You've Come a Long Way Baby

I felt chosen after I found out that this album was recommended to me today, which is also the 28th anniversary of this album. I love electric music.

I mean, I'm not into electronic and dance music much, but yeah, this doesn't sound half bad, I should probably cheCK IT OUT NOW THE FUNK SOUL BROTHER RIGHT ABOUT NOW THE FUNK SOUL BROTHER CHECK IT OUT NOW THE FUNK SOUL BROTHER RIGHT ABOUT NOW THE FUNK SOUL BROTHER

it's like darkdancer but a less annoying. "praise you" is a classic and i also enjoyed "right here, right now", "rockafeller skank", "love island", and "acid 8000".

I bought this CD when it first came out, it's a lot of fun. This album was wildly over-played in the 90s, so I haven't felt the need to play it much for about twenty years, but my 18-year-old son (hey Alfie!) recently discovered this, and so I have started listening to this again with him, and it's a really fun listen. It's a damn good time and you can dance to it. As a result, when I stumbled across a reasonably priced vinyl copy just last week, I snaffled it up for my collection. There are lots of things to like and admire about Fatboy Slim. He approaches making songs like a DJ, not a musician. He builds songs like miniature sets, with breaks and snippets cut in from his eclectic but well curated collection. The songs are full of hooks and snippets, transitions and surprising changes, and, above all, those big funky breaks. He is not afraid to let a beat play out for a while, augmented with DJ tricks like big sweeping filters, drops or stuttering delays. His taste is exquisite -- wide ranging and obscure -- but not cool. Norman Cook is less concerned with 'cool' than with 'fun'. Is the hook really catchy? Is it funky? Does this drum break insist that you absolutely must dance? And I like that. His songs are fun and inclusive and catchy and easy to dance to. He has a great ear for sounds, hooks, breaks and moments from other records. His sources are often obscure, but not for obscurity's sake. Rather he chooses them because they are a great fresh sound. These tracks are more than the mere sum of their parts; it's an accessible and optimistic collage of energy and excitement. I did copy Fatboy's habit of turning up to DJ gigs with only a box of 7" vinyl singles. I like the way it forces you to only play short, poppy songs, and I use the approach sometimes when doing my own DJ sets. This is the definitive 90s big beat album. Maybe not the world's most 'artistic' genre or album, but one of the most entertaining. Let's dance!

I don't normally like rap and suchlike but I did enjoy this album, the first few tracks being particularly to my liking. It's an excellent example for me of why An Album A Day is such a great idea.

2 of my favourite tracks ever (?), but still kinda fond the album jarring.

Funk Soul Brother is indeed a great song. Kalifornia has a sick beat. Praise You is also a certified banger.

Interesting

Kinda repetitive, still slaps though.

3/5

Incomplete listen - incomplete review. Mostly fun, not really great. Love the WBCN bit for hometown nostalgia over all was

Once upon whathaveyou, I thought I really liked Rockafeller Skank based on hearing it on the radio. But when I bought the single, I found that the song is actually so underdeveloped that it is kind of tedious to listen to all the way through. This is the pattern throughout this album. (Oddly, this version of Rockafeller Skank is different from the single version. Not sure what's going on there.) By the time you have endured the entirety of In Heaven, all vestiges of charm have worn off. That thing stinks. Praise You is actually pretty good. Successfully completed, that is. And it's fun to be able to identify a sample (Gangster Trippin pulls from the Brand New Heavies album Heavy Rhyme, Jump N'Move). But ... these are like rough drafts or beds on which successful songs could be constructed. This album is like a portfolio you bring to the meeting to try to convince a singer to collaborate with you, because you're pitching that you can give their next album a certain sound. So repetitive, so static, at times annoying, at times obnoxious. Brilliant sound collages. But. After a while, you're just begging for it to end, as the Fisherman's Blues reviewer put it.

Every song is too long and repetitive and there are so many songs to get through on this record. Every song (more or less) had at least one part I really liked. And then that part would be repeated fifty times and I no longer enjoyed it. I'm sure while tripping or on the dance floor this repetition of a groove is actually enjoyable but just listening at home it's headache-inducing.

Well, a classic!

I actually quite liked the instrumentals but they do tend to drag a bit

Fatboy slim be like Drum loop This albums a 3 This albums a 3 This albums a 3 This album's a 3 Guitar This albums a 3 This albums a 3

A couple of classics, but nothing overly standout for me.

