Search - Fatboy Slim :: Halfway Between the Gutter & The Stars

Fatboy Slim mixes it up.

Jonathan Stoddard Reiling | St. Albans, ME United States | 06/02/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First off, you must realize that Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars is not another "You've Come a Long Way, Baby" or "Better Living". Rather, Fatboy seems to be trying to take his music in a different direction by letting some more outside influence, especially funk, into it.At first, I didn't like this CD. I wanted more tracks like "Praise You" and "Right Here, Right Now" and this CD didn't give them to me. However, after listening to it, really listening to it, I think this is fatboy slim's most intellegent and interesting work. It provides a different kind of music experience and I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for the same."

Against all odds, Fatboy Slim pulls it off

littleoldme | Fort Collins, CO United States | 02/04/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Okay, here we go: "You've Come A Long Way, Baby" was easily one of the most entertaining albums I've ever heard. Filled with tons of fun party tracks and at least four classic anthems ("The Rockafeller Skank", "Right Here Right Now", "Gangster Tripping", and "Praise You"), it was THE pinnacle of big beat. However, there was no way for Fatboy Slim to create "You've Come A Long Way Baby II" without it sounding like a parody or weak imitator.So instead, Mr. Norman Cook decided to delve into the realms of funk, gospel, and house - and it's incredible. There are some moments here that are very much big beat, such as "Ya Mama", but the album's real peaks are in the deeper dance tracks. "Weapon of Choice" is futuristic funk, "Drop The Hate" and "Song For Shelter" are wonderful house songs, and "Sunset (Bird Of Prey)" is a great trance tune from a non-trance artist. Even the Macy Gray tracks, which I was very skeptical about, are stellar.So no, this doesn't stick to the Fatboy Slim blueprint, and that's a good thing. If you're willing to try something new, this is your album. I was very impressed - Fatboy Slim does it again."

Bird of Prey track

petemcrunnel | houston, tx | 12/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While reading reviews for this album, I read one reviewer who commented that "Bird of Prey" is a song that "crys loudly and pretentiously for attention (and airplay)."



The lyrics were actually written in 1969 by Jim Morrison, lead singer for The Doors, and the vocals in the FatBoy Slim version are Jim's vocals dubbed in... The track was never released by The Doors (until their recent box set). It was written by Jim himself (with no help from the band) and included acapella on his underground "Rock is Dead" opera album, which was released in very limited quality overseas and is practically impossible to find in its original version today.



The "Rock is Dead" album criticized the very foundation of modern commercial radio and "pop rock music," at least in the way Jim saw it in the late 1960s... It is ironic that the reviewer perceived the lyrics to "Bird of Prey" as an attempt to sellout, when actually the roots of the track were rooted in self-awareness, philosophy and Jim's perception of big record labels/execs killing rock and roll by stifling musicians' creativity.



To my knowledge, no attempt was ever made at releasing this track to any studio.



The reviewer also writes, "Pretending to be cerebral is a very bad thing." Indeed."