others, and it's usually caused by more annoying samples (the Sound of Milwaukee). Overall, probably not what anyone would consider a truly great album or whatever, but it’s just so fun. Would be probably even better in the right setting. Standout Tracks: Going Out My Head, Everybody Needs a 303, First Down

Sometimes a little annoyingly repetitive, but it's mostly fine.

Does what it says on the tin. Not bad, not life changing. Decent, standard, good background noise Decent 3

Feels like the same drum track on every song

This was probably cool in the 90s, but just sounds like dated music from a computer hacker movie now.

Great album.