I don’t think anyone knows how to turn a sample quite like Norman Cook. He takes his massive record collection, goes into the lab, and comes out with sounds so original and yet so danceable you’ll be convinced he’s cheating. One of the few DJs to actually cross over into a mainstream artist and score radio hits, and these songs still sound just as wild today as they did almost 30 years ago when this dropped.

it’s all right. some classics here that i love and some songs that i’d rather skip.

The repetitiveness is grating on my nerves. This album played on repeat would be quite effective as a device of torture.

Not interested in listening to the same go nowhere do nothing too long songs with a different vocal track looped over each one. Maybe fun to dance to but shit for anything else

No Thanks!!!!

Hard to listen to some of them all the way through. But “Praise You” is a five star song.

За исключением нескольких хитов, альбом воспринимается как набор танцевальных композиций, построенных на навязчивом повторении сэмплов и мотивов. Музыка хорошо работает как фон или сопровождение для танцев, но при внимательном прослушивании быстро утомляет. Историческая значимость биг-бита не компенсирует отсутствия желания возвращаться к альбому. А еще альбом напоминает мне школьную дискотеку не в самом приятном и эстетичном своем воплощении.

1. Right Here Right Now - 1/10 2. The Rockafeller Skank - 2/10 3. Fucking In Heaven - 1/10 4. Gangster Trippin - 1/10 5. Build It Up, Tear It Down - 1/10 6. Kalifornia - 1/10 7. Soul Surfing - 2/10 8. You're Not From Brighton - 2/10 9. Praise You - 3/10 10. Love Island - 1/10 11. Acid 8000 - 1/10 OVERALL - 1.5/10

Heavy hits that you often hear in movies. Big Fan!

Album title is taken from the old cigarette advertising slogan. This is the second album from the artist, and it is an excellent example of big beat music. A couple of hit singles came from this record (“Rockefeller Skank” and “Praise You”). There is good variety amongst the tracks, and my only complaint is that the songs run too long, although long tracks might be good for dancing.

Ah yes, this old chestnut. I guess it's electronica, but not the good kind. Instead it's the kind that's like the weird final track on a Now That's What I Call Music compilation (in a natural class with 'Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen'). I am not interested in a strange repetitive monologue if there aren't even interesting background bleeps and bloops!! Was hoping 'Right Here Right Now' might be a Jesus Jones cover, but alas, it was more like a "some guys are doing an obstacle course on a reality show" background track. Probably the best of the bunch though. Lowlight: 'The Rockafeller Skank' (boy do I hate this song)

Normally, I would have never listened to this. It is very different from my favorite genres. But while I was listening, I actually noticed I was enjoying it quite a bit. That is something I have been liking about this. You can listen to something you would normally never listen to and find yourself liking it. Standout songs were "You're Not from Brighton" and "Praise You ." 3,75/5

Fireeeee

Had its run in the 90s. Some catchy beats but the repetition in these songs for an hour of the album a bit much.

Some absolute classics. But can be repetitive.

Decent and catchy but a bit repetitive - that’s the point?

Some great tracks - praise you is an all timer

Not my type of music but not horrible

Damn. That was pretty good!

Couple good songs. The repetitive nature of their music is kinda weird sometimes but overall cool

Irritating!

A fine sound and style (and a fun lead-in), but fairly repetitive within each song.

