Better Living Through Chemistry

I didn't think this album would appeal to me in any shape or form. I was wrong. I found it very listenable and quite interesting/intriguing. A good example was First Down. I'll listen to the album again to see what else I get out of it. For now, it's a 3

Catchy en leuke samples.

I find that most Fatboy tracks,good as they are sound very similar to me so this album is like one long drum beat with a couple samples thrown in.

It was better than the usual Fatboyslim songs I’ve heard on the radio

Love FBS but I don't know this album at all. It is heavily instrumental and beat-based. Standouts: Going Out of My Head, Michael Jackson 3/5

I was scratching my head trying to think of where I heard this artist before. I thought it was Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, but upon checking my iTunes, there is a song called Rockafeller Skank from Now 3 (and also Praise You on Now 2). I really like both of those songs, and neither of them are on this album. This is the debut album and it certainly isn't bad, just an alternative instrumental type album. I'd equate it to electronic/dance type music. But it was at that time where you don't really know what to do with this music. Do you dance? It doesn't really have the best rhythm. You can't really sing. All you can do is listen, and according to this, listen before you die.

I do know Fatboy Slim for a few hits ("Rockafeller Skank," "Weapon of Choice," "Praise You"), but none of those are on here. Instead, it's a debut, but it's pretty solid. Overall an enjoyable listen, and it was fun to hear a few samples and sounds that I recognized, especially the harmonica from Black Sabbath's "The Wizard" all over "The Weekend Starts Here." I like this guy. Favorite tracks: Santa Cruz, The Weekend Starts Here. Album art: A floppy disk, labeled with the artist and album name. Nothing special to me, but the color is pretty good. 3/5

A little too long. The beats are cool, but not so cool I can see myself revisiting it.

Lievästi tylsempi kuin toinen listan Fatboy Slim. Kuitenkin virkistävää aina kuunnella tällaista vanhanliiton konemusaa! 3/5

It's a fine early big beat record, the most true to jungle and DnB, but also carries his signature funk touches. It's pretty tame and directionless compared to his next 2 releases which had a lot more energy and personality going on. There're a lot of good ideas on here, and he shows his immense talent straight away. But it does repeat itself a bit without going anywhere (in many but not all tracks), and he hasn't matured enough as a confident enough producer. Favorites: Going Out of My Head, Everybody Needs a 303, First Down

3.5. Great debut album but far from his best work. Still sounds rather ‘fresh’ for 1996!

I've always liked a bit of Norman but surely this isn't his best album?

Enjoyable. I like Praise you more though.

Good background music that doesn't require much from the listener except to sit back and enjoy the ride.

To say that Fatboy Slim had his own style in the 90's is enough to praise him. It was a difficult task to have own style when you had so many DJs trying to get to the top. They all sounded bland, Slim didn't.

Don't really care for electronic music in general, but its fine. Background noise.

Excellent big drum beats and occasionally actual song progression just without singing. Drawbacks are over use of the squelchy acid sound from I think the 808. A pity as it gets quite irritating. Overall pretty upbeat. A high three stars

Norman Cook’s best work was yet to come, but as an intro to the Fatboy Slim machine you could do a lot worse. The beats are usually hard hitting right where they should be.

Check it out now the funk soul brother right about now

Bien que Fatboy Slim est selon moi le meilleur dans ce style, le big beat reste un son qui ne m'attire pas tellement. Je trouve ça trop répétitif, le style de beat ne me correspond juste pas. J'apprécie l'effort mais pas pour moi. 6/10

ничего с него знала и конечно не успела проникнуться. потом как-нибудь потанцую под него)

Cool music! I can definitely appreciate this album, but it's not my jam.

I have always liked their music although in small doses. This album was cool though and I enjoyed it

Boa sequencia de hits com batidas interessantes.

Honestly really better than I thought but once again, not really, my ally of what type of music would normally listen to. no complaints, however, and good enough length.

Ahhhh, Better Living Through Chemistry by Fatboy Slim. One of my all time favorites. Such classics as "the Michael Jackson song", "the song where he makes it sound like the sample is saying gay porn", and "that one song where the beat sounded like farts" make this a big beat masterpiece. On the scale of music overall, however, that means this is a mediocre record at best. 5/10

I like Fatboy Slim, but I think that by this album we got the point.

