Reviews (page 6 of 13)
You wouldn't steal a car.....
when it bangs, it bangs. heavy baselines, piercing synths, debauchedly exhilarating breakbeats. some very eclectic sounds, ie. indian classical style vocals briefly on the opening track. some songs overstay their welcome without the requisite dynamism to justify that indulgence. for better or worse, brutal subversiveness is repackaged as digestible spectacle; a sense of nihilistic hedonism permeates—which is compelling—but except for in "narayan," does not materialize into the transcendence which swans or nine inch nails have exemplified.
J'ai toujours aimé The Prodigy parce que c'est de l'électronique qui ne se compose pas que d'un assemblage d'échantillons (ce qui en soi peut être super intéressant), mais la musique originale et les chanteurs donnaient à leur composition la stature et l'énergie des groupes rock plus heavy.
kranke breakbeats
Solid songs. Fun to see the start of break core.
A true modern classic
Lots of familiar songs
LOVED this when it came out, still love it now - don't even care if the tracks in between 1,2 and 8 aren't as epic, but they're good and this vibe and energy was just what the dr. ordered - I needed this today : )
Great album, changed the landscape. Breathe is a personal favourite always gets the blood rushing.
Wiggling
🦀!! I was so happy to see that crab show up. Not only because this is one of my favorite album covers ever, but also because this album kicks ass. This album is pure adrenaline. Favorite track: Breathe, Smack My Bitch Up
Enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Good workout music. I had this back in high school when it first came out but have not listened to it since then. I will revisit more often.
Very good
in the club straight up jorkin it kind of banger
Lots of bangers, probably a 5 when you're high as fuck. That crab looks like it's having fun, and so did I when listening to this album.
90s!! This album is just a reminder wave of how lucky I was to have a cool older sister. I was listening to Firestarter in elementary school. I don't love every track on this album but I'd say it definitely holds up. Love the transitions. There's a total vibe over the whole thing that's way more than just effects and hooks. As far as I'm concerned this is top shelf techno pop. Some of the best album art ever btw. Lil bud's so hyped! 3.5
The repetitiveness of all of it means that the songs live or die on the strength of the main loops and beats. Fortunately, a lot of them are quite strong.
Hard, energetic and unapologetic. I remember when this came out. My cousin and I got it at HMV on CD and we blasted it, jumping around in her room. Just as good today. This albums Dan help you power through anything.
This album came out on my birthday, we’re the same age :) which one do YOU think has aged better? 😏 don’t answer that…
Edgy stuff! Fun to dance to
Very cool and in your face. Always liked this one as a kid, fun album to revisit!! Also fun to listen to today cuz im seeing kool keith tonight and hes sampled in the first track!!
Throwback to high school. Great psych up album.
very upbeat songs, probably a good album when practicing some exercise
One of my favorite dance albums for sure. The hit songs off here are all incredibly hyped and the other tracks here do well to keep you engaged. May not be as raw as Music for the Jilted Generation but trades it for a shorter more engaging runtime and stronger overall enjoyment. Prodigy is great in turning harsh noises into something greatly melodic.
When it comes to '90s electronic dance music, there are a couple albums that I think helped define the genre; there's Daft Punk's Homework, there's Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works 85-92, and then there's this one. A lot more punk-ish in its sound than those too, for sure, and the late Keith Flint sounds like he wouldn't be out of place in a British punk rock band from the 1970s. The difference is where you'd hear music like this; whereas a punk band would probably play shows in small venues with some mosh pits, you'd probably hear the Prodigy's music at a rave. Repetitive music, but that's how it goes with EDM. There's still enough variety in the sound so that this doesn't really get boring (for me, at least, taste is subjective after all). The three big singles ("Smack My Bitch Up", "Breathe" and "Firestarter") are obviously the big highlights of this album, though songs like "Serial Thrilla" and "Fuel My Fire" are songs that I feel can't go ignored, they're just as good as the big three. Could've used some shortening in some songs, but The Fat of the Land is an undeniable classic of '90s EDM. Favorite Tracks: "Smack My Bitch Up", "Breathe", "Serial Thrilla", "Firestarter", "Fuel My Fire" Least Favorite Tracks: "Narayan", "Climbatize"
Just Breathe and give this Funky Shit a listen. It’s a Firestarter!
Day 0003/1001 of One Album a Day Adore the first half of this but after that it starts to drag on for me personally. Firestarter does manage to provide an element of reinvigoration to the latter half of this but I found myself bored with some of the tracks towards the end of this. Still, solid album overall and not hard to see why its so iconic. Fav tracks: Smack My Bitch Up / Breath / Diesel Power / Climbatize Bad tracks: Mindfields
One of my faves from the 90’s, brings me back to my first year out of high school
Enjoyed this far more than I expected. Floored. I thought these stage rodents were trash. I enjoyed this album. 4 stars. 4!
Fascinating album. It is such a specific vibe. I don’t know if it is for me but I can acknowledge its purpose. This is some real pump-up shit. If I was doing the soundtrack for the Matrix, it would be this album.
Likte det bedre enn jeg trodde jeg skulle. Føles veldig tidlig 2000 / sen 90-tallet spionfilm soundtrack. Kanskje litt utdatert, kunne også trengt litt mer bass. Men synes det var bra, likte progresjonen på flere av sangene. Trenger flere listens, men veldig kult album i hvert fall.
This is a banger. I wasn't a huge fan at the time, but liked the 'hits'. Holds up very well.
After getting Music for the Jilted Generation as album #11 on my journey, I was curious about the follow-up, The Fat of the Land. After listening to it, I'd say they're about the same quality. There are notable differences between both albums. In the case of Fat of the Land, it's brighter in tone such that more of the songs are danceable in structure. From the get-go with "Smack My Bitch Up" into "Breathe" the rave party vibe is very much present. Adding to that atmosphere is a more varied vocal presence. Whereas before Jilted had the one song "Poison" with vocal contributions, now nearly every track has a notable performer behind the mic, with the big presences here being the returning Maxim Reality and Keith Flint. Both the vocals and the tone contribute to a more palatable experience for newcomers to the big beat scene, compared to the darker and manic nature of Jilted. That said, Fat of the Land is still longer than it should be. For sure, it's less than the runtime of Jilted, but the pacing bogs down toward the middle with the nine-minute "Narayan". That song tried to add ambiance with the drone and chants but was hampered by its drawn-out buildup and Crispian Mills' flimsy vocal presence. Also not helping matters is that this album ends on a cover song, in this case, a techno version of L7's "Fuel My Fire". It's not bad, but "Climbatize" felt like the proper ending in focusing on Liam Howlett's programming chops. Overall, I still had a good enough time with Fat of the Land. Between this and Jilted, The Prodigy cemented themselves in the pantheon of 90s electronic music, that much is evident.
Much better than I would have expected before. Nothing I‘d listen often too but still a great album indeed.
Still great and reminds me of the good old days. It still works today but does not fascinate me like back then.
This was difficult to review. I had this album when it first dropped and played the hell out of it. The bass is fantastic and there's four incredible tracks that are all five star quality. However, there's also a lot of material here that's not as great. Some of it definitely feels more like filler than it should do. I feel four stars is harsh but fair in this situation.
I wasn’t familiar with this band or album but really enjoyed it. If I had known about this in my high school punk pop phase, I would have been all over it.
I loved this album (and the “Breathe” video, omg, I’d never seen anything like that) so much in junior high I distinctly remember asking my parents if we could fly to Australia for my birthday to see them in concert. You’ll be shocked to learn that was a no. After listening: still like it. A little long, a little repetitive, but solid.
Not too shabby for one of my least favourite genres.
