Released:  June 30th, 1997

Recorded:  1996 – 1997

Genre:  Big Beat

Record Label:  Maverick

Duration:  56:24

Producer:  Liam Howlett

Personnel

Track Listing

Singles

Why The Fat of the Land is One of My Favorites

I still vividly remember my first exposure to The Prodigy.  I was 11 or 12 years old, probably trying my damnedest to stay awake until some lonely hour of the night; it was around 1 a.m. and I was fading fast.  MTV already had a reputation for playing less and less videos, but this was during a period where they were beginning to play even fewer videos, and I was excited to catch a couple of hours worth of music later in the evening.  “Firestarter” was relatively new at the time, and it was a bit of a shock to my pre-teen system.  Flint’s facial piercings and generally bizarre behavior coupled with the intense music were a little scary.  For the next couple of years, every time I heard mention of The Prodigy, I shuddered and remembered that scary man.

No more than a couple of years later, I heard “Breathe.”  I don’t remember the exact circumstances, but I do remember it was loud and bassy, and naturally I was instantly intrigued.  It didn’t take long to put everything together.  I was a little more used to the tattoos and piercings quickly finding their way into the mainstream and pretty soon I ended up owning The Fat of the Land.

Electronica is a common thread running throughout the album, but beyond that, the songs have few similarities.  There is of course the dancable nature of these tracks, with booming bass, quick tempos, and sounds and rhythms at home in any club.  It’s difficult to discuss how one aspect or another of the music is presented because Prodigy has gone above and beyond standard song structures and don’t typically function as a band in the sense that there’s a bona fide singer on every track, guitarist on every track, etc.  On roughly half the album, focus is placed not on the vocals but on the music itself; some tracks contain no vocals at all save for samples.

The Fat of the Land clearly draws on industrial influences that were pervasive in popular music at the time with its liberal use of samples from other songs and movies.  Luckily The Prodigy has cleverly chosen their samples so that they’re not obvious and distracting.  The additions range from voices and quirky sounds to the actual beats in the a couple of the songs themselves, melding seamlessly with the surrounding music.  For many years I was unaware that the only vocals used in “Smack My Bitch Up” were sampled from an older Ultramagnetic MCs song.

“Breathe” and “Firestarter,” rightly released as singles, are 2 of the highlights of the album.  Both have an incredible amount of punk-like intensity, particularly Flint’s sinister “Come play my game!” in the former.  Although complex, the rhythmic structures are also amazingly catchy.  I’ve always loved whatever sound effect used in “Breathe” that sounds like swords clashing, and the “Hey!” from “Firestarter” gives the track a distinctly European feel.  Both possess hard-hitting beats, which is nothing new in dance music, but they also have some feeling behind them and transcend the all too often cold and clinical nature of purely electronic music.  There’s an unnerving darkness in The Fat of the Land’s 2 lead singles that I can’t quite put my finger on, though I do enjoy the texture and it makes the music interesting to listen to even if I’m not planning on “bustin’ a move” anytime soon.

“Serial Thrilla” and “Fuel My Fire” are the other 2 tracks to feature Flint’s familiar vocals.  “Serial Thrilla” could almost be an early Ministry song with its industrial leanings and Flint’s distorted “singing” that lands somewhere between chanting and shouting.  If Jourgensen had a British accent, this is pretty much what he’d sound like.  “Fuel My Fire” is an L7 cover, and Flint’s native accent does justice to the riot grrrl band’s punk roots.

“Smack My Bitch Up” is an invigorating exemplification of testosterone fueled hedonism.  It’s a busy, constantly evolving track with a frantic rhythm that’s impossible not to move to.  Even though there aren’t many words to suggest what exactly is going on, the relentless energy combined with the Kool Keith sample paints a vivid image of going completely balls-out, whatever the circumstances may be.  Lots of aggressive sounds pop in and out as if to pull the listener in several different directions at once, culminating in a grand fit of noise.  I could do without the change of tempo about 2/3’s through, but that’s what the back button is for.

“Diesel Power” marks The Fat of the Land’s slight foray into hip-hop.  Kool Keith provides the raps for this urban-inspired beat and the 2 work together well. It has the tempo, beat, and repetition that one would expect from any rap song, though these aspects are augmented with louder and more prominent electronic effects, specifically a popping, offbeat synth that drives the track along.  The humming analog bass notes add a nice touch and are among my most favorite sounds.

The remaining 4 tracks (“Funky Shit,” “Mindfields,” “Narayan,” and “Climbatize”) are mostly instrumental.  “Funky Shit” is another frenetic number with a variety of sounds including turntable scratching, landing itself in the company of other high-energy cuts from the record.  “Mindfields” is the most ordinary dance track of them all, featuring vocals from Maxim.  “Narayan” experiments more with melody and atmosphere and verges on futurepop territory that would gain some mainstream acceptance in years to come while incorporating arrangements reminiscent of KMFDM.  Like “Mindfields,” it’s most at home in a club setting.  Guest Crispian Mills lends vocals to the track, but they lack the urgency of Flint’s delivery.  “Climbatize” marks the best use of the band’s programming talents, again striving for atmosphere and slowly building the track layer by layer.  It’s an interesting piece that can be engaging even outside of the club.  My favorite bits are those that use some sort of Middle Eastern sounding horn to create a semi-hypnotic groove.

For what is essentially a dance album, The Fat of the Land is surprisingly accessible.  Realistically it might be tempting to skip over a few of these even for those “in the mood for Prodigy,” and that’s ok.  Sometimes music exists simply to be heard and need not be endlessly studied.  It’s always good to have some good high-energy background music around that doesn’t sound bland and generic.  Not to say that The Fat of the Land should be relegated to background music, though the less vocally driven tracks offer up the chance to fill the air with entertaining beats without drawing unwanted attention.

Too often, albums that heavily utilize electronic components can sound dated within a few years, severely diminishing their long-term appeal.  So far, The Fat of the Land sounds as fresh as that first day that “Breathe” opened my eyes, and I’m sure it will continue to do so.

Written by The Cubist

Other albums from The Prodigy in this series:

• 1995 – Music for the Jilted Generation – Issue #81

Back to The Cubist’s 90’s Albums