I love good techno. This is good. Brings me back to the 90's

Fatboy Slim without any of the hits

3.75

Un maître du rythme, du timing et de la composition. Simplement un style que je n'écouterais pas tous les jours

Música electrónica con abundancia de drum'n'bass, con ritmo, con percusión. Sin casi voces. Escuchable, sin más. Ritmo para escuchar tranquilamente

Seems to encapsulate the mid-90s Big Beat style. Overall enjoyable and inventive. I liked the opening song a lot, but some of the rest was kind of mid, like “The Weekend Starts Here” which just seems like an extended radio promo.

It sounds a bit like the other fatboy slim album we had without all the catchy hits. Okay as background music

It's the album before Fatboy Slim truly became Fatboy Slim. There are a couple of big hints that he's about to explode, but there are also some pretty regular tracks on there too.

Another mindless beats album. Must be 20% of this list by now.

energique. but not my type of electro. a bit too repetitive. mais comprend l'influence que ca pu avoir dans les années 90 5.5/10

I liked this but a I’ve never really of this as album music. A full album sometimes feels a bit much for me.

I liked most of the tracks. Name was familiar but I am not sure if I’d heard any of this music before. Some of the songs get a bit too screechy and frenetic for my tastes but overall I enjoyed listening to it. Catchy and fun. Great album art.

Plenty of great memories on this one. I just don't listen to Fatboy Slim casually though

I've not heard this FBS album, certainly not as iconic as his next one.

Enjoyable but only in the broadest and most obvious kinda way.

Electrónica. Algunas cosas interesantes, otras, un coñazo repetitivo.

Seems like this was foreshadowing or leading the way to late 90's / early 00's dance music. A fun listen, but that's where it ends for me.

Definitely feels like a compilation, for sure.

I'm not quite sure I understand the inclusion of this album on this list. It's ok, but meh. Fave: First Down for the Chemical Brother vibes.

blid house, kan minde om en tidlig moby, ægte 90'er

YAWN. Electronic rarely does it for me. I will admit there were a few toe tappers, but where were the samples that really shine like his hits weapon of choice, praise you and funk soul brother, not in this album, that’s for sure. This album started out too housy and industrial, at its best Matrix fight scene, it was a 2, but then it got a little more poppy and won me over to a 3. PS could Fatboy Slim be cancelled today for appropriating the word “fat?”

Fun album, not as fun as some slightly later stuff, but certainly set the stage for a lot that followed in the 90s and 00s

It happens that I was given two Fatboy Slim albums over the course of two days, this album and You've Come a Long Way Baby. I'd like to judge this one solely on its own merits and not overly in comparison to the other. But that's kind of unavoidable. Of the two, I think You've Come a Long Way probably played better in the clubs, while I think Better Living Through Chemistry plays better for everyday listening. Some of the songs are just incredibly pretty to listen to, like "Song for Lindy" and "Santa Cruz." The sampling is a little less sophisticated on this album. I can recognize a lot of the samples FS used. But I actually enjoy being able to catch them, so I don't hold it against him. My main critique would be that FS tends to make some of his songs overly long without really adding anything to them to justify the 5+ minute length and they just draaaag ("The Weekend Starts Here" and "Everybody Needs a 303" are examples of this). If a song is really in the groove, I'm not going to be looking for the escape hatch three minutes in. Fave songs: Song for Lindy, Santa Cruz, The Sound of Milwaukee, Punk to Funk

Santa Cruz is the best song but the whole album is pretty tender.

Strong 3

‘Twas ok. No bangers but I bet I would like it if I was in the right frame of mind/location

3.5 really. A lotta fun and very enjoyable but not something that I am likely to return to.

I only know of Fatboy Slim through his bigger singles (Weapon of Choice, The Rockafeller Skank), but this is still very listenable.

Me molan las canciones que se acercan más al d&b en general, me recuerda a cuando jugaba a la Wii a algún juego de estos de carreras de monster trucks, todo lo que sea algo de percusión acelerada que recuerde a videojuego pa dentro. Por otro lado hay otras canciones que me recuerdan a alguna intro de serie de animación cutre de Jetix o algo así pseudo-edgy y eso es más palmada. En mi opinión: La mejor es "Everybody needs a 303" y la peor Going out of my head. Yo que se peña, pues palante, chico gordo slim. Bobby Out.

Disfruton sin duda, seguramente ganaría con más escuchas. Casi todo me gustó pero diría que nada me flipo. Pongo 3 pero deberían ser 3,5.