I got this right after John Lennon, so my opinion is slightly biased. What a kitsch but enjoyable ride. Firestarter defined a generation of wannabe badasses , but the whole album immerses you perfectly into the world of people stuck in a mediocre life at the turn of the millenium pretending to be characters in the Matrix. I much rather prefer this garish side of the nineties over the melodramatic pop
Thought it was bad at first went between bad and good but some of the songs on it are straight bangers ngl
Loud for the sake of being loud, repetitive beats, too long. Some tracks and parts of tracks I enjoyed, like Mindfields and Climbatize. EDIT:- I think this album actually deserves a 4. I have to be in the right mood but when I am, I do enjoy this. Also great to run to.
3.9
90s clubbing
Had a lot of beeps and zeeps
So funnn !
trilha sonora para HACKER em filmes é, dá pra entender porque tá na lista. é bem único mesmo. parece clichê mas é porque já foi usado em todo lugar, mas pra época boto fé que era doideira demais. tem umas pedrada, é divertido. fiz planilha hypadão no trampo por conta desse album
This album does so much for me. First of all, it sounds amazing in my car. I listened to a lot of this in my dad’s car when I was a teenager so what a joy to come back to it and get that same buzz. The sheer noisiness is legendary.
This album garnered The Prodigy all of their fame that they had in the 90's. Smack My Bitch Up, Breathe, Firestarter... Lots of hits on this record. Typical 90's rave music. Similar to Primal Scream but better executed. At least this music has a pulse. Favourite songs: Breathe, Smack My Bitch Up, Firestarter, Funky Shit, Diesel Power, Fuel My Fire Least favourite songs: Climbatize 4/5
So good. Gets repetitive at times for my infantile attention span (which is probably why I don't listen to this kind of music much, all the songs are like 8 minutes long) but it's very, very good.
such a time capsule. lots of fun
The Fat of the Land is the third album from the Prodigy, a British electronic music group. This is their best selling album, and the work that propelled the group to international fame. The group's relentless touring had help the Prodigy gain popularity, moving them out of dance club and into larger venues. The Fat of the Land was successful enough to make festival headliners out of the Prodigy. This album includes some of the group's biggest hits, including "Firestarter" and "Smack my Bitch Up." These are energetic, danceable tracks, with hip hop timing and the brash confidence of punk, that helped push electronica into popular music circles.
Let's goooo
Just sick. Lots of fun with this one.
A smattering of absolutely classic iconic singles, but there a couple of tracks that bring the whole thing down a bit for me. Growing up, we were introduced to The Prodigy through the "Their Law" signles collection, and I can kind of see why. While the collection misses a few of my favourite tracks, it runs better as a block of music than the original albums themselves. That's ok, they were breaking new ground and becoming iconic, but it does put this at a 4 rather than a 5 for me.
In isolation I’ve never taken to these songs. As a whole work of art I appreciate it much more.
Loved dancing to prodigy at industrial clubs in the late 90's. It's a great album that reflects the anger and cynicism at that time. It's better in a dance club. Not really the kind of album you sit around listening to.
dude this is so 90s dnb in such a good way - with 3 genuinely timeless classics. makes sense why this is an essential one to listen too, earwormy as fuck tunes and certainly a vibe i can find myself enjoying in future shoutouts to funky shit, i've heard the adlib before without knowing it's in this song and shit's iconic as FUCK
Very much an album of its time, but the hits are still hits
Three iconic tracks and my favorites by the prodigy! Haven't heard the rest of the album before but they are still good to vibe to but the hits carry this album for me.
Classic.
I am rating this a bit higher because the singles are some of the best songs of the entire 90s. The rest is just okay. A
Favourite tracks: smack my bitch up; breathe; firestarter; fuel my fire; diesel power; funky shit
### **"The Fat of the Land" by The Prodigy: In-Depth Review** Released in 1997, *The Fat of the Land* by The Prodigy was a defining album for the big beat genre, fusing electronic music with punk elements. The album arrived in a cultural moment where electronic music was gaining mainstream traction, and *The Fat of the Land* catapulted The Prodigy to global recognition. The album's aggressive beats, innovative production, and controversial themes make it one of the most impactful electronic music records of the 1990s. This review delves into the lyrics, music, production, themes, and influence of the album, weighing its strengths and weaknesses. ### **Lyrics** While The Prodigy is predominantly known for their music and sound, the lyrics in *The Fat of the Land* carry a particular energy and attitude that enhances the record's overall feel. Keith Flint, the band's firebrand frontman, delivers the vocals on many tracks, bringing a raw intensity to the lyrics. His style is abrasive and punk-influenced, prioritizing aggression and attitude over lyrical sophistication. The songs often focus on rebellion, chaos, and hedonism, aligning with the high-energy, rave-oriented culture of the time. Tracks like "Firestarter" and "Breathe" are emblematic of this approach. "Firestarter" captures a spirit of anarchy, with lyrics like "I'm the trouble starter, punkin' instigator" reflecting a kind of anti-authoritarian mindset. The lyrics are repetitive but effective in driving the message home, and the minimalism serves to highlight the music's intensity. However, the album's lyrical content lacks depth in some areas. The repetition, while fitting for the style, sometimes leads to a sense of monotony. The provocative nature of the lyrics in tracks like "Smack My Bitch Up" sparked controversy, but the intended meaning—challenging conventional norms and pushing boundaries—was often overshadowed by the perceived misogyny. ### **Music** Musically, *The Fat of the Land* showcases The Prodigy's skill in blending different styles, primarily big beat, industrial, techno, and punk rock. The tracks are characterized by their aggressive rhythms, heavy basslines, and sharp samples, creating a sound that is both danceable and abrasive. Liam Howlett, the group's primary producer, masterfully integrates live instrumentation with electronic elements, creating a dynamic and layered soundscape. - **"Smack My Bitch Up"** opens the album with an explosive mix of breakbeats, distorted guitar riffs, and vocal samples. Its chaotic and relentless rhythm sets the tone for the album's high-energy nature. - **"Breathe"** features a driving bassline, rhythmic changes, and an interplay between Flint's gritty vocals and Maxim's calmer, ominous delivery. The track builds a sense of tension and release, making it one of the album's standout moments. - **"Diesel Power"** brings in a hip-hop influence, with rapper Kool Keith delivering the verses over a slow yet intense beat. This track deviates from the faster pace of other songs, adding variety while still fitting the album's dark atmosphere. - **"Firestarter"** is another highlight, featuring a blend of punk vocals and electronic beats. The track's catchy riff and energetic delivery made it an anthem for the band. The diversity of influences across the album keeps it engaging, even as it maintains a consistent sound. The musical aggression is balanced with moments that allow for breathing space, such as the atmospheric qualities in "Narayan," which features Kula Shaker’s Crispian Mills and showcases a more experimental