1. Prodigy The Fat Of The Land

Find a Prodigy* - The Fat Of The Land first pressing or reissue. Complete your Prodigy* collection. Shop Vinyl and CDs.

Few albums were as eagerly anticipated as, 's long-awaited follow-up to. 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. 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.) falls short of masterpiece status, but that isn't because it doesn't deliver.

Prodigy The Fat Of The Land

Instead, it delivers exactly what anyone would expect: intense hip-hop-derived rhythms, imaginatively reconstructed samples, and meaningless shouted lyrics from and. Half of the album does sound quite similar to 'Firestarter,' especially when is singing. Granted, 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 rap) and 'Funky Shit,' as well as the mind-bending neo-psychedelia of 'Narayan' (featuring guest vocals by of ) and the blood-curdling cover of 's 'Fuel My Fire,' which features vocals by 's. All those guest vocalists mean something - 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 at their peak, and the remaining songs have imagination that give the album weight. 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.