Dated, but some nostalgia with "Santa Cruz" "Going Out of My Head" "The Weekend Starts Here"

läuft gut nebenbei

Great first half love that part, kind of goofy back half that hasn't aged well

I listened to Fatboy Slim a fair amount decades ago, but I realized I recognized these songs more from commercials. It might be considered unfair that his music is commodified, but it's a good guess that he's been fairly compensated.

Not my favourite of his albums. Worth a listen, not sure on another

Ok dance album. Not very interesting. But if brainless fun

Decent. One of the first dance albums I bought. A lot of it seems to have predicted what would come over the next few years. First half better than second half.

Pretty good. Definitely not an expert on dance music, but I think it's well mixed, good sampling. Each of the tracks is a little bit long, but nothing major. May or may not listen to it again

Fun jams and fat beats, but they tend to drag on a little. I wish this was a more concise record.

Decent. One of the first dance albums I bought. A lot of it seems to have predicted what would come over the next few years. First half better than second half.

The start, Song for Lindy, had my attention but he lost me for the next two songs. I was starting to write some negative shit based on where I thought this was headed but then Going out of my Head also worked for me. I'm such a big "Can't Explain" fan I had to take myself with a grain of salt. The next couple of songs on the album kept moving in good directions. One thing that piqued my curiosity was the song title "Everyone Needs a 303". FBS is a brit and certainly doesn't look like the type to make songs about rifles. It turns out a 303 is also a bass synthesizer and presumably provides the excellent bass lines on the track. 10th and Crenshaw was a low point on the album; it was noisy and lasted for way too long. The album didn't recover from that. I found most of the distorted voices on various tracks to be largely boring. I was pleasantly surprised by the bits I liked but a higher rating was never contemplated.

One to see live...in 97 lol

Production: 12/20 Songwriting: 7/20 Innovation: 15/20 Bangers: 5/20 Emotional response: 10/20 =49 Give po man a break =

This album came out around the time I started at university and was the soundtrack to plenty of student house parties (okay, mostly nights spent on my own in my university room). Despite that element of nostalgia, listening back now it all feels a bit thin. You can see glimpses of where he started to take the whole Big Beat thing mainstream, but I think, for my money, others were probably doing it in more interesting ways. At the time I preferred label mates ‘Lo Fidelity Allstars’ but now I’m a bit nervous of going back and finding out they weren’t as good as I thought they were at the time. Maybe it’s best to leave some albums in the past. It’s a two and a half stars album for me, but I’ll give it an extra half for the sake of nostalgia.

Good radio

I’ve always thought that many DJ/Producers were better DJs than producers. FBS definitely broke that rule on his next (1998) release, but we can talk about that later. This LP has a more stripped-down sound. The singles are energetic, the sampling is clever, the use of breaks keeps the momentum going. Back in the day this was pretty cutting edge.

2.5, mir zu stumpf insgesamt, paar gute parts reißen es nicht raus.

Ja ok. Wirkt insgesamt bisschen beliebig, mit schlimmen Fillern dazwischen (The Weekend Starts Here). Everybody Love's A 303 hab ich aber geliebt damals, Give The Po' Man ... und Santa Cruz gefallen mir sehr gut, und Michael Jackson war zwar auf dem Original nicht drauf, erinnert mich aber trotzdem daran wie super ich Mr. Cook und seinen Hang zu Smiley-Paraphernalia und MDMA damals fand. Und klar, El Sympatico isser ja auch immer noch. 2,7. Kennt ihr die Geschichte, wie damals nach der Trennung der Housemartins (Bassist Norman Cook/Fatboy Slim hatte die Band verlassen um erstmal als Mighty Dub Katz und Pizzaman die Solokarriere zu starten), wütende/beleidigte Fans sein Haus belagerten und dabei immer wieder Panic/"Hang the DJ" von den Smiths sangen? Ich fands lustig.

I would say I liked this a bit more than You've Come a Long Way Baby, but only by a hair as the sound broadly was slightly more enticing.

Conocida Going Out of My Head. Me ralla un poco el disco. Guay Sunset 303.

This doesn't quite do it for me, I'm not sure why. I like his later albums more. Fave track - "Santa Cruz"

There are better Fat Bot Slim albums than this one.

Wel lekker maar mij iets te electronisch

the soundtrack to a 90s movie chase

Solid album.

Love Fatboy Slim, but this isn't his best album.

Slim fitting!