side of the band. "Climbatize," with its extended buildup, adds to the album's variety without straying from its core identity. ### **Production** The production of *The Fat of the Land* is one of its most outstanding qualities. Liam Howlett’s skillful use of sampling, sequencing, and effects sets the album apart from contemporaries in the electronic music scene. Howlett samples a variety of sources, from hip-hop to rock, and merges them with synthesized sounds to create a densely layered sonic experience. The album's production values are high, with each track offering a meticulous balance between raw energy and polished sound. The drums and bass are particularly prominent, with their punchy quality creating a visceral listening experience. The mixing emphasizes the powerful low-end, keeping the beats tight and impactful. Effects such as distortion and reverb are used generously but tastefully, adding to the album’s aggressive aesthetic without overwhelming the mix. Despite the album’s strong production, some tracks can feel dated by today’s standards. The heavy reliance on big beat techniques, such as breakbeats and sampled loops, places it firmly in the late 1990s electronic music era. While this gives the album a nostalgic charm, it may not resonate as strongly with listeners unfamiliar with the genre's heyday. ### **Themes** Thematically, *The Fat of the Land* centers on rebellion, chaos, and hedonism. The album’s aggressive tone reflects the band's punk influences, especially in how it rejects the clean, polished image of mainstream pop music. There’s a consistent feeling of defiance throughout, evident in tracks like "Firestarter" and "Breathe," which exude a confrontational energy. "Smack My Bitch Up" embodies the album's provocative nature, with its title and lyrical content challenging societal norms. The song’s controversial title sparked debates about misogyny and the responsibilities of artists, but the band claimed it was meant to represent intensity and chaos rather than literal violence. The ambiguity of the track's meaning contributes to its enduring controversy and underscores The Prodigy's penchant for stirring the pot. In addition to rebellion, there is an undercurrent of darkness that runs through the album. Tracks like "Narayan" and "Climbatize" offer moments of introspection amidst the chaos, hinting at themes of spiritual searching and existential angst. The juxtaposition of aggression and introspection adds depth to the album, preventing it from being purely one-dimensional. ### **Influence** *The Fat of the Land* had a significant impact on both electronic music and popular culture. Its success brought the big beat genre into the mainstream, influencing a wide range of artists across different genres. The album demonstrated that electronic music could have the same raw power as rock or punk, and it paved the way for other electronic acts like The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, and Daft Punk to find mainstream success. The album also had a profound effect on the live music scene. By incorporating elements of rock performance into their shows, The Prodigy helped bridge the gap between electronic music and traditional band formats. Their use of live vocals, guitars, and an engaging stage presence changed how electronic music could be performed, influencing later artists in the genre to incorporate more live elements into their shows. However, *The Fat of the Land* also became synonymous with the late-90s big beat trend, which declined in popularity in the following decade. While the album remains a landmark of its time, its stylistic choices are distinctly tied to that era, which can limit its appeal to newer generations of listeners who may find its sound somewhat dated. ### **Pros and Cons** #### **Pros:** 1. **Innovative Production:** Liam Howlett’s production techniques stand out, with layered sampling and heavy beats creating a powerful, textured sound. 2. **Energy and Aggression:** The album captures a high level of intensity, making it ideal for both dance floors and live performances. The aggressive tone resonates with listeners looking for music that defies conventional norms. 3. **Genre-Blending:** *The Fat of the Land* combines electronic music with elements of punk and hip-hop, resulting in a diverse sound that appeals to fans of multiple genres. 4. **Influential Impact:** The album's success helped bring big beat to the mainstream and influenced how electronic music could be performed live, inspiring future artists. 5. **Memorable Tracks:** Songs like "Firestarter," "Breathe," and "Smack My Bitch Up" became anthems of the era and retain their impact due to their catchy riffs and distinctive style. #### **Cons:** 1. **Lyrical Depth:** While the album’s lyrics suit its aggressive style, they can be simplistic and repetitive, lacking the complexity found in other music genres. 2. **Controversy:** The provocative themes, especially in "Smack My Bitch Up," overshadowed some of the album's musical achievements, as debates around the lyrics led to bans and censorship. 3. **Dated Sound:** The heavy reliance on big beat techniques and stylistic choices from the 1990s means that some tracks may not resonate as well with listeners today, limiting the album's timelessness. 4. **Monotony:** The consistent intensity and aggression throughout the album may fatigue some listeners, as there are few moments of respite or contrast. ### **Conclusion** *The Fat of the Land* remains a seminal album in the history of electronic music. Its blend of genres, innovative production, and raw energy made it a defining record of the 1990s. The album’s rebellious spirit and punk ethos set it apart from the polished pop music of the time, establishing The Prodigy as pioneers in the electronic music scene. Despite some criticisms regarding lyrical depth, controversy, and its dated aspects, *The Fat of the Land* continues to be celebrated for its influence on the evolution of electronic music and its role in bringing the big beat genre to a wider audience. It stands as a testament to the band’s ability to push boundaries and challenge the status quo, making it an essential listen for fans of electronic music and anyone interested in the intersection of dance and punk culture.
High energy, gritty EDM that you can smash stuff too. No doubt that this is a 90s classic, but in hindsight, it probably would have benefitted from some slower beats, but what this album lacks in diversity it makes up for in consistency.
Was reminded of the crab rave music video. One of few albums where I felt like the parts without vocals were better. Still fun.
Pretty cool soundscapes they created. Sounded good in my open back headphones. A bit out there, but not overly so, at least compared to some of the other albums on here. I enjoyed it. 7/10
Pretty fun album
I actually quite liked this one??? Great trancey music for zoning out and daydreaming.
oh yeah, this is the 90s british electronic sound i've been waiting for. the other similar albums on this list just don't hit in the same way this one does. definitely keeping an eye out for more like this. favorites: smack my bitch up, breathe, mindfields, firestarter
I owned this CD in 6th grade and it was my favorite album, haven’t listened to it since. Holds up!
Weird but I enjoyed the sound
Bangers throughout, just happens to be longer than necessary
I come back to this album less and less as I get older, but I can't deny that it still makes me want to wreck stuff or dance til I puke.
Energy not matched with this group. Caught a bad rap with the one song...
Good punk vibes. angsty and cool singing
Love this one.
Smack My Bitch Up Breathe Firestarter
Misogyny aside, this goes pretty hard. 4/5
1/10/24 Classic album.
A little repetitive but a classic.
