Audio CD review:
Fatboy Slim - Fatboy Slim/Norman Cook Collection

Fatboy Slim - Fatboy Slim/Norman Cook Collection

Band: Fatboy Slim Title: Fatboy Slim/Norman Cook Collection Rating: Release Date: 21 March, 2000 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Won't Talk About It - Beats International 2: Psyche Rock (Fatboy Slim Malpaso Mix) - Pierre Henry 3: The World Is Made Up Of This & That (Fatboy Slim Mix) - Deeds + Thoughts 4: Echo Chamber - Beats International 5: Dub Be Good To Me - Beats International 6: E.V.A. (Fatboy Slim Remix - Radio Edit) - Jean Jacques Perrey 7: I Left My Wallet In El Segundo (Vampire Mix) - A Tribe Called Quest 8: The Sun Doesn't Shine - Beats International 9: Start An Avalanche - Shinehead 10: Renegade Master (Fatboy Slim Old Skool Mix) - Wildchild 11: Roll The Dice (Fatboy Slim Vocal Mix) - Lunatic Calm 12: Payback (The Final Mixdown) - James Brown 13: Tribute To King Tubby - Beats International

Editoral Review This collection demonstrates, however, that while evolving profoundly from more acoustic pursuits like the Housemartins and the reggae-flavored, early house music of Beats International, Cook has maintained a long musical memory. Norman Cook's Fatboy Slim alter ego has become a big-beat legend (if legendary status can be bestowed on such a young genre) and thus a separate entity from Cook's earlier career incarnations. After 15 years spent producing an impressive roster of other people's records along with his own, the extraordinary diversity and inventiveness he displays on a set of turntables is the inevitable result of sharp, tasteful ears. Reimagining a classic King Tubby reggae melody for "Tribute to King Tubby," Cook acknowledges the de facto inventor of dub music, even while stamping it with his own thoroughly modern dub-beat approach. Likewise, Cook digs around in the space-age pop of early electronic artist Jean Jacques Perrey's "E. V. A. ," unlocking that song's cheesy-smooth melodies with sample-laden aplomb. Too often, Cook's Fatboy persona (and big beat in general) is derided for a supposedly brainless approach to dance music, but that criticism misses the point. What's amazing is how he manages, with such an unwieldy assortment of influences, to mix with the ear of an interpreter, rather than a revisionist, while still making it listenable enough to warrant the accusation of brainlessness in the first place. --Matthew Cooke .. You can see a complete list of all Fatboy Slim discography, or go back to the Fatboy Slim tabs