{"id":74218,"date":"2020-09-17T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-17T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/?p=74218"},"modified":"2020-09-17T08:22:30","modified_gmt":"2020-09-17T13:22:30","slug":"prodigy-the-fat-of-the-land","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/2020\/09\/17\/prodigy-the-fat-of-the-land\/","title":{"rendered":"The Prodigy: The Fat of the Land CLASSIC REVIEW"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium alignright wp-image-74219\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/prodigy_the-fat-of-the-land.jpg?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/prodigy_the-fat-of-the-land.jpg 600w, https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/prodigy_the-fat-of-the-land-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/prodigy_the-fat-of-the-land-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/prodigy_the-fat-of-the-land-125x125.jpg 125w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Since Keith Flint, lead vocalist for The Prodigy, was born on this day in history \u2013 September 17, 1969 \u2013 I have decided to revisit the album that landed this UK electronic, hardcore rave band on the radar of college students across the U.S. &#8211; <em>The Fat of the Land<\/em> &#8211; which was released on June 30, 1997. <em>The Fat of the Land<\/em> is included in the book \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie.net\/the-prodigy-the-fat-of-the-land\">1,001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die<\/a>,\u201d so let\u2019s find out why I agree with that listing.<\/p>\n<p>The first time I ever heard The Prodigy, I was sitting in my North Carolina apartment during the summer of 1997 watching MTV (back when the channel played actual music videos). The electronic synth loop of \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/wmin5WkOuPw\">Firestarter<\/a>\u201d started off in a way that really caught my attention, and then you saw Flint \u2013 with an inverted mohawk, wearing a US flag sweater and heavy eyeliner &#8211; standing in what appeared to be an abandoned subway underground tunnel. It was something that I had never heard nor seen before, and then the beat dropped. I was forever hooked.<\/p>\n<p>The Prodigy\u2019s hardcore punk\/rave sound \u2013 which uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops &#8211; really stood out on the music scene. To put the time period into perspective, here are some things going on musically in 1997:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Black Crowes played their last show on August 3.<\/li>\n<li>Missy Elliott, The Backstreet Boys, The Spice Girls, and Hanson were burning up the airwaves.<\/li>\n<li>Babyface, Celine Dion, and Eric Clapton swept up all the Grammys.<\/li>\n<li>Michael Jackson and Elton John were busily touring the world.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As you can see, the raw, underground, electronic dance music sound of founding member Liam Howlett really grabbed people\u2019s attention (because it was so different and catchy) as well as critical praise as <em>The Fat of the Land<\/em> rocketed up the US charts. The Prodigy really put the <strong>big beat<\/strong> genre on the map \u2013 using heavy breakbeats that even DJ Kool Herc would proud of. They almost singlehandedly introduced a version of electronica to the masses.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs soon as we heard electronica, we were gone,\u201d Flint told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-features\/prodigy-firestarter-keith-flint-1997-rolling-stone-cover-802615\/\"><em>Rolling Stone Magazine<\/em> in 1997<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019re not electronica. It\u2019s another package you can buy if you want to buy it and maybe impress your mates for a week \u2014 that would come, and that would go. We\u2019re going to come and keep coming. \u2018The latest electronic explosion from the U.K.!\u2019 That ain\u2019t us. Just come and check it out. If you like energy, if you like attitude, if you like tough beats with black rhythms with a bit of soul and a bit of realness, come and check out the Prodigy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>I\u2019m a Firestarter; Twisted Firestarter&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>The Fat of the Land<\/em> is one of the greatest punk\/rave\/rock albums ever created, and The Prodigy\u2019s unusual electronic\/hip-hop\/dub-step mashup sound took the United States by storm. While \u201cFirestarter\u201d is the most well-known track, my favorite is \u201cBreathe.