Je vais être franc et sachant que je suis né en 1970 et biberonné au post-punk et à l'indie rock, aborder la frange la plus électronique de la liste des "1001 Albums" est toujours un exercice périlleux. Alors quand le grand livre m'impose un album de "techno", mes vieux réflexes de disquaire indé froncent le nez. Pourtant, je ne suis pas un ermite et les années 90, je les ai vécues aux premières loges, derrière le comptoir d'une boutique et les micros d'une radio. J'ai vu déferler la vague électronique, et j'ai su faire le tri. Il y a la soupe commerciale, la "dance" insipide et il y a les vrais artistes, ceux qui ont quelque chose dans le ventre comme Underworld, les Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk... ces noms-là, je les respecte. Ils ont une vision, une patte, une intégrité. Et puis, il y a The Prodigy et il y a ce putain d'album : "The Fat of the Land", sorti en 1997. En 1997, l'Angleterre est en pleine gueule de bois de la Britpop. Oasis et Blur se sont tiré la bourre jusqu'à l'épuisement, et la pop à guitares commence sérieusement à tourner en rond, à s'auto-parodier dans un brouillard de bière tiède et de suffisance. On avait besoin d'un électrochoc, d'une décharge de violence pure pour nettoyer l'air. Et c'est exactement ce que Liam Howlett, Keith Flint et Maxim Reality nous ont balancé à la gueule. "The Fat of the Land" n'est pas un album de techno, c'est un album de punk. Un putain de disque de punk joué avec des samplers, des synthés et une boîte à rythmes qui sonne comme un bombardement sur une usine de tôle. C'est l'album qui a fait le pont entre les raves illégales des débuts des années 90 et l'agressivité du rock industriel que j'affectionne tant. C'est le chaînon manquant entre le "Smiley" de l'acid house et le "Fuck you" des Sex Pistols. Dès les premières secondes, on sait qu'on n'est pas là pour enfiler des perles. La production est monstrueuse, conçue pour faire trembler les murs des plus grands festivals et les fondations de ton petit pavillon de banlieue. Le son est gras, saturé, chaque kick de batterie est un coup de poing dans le plexus. L'usage des infrabasses est tellement abusif qu'on a l'impression que nos organes internes se mettent à danser la gigue. C'est une expérience physique, viscérale, presque douloureuse mais incroyablement jouissive. Je me souviens de la sortie du single "Firestarter". Le choc... visuel d'abord, avec ce Keith Flint transformé en diable punk, regard de psychopathe et coiffure de tarentule sous acide. Et puis le son... Cette ligne de basse crasseuse, ce riff de guitare samplé qui tourne en boucle comme une scie circulaire, et la voix nasillarde et menaçante de Flint. Ce n'était plus de la musique de danse pour gentils clubbers. C'était une déclaration de guerre sonique. La BBC a d'ailleurs reçu des lettres de parents scandalisés, se plaignant que le clip faisait peur à leurs enfants. Et l'album enfonce le clou. "Breathe" suit, encore plus massive, encore plus hypnotique, avec son riff oriental samplé et le duo vocal entre un Maxim possédé et un Flint toujours aussi allumé. C'est un tube planétaire, mais un tube qui sent le soufre, la sueur et les entrepôts désaffectés. Puis vient le cas "Smack My Bitch Up". Le titre à lui seul a déclenché une polémique mondiale, des accusations de misogynie, des appels au boycott. Les ligues de vertu sont montées au créneau sans même chercher à comprendre la malice du truc. Et quand le clip de Jonas Åkerlund est sorti, filmé en caméra subjective et suivant une nuit de débauche totale (alcool, coke, baston, vomi, putes) pour révéler à la toute fin que le protagoniste est une femme... c'était un coup de génie. Une provocation ultime qui renvoyait tous les bien-pensants à leurs chères études. La musique elle-même est une tornade, un maelstrom de breakbeats frénétiques, de voix indiennes samplées et de synthés stridents. C'est le chaos organisé. Le reste de l'album n'est pas juste du remplissage. On y trouve des influences hip-hop subversives ("Diesel Power" avec Kool Keith), des moments plus "calmes" qui ressemblent quand même à une descente d'amphétamines ("Narayan"), et une reprise punk du groupe L7 ("Fuel My Fire"). Le tout forme un bloc monolithique, une oeuvre cohérente dans sa fureur et son désir d'en découdre. Alors, pourquoi un "gros 4 sur 5" et pas la note maximale ? Parce que, soyons honnêtes, c'est un album épuisant. C'est une heure de furie quasi ininterrompue. Brillant dans ce qu'il fait, mais manquant peut-être de la nuance ou de la profondeur émotionnelle que je suis en droit de demander. C'est une oeuvre coup-de-poing, pas une oeuvre qui s'insinue et grandit avec le temps. C'est un album que l'on sort pour une occasion spéciale : quand on a besoin de tout péter, de se vider la tête, de courir à 200 à l'heure sur l'autoroute. Ce n'est pas l'album que tu mets un dimanche après-midi pluvieux en lisant un bouquin. "The Fat of the Land" est une pièce maîtresse des années 90. C'est un monument de la musique électronique qui a osé regarder le rock droit dans les yeux, lui a piqué ses guitares saturées, son attitude punk, et lui a dit : "Maintenant, c'est moi qui mène la danse". Il a prouvé que la musique électronique pouvait être aussi brutale, pertinente et politiquement incorrecte que le rock le plus sauvage. Pour un vieux con comme moi, c'est une reconnaissance qui force le respect. Il a toute sa place dans ces 1001 albums, ne serait-ce que pour se souvenir qu'en 1997, la musique la plus violente et la plus excitante de la planète était faite par des Anglais cinglés armés de samplers. À écouter très, très fort. Sinon, ça ne sert à rien.
A whole new adventure in sounds.
I liked it. Sums up the late 90s. It is crazy they got away with smack my bitch up
Solid.
Nisam ga sad stigao preslušavat, al ofkors znam ovaj album, meni je top! :D 8/10 - volio bi još više bangera, al nadoknadim s njihovim prethodnim
The one and only 🧡 Apsolutno zasluženo mjesto na listi i baš sam se razveselila. Nije mi, naravno, za preslušavati redovito, ali i dalje svako put kad čujem uživam. Bilo bi lijepo nekad se namazati i sjetiti se pustiti. Album sam prvi put čula na CDu kao svaka prava bakica današnjice 😁 Na stranu hitovi, album ima underrated pjesama. Mindfields & Narayan 🫶🏻 4/5 ili 8/10 od mene!
7.5/10 Agresivan, eklektican, plesan, jeben. The Prodigy su s ovim albumom bas jako visoko postavili ljestvicu u elektronskoj glazbi i sami sebe opet nadmasili s obzirom koliko se stvari sa albuma i danas cesto vrti svugdje. Prve dvije su apsolutni hitovi, kao i Firestarter (spot od Smack My Bitch Up mislim da sam jednom vidio necenzuriran u jako kasne sate kao klinac, u svakom slucaju iskustvo), a odlicna iznenadjenja su mi Diesel Power sa Kool Keithom, koji je zasluzan za sample u prethodnoj stvari i zadnja, Fuel My Fire koja me malo podsjeca na Come To Daddy Aphex Twina, izasla iste godine ali je zapravo cover od L7, jednom od znacajnijih girl alt-punk bendova 80ih i 90ih. Bez obzira na velicinu ovog albuma i cinjenicu da vise-manje volim The Prodigy, ocjena ne ide vislje jer mi je samo za pocastiti se u nekim rijetkim prilikama i sto mi je prethodni iz '94, Music for the Jilted Generation jos bolji.
4/5 Yeah, go on little crab buddy, get those claws up. Because this shit slaps. It's not very interesting or special but it's pretty great. Smack My Bitch Up 3.5/5 Breathe 5/5 (FAV) Diesel Power 4/5 Funky Shit 3.5/5 Serial Thrilla 3/5 (LEAST FAV) Mindfields 4.5/5 Narayan 4.5/5 Firestarter 3.5/5 Climbatize 4.5/5 Fuel My Fire 4/5
pretty formulaic and kinda trashy admittedly but honestly its a fun formula and the beats and vocals are punchy and infectious, very fun listen i liked very much change my pitch up 🗣🗣 smack my bitch up 🗣🗣🔥‼️
Not a big electronica fan but this album is an absolute masterpiece if not for just the major hits "Smack My Bitch Up", "Breathe", and "Firestarter". These songs made me think going to a rave would've been fun
Fed. Sjoveste albumcover vi har haft
Kæmpe banger! Kunne godt ha været lidt mere consistent, men det er da bare fordi de fedeste numre er så fede. Længe siden jeg har hørt hele pladen, bedre end jeg havde regnet med
Really cool ambient music. I guess dance, but I don’t really dance, so it’s just spicy ambient to me. Either way, bops hard.
fun beats, somewhat angry but energetic. Lots of repetition in lyrics and beats but not in a bad way
Fantastic album.
I unabashedly loved this album when it came out. My introduction to industrial electronica was Nine Inch Nails -- but this was more fun, and just as horny (although not quite as *good). It's an album that holds together song-to-song better than most, and there are no real skips here -- other than maybe Fuel My Fire. Great driving music. Unexpected bangers: Diesel Power, Mindfields, Climbatize
If you're in the mood to smack a bitch up or start a fire, this is the go-to. It holds up, but you really have to be in the right mood to jam out to this. I listened to it alone while making lesson plans, and it made me feel like an old piece of shit. So only 4 stars.
What a trip down memory lane with some of these jams. I enjoyed revisiting this album. There are some duds on the tracklist, but overall it's a fun listen.
