Customer Reviews

On the Floor at the Boutique

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was SO surprised to find out that big Mr. Fatboy hasn't lost his roots. This is a fantastic album that highlights the best in bigbeat and Big Norman mixes it all so well. I know alot of the kids out there who love Fatboy Slim for Praise You and "The Funk Soul Brother" have bought this CD and hated it, and they deserve it. This is what true bigbeat is all about and for some it may take a little getting used to, but in the end it's worth it. Notable tracks by the Bassbin Twins, Cut La Roc, Jungle Brothers (my all-time fav FBS remix), and DJ Tonka. I promise you that if you play this album at a party, everyone will have 4.592 times as much fun (that's a proven statistic.)

Fatboy Slim, it seems you either love him for bringing happy bounce music to the masses or loathe him for dragging the big beat genre into insipidness. Personally I'm in the middle, finding his "Better Living Through Chemistry" a well-done effort and his "You've Come A Long Way, Baby" a dumbed down mess.

Well this mixed set of selected tunes is neither, residing in a happy middle ground. Fatboy drops inspired choices like the often sampled "Apache", the Jungle Brothers' "Because I got it like that"- with a great ELO sample in it, and a few of his own, "Michael Jackson" and "Rockafeller Skank." He generally picks fun quality songs with a hip-hop flavor to them, making this disc a parallel to the Chemical Brothers "Live at the Heavenly Social" mix disc of years back.

70 minutes of this can wear thin at times, and his apparent love of squeally acid tunes which he drops 2/3 the way in won't work for everyone. Still, in the right doses it makes for a good party on a platter.

This latest US release from Fatboy Slim, a.k.a Norman Cook is truly an amazing piece of art. First off, the entire CD is a non-stop mix, making it great for a party, and showcasing Fatboy's talent for seamlessly mixing tracks. Second, the music is classic. There isn't a single track that isn't worth listening to, and the variety is nice. It really is a must have CD if you like this kind of music. Plus, the enhanced track features a cool video from the Concorde Club, where the disc was made. It's definitely worth just that track alone.

When I fist bought this CD and listened to it I was a bit shocked. This was not the Fatboy Slim that I knew. However, after listening to this CD a few times I was completely in love. This is not "You've Come a Long Way, Baby", so don't buy it if that's what you're looking for. However, if you're looking to listen to some incredible music just pop this booty- licious CD in the player. Track 4 is classic. Oh Norman...what can't you do?

first of all, let me just say that fatboy slim is (you know what) in heaven. that being said, he does a great job mixing up and sampling a wide array of tunes, from big-beat classics ("The World's Made Up of This and That," "Because I Got It Like That") to a great miasma of saw waves and acid loops ("Give Me My Auger Back").

I don't like acid all that much... the last five or six songs on the CD, therefore, don't turn my crank at all. However, I LOOOOVE big-beat, and especially the Jungle Brothers... the work that Fatboy Slim does with these tracks just blew me away.

...one problem. The CD doesn't sound like it's mastered very well - the bass and upper registers don't balance each other very well, and no matter how I adjust my receiver, the overall sound puts too much emphasis on the upper registers, making certain parts of the melodies (particularly the horns in the first few songs) sound clipped.

This CD would be an excellent addition to any technophile's collection, as it represents a pretty representative mix of the genre, played by someone who really knows their stuff. As long as you don't mind the mastering (or lack thereof), I would highly recommend that you buy this album.

I guess you could say that On The Floor At The Boutique completes a trilogy of mainstream electronica non-original/remix albums, following the Chemical Brother's Brothers Gonna Work It Out and the Prodigy's Dirtchamber Sessions. I find it to be hands-down, far superior to the other two, which had a few interesting highlights bogged down with merciless tediousness, especially the... ahem, "Prodigy" (actually just Liam Howlett) album. But the premise is the same - a popular electronic act straying left and right from its signature tunes to expose us to an unpredictable underbelly slightly seasoned with said act's style. It's certainly not an hour's worth of new Rockafeller Skanks - you'll have to settle for the original at the end. Yet, for the most part, the songs are adequately enjoyable, if not totally amazing. It's just that with all the variety there's bound to be something that doesn't tickle your fancy. For instance, that music-so-outdated-it's-cool-again mentality that invades several Chemical songs and the beginning of this Fatboy album royally annoys me. After a cool 15 second intro the album segues into a horribly cheesy theme that conjures up disturbing images of a bad 70s cop show complete with awful haircuts. Fatboy then eventually redeems himself a few minutes later with my favorite track, a Jungle Brothers remix of Because I Got It Like That. Both songs have some moldy samples in them, but he was much more creative and successful on the latter. As long as the mold is limited and provides a neat contrast to the rest of the song, that's great, but when he lets it stand by itself or couples it with more mold, it's not worth the trouble. So anyway, on and on the album goes, with songs of varying likeability which all in all average out to a solid album. It's certainly a keeper, but I think that Greatest Remixes albums he has may be closer to the You've Come a Long Way, Baby experience. But I'd have to find that album first before confirming that.

When it comes to regular releases I'd take the Chemicals or Prodigy over Fatboy any day of the week. But when it comes to DJing they're just not in the same league. This doesn't "...complete a trilogy of mainstream electronica non-original/remix albums" - it started it. I was fortunate to get this on a trip to the UK 2 years ago and unlike the others you mention (Chemicals, Sept. 98/Prodigy, Apr 99) it's got more than curio value. If you buy music because you like listening to it (rather than because the artist is popular) then get this one - you'll find it still gives you a kick 2 years later (unlike the others).

I kick myself for not going to Brighton to experience the wizardry of Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim. This snippet of what the scene is supposed to sound like creates a party in your ears for the duration of the program. I have searched for similar recordings, and the only comparison thus far is the Chemical Brothers Live at the Social, Vol. I. These true recordings put most studio albums to shame as the artists true ability is exhibited in the ideal format. Creating a sound environment for hoards of wildly out of control masses to simultaneously bounce to is not a simple task, but Fatboy Slim seems to have it down pat. With recordings like this one, one can only hope that what they were doing across the pond several years ago can be studied as an art form and hopefully built upon as a foundation. Thank you, Mr. Cook.

Two words, GET PHUNKY. If Music were a drug, Fat Boy Slim would be arrested for dealing. Not very similar to "Better Living Through Chemistry", or the later "You've Come A Long Way, Baby", but that would be boring. If you like the Fat Boy Slim Greatest Remixes, plus have a hankering for his own stuff of Phunk Soul Brutha, well, Cowboy, saddle up cus this bull jumps ryt outta the shoot before you know it. This mix has boogie essentials, including rap, hip-hop, r&b, acid, yet still trying to find the explicit lyrics though (Are there any?) Norman is a genuis, even considering the HouseMartins days of old. Supposedly, people never change, but our perception of them does. Not a Prodigy sessions, or Chemical-Bro-Gonna-work it out Jam, no, it is not. It is Cook like you have heard before, and may never hear of, again!

About a year ago, I first heard "Praise You", and I loved it. I went out and bought "You've come a long way baby", and then, not long after, I bought his other cd, "Better Living Through Chemistry". I loved both of these cds.

"On the Floor At the Boutique" is completely different from Fatboy's previous albums. The old cd's were basically techno flavored pop songs. The new album is full fledged dj techno.

I like Fatboy's old music, and I like this too, but don't buy this album just because you liked "praise you"...it is very different. You might want to listen to a few of the tracks to see if you like it...you probably will. But don't just assume that because you like his old stuff that you will like this too.