These 90s dance albums are always so good as individual songs, but they're always like an hour long, so that takes away from them in my eye

Okie as good for a workout, wouldn’t listen at any other time though.

Started with Fatboy Slim and listened to prodigy after. The difference for me is so huge that I can't give more than 3/5. I like the genre and listen to it regularly but fatboy is often a bit too boring for me.

Lepposa kokonaisuus ja muuta helmi.

Listened to some of it, and it was very cool, but I was in a slower paced mood.

Pretty good for the genre. Definitely fun to listen to, would return to. 7/10.

pleasantly surprised

Starting of great.... much better than his famous album... trailed off with a lot one paced stuff!

why did we need two of these?? at least the other one had some bops. this was nothing.

He has way better albums and it got boring fast

Once again-way is a debut album on the list??? Way too long & super repetitive. After about 10 minutes, I tuned it out

Pre Listen: I've heard of Fat Boy Slim, but I don't know if I've listened to any of his stuff. I don't even really know how or why I know of him, I just do. No expectations. Notable Tracks: Give The Po' Man A Break - Least favorite track. Very grating. Just feels like disorganized noise strung together with a beat. 10th and Crenshaw - Starting to feel as though the albums really starting to fall apart. The unique sound is beginning to wear thin, and this is all starting to sound like the work of a schizophrenic DJ. The Sound Of Milwaukee - My favorite song if I had to choose. Sounds like something I'd hear in an old Flash game off Newgrounds or something. Post Listen: My god Fatboy must be so fat from all the fucking drum break samples he hordes in his fat slim belly. Share some with the rest of the class, goddamn. This is the 3rd "Beat and Sample" album I've encountered on here, and it's by far the weakest. At best, the music is serviceable as background Club tracks. At worst, it's headache inducing, and makes me feel like I'm listening to a Mad Scientist's playlist. Several songs are just the noises that printers make when they jam, or videogames when they crash. Some of the audio manipulations sound like something out of a YouTube Poop. I probably would've liked this album when I was 10 years old or younger, because it has this forced futuristic electro sound to it that I would've ate up. The first song had me ready for a unique experience. A unique experience is certainly what I got. This album being unique is really the only good thing I can say about it. 2/5.

Oui bon

I’ve been a fan of Fatboy Slim’s You’ve Come a Long Way Baby album for years. So it was a surprise to me how much I did NOT enjoy this one. It’s very bland in comparison. The funk is missing. Very disappointing. And honestly, with all the bands in the world? There don’t need to be two FBS albums on this list.

Why is 90s electronic so repetitive?

Not very good.

There are as many songs on this list that repeat the name “Tina Turner” over and over again as there are actual Tina Turner albums.

2.99

Hipster 90s cafe

I don't really know what I can say for a techno album that I haven't already said in a review of other techno albums. This album in particular doesn't really stand out among the crowd. It's fairly basic electronic music that doesn't really have anything interesting behind it. Now, electronic music is a hard genre to make interesting, but this album doesn't manage it. I feel nothing when listening to this, not even the groove of the music. Therefore, this is not a good album and doesn't deserve to be on the list.

Big Beat is definitely over represented on the list. Sure it was mega popular but you'd think from this book that there wasn't that much else going on in electronic music at the time.

Really have a hard time getting into this sort of thing

Its 90s techno music, fun for 1 song, not for 2 hours I'm afraid.

I just don't think I love 90's DJ'ing lol. So many random sounds thrown in, it's not super pleasing to listen to. A couple enjoyable ones but overall not my fave. I can see how others would like this album though

Listening to dance music while lying down does not add up. Neither does me dancing. I don’t say it’s without merit, it’s just not my cup of tea at all

al principio me gustó, pero después me resultó muy repetitivo

Not my favorite Fatboy Slim album

I don't think this has dated well. I'm listening to this 30 years after its release, and it just sounds repetitive and dull.

probably slapped when it came out, but "you've come along way" no pun intended, is much much better

I was dreading this but it wasn't terrible. A few fun tracks. Most started ok but went on far too long. I didn't make it to the end

Every song is like a minute longer than it needs to be which makes them all really irritating. Add that to the fact that there's very few memorable hooks that aren't awful and repetitive, and you have an exercise in frustration for an album

I can understand the legacy of Fatboy slim, and this album is not offensive in anyway. I just found it slightly boring

Not what we expected, a bit sparse. Not our favorite

solid 2 as there were some that were really interesting but the others were more like being at a rave/house party which doesn't really suit day-to-day playlists imo.