Great production and timeless tracks despite being released in the 90s. This isn't a genre that I typically like, but this is a well put together album. Something also tells me that the Prodigy don't intend to Smack their Bitches Up, and they aren't, encouraging you to either
Coming back to this album after discarding it in high school, I rather enjoyed the electronic sounds and experimentation. Smack My Bitch Up is a weird track to re-hear in 2024, but I found myself enjoying every other track on the album. 4/5!
Okay
Did a lot of IT stuff on Friday Felt very 90s movie hacker montage I said “I’m in.” dramatically several times
Wouldn't call myself a fan of the genre, but this one rocks.
Need some kind of self reflection to understand why I like this so much more than other electronic/techno albums on this list
I like this one, right amount of tempo and aggression, like the garage house sound from this era
“Breathe” and “Firestarter” are the top tracks. The rest is decent 90s techno. The last track is a little weak. Glad to revisit. Reminded me of an English Rammstein: menacing vibe, simplistic lyrics and yet also playfully winking at the ridiculous vamping of it while managing a straight face. 3.5 stars rounded up.
Not keen on the sampled lyrics of the opener "Smack My Bitch Up", but other than this it's a great album. Favourite track is "Firestarter".
85% Fav: Breathe, Diesel Power, Narayan, Firestarter Least: N/A Must-Hear? Sure
This made me want some drugs and a dance floor.
Bought it originally, first year working. Still sounds great.
Ohmm. Lots of things (spaceships?) flying around, light saber noises, and other futuristic sound effects. Repetitive but good, great high tempo exercise music. Liked The Fat of the Land a lot. Have already checked out more Prodigy. This is dangerous, but I’m rankin the album in at (3.9*s)
Now we are getting to the good 90s electronica. The Prodigy is one of the techno powerhouses of the decade that got much radio play, MTV music videos, and sold out live shows. Although not their best album, "Fat of the Land" put them on the map. 3 of their hits are featured with solid supporting tracks. It lulls a bit in the middle but the fire is started back up at the end. I like their use of guitar and hip-hop influences. They built off their trip-hop fore fathers like Massive Attack but spiced it up. Crabs give me the creeps but the music is snappy...3.6.
Some really fun tracks on this one
The singles were dope and deserve 5 stars. The rest was a bit more forgettable
brillaint
A great gym album, and while it drags on at times, the various influences from song to song have great breadth and are composed energetically. One thing I find really odd about this album being on the list is that this seems far more relevant to a club setting than a solo listening setting. I feel that the difference in ranking between those settings would be very large, and I'm not sure how to incorporate that into a rating. That said, for a club album, it's great, and when I want to feel some grungy energy and move my body, I could easily see myself coming back to this.
Interesting techno-rap.
Having known Smack My Bitch Up, Breathe, and Firestarter for years I was curious about the rest of this album. I love this big beat, electropunk stuff - really enjoyed this album. Some songs are catchier than others but overall this is really good. RIP Flint
Das Album kannte ich nicht, aber bei den ersten Takten des ersten Tracks ging gleich das innere Kino an. Wer einmal das Video zu Smack My Bitch Up gesehen hat, wird es nicht so schnell vergessen. Wurde damals auch mit der Auszeichnung "Banned on MTV" versehen. Und danach gleich der Albtraum Breathe - starker Beginn. Starkes Album.
Banger!
Reminded me of the scene in Blade where they're in a dance club and he's walking through... fun dance music but was a bit of a surprise, never heard of them before! Narayan was probably the track I liked best, could've fit right into the prep for Matrix...
Surprised that I had heard of a few of these previously. Fun listen.
Some classics, a few fillers
Hard to get through a title like “Smack My Bitch Up,” but I have to sdmit the entire album goes good with driving on a highway. I’d come back to most of it.
It's probably been 20 years since I've listened to this album. I kind of enjoyed it then, and kind of enjoyed it now. Has some solid singles on here, and the rest was good.
It's wild relistening to this and thinking of how influential The Prodigy has been.
I kinda dread seeing these albums pop up: dancey electronica from back then whose sole virtue may very well be how they broke ground with stuff that had been unheard (of). But: this fucking slaps. Still.
I’m not normally a huge fan of electronic music but this album seems to harness the best of it while dabbling in some other genres. The first track is an absolute bop, and so are all the other hits on this album. I can definitely see the appeal.
Cool dance record
Nothing gets me into a work flow at my extremely dull desk job than listening to the Prodigy lol
Interesting and different
Oh yessss. Sacaría el otro de The Prodigy y dejaría este.
Like I was transported back to an angry dance floor in the 1990s. I am here for it and loved it.
8.5/10
Tres phat beatz
Quite good. Might be a five with more listening. The video for Firestarter was on heavy max rotation when it came out.
1. 9 2. 10 3. 8 4. 9 5. 8 6. 7 7. 9 8. 7 9. 9 10. 9 8.5/10 4.25/5
some filler around the middle, but otherwise amazing and full of straight bangers. perfect hybrid of rave music/big beat and punk. rip keith flint
Banger after banger after banger. You don't even have to be intoxicated. This worked just as well at 7am on a train.
Excellent electrionic album
Крепкий альбом, и понастольгировать и головой покачать
Classic 90s beats. Firestarter is iconic, plus the other big hits on here. We also appreciated some of the lesser known stuff here.
Never knew it was this good! Album has a lot more depth and character than the three singles led me to expect
Definitely knew a number of these tracks. Dance/Club/House/Electronica (I never know the difference) isn't my top choice, but this was a fun nostalgia blast for sure!
Funky Shit! 🦀 🦀 🦀 Very groovy with some interesting synths. Very sharp and surprisingly aggressive EDM
I probably should have given this album more of a chance in the 90s than I did, but electronic music wasn't cool to punk kids of that era. The video hits from that time are classic and I gained an appreciation for them when I got a little older, but listening to this in full now I see why this was such a big album at the time. Fav tracks: Smack My Bitch Up, Firestarter Surprise fav tracks: the L7 - Fuel My Fire cover and Diesel Power
This album contains a selection of 90s dance tracks. I enjoyed listening to the entire album. Liked tracks: Breathe, Narayan, Firestarter, Climbatize & Fuel My Fire
3.5/5
Solo por los tres pelotazos que son Smack my bitch up, Firestarter y Breathe ya se justifica este disco. Aquí cabe de todo: Electro-hardcore- tecno-punk a base de The Who, Nirvana, Breeders, Wu-Tang Clan o Beastie Boys. La portada es otra obra icónica. Adorados, superventas, llamados a colaborar en discos de los más grandes del rock (rechazo a todos)... tal como llegó el huracán, se fue y cayó en un injusto olvido (Smack my bitch up hoy en día parece imposible que se pubicara, así que ¿Para qué defenderla? pensarán erróneamente algunos). Nunca aceptaron las normas ajenas, tampoco se movían por un éxito masivo que no les descolocó ni un milímetro. Demasiado peligrosos, demasiado agresivos, demasiado aterradores... demasiado todo: dignos herederos de KLF. Otros discos de un impresionante 1997: Radiohead: OK Computer, Spiritualized: Ladies And Gentlemen We’re Floating In Space, The Verve: Urban Hymns, Cornershop: When I Was Born For The 7th Time, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: The Boatman’s Call, Erykah Badu: Baduizm, Wilco: Being There, Portishead: Portishead, Primal Scream: Vanishing Point, Tindersticks: Curtains, Björk: Homogenic, Bob Dylan: Time Out Of Mind, Yo La Tengo: I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One, The Chemical Brothers: Dig Your Own Hole, Belle And Sebastian: If You’re Feeling Sinister, Teenage Fanclub: Songs From Northern Britain, Mogwai: Young Team, Daft Punk: Homework, Stereolab: Doots And Loops The Make-Up: Sound Verite, Eels: Beautiful Freak, Erykah Badu: Baduizm, Echo & The Bunnymen: Evergreen, Prefab Sprout: Andromeda heights, Dinoasaur Jr.: Hand It Over, Blur: Blur, Buenavista Social Club: Buenavista Social Club, Elliott Smith: Either, Or, Janet Jackson: The velvet rope, Smog; Red apple falls, Built to Spill: Perfecto from now on, The Jayhwaks: Sound of lies, Kent: Isola, Ocean Colour Scene: Marchin' already, Paul Weller: Heavy soul, Cotton Maher: Kontiki, Luna: Pup Tent, Foo Fighters: The colour and the shape... y también: Spice Girls: Spiceworld, U2: Pop, Aqua: aquarium...
