The Fat of the Land

by The Prodigy

Overview

Few albums were as eagerly anticipated as The Fat of the Land, the Prodigy's long-awaited follow-up to Music for the Jilted Generation. By the time of its release, the group had two number one British singles with "Firestarter" and "Breathe" and had begun to make inroads in America. The Fat of the Land was touted as the album that would bring electronica/techno to a worldwide audience (Of course, in Britain, the group already had a staggeringly large following that was breathlessly awaiting the album.) The Fat of the Land falls short of masterpiece status, but that isn't because it doesn't deliver. Instead, it delivers exactly what anyone would expect: intense hip-hop-derived rhythms, imaginatively reconstructed samples, and meaningless shouted lyrics from Keith Flint and Maxim. Half of the album does sound quite similar to "Firestarter," especially when Flint is singing. Granted, Liam Howlett is an inventive producer, and he can make empty songs like "Smack My Bitch Up" and "Serial Thrilla" kick with a visceral power, but he is at his best on the funky hip-hop of "Diesel Power" (which is driven by an excellent Kool Keith rap) and "Funky Shit," as well as the mind-bending neo-psychedelia of "Narayan" (featuring guest vocals by Crispian Mills of Kula Shaker) and the blood-curdling cover of L7's "Fuel My Fire," which features vocals by Republica's Saffron. All those guest vocalists mean something -- Howlett is at his best when he's writing for himself or others, not his group's own vocalists. "Firestarter" and all of its rewrites capture the fire of the Prodigy at their peak, and the remaining songs have imagination that give the album weight. The Fat of the Land doesn't have quite enough depth or variety to qualify as a flat-out masterpiece, but what it does have to offer is damn good. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	11/18/2022
Label:	Xl / Xl Recordings
UPC:	0634904212117
Rank:	1962

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Smack My Bitch Up
2. Breathe
3. Diesel Power
4. Funky Shit

Disc 2

5. Serial Thrilla
6. Mindfields
7. Narayan
8. Firestarter
9. Climbatize
10. Fuel My Fire

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Prodigy   Primary Artist
Crispin Mills   Guest Artist
Saffron   Guest Artist,Vocals
Kool Keith   Guest Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals
Jim Davies   Guitar
Maxim   Vocals
Neil McLellan   Vocals
Shahin Bada   Vocals
Keith Flint   Vocals
Crispian Mills   Vocals

Technical Credits

Trevor Horn   Composer
Skin   Composer
Paul Morley   Composer
Keith Thornton   Composer
Liam Howlett   Mixing,Composer,Producer,Art Direction
Peter Jones   Composer
Ross Knight   Composer
Maxim   Composer
Noisia   Remixing
C. Miller   Composer
Thijs De Vlieger   Remixing,Additional Production
Martijn Van Sonderen   Remixing,Additional Production
Nik Roos   Remixing,Additional Production
Anne Dudley   Composer
Gary Langan   Composer
DJ Sparks   Composer
Kim Deal   Composer
Kool Keith   Composer
Neil McLellan   Engineer,Vocal Engineer
Donita Sparks   Composer
Cedric Miller   Composer
James   Composer
M. Smith   Composer
Lou Smith   Photography
Konrad Wothe   Photography
Alex Scaglia   Photography
J.J. Jeczalik   Composer
Keith Flint   Composer
Pat Pope   Photography
Alex Jenkins   Design,Photography,Art Direction
Christian Ammann   Photography
Trevor Randolph   Composer
Jake Holloway   Illustrations
Terry Whittaker   Photography
Len Arran   Composer
Major Lazer   Remixing,Additional Production
The Glitch Mob   Remixing,Additional Production
Crispian Mills   Composer
Alvin Risk   Remixing,Additional Production
Deborah Dyer   Composer
Zeds Dead   Remixing,Additional Production
Baauer   Remixing,Additional Production
Bill Walsh   Composer
Maurice Smith   Composer