Not really into DJ music, was too repetitious and did the same drum fills in so many songs. Also, if you’re going to sample “Can’t Explain”, use The Who, not some cover!

With a name like Fatboy Slim, you'd hope for something a bit more entertaining. Not here. Enthusiastically boring.

I enjoy Fatboy Slim and wanted to give this a good score. As a debut it's good but lets face it none of these tracks are his best work or the reason he's famous.

Drum loop drum loop drum loop drum olp

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

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.

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.

OK boomchik boomer

Didn't get it

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

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.

It was fine

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

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.

Actual chemistry is more interesting

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

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

OK. 2/5

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.

Doesn't really belong here.

The weekend never started

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

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.

Нарезал сэмплы молодец

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

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

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

Too irritating to even work as background music.

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

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

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.

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.

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

Background music at best.

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

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.

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.

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

It was fine, just sooo long and repetitive

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

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

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.

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

Favorite Track: Going Out of My Head

This album stressed me out it is not relaxing.

Ensformigt.

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.

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.

I don’t care for this

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

Inoffensive

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.

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.

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

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.

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

90s lift muzak with a bit of cartoon music chucked in for good measure.

An interesting album, but hardly a classic. It does what you would expect from Fatboy - it builds, it bleeps, it bounces. But it's very much a fast food instant hit. I didn't find myself humming any of the lops later in the day. My main interest was in trying to spot the samples.

What’s the point of this? There’s no depth. No beauty. No lyrical poetry. No instrumentation that makes you go “Wow!” It’s just to dance? No one actually listens to this because they like the music, right? Why is it here?

God I really don't like electronic music

Blei nesten lurt opp et knepp her

Not a fan. Just couldn’t get into it . Bad Zappa .

Not for me. 2/ 5

Awesome thanks for the 30th electronic album.

Not my thing

This may have been more enjoyable than most electronica albums at times, but still is just too long and annoying. I like electronic elements in songs, but when that is the whole song, it gets stale.

Great start! Just write some melodies and some words and you'll have songs.

I have no problem with Fatboy's big album being on this list. I enjoyed that one. This one though? It's not great. Very repetitive, but none of the famous hits that make me like Fatboy. It has some interesting stuff, sure, but not enough to get this to 3 stars.

I like Fatboy Slim. his Live sets are a delight to watch and one album here is okey to showcase the impact he had on early electronic dance music... two is a bit much. Most of the tracks feel pretty dated and some tracks feels like music made for a commercial. Also no hits on this album, feels like it was added only because it was his first album.

Fatboy Slim is obviously talented. And his music is fun to listen to. But on this particular album, his first, we are not getting a fully formed artist.

I always forget that YCALWB wasn’t Norman Cook’s debut as Fatboy Slim. Instead, this very much sets the blueprint for the big beat sound that would launch him into the stratosphere in the 90s. All the traits are there, but the songs are less defined, have fewer hooks and don’t really stand out from each other. Worth listening to so you can hear how much he developed in just a few years, but feels fairly inessential.

At best it was pretty non-engaging and at worst it was boring. Nothing awful but nothing amazing either. 2.25/5

some fairly dated 90s electronic beats that massively overstay their welcome. each track has a constant, semi-catchy energy that never really goes anywhere. gotta respect the classics I guess 2/5

Was this what I wanted to hear at 8 am?No. Would I have liked it better much later at night? Also no

Not bad, but didn't do much for me either. Unfortunately sounded very dated, despite being fun.

Very repetitive album. Pretty well just kinda boring throughout. Not terrible, just not memorable in any sense of the word. No interesting melodies or musical decisions.

Ah yes, another 90s electronica album made for people on drugs that is absolutely terrible to listen to while sober. "Santa Cruz" can absolutely go fuck itself.

Sorry Fatboy, no.

fun and would be great to dance to especially give po man a break

I guess there’s some cool sounds but the energy felt super off and it didn’t really go anywhere. Big time snoozer

Sterero imaging in 10th & crenshaw is really cool, 8d audio before its age interesting, but kinda soulless

Best Song: Going out of my Head As one who was in college when this came out, I can say it was relatively popular around campus. And, I didn't like it then anymore than I like it now. Repetitive and boring is the best way to describe it. It's like that episode of Friends where Ross was playing with the sound effects to make music with his keyboard - this is just more on beat. I will not listen again. 2/5.