Jeg tænkte yes, da pladen dukkede op, for den hørte vi i folkeren, særligt Smack my bitch up var vild. Den er dog ikke ældet med ynde, men resten af pladen holder stadigvæk 100. Enkelte numre er endda blevet endnu bedre.
Ultimate crackhead music
The album made me think of the original matrix movie. What a decade.
:D
Not my typical genre, but blood-pumping, head-nodding, dare I say toe-tapping?
Obviously this album is lyrically annoying, crossing over to problematic in the opening track. Which only costs one star because it's otherwise massively fun to listen to.
8 / 10 Un clásico de la música electrónica de los 90. Con unos buenos auriculares es una pasada escucharlo.
klsddikko. pstuki pstu pstakiki pstuki pstuki pstakiki (fuck this bitch) pstuki pstu pstakiki pstuki pstuki pstakiki (fuck this bitch) pstuki pstu pstakiki pstuki pstuki pstakiki (fuck this bitch) pstuki pstu pstakiki pstuki pstuki pstakiki (fuck this bitch) pstuki pstu pstakiki pstuki pstuki pstakiki (fuck this bitch) pstuki pstu pstakiki pstuki pstuki pstakiki (fuck this bitch).. unrea signing, lyrics, all that. breathe bitch... fuck you bitch... breathe bitch... fuck you bitch... breathe bitch... fuck you bitch... breathe bitch... fuck you bitch... breathe bitch... fuck you bitch... breathe bitch... fuck you bitch... breathe bitch... fuck you bitch... breathe bitch... fuck you bitch... breathe bitch... fuck you bitch... breathe bitch... fuck you bitch... breathe bitch... fuck you bitch... breathe
Damn good agro dance music. Shit like "Breathe", "Firestarter" and, yes, "Smack My Bitch Up" just go off so hard. Really, the only reason I'm not giving it a 5 is that I prefer what the Fatboy slippin' does so much more. Still, absolutely worth your time to check. Just put it on and lose y'damn-self.
Catchy, enjoyable but repetitve, and its not really my type tho but I'm trying to give it a chance I'm halfway through the album and its overall being a nice experience, for now id say that my favorite track is funky shit I finished the album now, pretty good but I wouldnt give it a replay besides funky shit and diesel power, also the last songs werent that great, overall 8/10
One of the comments below me states they're "not a metal fan". Perfectly captures what's so great about this album -- headbanging rave, restless breakbeats that make your heart race.
Pretty chuffed for this album. Starts with SMBU followed by breathe wow. Good gym accompaniment! The rest has probably not aged too well but still a cracker. Took me back to London
Fun
echt best wel nice
Goes on a big long, but that's the point I guess, and the singles are killer.
I would put The Prodigy on to be honest. I wasn’t interested in this band. They were big when I was growing up but the music never appealed to me. So first time I’ve put this on and it was great. I really like most of the songs, although there were two that are specially annoying. My favourite was Fuel my Fire. Great track! Also the album cover is awesome.
Inspirational. Trend-setting electronic album. Not many lyrics, but they’re not needed. It aged well
A very experimental album; I really enjoyed it at the beginning, but towards the end it started to sound a bit like the same song over and over again. Still enjoyed it due to its unique sounds. 3.5/5
How does 1 learn to smack their bitch up? Listen to the crab overlords.
Non stop bangers
Vintage Prodigy!
Great album
Most likely an album that folks will administer 3 stars to, I elevate it to 4 stars due to the proclivity of these songs to randomly jump to the forefront of my mind for the past two decades. An iconic album of the genre.
This was a refreshingly strong wind after days stuck in the doldrums of a horribly dull and long Drive By Truckers album. I heard the radio singles off this album a ton as I entered my teenage years, but had never listened to the whole album. I enjoyed it, but felt every song went on at least a minute too long. The repetitive nature of this type of electronic music is what tends to turn me off from it. I like cool sounds, but I don’t need to hear them so many times in a row.
this is great but i want to kiss boys
4.0++ Ive been listening to this albun since my 20s, great one prodigy (saw them live once, lots of energy.
This was good actually. i liked pretty much every track.
Fun fact, somebody burnt my high school down when I was a sophomore. As seniors the student body voted on firestarter to be or class doing. The faculty said no, and went with our second choice "good riddance". Other than that, I really like this album, and it really gets you into a groove when coding, out doing other need shit.
Mid-to-late-90's Big Beat music is kinda my jam. This is on the heavier end, blending Punk elements into a form that made this one a hit.
This took me back
Starts off with 3 straight bangers, lets down a little before there’s bangers galore again. The beats hit hard, the songs are agressive and in your face, like a punk band. Not every song is top notch, but those who are, are so good that it's a solid 4.
crab guy :)))
One of few albums in electronic music that I know of that forms a coherent experience. Classic. It does have a song with very questionable lyrics though
Kyllä tällä on ihan paikka tässä maailmassa! Aika epätasainen levy biisien osalta, mutta hittiensä ja yleisen soundin suhteen varsin vankka ööö electro tai beat tai mikälie -levy tämä nyt onkaan. 4/5
I really enjoyed this. Listened to it whilst studying for O chem (I think electronica stuff is what I appear to gravitate towards for study music which I find interesting). I liked that there was actual singing/rapping/whatever vocals and not just sampling of other people's vocals. Also I agree with Big Kev, the cover art is very swag, I really like the crab.
not really my thing to sit and listen to this kind of music but if i heard this out at a club i'd be having a blast. every song sounds distinct and it's fun even tho im not in the mood.
I did not really expect to like this as much as I did. I knew Smack My Bitch Up and Firestarter going in so I was a little hopeful for an album from a genre that I usually dislike. I think what works for me here is that these songs often feel like songs rather than beat collections. It's almost a little rock-ish in its approach. I love every time Keith Lee pops up (RIP) I even liked the 9 minute song. I groaned when I saw the run time but it ended up being one of my favorites. Yeah, some of it does get a bit repetitive and some of these songs maybe could've been trimmed down as I damn well get the freaking point after 3 or 4 minutes (or 1 sometimes) but I liked this a lot and will go back to it and probably other Prodigy albums too.
One of many soundtracks to my twenties - its bass-heavy beats make it necessary to play this album loud! Lost a point because the last couple of tracks seem pointless.
3-4 big time hits on here. They don’t age super well but I still love em. I love the kool Kieth appearance, was a huge surprise for me
crabcore
Interesante I guess
Great, aggressive beats. Feels fresh even though it's age. Just a classic drum-n-base album. "Breathe" is by far my favourite track on the album but nearly all of "The Prodigy's" hits make an appearance. For the negative it gets a bit too angsty 90:s at times and the vocals are not always great. So while there are some really good songs, there are some duds in between. All in all, a good listen and I also hadn't heard "Narayan" which was kind of cool song.
Enjoyable from start to finish. The album that thrust the band to superstardom that unfortunately was the start of the end.