\u201d Written by Howlett, Flint, and Maxim (the third part of the trio), \u201cBreathe\u201d starts off with an edgy synth loop, then the drums break in and crescendo up to the \u201c&#8230;breathe with me&#8230;\u201d beat drop. Maxim delivers one of The Prodigy\u2019s most quoted lyrics in this song &#8211; \u201cpsychosomatic, addict, insane!\u201d Flint\u2019s punk rock, bad boy, mosh pit delivery also really helped sell these two hit singles, even though he seemed about as scary as a cartoon character. I couldn\u2019t really take him seriously as a fear-inducing vocalist though; seeing his inverted Mohawk just headbanging to the beat just made me want to dance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Open Up Your Head; Feel the Shellshock&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMindfields\u201d and \u201cDiesel Power\u201d are two of the album\u2019s hidden gems, in my opinion. \u201cMindfields\u201d is a perfect example of dubstep production, mixing, and rising action beats. It also showcased Howlett\u2019s rave scene background, giving us a heavy dance club feel. \u201cDiesel Power\u201d starts off with an eerie metallic groove, then the beat drops and just challenges you to remain still. Both songs are the kind you can just put on repeat and play non-stop. \u201cFuel My Fire,\u201d \u201cSerial Thrilla,\u201d and \u201cNarayan\u201d twist and turn and wind their way through a melodic minefield of synth drops, tight loops, and classic mix\/mastering. It\u2019s almost as if you hear something new every time you listen. However, I\u2019m not a big fan of \u201cClimbatize\u201d because of the bagpipe-esque loops that come in about two-thirds of the way through. It just comes across as noise with a somewhat catchy beat overlay, and I just couldn\u2019t get past the cacophony created by the layered production.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Not Even MTV Would Play It&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One song off this album created a lot of buzz, more negative than positive, and many critics demanded it not to be played on the radio&#8230;or ever&#8230;even though it received a ton of commercial success. \u201cSmack My B*tch Up\u201d was the third single released off of the album, and when the band played a joint gig with the Beastie Boys in Reading, PA, they were asked not to play the song on stage \u2013 which of course they refused and played it anyway. Stores stopped selling the album completely, and MTV refused to play it for a short time. Once the channel saw how popular the song was, they caved and played a VERY edited version late at night only.<\/p>\n<p>As a whole album, <em>The Fat of the Land<\/em> is an amazing electro-synth dance journey through the minds of Howlett, Flint, and Maxim. It actually holds the Guinness World Record for being the fastest-selling UK album in history. It\u2019s a must-listen, iconic album that is just as good today as it was then. A sound way ahead of its time. We, unfortunately, lost Flint to suicide on March 4, 2019 &#8211; another musical visionary gone way too soon. After Flint&#8217;s death, social media tried to get \u201cFirestarter\u201d back on the radio again, using the hashtag \u201cFirestarter4Number1.\u201d It worked for a short time, placing the song back on the US dance charts.<\/p>\n<p>The Prodigy will be featured heavily on the September 17 episode of Alternative Flashback starting at 10 pm CST, in honor of Flint\u2019s birthday. Rest in power, Firestarter.<br \/>\n<b><br \/>\nRecommended If You Like: The Chemical Brothers, Crystal Method, Fatboy Slim, Propellerheads, Basement Jaxx<br \/>\nRecommended Tracks: 8 (Firestarter), 2 (Breathe), 6 (Mindfields), 3 (Diesel Power)<br \/>\nDo Not Play: 9 (Climbatize)<br \/>\nWritten by John V. Wood on 09\/17\/2020 <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Fat of the Land is one of the greatest albums ever, and The Prodigy\u2019s unusual electronic\/hip hop\/dub step mashup sound took the United States by storm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22146,"featured_media":74219,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8514,15,4,3235],"tags":[1709,8518,8519,8515,8516,8517],"class_list":["post-74218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-classic-reviews","category-featured-on-kjhk","category-music","category-music-reviews","tag-alternative-flashback-2","tag-classic-reviews","tag-dj-dub","tag-john-wood","tag-prodigy","tag-the-fat-of-the-land"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/prodigy_the-fat-of-the-land.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74218\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}