It’s better if you listen while distracted

Not his best record, there is a certain someone I owned on CD in the 90s and still love. This one was pretty dull.

Good music, but my poor head can't handle club music. I need more variety in my songs. 2.5/5

Concentration music. It’s repetitive and kills you into the zone but you’re not paying attention to the album. At all. Is this good? Maybe if you need to get work done, maybe not if you’re hoping for a dance party.

Not my favorite. Repetitive in an obnoxious way, not a fun one.

This Fatboy Slim album just was not as enjoyable as the other one we have already had. That album had me feeling like I hadn't given drum and bass enough credit, while this one left me feeling burnt out like I had been. Still great driving music during a commute, and also makes me feel like I'm about to pirate music and media in the 2000s while giving the family computer a deadly virus. Could hear arguments for a three but two is where I'll land.

9/26/25. Familiar with Fatboy Slim but didn’t give this a fair listen over the weekend, so this review is a throwaway. Will be cool to see when I revisit in the future and if I still align with my “gut feeling” rating.

it just felt like dull dance music, i’m not big on this guy anyways, he’s got some tunes but that’s it to me, it felt a bit dated

Long repetitive and the same approach over and over.

And that's meant to be good is it? 2/5.

Ok

not really my kinda thing

Thought this was a podcast but was electropop instead.

I like the sound of this. It's creative in the mixing and sampling. There's a lot of creativity here, and I like how it builds on itself. But it's so excruciatingly long and repetitive. I really want to know who puts this album on, and listens to it in its entirety. What are you doing? It's too harsh for study music, it's too grueling for active listening, it's too hollow for mundane tasks, and it's too boring to dance to. Considering the name, should I take drugs for this? Which ones? Who is listening to this album and what are they doing?!? Also, to me (and I'm guessing a lot of, for lack of another term, CANZUK people), 303 is first a rifle cartridge and nickname for the Lee-Enfield, making "Everybody Needs a 303" a literal call to arms, and there's nothing in the song to hint otherwise. I had to look it up on the Internet to figure out it's a synth, which would not have been easy to do in 1996, and had been discontinued for over a decade, while the gun was still going strong. This was his debut, a song title saying everybody should be armed, and no lyrics to clarify? What is this album saying, and who is it for? Again, who is listening to this, and when?

Probably makes more sense as a live experience than as a studio album.

Standard rave music; I guess good for background music when working, but there are better sounds for even that.

Boring

Kadett, Dinkelsbühl - Würzburg, Deutschland. Gar nich so gut.

This gives the vibe of a low level group of criminals in east London. Using IT knowledge, they hack the security systems of clothing shops and steal fashionable clothes. Some of the clothes they resell, some of the clothes they steal for themselves. They are always the best dressed in the dance clubs on high street.

The only interesting thing I have to say about this is that when "You're Come a Long Way Baby" appeared a few months ago, for some reason, since that day, every time I open the 1001albumsgenerator app on my phone in airplane mode, without internet access, the album page appears as if I had never listened to it. Which made me desperately want a T-shirt that says "I'm Number 1, so why try harder?". Thanks, little-chubby-guy! You're the coolest guy in the world! Other than that, it's still not my type of music and sounds even more repetitive than what I've listened to before. 2 stars

I am two years older than this album, and I am still not old enough for this.

I prefer trip-hop or artists like Underworld or Goldie or Even Moby

Better Living Through Chemistry has its moments of groove and club atmosphere, but over time it becomes monotonous and tiring. The heavy breakbeats and repetitive structures lack variation, and while the production is solid, many tracks feel like slight variations on the same idea. It works better as background music on a dancefloor or a FIFA game than as an album you actually want to listen to from start to finish. An important step in Fatboy Slim’s career, but musically not very engaging. 2/5

#680. It's noisy. That's about it. 2/5: yeah

Umm…Not really sure what this is. Definitely, some of the sounds and mixes are unusual, but also repetitive.

Fatboy Slim is clucking in heaven.

i spaced out

Not there yet

2.3 / 5 Make your own fatboy slim song at home! Repeat the same line 50 times and add in one or two fills! Sass aside, none of this album has the staying power of his sophomore album which I imagine we will listen to later fave song: going out of my head

Interesting (:

Club/dance music really isn’t my thing. I’m sure this is fine if you are in a club and want to dance to it. But listening to a whole album’s worth in one go is a bit much

Magpie music. Jeremy Usborne music. FIFA menu screen music. Edgy advert music. Quite tedious. Too high energy for study beats, too low energy for party beats. Music for dads who were quite into their Stone Roses but are now “passionate“ about EDM. They’ll even DJ at your 50’th if you want.