Náði ekki að hlusta en örugglega jafn góð og hún var á ipodnum mínum 2010. Svoskemmtilegt þetta tímabil í breskri tónlist, hvernig breskt pönk/indí, house og teknó frá bandaríkjunum, jamaíka tónlist og hip hop blandaðist allt saman í einn graut og úr veður alveg ný bresk stefna. https://www.thewire.co.uk/in-writing/essays/the-wire-300_simon-reynolds-on-the-hardcore-continuum_introduction
Þetta er það sem maður myndi kalla sturluð plata. Þvílík keyrsla, platan í ræktinni fyrir þá sem hafa gaman af slíku.
Really liked it.
A bit problematic, but still a bangin album. As far as I can tell the band hasn’t done anything shitty, so I feel better for liking the album.
Talk about nostalgia. My very first school parties featured this album. Ah to be young again.
Same as for the other Prodigy album we got. I enjoyed it much more than I would have thought before this project. Probably that's partially do to the music feeling like rock almost as much as like electronica. Still, my main criticism is that tracks often feel too repetitive within themselves. Might be good for dancing, but not as much for my office job. 3.5 rounded up.
Repetitive by design. Classic.
Holds up more than I would have expected
A classic
This is interesting. Not sure where to place it but I like it. Has some pretty industrial moments. Has some moments that feel PWEI-ish. A few songs could be a bit shorter, but I'd say a solid 3.75 stars.
Wholly enjoyable. Not quite the first 5/5 for me, I reckon. Needs something a bit more personally appealing for that.
4/5. Good industrial late 90s jams
4 stars
4/5
I first listened to this album maybe two years ago, and I’ve been a pretty big fan of it since. As a husband and father of two daughters, “Smack My Bitch Up” is a disconcerting song title, but it’s a jam to be honest. Breathe, Seriel Thrilla, and of course Firestarter are all bangers and it’s solid in between.
Man I love high energy techno dance music. Not the christer kind. Love smack my bitch up and breathe. I love the samples they use
not bad pretty good beats
Terrific!
The non-singles are pretty standard Prodigy fare; tracks 3-5 are kinda average in my opinion but they get better after that. Still, it’s the 3 monster hits that boost this album above the riff-raff and up to - or just beyond - the level of Music For The Jilted Generation.
Fun album for sports
Crossover banger after crossover banger. Can still remember the impact of this record when it came out - probably among the few true punk records of the 90s. Only gripe is the first track which feels so dated in its heavy handed casual misogyny. Almost turned me off this otherwise excellent album.
I loved the energy of this album, and it was a fun listen. I'm not itching to get back to it, but I could definitely continue to enjoy some of the tracks here. +1 for the crab album cover. 8/10. Favorite Tracks: Breathe, Funky Shit, Mindfields No Least Favorites
4.5
OK, not really my thing but good enough to listen to
One of those albums that contains almost everything I usually dislike in music and yet I love it
- I’m not sure what the was but I enjoyed it - loved the beats and distortion
Good album. Too repetitive though. Not really my thing
nice one. takes me back...
Look, my most prolific internet presence is posting screenshots and video clips of PlayStation 1 & 2 games. You cannot play the amount of early PSX games that I do and still give this album an unbiased review.
One of the best 90s EDM albums. While EDM isn't my particular cup of tea, I don't hate it.
Gutted I got this Sunday morning and not a Friday night. Going to hold of reviewing this until the appropriate moment. Absolute classic dance album from the 90’s, not quite a masterpiece but really does stand out as a great album,
Took me back to being 13 and taking my cash to the music store in the mall to purchase this from hearing 1 single on MTV. This album was a gateway to a lot of music I would have never considered giving a chance. Energetic, noisy, aggressive.
Funkyyy
Ik heb t wel vaker bij nummers over bangers, maar dit zijn de echte bangers in de essentie van t woord
I bought this album when it first came out. I can’t remember the last time I listened to the entire album. I definitely took a trip back in time with this one. 4/5 for the nostalgia and being a great album to work out to.
Techno. Dos megahits. Un 4.
wow that was sick favorite tracks: Smack My Bitch Up, Climbatize really great
Ein starkes Album, dass auch einige Single-Auskopplungen gehabt hat. Mir ist vorher aber noch nie aufgefallen, dass die Grundbeats doch teilweise etwas wiederholend von Song zu Song sind.
The songs on this album are big nostalgia from my teen years. I love it! That being said - it's been a while since I listened to the whole album all at once, and I didn't realize how... samey it sounds? Like it sounds like maybe two really long songs. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I actually am finding I wasn't necessarily blown away by the album as a whole. Still a great listen though, and it made me remember what it was like to be a kid and wish I was a hacker.
I was one of those teenagers who became obsessed with these songs. They’re all still pretty great. It’s a dated sound, but amazing example of rave music in the late 90’s. I actually didn’t realize how many songs where on this album, packed with good stuff.
good one
Not my usual thing, but this was an enjoyable experience.
90s Hip Hop descendants electronic music. Feels like songs you hear in The Matrix movies.
Really really good. Not sure if it's better than Music for the Jilted Generation though.
duplicate
My first introduction to the genius, Kool Keith, and I didn't even know it for years to come! ... oh wait, this is a review for The Prodigy. I owned this CD. This album came out my senior year in high school and was EVERYONES jam. Saw The Prodigy play End Fest that summer. As much as I don't like a lot of the electronica of the day, this scratches an itch. Maybe just because there are so many memories associated
Different. Pretty good
Smack my bitch up is echt een 10/10 eerste nummer, wat een opener voor het album zeg. Meteen daarna Breathe, eigenlijk weet je dan al dat dit een fantastisch album is. Het is hard, het is vet, ik ben hyped. Funky Shit heeft een lekker vuige acid lijn. Love 303s. Vind de transfer van en naar Serial Thrilla erg matig, had van mij niet zo gehoeven. Vind sowieso dat het na Funky Shit een beetje inkakt. De singles zijn ijzersterk met Smack My Bitch up, Breathe en Firestarter. Ook tussen de niet singles zitten naar mijn mening hele vette nummers als Narayan, maar daarnaast zijn er toch een paar meh nummers als Mindfields en Serial Thrilla. Het is dus zeker geen perfect album, maar wel gewoon een heel vet album. En dat is prima, dat mag allemaal. FAVO: Smack my bitch up, Breathe, Funky Shit, Narayan, Firestarter
This combines the punk rock spirit with the dance music of the day brilliantly. One of the few dance albums I bought at the time. It’s relentless, has touches of Eastern mysticism and is thoroughly politically incorrect throughout.
Three good, well known songs.
A bit faster than their previous album, much more my vibe
I've heard "Firestarter" and "Smack My Bitch Up" before, but this was my first time listening to an album by Prodigy. I wasn't terribly impressed with the first three tracks, but "Funky Shit" kicked off a string of songs that I really enjoyed, all the way through "Firestarter." Speaking of "Firestarter," the segue into it from "Narayan" was absolutely fantastic. At the expense of sounding like an absolute lunatic, I love a good segue from one song into another. "Climbatize" was great too, and I loved its use of a sample from The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again." I really liked the beats on this song from "Funky Shit" onward; the lyrics and vocals weren't really my jam, but it was easy to ignore them. This album isn't the type of thing I'd listen to just to listen to, but I can definitely fuck with this during a workout. Overall, this wound up being a great album, despite its rocky start.
A big beat odyssey that tapped its era's youth culture zeitgeist by successfully fusing the techno rave with the punk rock pit, becoming a defining musical force of the late 90s in the process.