Fatboy Slim – You've Come a Long Way, Baby (1998) Rating: ★½ / 5 Vinyl Verdict: NO BUY I'm now 70 albums into my 1001 Albums Project, and somehow I haven't encountered a single album by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, or The Doors. But Fatboy Slim? Apparently, he's essential listening TWICE! 😂 His first appearance, Better Living Through Chemistry, earned a miserable one star from me. So imagine my excitement when the generator decided I needed another helping of Fatboy Slim. But hey, maybe he's come a long way, baby. Unfortunately, not far enough. I will give Fatboy Slim credit for one thing: the man knows how to create a beat. There are some genuinely interesting sounds here, from funky grooves and hip-hop influences to surf-rock elements and creative production techniques. He plays around with tempos, samples, and rhythms in ways that demonstrate real talent. But here's my biggest problem with this album, and with Fatboy Slim in general: These feel more like backing tracks waiting for a vocalist than finished songs. He comes up with a catchy beat, throws in a few words, and then repeats those same words over and over and over again. Sometimes for five or six minutes! Take "Kalifornia," for example. After a while, all I could hear was "druggy, druggy, druggy, druggy..." I get it already! I can appreciate how this music would work in a club or rave. When you're dancing, the repetitive beats serve a purpose. But sitting down and listening to an entire album? That's a completely different experience. I actually developed a listening strategy during his first album, and I had to bring it back for this one. Once I understood the beat, I'd fast-forward a little, listen to see whether anything changed, and then fast-forward again. Occasionally, something interesting happened. More often, it was just more of the same. There were a couple of highlights. "Gangster Trippin" was easily one of my favorites. It has a really cool funk groove, and the repetition wasn't nearly as irritating. In fact, that song alone helped earn this album an extra half-star over his debut. I also immediately recognized "Praise You." But here's something interesting: just because I recognized it doesn't mean I ever particularly enjoyed it. I probably liked the beat for the first minute when I heard it back in the day, then mentally tuned out. It's still one of the better tracks here, though. "Soul Surfing" also caught my attention with its cool surf sound. Unfortunately, it quickly became repetitive, and the one section that broke things up actually made the song worse for me. That's what makes this album so frustrating. There are good musical ideas scattered throughout it. I just wish Fatboy Slim would develop them into actual songs, with more lyrics, more variety, and something to keep me engaged. I genuinely think I'd enjoy this album more if someone condensed all 11 tracks into one eight-minute song, giving me about 30 to 60 seconds of each. And then I reached the final track, "Acid 8000," and everything suddenly made sense. Apparently, I was supposed to take 8,000 drops of acid before listening to this album. Silly me. I thought music was supposed to be enjoyable sober! 😂 Final Verdict: Fatboy Slim has some serious production talent, and I can understand his appeal in a dance club. But his repetitive approach simply doesn't work for me as an album-listening experience. "Gangster Trippin" and "Praise You" were the standouts, but not nearly enough to justify owning this on vinyl. ★½ stars. NO BUY. Now, can somebody please tell the album generator that The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Doors exist?

I mean, it got me dancing in the grocery store. So can confirm this old bootie ain’t dead yet

Thought I would enjoy this more. A little too bombastic

Of all the deserving artists that need a single album on a list like this the Fatboy has 2. Huh.... Anyhoo, if youre really into 90s DJ/Dance music like this it might be essential. If not youll probably get bored with it after a bit. There are a couple of really good songs in here and the rest is ok. You definitely dont need to hear this before you die.

Praise you is generational

It’s fine. Very of a time. Not super interesting but I get why people found it important when it came out.

Classic late nineties. Well done Mister Cook

Notable Textzeile: We've come a long, long way together Through the hard times and the good I have to celebrate you, baby I have to praise you like I should Fifa Soccer 99. Ich weiß nicht mal mehr mit wem oder in welchem Kontext ich das öfter gespielt haben könnte, aber war vermutlich mit Knut oder so. Schon verrückt dass u.a. sowas fürher dazu führte, dass ein Album 3,5 bis 5 Millionen Mal (je nach Quelle, lustige margin of error) verkauft wurde. Vor allem so ein Album. Respekt und Verwunderung über Menschen, die hier nicht immer nur zu den (zugegeben) eingängigen Singels geskippt haben. Basierend auf dem ganzen Album, der harten Nervigkeit der Nicht-Singels und auch der bereits völligen Ausgenudeltheit der Singels 2,5

Favourite things Norman Cook has said about DJing: "the most important thing to remember about the filter knobs on the mixer is to make a face when you’re turning them” "a monkey could do what I do" Was perfekt zum T-Shirt auf dem Cover des Albums passt: "I'm #1 so why try harder?" Ja, Recht hast du, Norman. Drei Welthits der späten 90er auf einem Album, dann würde ich auch nur noch Quatsch machen, wobei einige der Filler tatsächlich ganz gut gehen. Fatboy Slim legt übrigens morgens zum Frühstück auf der ca 13t größten Bühne von Glastonbury auf, und gibt Mental Health DJ Training um Leuten Selbstvertrauen zu geben. Guter Typ.

Aaah, what an album! Super fun and really really good, from the Brighton's own! I am not in a very good mood today at all at this has brightened my morning indeed so it did it's job. Several extremely iconic tracks here and I loved some deep cuts as well. Groundbreaking electronic album, at least 4 strong stars indeed. Gave 4.5 on RYM but I will give 4 stars here, it's lacking just a ltitle bit to be truly top marks.

