Performer Notes
- The Prodigy: Keith Flint, Maxim Reality (vocals); Liam Howlett (various instruments); Leeroy Thornhill.
- Additional personnel: Shahin Bada, Kool Keith, Crispin Mills (vocals); Jim Davies (guitar); Saffron (background vocals).
- FAT OF THE LAND was nominated for a 1998 Grammy for Best Rock Album.
- Among the most anticipated releases of 1997, The Prodigy's third full-length album is a bulldozing rock-techno hybrid. But while the guitar/samples/hyper-beats mosaic that made "Firestarter" an MTV breakout are found in every nook and cranny of this album, the overall building blocks are far more diverse, making it a tangible melting pot of pre-millennium pop styles.
- There's a definite hip-hop element here. "Diesel Power," which features quality mic control by Kool Keith (of Ultramagnetic MCs and Dr. Octagon fame), is new-style hip-hop sculpture, applying techno and acid-house textures to apocalyptic ends. Both "Funky Shit" and "Smack My Bitch Up" are throbbing dance-floor ejaculations wrapped around, respectively, Beastie Boys and De La Soul refrains. Kula Shaker's Crispin Mills adds vocals to an Eastern-influenced trance workout called "Narayan." All this adds up to proof positive that THE FAT OF THE LAND is just the tip of the iceberg.
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.82) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's."
Rolling Stone (8/7/97, pp.59-60) - 3.5 Stars (out of 5) - "...packs all the visceral punch of rock at its incendiary best....populist electro punk that serves as a perfect Brit counterpart to the industrial noir of Trent Reznor or the jittery soundscapes of Wu-Tang Clan's RZA..."
Spin (p.86) - "'80s planet-rock rap pushing and biting like Killing Joke art-metal, with Middle Eastern and classical parts, Breeders riffs, and an L7 cover..."
Spin - "THE FAT OF THE LAND's opening five tracks jump consistently, the bass lines either superhooky or subdub deep that it doesn't matter."
Spin (1/98, p.87) - Ranked #20 on Spin's list of the "Top 20 Albums Of The Year."
Spin (9/97, p.155) - 7 (out of 10) - "...maybe the best fusion of pseudo-rap and pseudo-punk since Rage Against The Machine..."
Entertainment Weekly (7/11/97, pp.65-66) - "...Prodigy leader and beat master Liam Howlett has made THE FAT OF THE LAND harder, more subterranean, more diverse, and more vocal-oriented than previous Prodigy records....This is dance music not about release but aggression, making it ideal party music for the end of the century..." - Rating: B
Q (6/00, p.70) - Ranked #47 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums" - "...This was Keeping It Real, Essex-style, a uniquely British spin on contemporary US influences, rooted in the dance revolution....somewhere for rock and rave to meet in pursuit of instant thrills..."
Q (10/01, p.46) - Ranked #43 in Q's "Best 50 Albums of Q's Lifetime"
Q (12/99, p.92) - Included in Q Magazine's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s."
Q (1/98, p.114) - Included in Q Magazine's "50 Best Albums of 1997."
Melody Maker (12/20-27/97, pp.66-67) - Ranked #13 on Melody Maker's list of 1997's "Albums Of The Year."
Village Voice (2/24/98) - Ranked #29 in the Village Voice's 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.
NME (Magazine) (12/20-27/97, pp.78-79) - Ranked #17 in NME's 1997 Critics' Poll.
NME (Magazine) (6/28/97, p.54) - "...the first block rockin' post-Oasis amyl-techno-punk album....as well as reaffirming their position as head-warping slam-kings of the pop underground, [FAT OF THE LAND] seems set to be the ultimate party soundtrack both sides of the ocean..."