Enough with the damn edm!

Not my kind of music.

I've got the other Fatboy Slim album on this list. It's hardly better than the other one. "Better Living Through Chemistry" has some interesting beats, though. I think that "Santa Cruz" is the best song on the album, and it should've been a single. The actual singles are no better than the filler. 2 stars for "Better Living Through Chemistry".

Fatboy Slim songs remind me of SNL sketches. Some start really brilliant but as they keep going I can't believe how long they're willing to drag it out when they should have ended it four minutes ago. I do really get the impression that he really respects the source material he uses and loves music more than a lot of other DJs.

A less refined version of You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby, but equally repetitive. While this one influenced that late 90s big beat sound, the repetition really rips my knitting! Especially on Santa Cruz. Not my favourite album that I have heard this week, but does put me right back in the big Ibiza clubs, off my tits on mandy, and basking in the laser strobe glow. Good times.

Repetitive and distracting trying to figure out where the music was sampled from. Thinking “is that the Wizard from Black Sabbath “ is not enough to override “this song is not very good.”

Not bad but I don't remember any song sticking out. Not something I would revisit for active listening but decent as background music. 4/10

I repeat NO electronic music album should ever be in a top anything list.

I'll give it 2 stars, cause it features a sample from my favorite composer of all time Keith Mansfield.

Not as obnoxious as the Chemical Brothers, but not for me. It sounds like forgettable video game soundtrack music.

After weeks of mercifully getting no British electronica….sigh Oh cool it’s a Fatboy Slim album with none of his hits on it, and it’s 70 minutes long!

Nope. Don’t need this many Fatboy Slim albums.

DOOO...DOOO...DOOO...DOOO DOO-DOO-DOO-DOO-DOO-DOO-DOO-DOO D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D This is my second Fatboy Slim album. It's boring and repetitive. It's also repetitive and boring. Especially that one drum beat that he uses in almost EVERY. SINGLE. SONG. Plus, he occasionally throws in sounds I can't stand. Not a 1 because it was somewhat tolerable, but it was pretty close. Song I sort of liked: Santa Cruz (still tons of repetition and that same drum beat he uses throughout most of the album, but it had a nice vibe).

Fun beats, but you couldn't pay me to care

Would have been good in the right environment.

Ah yes, the late ’90s musical time machine continues its tour—and I’m apparently still onboard. Fatboy Slim was peak dance-floor fuel back in the day. I actually drove from Portland to Seattle with friends to see him live, which felt very important at the time (and still kinda does). His stage presence was electric—like your favorite house party DJ who accidentally became famous. Also, he didn’t wear shoes during his set, which felt rebellious and approachable. Listening to this album now feels like opening a box of old sparkly toys from your childhood—there’s instant joy, a little “aww,” and a brief existential crisis about how time…... It’s all good though. This album was perfect for what it was when it was: a glitter bomb of funky beats, squiggly sounds, and dance-floor memories.

I'm gonna tell my kids this is what CDs looked like. Past that this album was kinda useful, keeping me awake on a Friday afternoon, starting an evaluation report, waiting to lunch the clock. (Work to live, not the other way 'round, am I right?). At least the words didn't get of the way and the hypnotic reporting was surprisingly good for focus work. Won't be doing it again though. Probs just a two.

It sounds like something a vibe coder would listen to while getting into the zone. I don't particularly hate it, but it's more background music than something you actively listen to in my opinion.

I did use a private spotify session for this one, as not a fan of EDM. I also waited until the afternoon until I gave it a listen as I thought I would be more receptive to it. A positive comment about this album: it is one of the most appropriate titled albums I have heard in a while as you need to be on club drugs to enjoy this redundant noise over repetitive beats.

Smaller amount of words made it only a little better than that album with a fat kid. I am still a Fatboy Slim hater, sorry Fatboy Slim enjoyers.

I like the album name, it has an interesting history. I feel like you don't hear that much about DuPont nowadays. Album itself was very 90s and pretty boring. Not bad for doing work. High 2.