Overall a really solid electronic album, great instrumentals with aggressive effective lyrics. 8/10
This was more enjoyable than I thought it would be. I think I knew this record pretty well as a teenager but definitely did not listen to it in the intervening years. For me the big hits (Smack My Bitch Up, Firestarter, Breathe) were actually the lowest points of the record - the rest of it is actually pretty well put together and enjoyable.
Fun clubby and dubby big beat release. Great vocals too.
Listened to this while playing Barcelona with my best friend. He won. This album was way more fantastic than I thought it would be. I recognized so many of the songs, and every single one of them is a banger. The one negative for me are the vocals. From time to time they take an amazing song and make it considerably less appealing. Listening to this reminded me of the movie Go!
classic
Wow. This takes me back to every half remembered party or rave that I went to between the ages of 20 and 21. I had forgotten all about The Prodigy but this is actually a pretty awesome album. Breathe is such a great track!
Actually goes pretty hard, I like the rock influence over the electronic production, kinda cool. 8/10
I thought this was very cool in 1997... and honestly it holds up better than the other UK electronica stuff that's been on the list so far. Especially Breathe. 3.7
i do enjoy those big beats BOOM BOOM CHHHH: 8.8/10
Current favs: funky shit and smack my bitch up, very chill but still danceable and upbeat, nothing to hardcore
Almost reminds me of jet set Radio. Used to not be an acid house guy, now I am
Techno before techno I’m all for it. Paved the way for a lot of new age dance music. A lot of songs go really hard. I could play it at the gym, a run, playing games, sports, free running… just makes you want to do things. Lots of well known songs that I didn’t know who made them. Kinda rap songs as well. Fun journey. 7/10
I'm the firestarter, twisted firestarter. A fun album from front to back but not much nuance to it. It's a good listen and if you enjoy techno and a little hip hop as well you'll like this album along with it having a couple of big hits spread throughout. 7/10
I can’t believe they made an album of the ‘You wouldn’t download a car commercial’. There are three massive hits on this album that are absolute bangers in the sense that you end up chanting along to the simple lyrics of smacking of bitches and starting fires. I enjoyed Narayan and Fuel My Fire quite a bit but the other songs were a little too similar to really shine. In the same electronica vein, The Chemical Brothers I believe provide a more distinct and diverse sound and this really just made me want to listen to them. Still a pretty solid heavy electronica album. 7/10
Time capsule record. Didn’t age particularly well. Sounds very dated but can see the value. It’s a cool album with a lot of early edm influence that you can see. Not really for me but enjoyed the listen through. 3/5
This is not usually my kind of music, but there's no doubting that this was a seminal album, and perhaps the best of its kind. There are three legitimate classics of electro dance on this one release. For pure nostalgia value, I'm adding a star.
Super different than anything I’ve listened to. Like punk dnb. Good skiing music. Leather jacket duster matrix music
Classic
Great album to have on in the background. Music flowed together well, some themes and songs overstayed their welcome and got repetitive, but nothing egregious. Love the album cover as well. Definitely suited my taste in music overall.
Interesting, good 2000's underground vibes
Bangers
The Fat of the Land was one of the first electronic acts that broke into the mainstream in the US around this time. Aside from holding a special place in my psyche as a good album, there's an ineffable quality for me that makes this much more listenable than, say, Homework by Daft Punk released the same year. This style of big beat dance music was what the DJs were playing in the clubs I occasionally frequented around Deep Ellum, mid nineties. The Prodigy just slotted right into the scene, becoming integrated with my tastes at the time. I used to babysit my friends dropping acid for the first time with this as the soundtrack easily half the time. Kind of makes me want to try that out myself – listening to this thirty years down the line, I wonder what they were experiencing?
Saw them in red Square, Moscow. I probably need to give this four stars. Not because it is a bona fide, four star album, but of its kind it was unique out there.
A truly trend-setting album. It might not play that often, but I hear it's influences a lot more often.
4/5 I get hype cleaning to this.
I feel like the prodigy's biggest hits on here (Smack My and Firestarter mainly) are seared into my brain from my uncle being obsessed growing up, and I feel like it's hard to rate rave music in a vacuum? Like you need to have a massive crowd of bodies at nighttime with pulsing lasers and I'm just like... On a beach at 10am. But besides that context, I can absolutely find myself still loving the beat breaks and I can only imagine what it would have been like to hear those monster songs for the first time again.
Good ol rock
pretty fun listen. made me think of mike and hs hits. easy to work to, high bpm kept me going early in the AM. heard precursor to heavier bands like NIN (though at this point idk if this album came first).
Understandable that this album is iconic. I remember hearing smack my bitch up as a kid for the first time and getting totally hyped for it. It's something that probably wont enter my rotation now but all props to The Prodigy for making electronic music give me the same feels as metal would. Im into it!
The dude is true to his name, killing it. Especially given the time and the technology available then. I can see parallels to how certain present day artists sound. (Like Gesafellstein) Smack my bitch up and Firestarter were the standouts for me!
It’s alright, know what you’re getting
4.5/5, i liked it Diesel fire and smack my bitch up
eld
A much needed change from the dad rock
Take me to the London Underground where the Molly flows
Og crab rave?
I see why this album was one of the first crossover electronic successes as it adds more variety than other albums in the genre.
4/5
Can’t imagine smack my bitch up coming out in 2023 but I remember being amazed at the video when they played it on mtv when I was a kid. There are good songs but they sound very similar to me now. But I guess at the time it was the first time music was totally made on a computer so gotta give that some love.
8/10
Yesh! 🍾
It has a very defined vibe from the start and does everything it sets out to do. Each track, no matter how explosive, fits and complements the next extremely well. Favourite tracks: Smack My Bitch Up, Diesel Power, Serial Thrilla, Mindfields, Narayan, Climbatize, Fuel My Fire.
Banger after banger. Not a genre i typically listen to but holy hell these cats are cooking This album makes me feel like im a cyberpunk vagabond outrunning the corpo police in the wastes
Despite being such a classic, I don't think I'd ever sat and listened all the way through, sticking mostly to the singles. It's an absolute game changer. You can see why it was a dance album that the rock kids took to heart - not just the guitar samples, but the minor 2nds and tritones in the melodies are very 80s thrash. It's a consistently good album, and outside of Firestarter/Breathe/SMBU, has some great tracks in Fuel my Fire and Diesel Power. It's a very, very high 4. The omly reason it's not a 5 is because a few tracks just feel like substandard versions of the hits. Are you ever likely to put on 'Funky Shit' or 'Narayan' instead of Breathe? I'd argue it doesn't have the breadth of something like Jilted Generation or some of the early Chemical Brothers stuff. Definitely a turning point in 90s music though.
Heavy "big beat" electronic rock. Standouts are the adrenaline pumping "Smack My Bitch Up" as well as fast-paced "Firestarter".
This one brought back some memories. I went through a clubbing stage in the late 90s and this album sounded awesome in a club or rave. My old self can't do that any more but this album still sounds solid albeit slightly dated. Firestarter remains an all time banger.
Overall I liked it. Good time capsule to that time period and headspace. Fun to go back to that. Not my favorite sounds ever and can be grating over long periods. Solid album
Awesome. It’s funky but also hard hitting and metal af
Music to burn society to, in this day and age it seems fitting and apt to fantasize about the impending fall of western civilization and I think this album gives the perfect audio backdrop to that.
Плохой альбом, я крайне осуждаю подобные тексты и клипы, ужас 8/10
Awesome to listen to. Too fast for me.
Very catchy music, very good background music while playing chill games
Fuck ya! Kind of a kick ass 90s album. I remember it well. Good times when fuelled by hard liquor, red bull and cigarettes. Ahhh younger me.
Feels like they started a revolution with their album many of their songs are instantly recognizable even being decades old