Surprisingly groovey to revisit this album!

10/10. Guy knew he had a banger with Funk Soul Brother, so he made a track before glazing the song and himself. Follows it with a track about how he fucks. I wish I knew how to skateboard so I could make skate videos.

Of cultural interest - not for me.

This still is a certified banger from start to finish. The total best of British 90s feel good dance house

6/10

I loved some of these songs when they first came out but they lost some of their lustre on me. Maybe over played. Anyway I didn’t get all the way with this album. I’ll give it an extra star for nostalgia regarding the few songs I used to really like

I knew the 3 hits but nothing else about Fatboy Slim and I have to say I did enjoy this album, though a bit repetitive. Good to enter in concentration mood at work, tho!

Interesting. Never heard before and huge play numbers on these tracks. Kind of electronica, funk, dance hall, etc all mixed together. Interesting but gets tiresome after awhile. Probably fun dance tunes, not so great for just listening.

I enjoyed the hits a lot. The rest, not so much. That said, I'm very impressed that he created this with a Atari ST computer. ★★★

Such an incredible opener. "Right Here Right Now" wields both an immediacy and a timelessness in how it's intro kicks things off with the titular vocal sample. He knew what he was doing to frontload the album by putting "Rockafeller Skank" right after in the tracklisting. As for the rest of this record, it's such an oddity. To my ears, it really isn't doing much at all. But to my body, there's an undeniable energy about this record. It's strangely dull to give a close listen to, but feels authentic to a live dj set for it's time. FBS wields an impressive sense of timing and energy, like the buildup and drop on "Kalifornia". But on the same note, many of the samples and loops are underwhelming or even a tad bit harsh. Shoutout to that roland arp synth on "Acid 800". Needed some more of that. A perfectly jittery but frustratingly crusty record 3/5

Classic 90s electronic. Repetitive as hell, in a way that can be catchy and pull you in if you just go with it.

I can imagine this was very unique and cool at the time it came out, but with the 28 years of electric/techno/house music, etc. it just doesn't hit the same. Still fun though.

3.5 - pretty good

Fun

It's a DJ album and that's really all I can say. I respect it and what he's created. The instrumentals are very Fatboy Slim. I can see that he really had a signature sound despite using samples from all over the place. I find it unlistenable due to the repetitive nature of the lyrics. However, I did listen to it and found that I really liked the instrumental. I think the vocal lines add to the music sometimes but he overuses it the majority of the time and I just can't listen to the same voice line over and over. This is a significant step up from DaftPunk though. I really like this album compared to what that group has produced. Overall, DJ albums just aren't for me. If it were entirely instrumental or if the vocal lines were reduced by 90% I think I could enjoy it much more. For the time, this was incredibly progressive and creative. I would dare say that there's probably no other DJ album that I would enjoy this much. I will also say that this album is definitely too long. An hour of repetitive voice lines would drive me crazy, hence why I skipped through the songs a lot to get a feel for the actual background DJ work. The beats are immaculate and it is really stellar DJ work but I cannot stand the way all these DJ works have annoyingly repeated voice lines. In Heaven had my favorite beat, Praise You was the most listenable overall, and Acid 8000 made me chuckle.

All the hits! Nice.

Classic stuff. I listened to this a lot when I was 14. I think Right Here Right Now is amazing. Solid from front to back

Fantastic electronic album. So many hits, and it's created from so many different samples.

Way better than the bangers I knew would have indicated. The transitions alone were incredible. I could have used a few more “fucks” though.

I don’t listen to a lot of edm, but this album had a really fun quality to it. There’s a comedic aspect to a few of the songs, and the music is extremely well produced. It’s not my favorite album I’ve listened to, but I really did enjoy this. 7/10

9/10… electronica / big beat / *1998

I can respect this and some of the tracks are very catchy, good beats, etc., but it’s just so repetitive. Good for dancing but gets boring just sitting here listening. Essential listening: no Desert island disc: no

When this first came out I understood what meditation was Haven't stopped listening to it in 28 years

Muutamat isot hitit ja lopuistakin biiseistä löytyy kaikenlaista kivaa.

Kylhän tää humppa maistuu. Enkä ees sekota kemikaaliveljiin.