I feel really conflicted on this one cause the songs I do like I really like it’s just a shame there’s only 3 of them and all the other songs could have been 1 minute long

joa was net

Second album in a row that's largely been dull as dishwasher. This seems so far from the FBS that I'm familiar with. First 3/4 tracks were nothing. Second half of the album was better, especially Everybody Needs a 303 and Giv the Po'Man a Break

No idea why there needs to be another Fatboy Slim album on this list

This was fun to put on in the background but it lacked some of the catchy hooks that made his other albums more memorable.

Need to be on speed to listen to this surely

Like all electronica, just poorly aged and repetitive all throughout. 4/10.

Ehhhhh it’s not like it was awful but I couldn’t do it

Good tunes, certainly groundbreaking at the time, but what was introduced as a compilation is not up there with "You've come a long way baby" and "Pallookaville".

Underwhelming… it feels a bit lifeless. His next album is much stronger, as are the ones the Chemical Brothers made before this one.

"Better Living Through Chemistry" wore out it's welcome faster than "You've Come a Long Way Baby." At first it could be some chill background music, but then too much annoying repetition takes you out of it.

very few tracks I didn't want to press fast forward 1/2 way through.

This is not good

A bit too funky for me.

Okay but got boring. Used to love it but now it gets repetitive.

Worst fatboy slim album

Solid album but it’s way to long and not very interesting

Meh, it’s okay for the time. But another one that I wouldn’t toss on to play.

Couldn’t finish it Wasn’t my piece of cake a that time Maybe try again later

The other album by Fatboy slim on this list has less repetitive, better hooks. Maybe this one should be left off the list?

Groundbreaking I guess, also a bit tiresome after a while I'm sure.

1. lindy - 2 2. zanta - 2 3. here - 1 4. going - 1 5. everybody - 1 6. break -1.5 7. crenzhauu - 1.5 8. douun - 1.5 9. punk - 1.5 10. zound - 1.5

Could be worse and at least it's music. Mostly just boring though really

While I do like electronic music, listening to a lot of it at once can be a bit taxing. I’m afraid that’s the issue with the hour and eleven minute run time for Better Living Through Chemistry by Fatboy Slim. I know Fatboy Slim and have some of his songs in my music library. However, the only tune I knew from this album was Getting Out Of My Head. Unless you’re out at the club and dancing, the repetitive beats and sound effects on these songs starts to get old pretty quickly. (10th and Crenshaw was super annoying). There are some interesting songs on Better Living Through Chemistry. Mainly, First Down, The Weekend Starts Here, and Going Out of My Head were my highlights. The rest was…meh. I’ve got to go with a 2 for my rating. 2/5

not as bad as some of the other electronica albums on this list but still boring, repetitive, and not daft punk

Wasn't bothered by this at all - loop after loop with not much to drive it forward in my opinion

more redundant club music. hard pass.

Not my thing.

By my calculations, this album is 71 minutes and 3 seconds long. I lost any enjoyment from it about 45 minutes in.

I didn't hate this. In fact, it's much better than most of the edm we've had on this list. But it's still edm. There's almost no reason I'd ever listen to it again.

💾 #notallelectronicais90sbigbeat #maybeitis #idkanymore Fatboy Slim has some great singles ("Right Here Right Now", "Praise You", "Weapon of Choice") but I've struggled to get through both of his full-length albums on this list. "10th and Crenshaw" could have been designed in a lab to annoy me personally; the repetition, the lack of dynamics, the basic synth sequencers, the stupid vocal cuts. Wikipedia states the genre of big beat had a shelf life of around 5 years, "sharply declining after 2001". Why does this list have, like, 10 albums representing it "Santa Cruz" is kinda pretty, though? And hypnotic? HL: "Santa Cruz", "Going Out of My Head" earlier on March 20, 2025

Not a Fatboy Slim fan, so I knew how this was going to go. It’s not even that I think the music overall bad, it’s just not for me and I didn’t find any enjoyment in listening to it

I really like picturing the youf wondering at the image on the cover of this album, which is definitely an insistent product of its time. Better than some of the other DnB/EDC/electro garbage I’ve endured in this project, but also not great. I didn’t finish it, but it’s all right to drive around to.

If this album was just the clown-y sounding bits of The Sound of Milwaukee extrapolated into about 30 or 40 minutes, I think it could have been a masterpiece

I would've had a better time with this album with some chemistry. 3/10

not my thing. entertaining though. Good background Music for the first half. everything overstayed its welcome by the end