Tää on kova levy! Yläasteaikoina oikeastaan ensimmäinen herätys että maailmassahan on muutakin musiikkia kun rokkia! Jyrkissä soi useampikin biisi aika paljon, ja sitten oliko jossain FIFA:ssa myös soundtrackilla Rockafeller Skank? Sanoisin että oli. Ihan hemmetin hyvä levy joka on kestänyt aikaa mainiosti.

9/10 - absolute bangers

Not my cup of tea. Tiene temas buenos y temas q no me gustaron

Labaaai patiko

Because of "Rockafeller Skank" and "Praise You" I give it the weak three stars. The rest of the album is not my jam. 2,5

Connu , très connu mais trop disparate pour moi

Nu blev det bra på riktigt. Finns en del svagare spår, så det når inte hela vägen, men detta är alltid välkommet i högtalarna.

Groundbreaking. Innovative. Sensational. Wonder how it will review with international listeners but as a Brit I think this is a fantastic album.

4/5

Right Here Right Now 2 The Rockafeller Skank 2.5 Fucking in Heaven 2.5 Gangster Trippin 3.5 Build it Up, Tear it Down 2.5 Kalifornia 2.5 Soul Surfing 2.5 You’re not from Brighton 3.5 Praise You 2.5 Love Island 2 Acid 8000 2 Total 2.54

In my head I thought Fatboy Slim was going to be a rapper/hip hop singer and I also had no idea that’s who did the funk soul brother song. Lol. This album is listed as electronica so I went in expecting the worst, but I actually liked this one. Knowing absolutely nothing about electronica music, to me it was more varied in instruments and sounds and beats than any others we’ve had. It sounded like it had hip hop and funk undertones to it and it just generally kept me engaged. Did it get annoying in spots? Absolutely. But overall it was a fun interesting listen.

I’m not huge into EDM, but I think Fatboy Slim does it right. The beats are electric and the composition is well done. The constant repetitive nature of EDM gets to me after a while, but it didn’t jar me too much with this record.

This may have been the longest hour of my life. Apparently the repetition becomes torturous if you’re not absolutely stoned out of your mind. I can’t believe it took me 400 repetitions of the word ‘druggie’ in the song Kalifornia to finally stumble onto the realization that it rhymes with Dougie - not sure how I never made that connection before this moment. I’m awarding one star for that moment of enlightenment and one star for the outstanding cover art.

Cringed when I saw another electronic album pop up, but man did I enjoy this. Great grooves, and most importantly it was more than just sounds. Other electronic albums have primarily been composed of tones strung together, that all sounds like trash to me. Fatboy Slim is sampling instruments and vocals, sure they are on a loop, but there is at least some structure to the songs that keep them interesting. Overall a super fun listen

Peak late 90s. It was played everywhere, I even had console games with the music blasting through my house. One night I switched off the playstation which had a game that played Right Here, Right now, only to see the WTC towers come down on 11th Sept on the 9pm or 10pm news Perth,WA time. I've left this album long behind, I moved on, I no longer have it saved in any shape or form as it's kind of boring now. It's not even nostalgic anymore as any optimism or chance of good times are dead.

Interesting stuff. Not sure it would stand up to repeated listening.

Started on 10/15, finished on 10/15 This was a tough album to get through. Objectively I can see why it’s considered a great album, but I struggled to enjoy it. Beyond the fact that this isn’t my typical music, I didn’t love the repetitive lyrics and the excessive length of just about every song. Favorite songs: Praise You

It's fine. Praise You is a great song, but this album does nothing for me at this point. Nothing particularly wrong with it, but it's not a top album. No business being on this list.

No es muy lo mío.

75

Ba ecoute, j'aime bien. J'ai l'impression de retourner dans les annees 2000. Ca me met de bonne humeur. Je ne connaissais aucune chanson. La pochette de l'album est culte. Il a tout compris fatboy slim. :spinning_cat:

Pas mal de classiques, pochette d album marrante un peu répétitif

Musique de dégénéré. Je pensais abhorrer ça au départ, et j'ai délayé l'écoute (jusqu'à avoir un 2e fatboy slim alors j'ai décidé de tirer sur le diachylon). Étonnamment vers la fin, je me suis mis à y prendre goût, j'ai trouvé Praise You quasiment plaisante (je l'avais sûrement entendue quelque part avant). Ça me fait penser aux films des fin 90s/début '00s dans les films d'action, genre Matrix ou Blade.

Classic

honestly very good album -> its got club bangers all the way, didnt expect this

Big beat, techno.